WEATHER FORECAST FOR THURSDAY, DEC. 13TH, 2018
TODAY – GENERALLY CLOUDY. HIGH – 44.
TONIGHT – PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES. AREAS OF PATCHY FOG
DEVELOPING. LOW – 35.
FRIDAY – AREAS OF PATCHY FOG IN THE MORNING.
BECOMING CLOUDY WITH OCCASIONAL LIGHT
RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGH NEAR 50.
SATURDAY – CLOUDY WITH SHOWERS. HIGH – 48.
SUNDAY – RAIN SHOWERS THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
HIGH – 44.
After a long, arduous season that saw games played from late August to mid-December, it was the Aliquippa Quips that walked into Robert’s Roadside Inn on Wednesday night, with gold around their necks and smiles on their faces.
Though it was a festive night with Robert’s wings, Pizza Joe’s (Beaver) pizza, subs from My Hero Sub Shop in Rochester, and a celebratory cake donated by the Nichol family, there was still time in between bites and plates to reflect on the Quips’ season and their championship victory over Middletown.
Head coach Mike Warfield spoke about how one of the keys to the game was to stop the running game that Middletown had utilized all season:
He also spoke about one of the season’s (and game’s) biggest players, Avante McKenzie, and how his maturity showed through during the playoffs:
McKenzie was one of several high-end receivers for the Quips, who also had the talents of Will Gipson and MJ Devonshire to work with. Derek Moye, the former Steeler and Nittany Lion standout, is now an assistant with Aliquippa and spoke highly of his receivers:
Overall, the night was one of celebration, and one that Aliquippa mayor Dwon Walker says the community needed:
More pictures from last night’s celebration can be found below:
Marcus Kruger, Brent Seabrook, Andreas Martinsen, Brandon Saad each had a goal and an assist for Chicago, which rebounded after blowing 2-0 and 3-2 leads to win for just the second time in 12 contests. Alex DeBrincat scored a power-play goal.
Toews became the 16th active player to reach 700 career points with the same franchise. He assisted on Saad’s empty-netter for his 701st point.
Kruger snapped a 3-all tie when he beat Casey DeSmith from the front of the crease 3:49 into the third period. Martinsen set up Kruger’s fourth goal of the season with a centering pass from below the goal line.
Toews also had an empty-netter before Saad made it 6-3 with his ninth goal at 19:39.
Bryan Rust scored three times for Pittsburgh in his second career hat trick. The 26-year-old forward, who entered with one goal in 29 games this season, missed on several other prime chances.
Corey Crawford made 40 saves for Chicago. DeSmith blocked 23 shots in his sixth straight start and 10th in the last 12 games.
Matt Murray, who started the season as Pittsburgh’s No. 1 goalie, was activated from injured reserve and served as DeSmith’s backup. Murray missed 11 games with a lower-body injury.
The Blackhawks shook up their roster on Wednesday morning by recalling forward Dylan Sikura and defenseman Carl Dahlstrom from Rockford of the AHL and sending forward Alexandre Fortin to the minors. Sikura and Dahlstrom played.
Chicago is 4-12-2 under coach Jeremy Colliton, who replaced Joel Quenneville on Nov. 6.
The Blackhawks opened the scoring for the first time since Nov. 18 and led 2-1 after one period. Opponents had scored first in Chicago’s last 11 games, outscoring the Blackhawks 25-5 in the first period during that span.
Martinsen skated across the crease and was credited with his first goal of the season on a deflection of Dahlstrom’s shot at 14:14. The goal capped a flurry around the Pittsburgh net after Kruger fired a shot off the crossbar and DeSmith lost his stick.
Seabrook put Chicago ahead 2-0 3:37 later when he fired a shot from the right point over DeSmith’s glove.
Rust cut it to 2-1 with 1:20 left in the first when he skated from the left corner and beat Crawford on the glove side.
Rust’s second goal, at 5:46 of the second, tied it at 2. After Seabrook’s turnover, Crawford made a pad save on Derek Grant’s drive from the slot, but Rust buried the rebound.
DeBrincat’s power-play goal with 4:32 left in the period regained the lead for Chicago. After taking Patrick Kane’s feed, DeBrincat skated around Olli Maatta and beat DeSmith on the stick side with a shot just under the crossbar.
Rust tied it at 3 with 56.8 seconds left when his cross-ice pass from the left side of the net deflected off Seabrook’s stick and past Crawford.
