Avalanche in control with eyes on sweep

J.T. Compher came out of the penalty box to give the Avalanche the lead with 7:18 left and the Avs beat the Oilers’ 4-2 on Saturday night to take a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

Called for tripping Leon Draisaitl just three minutes after Ryan McLeod tied it for the Oilers, Compher came out of the penalty box, beat Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse for control along the boards and put the puck between goalie Mike Smith’s legs.

Valeri Nichushkin scored twice for Colorado, Mikko Rantanen had an empty-netter with 30 seconds left, and Pavel Francouz made 27 saves. Francouz stepped in midway through the Colorado’s 8-6 victory in Game 1 when Darcy Kuemper sustained an upper-body injury, then made 24 saves Thursday for his second career playoff shutout.

McLeod tied at 2 at 7:34 of the third, going the length of the ice and beating Francouz with a snap shot from the high slot.

Connor McDavid also scored for the Oilers. He opened the scoring 38 seconds into the game, beating Francouz to the far side with a wrist shot. Smith made 39 saves. Game 4 is Monday night in Edmonton, with Avs a game away from advancing to the Stanley Cup final. The Avalanche won titles in 1996 and 2007.

College softball: Jocelyn Alo homered and knocked in three runs to help No. 1 seed Oklahoma beat Big 12 rival Texas 7-2 on Saturday at the Women’s College World Series. Alo had already set the NCAA career home runs record with her 96th homer back in March, but Saturday made her the first player in Division I history with three 30-homer seasons.

Golf: Minjee Lee shot a 4-under 67 Saturday to take a three-stroke lead over Mina Harigae into the final round of the U.S. Women’s Open . ... Billy Horschel had another bogey-free round for a 65, giving him a five-shot lead over Aaron Wise and Cameron Smith in the Memorial.