U.S. Olympic hockey rosters revealed
Without the ability to pick from a generation of young American stars, USA Hockey is leaning on a longtime NHL winger as captain, and hopes a diverse roster can capture an Olympic medal.
At the Winter Classic in New York on Monday, the U.S. named retired veteran Brian Gionta captain as it unveiled its roster for the Pyeongchang Olympics, the first games without NHL players since 1994.
There’s no Patrick Kane, Johnny Gaudreau, Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel or Jonathan Quick, so the U.S. men’s hockey team is made up of Gionta, four college players, three from the AHL and 15 playing in pro leagues across Europe.
John McCarthy, 31, captain of the Sharks’ AHL farm team, the San Jose Barracuda, was among the picks. He’s played 88 games with the Sharks but spent most of his career in the AHL.
Ryan Zapolski, who plays for Finnish-based Jokerit in the KHL, is the only goaltender on the roster so far, with two more to be added later this month.
The U.S. faces Slovenia in its Olympic opener on Feb. 14.
DUGGAN NAMED U.S. WOMEN’S CAPTAIN >> The U.S. women’s Olympic hockey team will be led by captain Meghan Duggan, one of six two-time silver medalists on a roster that features four other silver medalists from 2014.
Joining Duggan on a third Olympic roster are Hilary Knight, Kacey Bellamy, Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson, Monique LamoureuxMorando and Gigi Marvin. Kendall Coyne, Lee Stecklein, Brianna Decker and
Amanda Kessel made their second Olympic team.
Knight lived in Woodside until she was 5.
The U.S. women open Olympic play Feb. 11 against Finland.
NHL
RANGERS WIN ‘CLASSIC’ >> J.T. Miller scored a powerplay goal 2:43 into overtime to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres in the 10th Winter Classic, held this year at Citi Field in New York. PARISE RETURNING >> Minnesota Wild left wing Zach Parise has been cleared to make his season debut after missing the first 39 games because of back trouble. He’s expected to play Tuesday night against Florida.
College basketball
MICHIGAN STATE MEN NO. 1 >> Michigan State is the new No. 1 in The AP Top 25 in men’s basketball. The Spartans received 43 of 65 firstplace votes from a media panel. Duke received 21 first-place votes while moving up two spots to No. 2, and No. 3 Villanova received the other.
STANFORD BACK IN WOMEN’S TOP 25 >> One week after seeing its 17-year run in the poll end, Stanford is back in the AP women’s basketball Top
25. The Cardinal re-entered the poll at No. 24 after beating then-No. 11 UCLA and USC. Stanford fell out of the poll last week after being ranked in The AP women’s basketball poll for 312 consecutive weeks.
UConn remained the unanimous No. 1 choice. WEST VIRGINIA TOPS KSTATE >> Teddy Allen scored 22 points, Lamont West added 19 and sixth-ranked West Virginia beat Kansas State 77-69 in Manhattan, Kansas, to push the Mountaineers’ win streak to 13. CARDINAL’S MCPHEE HONORED >> Brittany McPhee was named espnW National Player of the Week for her performances in Stanford’s wins over No. 11 UCLA and USC last week. McPhee averaged 23.5 points on 54 percent shooting, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in Stanford’s home wins to start conference play. She totaled 26 points, seven rebounds and four assists in a 76-65 win against the No. 11 Bruins. She followed that with 21 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and two steals in a 72-65 win over the Trojans.
Tennis
SHARAPOVA, HALEP WIN IN CHINA >> Maria Sharapova and top-ranked Simona Halep opened their 2018 seasons with straight-set wins at the Shenzhen Open.
Sharapova finished off a 6-3, 6-0 win over Mihaela Buzarnescu with a powerful forehand winner, and Halep started her bid for a second Shenzhen title with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Nicole Gibbs.
No. 8-seeded Tima Babos had a 6-1, 6-1 win over Wang Xiyu.
KONTA ADVANCES DOWN UNDER >> Johanna Konta opened her season with a tough 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over U.S. Open finalist Madison Keys at the Brisbane International. On the men’s side, No. 8-seeded Mischa Zverev held off Australian qualifier John-Patrick Smith 6-4, 7-5. THIEM VICTORIOUS IN QATAR >> Top-seeded Dominic Thiem started the year with a 7-6 (3), 6-3 first-round win over Evgeny Donskoy of Russia at the Qatar Open. Seventh-seeded Fernando Verdasco of Spain beat Dudi Sela of Israel 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 after winning the last 10 games.
QUALIFIER SCORES UPSET IN INDIA >> Spanish qualifier Ricardo Ojeda Lara upset sixth-seeded Jiri Vesely 6-3, 7-6 (5) in the first round of the Maharashtra Open in Pune, India.
KERBER WINS TWICE >> Angelique Kerber won both of her matches as Germany beat Belgium 2-1 in their opener at the mixed-team Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia.
David Goffin kept Belgium in the Group A encounter with a 6-3, 6-3 win over fourth-ranked Alexander Zverev, after Kerber had beaten Elise Mertens 7-6 (6), 7-6 (1).
The 1-1 score led to a Fast4 mixed doubles, with Kerber and Zverev playing together for the first time and beating Mertens and Goffin 4-2, 4-3 (2).