Bruins establish team record with 9-0 home start
BOSTON — Patrice Bergeron scored his third goal in two days and the Bruins set a team record with their ninth straight home win to start the season, beating the Canucks 5-2 on Sunday night.
The Bruins bettered the team’s 8-0 start at the old Boston Garden in 1983-84.
“I think everyone’s contributing and playing for the team. I think that’s the biggest thing right now,” Bergeron said.
Brad Marchand got his fifth goal in just eight games this season, Connor Clifton and Pavel Zacha also scored and Tomas Nosek added an empty-net goal with 1:58 remaining.
The Bruins have won four in a row and 11 of 12 to improve to 14-2-0.
Bergeron had two goals in a 3-1 win at Buffalo on Saturday when the Bruins needed a pair of goals in the third to hold off the struggling Sabres.
“We talked about that. We wanted to have a better start, a better effort. I thought tonight was much better,” Bergeron said.
Hampus Lindholm had three assists and David Pastrnak had a pair of assists, setting up Bergeron and Marchand for one-timers as the Bruins top line led the way.
J.T. Miller scored his second goal in as many games and Sheldon Dries also scored for Vancouver, which lost its third straight. Thatcher Demko stopped 27 shots for Vancouver, which fell to 1-3 on a five-game road trip.
In addition to his assists, Pastrnak drew a pair of tripping penalties from the Canucks. Late in the first period, he wound up for a slap shot, then slipped the puck to Bergeron in the slot for a tip-in that put Boston up 2-1. Bergeron scored twice Saturday night in a 3-1 win at Buffalo.
Both teams went 2 for 6 on the power play. Vancouver coach Bruce Boudreau said the Canucks gave the Bruins too many chances, including two delay of game penalties on botched clearing attempts and another for playing with a broken stick.
“It makes it an awful difficult time,” Boudreau said. “It seems every time you take a dumb penalty or a needless penalty, those are the ones that are scored on.”
After a give-and-go by Lindholm and Zacha put the Bruins up 3-1, Pastrnak set up Marchand with a crossing pass late in the second for Marchand’s fifth goal since returning from offseason hip surgery.
The Bruins were up 4-1 until Dries scored with a shot from the side of the net made it in 4:34 into the third. Only two seconds remained on a high-sticking penalty to Boston’s Jakub Zboril when the Canucks picked up their second power-play goal of the game. Entering Sunday, the Bruins had killed 12 straight penalties over the previous three games.
Boston’s streak came to an end 9:05 into the first when Miller beat goaltender Linus Ullmark on a breakaway. The Canucks were up a skater as Tomas Nosek served an instigator penalty after a fight with Kyle Burroughs, who had just leveled Pastrnak with a hard hit.
“Every night he brings it. It was so fun to see him go out there and stand up for Pasta and then also get the goal,” Lindholm said.
The fight didn’t last long and tensions continued to build. A.J. Greer laid out Vancouver’s Vasily Podkolzin with a hit at center ice, then both started swinging. Greer landed several clean shots to Podkolzin’s face, which was bleeding as he was led back to the bench to the cheers of Bruins fans. Podkolzin did not return.
Bergeron said Nosek inspired his teammates when he went right after Burroughs following the hit on Pastrnak. He was rewarded near the end when he fired a shot from just in front Ullmark into the net at the other end of the ice.
“You could see on the bench. Everyone was super happy for him. It’s well-deserved,” Bergeron said.
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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Ball State fired coach Mike Neu, the school announced Saturday. The Cardinals are 3-7.
Neu was 40-63 in nine seasons at Ball State. Neu led the Cardinals to the MAC title in 2020, which was his only winning season at Ball State.
Sources told ESPN that the staff was informed of Neu’s dismissal early Saturday.
Offensive line coach Colin Johnson will serve as the interim head coach for the last two games, athletic director Jeff Mitchell said in a statement. Ball State hosts Bowling Green on Nov. 23 then plays at Ohio on Nov. 29.
