Sports

Kreider’s hat trick in 3rd lifts Rangers to East final

Published

1 year ago

May 17, 2024

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Associated Press

May 16, 2024, 10:03 PM ET

RALEIGH, N.C. — Chris Kreider had a third-period hat trick to help the New York Rangers erase a two-goal deficit and beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3 in Game 6 on Thursday night to advance to the Eastern Conference final.

Kreider single-handedly erased the Hurricanes’ 3-1 lead entering the final period. The go-ahead score came when he got position on Jalen Chatfield at the top of the crease and tipped in Ryan Lindgren‘s pass to make it 4-3 at the 15:41 mark.

That finally allowed the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers to put away the Hurricanes, who had won two straight after falling into a 3-0 hole in the best-of-seven series. The Hurricanes appeared on the verge of forcing a Game 7 for a pressure-packed finale but couldn’t contain Kreider and the Rangers’ surge in the final 14 minutes.

Barclay Goodrow finished this one off by getting to a loose puck near the boards and scoring a long empty-net goal in the final minute, sending Goodrow to the nearby Rangers bench to be mobbed by teammates.

That sent the Rangers on to the Eastern Conference final to face the Boston-Florida winner, with the Panthers leading that series 3-2.

Kreider’s first goal came when he cleaned up a stop by Frederik Andersen on Mika Zibanejad at the 6:43 mark to make it 3-2. He followed by tipping in a shot by Artemi Panarin to tie it at the 11:54 mark.

Igor Shesterkin hung in after a pressured first two periods, finishing with 33 saves and coming up with a big stop on Jordan Staal near the crease and another tying chance from Andrei Svechnikov off a faceoff win in the third period.

Vincent Trocheck also scored off a deflection in the second period for New York.

Martin Necas, Seth Jarvis and Sebastian Aho scored for Carolina, while Andersen finished with 19 saves.

The Hurricanes also missed on multiple late chances to increase their lead, with Jordan Martinook — who had a highlight-reel sliding effort to knock away a loose puck from the goal line midway through the second period — and Jake Guentzel each pinging the metal past Shesterkin to come up empty.

There was also a big opportunity in the third when two Rangers collided and fell to the ice in their own end, leaving top Carolina center Aho with a 1-on-1 chance on Shesterkin. But as Aho skated in from the left circle, he went wide right of the net as he tried to move to his backhand.

Those missed chances added up to a brutal exit for the Hurricanes, a team that was in the playoffs for the sixth time in as many seasons under Rod Brind’Amour and has been open about the goal of breaking through to win the Stanley Cup.

Carolina finished three points behind the Rangers for the Presidents’ Trophy awarded to the top team in the regular-season standings, and entered the NHL playoffs as the favorite to win the Stanley Cup. But the Rangers won the first three games by one-goal margins — two coming in overtime — to threaten an unexpectedly quick resolution.

Carolina successfully beat back its power-play struggles for the Game 4 winner to stay alive, then rallied from a 1-0 deficit with four straight third-period goals to win Game 5 in Madison Square Garden and bring the series back to Raleigh.

But days later, the Rangers returned the favor with four straight of their own in the third, leaving a boisterous Hurricanes crowd in stunned disbelief.

Sports

USC QB pulls off fake punt wearing No. 80 jersey

Published

4 hours ago

November 8, 2025

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USC QB pulls off fake punt wearing No. 80 jersey

ESPN News Services

Nov 7, 2025, 10:47 PM ET

LOS ANGELES — No. 20 USC pulled off a remarkable fake punt against Northwestern in Friday night’s 38-17 win by sending out third-string quarterback Sam Huard in the same uniform number as the Trojans’ punter.

Wearing a No. 80 jersey, Huard came on the field with the punt team in the second quarter and completed a 10-yard pass to Tanook Hines. The first down extended the Trojans’ second drive, which ended with a TD run by Jayden Maiava.

This bit of trickery was quite legal, apparently: Huard wore No. 7 earlier this season for the Trojans, but he is listed as No. 80 on the USC roster for this week after Lincoln Riley’s team quietly made the change.

USC punter Sam Johnson also wears No. 80. College football teams frequently feature two players wearing the same number.

Huard, who is a couple of inches shorter than the 6-foot-3 Johnson, grinned widely as he high-fived teammates on the way off the field. He is a former five-star recruit who began his college career at Washington.

Bowling Green pulled off a similar stunt in last season’s 68 Ventures Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.

Third-string Falcons quarterback Baron May switched his uniform number before the game from 8 to 18 — very similar to punter John Henderson‘s No. 19 jersey.

Late in the first quarter, May came on the field instead of Henderson and threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to Malcolm Johnson Jr. — although Arkansas State overcame it for a 38-31 victory.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Sports

Missouri’s Norfleet (shoulder) ruled out vs. A&M

Published

7 hours ago

November 8, 2025

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Missouri's Norfleet (shoulder) ruled out vs. A&M

Eli LedermanNov 7, 2025, 04:50 PM ET
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No. 22 Missouri will be without star tight end Brett Norfleet (shoulder) when the Tigers host undefeated No. 3 Texas A&M on Saturday in Columbia.

Norfleet, a junior from O’Fallon, Missouri, has started in each of the Tigers’ eight games this fall and enters Week 11 leading all SEC tight ends with five touchdown receptions. His 26 catches on the season rank third-most among Missouri pass catchers, trailing only wide receivers Kevin Coleman Jr. and Marquis Johnson.

Tigers coach Eli Drinkwitz told reporters that Norflett sustained a separated shoulder in Missouri’s 17-10 loss at Vanderbilt on Oct. 25. Drinkwitz later described Norfleet as “day-to-day” during the Tigers’ bye in Week 10, and the veteran tight end was listed as questionable in Missouri’s student-athlete availability report Thursday night.

Norfleet’s absence comes with Drinkwitz and the two-loss Tigers essentially facing a playoff elimination game against the Aggies on Saturday. Missouri will also be without starting quarterback Beau Pribula in Week 11 after the Penn State transfer dislocated his ankle at Vanderbilt. Freshman Matt Zollers, ESPN’s No. 6 pocket passer in the 2025 class, is set to make his first career start Saturday, facing Texas A&M coach Mike Elko and an Aggies defense that ranks 18th nationally in defensive pressures (137), per ESPN Research.

“For our team, it’s really about us focusing on helping Matt execute at the highest level possible,” Drinkwitz said this week. “We’re excited about Matt’s opportunity and what he’s earned. He has done a really good job in practice of leadership, stepping up, embracing the moment, embracing the opportunity.”

Missouri (6-2) kicks off against Texas A&M at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.