By TOM CANAVAN, AP Sports Writer
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Travis Zajac scored two goals and set up another as the New Jersey Devils limited Pittsburgh to a season-low 16 shots in posting a 3-1 victory on Saturday night, ending the Penguins’ four-game winning streak.
Blake Coleman also scored and Stefan Noesen had two assists in helping the Devils win their third straight since returning from the All-Star break. Keith Kinkaid made 15 saves and benefited from a goaltender interference call that denied Sidney Crosby a third-period goal.
Evgeni Malkin, the NHL player of the month in January with 12 goals, scored in the third period. He now has eight goals in his last four games, 15 since Jan. 1, and 29 overall. Rookie goaltender Casey DeSmith made 35 saves for the Penguins, who looked sluggish after beating Washington on Friday night.
Sidney Crosby, who also missed an open net in the second period, had his 11-game point scoring streak stopped. The run is tied for the NHL best this season.
After a scoreless first period, Zajac gave the Devils the lead 30 seconds into the second period after a mistake by DeSmith. The rookie goaltender tried to pass or poke the puck toward the corner and Zajac intercepted it close to the net and stuffed it into the net for his first goal in 10 games.
Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta fanned on clearing attempt near the right circle a little more than two minutes later and Zajac collected the puck. He sent a pass to Noesen, who quickly found Coleman for a shot that got between DeSmith’s arm and body at 3:05.
Malkin got the Penguins on the board early in the third period with a great backhander past Kinkaid that was set up by defenseman Ian Cole.
Zajac got his seventh goal at 9:51, deflecting a point shot by defenseman Damon Severson past DeSmith.
Crosby lost his goal when it was ruled that Bryan Rust skated through the crease and hit Kinkaid in the mask. The blow knocked the goaltender down and allowed Crosby to bank a shot from the corner into the net off the goalie.
NOTES: Penguins F Zachary Ashton-Reese made his NHL debut. … The win ended the Devils’ five-game losing streak against the Penguins, all last season. …. This was Pittsburgh’s first loss in regulation against a Metropolitan Division opponent since Jan. 1 (5-1-1).
UP NEXT
Penguins: Host Vegas on Tuesday night.
Devils: at Ottawa on Tuesday night.
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More NHL hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey
Category: Scores
High School Boys Basketball – Friday January 6, 2017
Quaker Valley – 78
Beaver Falls – 58
NHL
Penguins 1 vs Devils 3
END 3RD Period (Final)
NHL
Penguins 0 vs Devils 2
END 2ND Period
NHL
Penguins 0 vs Devils 0
END 1ST Period
Kessel, Malkin lead surging Penguins past Capitals, 7-4
By WILL GRAVES, AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Phil Kessel scored twice and picked up assist, Evgeni Malkin added two goals and two assists, and the surging Pittsburgh Penguins rolled past the Washington Capitals 7-4 on Friday night.
Bryan Rust, Carl Hagelin and Patric Hornqvist also scored for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, who won their fourth straight to pull within four points of first-place Washington in the crowded Metropolitan Division. Sidney Crosby had two assists to push his scoring streak to 11 games, the longest active streak in the NHL.
Matt Murray stopped 29 shots for Pittsburgh, which won its seventh consecutive home game by jumping on the Capitals early then pulling away late.
Alex Ovechkin scored twice to push his season total to an NHL-best 32 and Dmitry Orlov and Evgeny Kuznetzov also scored for the Capitals, but Washington couldn’t keep pace with the Penguins. Braden Holtby finished with 27 saves but gave up three goals in the opening 8 minutes of the third period before being pulled in favor of Phillpp Grubauer as Pittsburgh broke open a tight game.
The Penguins came in rolling, ripping off an NHL-high nine wins in January to climb from 10th in the Eastern Conference to within striking distance of the division-leading Capitals with still two months to go before the postseason.
The prospect of another potential playoff showdown looms for the longtime rivals, even if the rivalry tends to be one-sided when they meet in the spring, when the series usually ends with the Penguins skating on to the next round and Washington left to wonder how it let it get away once again.
Pittsburgh never trailed and never wavered after the Capitals erased 2-0, 3-2 and 4-3 deficits. Kuznetzov tied it at 3 when he flipped a bouncing puck in the slot by Murray 11:57 into the second to give Washington a shot at picking up its seventh victory this season in a game in which it trailed by at least two goals.
Not this time. Malkin put in his own rebound 1:01 into the third to put the Penguins back in front. Ovechkin evened it just 49 seconds later after a slick cross-ice feed from Kuznetzov, but Pittsburgh simply kept on coming.
Rust picked up his third goal in his last two games to put the Penguins ahead to stay, Kessel followed with his second of the night and 23rd of the season to chase Holtby. Malkin finished the outburst with his team-leading 28th of the season, 14 of which have come since Jan. 1.