Neu, 53, is a beloved alum with a strong campus reputation, but the lack of results ultimately led to his dismissal. Ball State lost 51-48 in overtime at Buffalo this week and fell to 2-4 in MAC play.
That clinched a fourth consecutive losing season for Ball State.
“Coach Neu has poured his heart into the Ball State football program,” Mitchell said in the statement. “I commend him for his professionalism and the positive team culture he has constructed. His efforts have greatly impacted the lives of hundreds of young men. He has represented the Ball State brand with integrity and class, and I wish him well in future pursuits.”
Neu led Ball State to two bowl games. That included a win over San Jose State in the Arizona Bowl to conclude the 2020 season, when Ball State finished 7-1 and won its first MAC title since 1996.
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Pete Thamel, ESPN
Pittsburgh quarterback Eli Holstein will not play against No. 20 Clemson on Saturday, with redshirt junior Nate Yarnell getting the start for the Panthers.
Holstein hadn’t been cleared medically, sources said, and was considered a game-time decision by coach Pat Narduzzi after leaving two of Pitt’s past three games following apparent head injuries. Holstein took part in warmups Saturday.
Yarnell, who lost a camp battle to Holstein, will make his first start this season and fourth in his career for the Panthers. He has a 2-1 record as a starter, with wins over Western Michigan (2022) and Boston College (2023) and a loss to Duke (2023).
Yarnell has a strong amount of experience for a backup, as he has thrown for 1,104 yards and 10 touchdowns in his career. That includes a 65.3% completion percentage and an average of 8.9 yards per attempt. This season, he has thrown for five touchdowns and two interceptions while playing in the past three games.
Holstein has been a revelatory player for the Panthers under new offensive coordinator Kade Bell. Holstein, a transfer from Alabama, has thrown for 17 touchdowns with six interceptions.
Pittsburgh has the country’s No. 16 scoring offense at 36.7 points per game. That’s up from No. 114 last season, when it averaged 20.2 points.
Holstein has completed 61.9% of his passes and thrown for 2,174 yards.
Indiana has agreed to a contract extension with Curt Cignetti amid the Hoosiers’ unprecedented 10-0 start, the school announced Saturday.
Cignetti’s new eight-year contract runs through the 2032 season and will pay him an average of $8 million per year with an annual $1 million retention bonus, putting the total value of the new contract at $72 million.
“I am beyond appreciative for the tremendous commitment, confidence, and support from President Pam Whitten and Athletic Director Scott Dolson,” Cignetti said in a statement. “Manette [his wife] and I love Bloomington and are grateful for how the IU community has embraced us. I look forward to leading this outstanding program and doing my part to continue the momentum for Hoosier football.”
Cignetti originally received a six-year, $27 million contract when he was hired in December. He took the Indiana job after leading James Madison to an 11-1 season in 2023 — when he made $677,311 — with the goal of changing the Hoosiers’ historically woeful image in football.
He then led Indiana to the first 10-win season in school history and a possible push for the College Football Playoff. No. 5 Indiana (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten) has one more win than its combined total over the previous three seasons. Its No. 5 ranking is one spot shy of the team’s highest ever, last reached in 1967, also the last time the Hoosiers won or shared a Big Ten title.
Indiana has scored at least 40 points seven times, won nine times by 14 or more points and trailed only twice briefly all season.
“We were confident IU could become a winning program and we love what he’s building here,” Dolson said in a statement. “We love the student-athletes that he’s bringing here. We love how our fanbase has rallied around this team and made Memorial Stadium the place to be on Saturday afternoons. And now, we love the fact that he’s going to be doing all those things right here in Bloomington for a long, long time.”
A source told ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg that Indiana will also significantly increase the pool for Cignetti’s assistants and staff.
The Hoosiers are on a bye this week before a pivotal matchup with No. 2 Ohio State next Saturday that could determine Indiana’s playoff hopes and a potential spot in the Big Ten championship game.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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