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  • Associated Press

Jan 15, 2025, 06:56 AM ET

DENVER — Jared Bednar had a blunt, one-word summation after Colorado rallied for a 3-2 overtime win against the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.

“Unimpressive,” the Avalanche coach said.

Bednar’s beef: His team had too many passengers and not enough contributors. He was far from pleased even as Colorado posted its 14th comeback victory courtesy of Devon Toews‘ goal 4:23 into overtime.

“Ultimately, it’s like we only had half a team playing,” said Bednar, whose club started a five-game homestand. “We had some guys that had to have monster efforts just to stay in the game.”

One of them was goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, who made 27 saves, including several on Rangers breakaways or after breakdowns in Colorado’s defensive end.

“Probably gave up 12 grade-A scoring chances tonight and for him to only give up two goals is extremely impressive,” Toews said. “Kudos to him for keeping us in it.”

Added Bednar: “He was the best player on the ice, either team.”

Blackwood has been very reliable since being acquired in the deal with San Jose that sent fellow goalie Alexandar Georgiev to the Sharks last month. Blackwood is 9-2-1 with Colorado and has yet to give up more than two goals in a game.

“Sometimes things go well, and sometimes they don’t,” he said. “They can’t go well forever, but you can try and do your best as long as you can. Not really trying to keep track of that or anything, just trying to give them a chance to win every night.”

Blackwood’s brick-wall performance earned Bednar’s praise. So did the effort of Logan O’Connor and his gritty play around the net in overtime to get the puck to Nathan MacKinnon, who dished it over to Toews for the winning one-timer past Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin.

Also on Bednar’s praiseworthy list was the penalty-kill unit, which weathered Mikko Rantanen‘s interference call early in OT.

“That’s the thing — those guys that were on the ice, they worked hard,” said Bednar, whose team forced overtime when Artturi Lehkonen tied the score with 1:13 remaining in regulation. “They worked hard the whole game. The problem with tonight is we’re relying on the same eight, nine guys to do everything — power play, penalty kill, 5-on-5, because we had too many passengers.”

Asked if he was more annoyed or angry, Bednar responded: “Both.”

“We had practice yesterday that I didn’t love,” Bednar added. “Then tonight, we’re terrible, as a team.”

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Vols DE Pearce forgoes final season for NFL draft

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January 16, 2025

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Vols DE Pearce forgoes final season for NFL draft

  • Adam Rittenberg, ESPN Senior WriterJan 15, 2025, 11:13 PM ET

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      College football reporter; joined ESPN in 2008. Graduate of Northwestern University.

Tennessee defensive end James Pearce Jr., a standout pass rusher during the past two seasons, has declared for the 2025 NFL draft.

Pearce, who had one year of eligibility left, announced his decision on social media Wednesday. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. lists Pearce as the No. 23 prospect for the draft and had the Tennessee player in the top five earlier in the season.

The 6-foot-5, 243-pound Pearce led Tennessee in sacks (7.5), tackles for loss (13) and quarterback hurries (10), while adding a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. He helped Tennessee finish No. 7 nationally in scoring defense and eighth in tackles for loss, as the Vols reached the College Football Playoff for the first time before falling at Ohio State.

Pearce earned first-team All-SEC honors and was a semifinalist for the Bednarik, Lombardi and Walter Camp Player of the Year awards. He also earned first-team All-SEC honors in 2023, when he had 10 sacks, 14.5 tackles for loss, 16 quarterback hurries, an interception return for a touchdown and two forced fumbles.

Kiper projects Pearce as the No. 3 outside linebacker prospect for the draft, behind Penn State‘s Abdul Carter and Georgia‘s Mykel Williams. Pearce finishes his Tennessee career with 19.5 sacks and 29.5 tackles for loss.

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Tar Heels QB Criswell entering transfer portal

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3 hours ago

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January 16, 2025

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Tar Heels QB Criswell entering transfer portal

Jan 15, 2025, 07:51 PM ET

Veteran North Carolina quarterback Jacolby Criswell told ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Wednesday that he is entering the NCAA transfer portal.

Criswell started 11 games over two stints at UNC, separated by spending the 2023 season at Arkansas. He was the Tar Heels’ primary starter in 2024, claiming the job after Max Johnson broke his leg in the opener and Conner Harrell struggled. Criswell was 186-of-320 passing for 2,459 yards and 15 touchdowns with six interceptions as UNC finished 6-7, including a loss to UConn in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl. He also had 71 carries for 103 yards and three touchdowns.

Criswell will have one year of eligibility remaining.

UNC has four-star quarterback Bryce Baker coming in with the 2025 recruiting class. Baker, the No. 4 dual-threat passer in the class, affirmed his commitment after the hiring of Bill Belichick as coach. A 6-foot-3 passer from Kernersville, North Carolina, Baker is ESPN’s No. 193 overall prospect in the 2025 cycle.

The 6-foot-1, 230-pound Criswell first came to UNC in 2020 but played sparingly over three seasons, although he started one game in 2021. He appeared in four games for Arkansas in 2023, passing for 143 yards and three touchdowns. Criswell then transferred back to the Tar Heels following spring practice.

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Sources: Belichick adds 2 veteran coaches to staff

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January 16, 2025

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Sources: Belichick adds 2 veteran coaches to staff

  • Pete Thamel, Senior College Sports InsiderJan 15, 2025, 06:16 PM ET

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      College Football Senior Writer for ESPN. Insider for College Gameday.

Bill Belichick’s first coaching staff at North Carolina continues to come together.

Longtime NFL special teams coach Mike Priefer and veteran SEC offensive line coach Will Friend are expected to finalize deals to join Belichick’s staff, sources told ESPN on Wednesday.

After coaching for nearly a decade in college, Priefer moved to the NFL in 2002 and was a special teams coordinator from 2006 to 2022. He is noted in Cleveland Browns history as serving as the head coach in a January 2021 wild-card victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, which is the franchise’s only postseason win since the 1994 season. Priefer stepped in for Kevin Stefanski, who watched the game at home with COVID.

Priefer was the special teams coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs (2006-08), Denver Broncos (2009-10), Minnesota Vikings (2011-18) and Browns (2019-22). He brings ties to the Naval Academy, something he shares with Belichick and his family. Priefer is a Navy graduate and served as a graduate assistant there.

Friend worked last season as Western Kentucky‘s offensive coordinator. He brings strong recruiting ties in the South, having worked at Georgia, Tennessee, Auburn and Mississippi State as the offensive line coach. He has also worked as the offensive coordinator at Colorado State and WKU.

Friend has a long history of developing linemen for the NFL.

With Priefer and Friend, there are six known members of Belichick’s staff, which includes longtime NFL coach Freddie Kitchens as the offensive coordinator and veteran NFL coach Stephen Belichick as the defensive coordinator.

The hires line up the objectives of Belichick, who has stressed that he wants to run the Tar Heels like a NFL program.

Before taking the UNC job, Belichick told ESPN’s Pat McAfee that if he were to run a college program, it would be a “pipeline to the NFL for the players that had the ability to play in the NFL.”

He added: “It would be a professional program. Training, nutrition, scheme, coaching, techniques that would transfer to the NFL. It would be an NFL program at a college level and an education that would get the players ready for their career after football.”

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