NOTES: Rust has 37 goals in 211 career games. He scored three times against Ottawa in December 2016. … Seabrook played in his 1,037th NHL game to move past Bobby Hull and into second place in games played as a Blackhawk. Stan Mikita leads with 1,396. … Pittsburgh G Tristan Jarry was returned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL to make room for Murray, who practiced Tuesday and participated in the game-day skate Wednesday. “We thought we’d get him a good solid workout again today and then engage him over the next couple of games here,” coach Mike Sullivan said. Murray last played at Ottawa on Nov. 17 when he allowed three goals on 10 shots in the first period, then was relieved by DeSmith in a 6-4 loss. … Pittsburgh F Matt Cullen returned after missing 11 games with a lower-body injury. … Chicago C Artem Anisimov was placed on injured reserve (concussion protocol) retroactive to Dec. 9, when he left a 3-2 loss to Montreal in the third period. … Blackhawks D Erik Gustafsson (illness) missed his second game, while Penguins F Patric Hornqvist (upper body) missed his third.
UP NEXT
Penguins: Host Boston on Friday to open three-game homestand over four days.
Blackhawks: Host Winnipeg on Friday.
3rd period goals:
Chicago:
Marcus Kruger (3:49)
Jonathan Toews ( EN 8:58)
Brandon Saad ( EN 19:49)
2nd period goals:
Pit:
Bryan Rust (5:46)
Bryan Rust (19:03)
Chicago:
Alex DeBrincat (PP 15:28)
AP source: Jordy Mercer, Tigers agree to $5.25M, 1-year deal
By RONALD BLUM, AP Baseball Writer
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A person familiar with the negotiations says shortstop Jordy Mercer and the Detroit Tigers have agreed to a $5.25 million, one-year contract.
The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the agreement was subject to a successful physical.
Mercer had spent his entire seven-season big league career with Pittsburgh. The 32-year-old hit .251 with six homers and 39 RBIs, down from 14 homers and 58 RBIs in 2017.
His agreement was first reported by Fancred.
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More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
1st Period Goals:
Chicago:
Carl Dahlstrom (14:14)
Brent Seabrook (17:51)
Pit:
Bryan Rust (18:40)
AP source: Charlie Morton, Rays agree on $30M, 2-yr deal
By BEN WALKER, AP Baseball Writer
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Tampa Bay Rays are perfectly comfortable putting relief pitchers on the mound to begin games. But the chance to add an All-Star to their patchwork rotation, that was too good to pass up.
Coming off a career-high 30 starts, Charlie Morton reached a $30 million, two-year contract with the Rays, a person familiar with the agreement told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the contract has not been officially announced.
The 35-year-old Morton was a first-time All-Star last season when he went 15-3 with a 3.13 ERA for Houston.
Morton helped the Astros win their first championship in 2017. He started and won Game 7 of the AL Championship Series against the Yankees, then was the winning pitcher in Game 7 of the World Series against the Dodgers with four innings of relief.
“He’s a good pitcher,” Boston president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said. “You never like to have good pitching come into the division, prefer they go somewhere else.”
Morton’s success with the Astros came after a career that had been beset by injuries and inconsistency. He’d undergone Tommy John surgery and was just 46-71 with Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia for going to Houston.
The right-hander joins a Rays staff led by AL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell.
The Tampa Bay rotation was wrecked by injuries this year, and the team often used relief pitchers as starters in their “opener” strategy on the way to 90 wins.
The Rays’ approach became a trend in baseball, especially when teams saw how well it worked. Tampa Bay went 46-38 with traditional starters and was 44-34 when using relievers at the start.
Manager Kevin Cash said earlier this week at the winter meetings that the Rays will employ the strategy again this season.
“I think right now we’re discussing internally whether we do it two times through the rotation or three times through the rotation,” Cash said Monday. “But the nice thing is we’ve got all that information last year and we have a bunch of candidates that we can fill in as a traditional starter if need be.”
Two days later, the math became a little easier with Morton.
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More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
A 34-year-old man is in custody for a deadly stabbing Monday night in Moon Township. It happened at a home on McKinney Drive where it’s believed Timothy Pauley stabbed 48-year-old Thomas Garner several times. Pauley tells police he was shot at by Garner after declining a sexual proposition, then stabbed him several times. Pauley will be taken to the Allegheny County Jail after being released from the hospital.
Ambridge Council proclaimed December 11th George Rhawn Day. Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano explains. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report….