NOTES: Pittsburgh F Carter Rowney played 9:05 in his return after missing a month with an upper-body injury. … The Penguins scratched D Chad Ruhwedel, D Matt Hunwick and injured F Conor Sheary (lower-body). … Washington scratched D Taylor Chorney and F Jakub Vrana. … Pittsburgh went 3 for 4 on the power play. The Capitals were 0 for 3 with the man advantage.
UP NEXT
Capitals: Host Las Vegas on Sunday.
Penguins: Play at New Jersey on Saturday.
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More AP hockey: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey
scores across the valley
High School Basketball: February 2, 2018
BOYS
7:00pm
Rochester at Western Beaver
Northgate at Sewickley Academy
7:30pm
Central Valley at Blackhawk (WBVP)
Mars at Moon (WMBA)
Beaver Falls at Beaver
Lincoln Park at Riverside
Quaker Valley at Hopewell
Aliquippa at Ellwood City
Ambridge at New Castle
Mohawk at New Brighton
OLSH at Neshannock
Freedom at Seton-LaSalle
South Side Beaver at Southmoreland
Holy Family Academy at Quigley Catholic
West Allegheny at Montour
GIRLS
Thursday’s Scores
Blackhawk 65, Hopewell 46
Riverside 41, Ellwood City 23
OLSH 62, Aliquippa 24
Central Valley 70, Quaker Valley 40
Quigley Catholic 46, Cornell 43
Neshannock 60, Freedom 36
Beaver 52, New Castle 38
Rochester 72, Union 21
South Side Beaver 32, South Allegheny 29
Montour 55, Lincoln Park 45
Burgettstown 62, New Brighton 30
Chartiers Valley 51, Moon 40
Sewickley Academy 57, Propel Andrew Street 18
7:45pm
West Allegheny at South Fayette
High School Basketball: February 1, 2018
GIRLS
Wednesday’s Scores
Shenango at New Brighton PPD
6:30pm
Rochester at Union
Propel Andrew Street at Sewickley Academy
7:00pm
Cornell at Quigley Catholic
7:30pm
Blackhawk at Hopewell
Ellwood City at Riverside
Quaker Valley at Central Valley
OLSH at Aliquippa
Montour at Lincoln Park
Neshannock at Freedom
New Castle at Beaver
New Brighton at Burgettstown
South Side Beaver at South Allegheny
Chartiers Valley at Moon
BOYS
Wednesday’s Scores
Quaker Valley 81, Blackhawk 48
Cornell 52, Fort Cherry 40
Miami hands Pitt 10th straight loss, 69-57
By STEVEN WINE, AP Sports Writer
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — The Miami Hurricanes showed they can win without star guard Bruce Brown Jr. — at least against woeful Pittsburgh.
And if they have Lonnie Walker IV.
The freshman guard scored 16 points Wednesday, and Miami regrouped after blowing a 13-point second-half lead to hand the Panthers their school record-tying 10th consecutive loss, 69-57.
Miami (16-5, 5-4) won in its first game since losing Brown , who is expected to be sidelined for about six weeks with a left foot injury that was diagnosed Monday.
“Not having him was a little bit of an upset moment,” Walker said. “He’s one of those players who gets everyone going. We’ve just got to get used to fighting without him.”
Walker did that, scoring on three consecutive possessions during a 7-0 run by the Hurricanes immediately after Pittsburgh had scored 14 consecutive points to go up 44-43. Pitt never led again.
“I don’t like losing at all,” Walker said. “I felt like I had to take over. I felt like I can do what I want to if I really put my mind into it.”
The Panthers (8-15, 0-10 Atlantic Coast Conference), off to their worst conference start ever, matched the longest losing streak in program history. Pitt also lost 10 in a row in 1968-69 and 1992-93.
Coach Kevin Stallings said his team played Miami much more competitively than in December, when the Hurricanes won by 14.
“Our team is getting better,” Stallings said. “We don’t have wins to show for it, and I feel horribly for my guys for that, because they’ve been as coachable as any group I’ve ever had. Hopefully we keep getting better and we’ll knock one off.”
The Panthers have lost 14 consecutive ACC regular-season games since last season under their second-year coach.
But Walker said Miami didn’t take Pitt lightly.
“We treat every team like they’re No. 1 in the country,” Walker said. “It was definitely a challenge for this game not having one of our key players.”
In Brown’s absence, freshman Chris Lykes played a season-high 33 minutes and totaled 13 points and five assists. Anthony Lawrence added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Jared Wilson-Frame led Pitt with 17 points, including five 3-pointers, but was limited to 29 minutes because of foul trouble.
The Hurricanes, who were 16-point favorites, led 43-30 but then went nearly six minutes without a point as the Panthers rallied. Once the Hurricanes fell behind they switched to a zone, and that cooled Pitt off.
“At the end we missed a bunch of open shots,” Stallings said.
Miami rebuilt its advantage to 11 points with five minutes left. Walker’s run of seven consecutive points included two free throws, a layup and a long 3-pointer.
“That was pretty amazing,” Hurricanes coach Jim Larranaga said. “I was calling a play, and he was launching an NBA 3.”
BIG PICTURE
The Hurricanes have won five in row against Pittsburgh, including both meetings this season. Miami improved to 8-1 at home this season.
DISPARITY
Pitt went 3 for 3 at the free throw line, while Miami went 17 for 23. When asked about the disparity, Stallings said, “We shot our free throws well.”
INJURED GUARD
Brown watched from the bench and is scheduled to undergo surgery Thursday.
“I feel badly for the kid because he’s one of my favorite players in the league that doesn’t play on my team,” Stallings said. “He’s a difference-maker. They’re deep enough to absorb his loss for a while, but obviously any team would be better with him.”
UP NEXT
Pittsburgh: The Panthers play the second of three consecutive road games Saturday at No. 19 North Carolina.
Miami: The Hurricanes play at Virginia Tech on Saturday.
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For more AP college basketball coverage: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_Top25
Former big league outfielder Oscar Gamble dead at 68
By RONALD BLUM, AP Baseball Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Oscar Gamble, an outfielder who hit 200 home runs over 17 major league seasons and was famous during his playing days for an Afro that spilled out of his helmet, died Wednesday of a rare tumor of the jaw. He was 68.
His second wife, Lovell Woods Gamble, said he was diagnosed with a benign tumor, ameloblastoma, about nine years ago. It became ameloblastic carcinoma in 2016 and he had the first of several operations that August. Gamble, who lived in Montgomery, Alabama, entered UAB Hospital in Birmingham on Jan. 22 and died there early Wednesday. His wife said he never chewed tobacco.
A left-handed hitter known for the crouch in his batting stance, Gamble had a .265 batting average and 666 RBIs while playing for seven big league teams.
He spent seven seasons with the New York Yankees in two stints. He had an endorsement deal with Afro Sheen but had to trim his hair to comply with owner George Steinbrenner’s grooming policy when he joined the Yankees for the 1976 season.
“Pete Sheehy told him no uniform until the haircut,” Steinbrenner said in 1991, referring to the Yankees’ longtime clubhouse man. “I said, ‘Oscar, I’ve got a barber.’ They brought this guy in and he butchered him. Absolutely butchered him. I was sick to my stomach. I told Oscar, ‘It looks good,’ but I thought to myself it was absolutely the worst. There were blotches in his scalp.”
After helping win the AL pennant, Gamble became expendable when New York signed Reggie Jackson, and Gamble was traded to the Chicago White Sox for Bucky Dent. While with Texas in 1979, Gamble was dealt back to the Yankees for Mickey Rivers, and Gamble reached the World Series again with New York in 1981.
“I will not only remember Oscar for his abilities on the field, but also for his great sense of humor and the way he treated me as a young player,” former Yankees teammate and current Miami manager Don Mattingly said in a text message.
In an era of constant turmoil dominated by Steinbrenner and manager Billy Martin, Gamble described the clubhouse by saying: “They don’t think it be like it is, but it do,” according to Dan Epstein’s book “Big Hair and Plastic Grass: A Funky Ride Through Baseball and America in the Swinging ’70s.”
Drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1968 after he was scouted by Buck O’Neil, Gamble made his big league debut at age 19 on Aug. 27, 1999, at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field. He pinch hit and walked at the start of the resumption of a doubleheader nightcap suspended after seven innings that June 15.
Gamble hit .225 over 24 games that year and was traded with pitcher Dick Selma to Philadelphia during the offseason for outfielder Johnny Callison. He had the last hit at Connie Mack Stadium in 1970 and after three seasons as a platoon player for the Phillies was dealt to Cleveland for outfielder Del Unser. He became a presence in the middle of the Indians’ batting order, hitting 54 home runs over three seasons.
His biggest postseason hits for the Yankees were a pair of tying home runs off Milwaukee’s Moose Haas in Games 1 and 5 of the 1981 AL Division Series. He hit .358 for the Rangers and Yankees in 1979 but had only 327 plate appearances, far fewer than needed to qualify for a batting title.
Gamble later played for San Diego and the Chicago White Sox.
In addition to his second wife, he is survived by his first wife, Juanita Kenner; two daughters from his second marriage, Kalani Lee Gamble and Kylah Lee Gamble; a daughter from his first marriage, Sheena Maureen Gamble; and two sons from his first marriage, Shane Oscar Gamble and Sean Gamble. A former minor league baseball player, Sean Gamble is a scout for the Colorado Rockies.
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For more AP baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball