SPORTS
Friday, December 29, 2017
East Oregonian
Page 3B
Junior Hockey
Slovakia scores late to upset US 3-2 at world juniors
By JONAH BRONSTEIN
Associated Press
BUFFALO, N.Y. —
Samuel Bucek scored an
unassisted goal with 2:08
remaining in the third period
to give Slovakia a 3-2 victory
over the United States at the
world junior hockey champi-
onship on Thursday.
Filip Krivoski scored the
other two goals for Slovakia,
and Roman Durny made 43
saves in his world junior
debut.
Casey Mittlestadt and
Brady Tkachuk had goals
for the U.S., which had won
nine straight world junior
games entering the night.
The U.S. began its streak
with the 2016 bronze medal
game and went undefeated in
winning the gold medal last
year in Toronto. The previous
American record was eight
consecutive victories from
2004-05.
The U.S. faces Canada
in an outdoor game at the
Buffalo Bills’ New Era Field
on Friday afternoon.
In
other
prelimi-
nary-round games, Sweden
beat the Czech Republic 3-1,
Russia pulled away in the
third period for a 5-2 victory
over Switzerland and Finland
defeated Denmark 4-1.
Slovakia is 4-13-1 all-time
against the U.S. in the world
junior championship and
had lost six straight prelim-
inary-round meetings since
last defeating the U.S. in a
2009 quarterfinal.
Bucek
made
an
outstanding individual effort
to score the winning goal,
maneuvering around three
defenders and circling behind
the net before slipping the
wraparound past Joseph
Woll, who stopped 22 shots
for the U.S.
Mittelstadt tied the game
for U.S. with 3:11 left in the
Mark Blinch/The Canadian Press via AP
United States’ Joey Anderson battles for the puck with
Slovakia’s Peter Kundrik (20) during an IIHF world ju-
nior championships game in Buffalo, N.Y., on Thursday.
third period.
Following a 9-0 rout of
Denmark on Tuesday, the
U.S. got off to a sluggish start
in a game it never led.
Krivosik gave Slovakia
a 1-0 lead five minutes into
the second period. He put
Slovakia ahead 2-1 on a
backhand with 4:45 left in
the third period.
Ryan Poehling set up
Tkachuk for the tying goal
on a 2-on-1 midway through
the second period.
Earlier, Alex Nylander
had a goal and an assist and
defenseman Rasmus Dahlin,
the expected top pick in next
year’s NHL draft, had two
assists to lead Sweden.
Marcus Davidsson and
Elias Pettersson also scored
goals as Sweden improved to
2-0 in preliminary play. Filip
Gustavsson made 24 saves.
Filip Zadina scored the
Czech Republic goal to
make it 2-1 late in the second
period. Jakub Skarek stopped
34 shots.
Artur Kayumov and
Georgi
Ivanov
scored
third-period goals to lead
Russia over Switzerland.
Kim Kostin and Vladislav
Syomin each had a goal and
an assist, Andrei Svechnikov
had two assists and Vitali
Abramov scored an empty-
netter for the Russians, who
are 1-1 in preliminary play.
Marco Miranda and Ken
Jager scored for Switzerland.
Philip Wuthrich made 32
saves. Jager’s goal tied the
game at 2-2 early in the
third period before Kaymov
scored the go-ahead goal
with 8:58 remaining.
Juuso Valimaki and Henri
Jokiharju both had a goal and
assist for Finland in its win
over Denmark.
Joona Koppanen and
Aapeli Rasanen scored the
other goals to give Finland
a 2-0 lead in the first seven
minutes. Miro Heiskanen
had two assists and Ukko-
Pekka Luukkonen needed to
make just six saves. Finland
improved to 1-1 in group
play.
Kasper Krog stopped 58
shots for Denmark. Nikolaj
Krag scored Denmark’s first
of the tournament following
a 9-0 loss to the United States
in the opener.
Krag scored on a power
play to make it 2-1 early in
the second period. Finland
pulled away when Valimaki
and Jokihariu scored two
minutes apart late in the
period.
Pro Football
Ageless Fitzgerald mum on future after another big season
By BOB BAUM
Associated Press
TEMPE, Ariz. — Larry
Fitzgerald might well be
the most popular athlete in
the history of the state of
Arizona.
The wide receiver’s
resume is packed with Hall
of Fame-caliber statistics
accumulated
over
14
seasons with the Cardinals
team that drafted him third
overall in 2004. Add to that
his easy-going personality
combined with a remarkable
durability — he’s missed
six games of his 224 since
joining the league — and
off-the-field contributions.
A year ago, Fitzgerald
and the Giants’ Eli Manning
shared the Walter Payton
NFL Man of the Year award.
And impressively, at age
34, he’s still playing at a
high level, all while staying
mum on whether he will
return for another season.
Last week, he said he
would take some time
not really that big of
off when the season
a deal. There’s a lot
ends to figure it out.
of other decisions
His
uncertainty
that are going to be
matches big questions
made and choices,
with other Cardinals,
and none of that has
including
whether
anything to do with
coach Bruce Arians Fitzgerald
me, to be honest
will stick around
with you.
for a sixth season,
“So I just try to
and whether quarterback stay in the moment. I said
Carson Palmer will be back it on Sunday, just trying to
with a mended broken arm stay in the moment all the
at age 38.
time and get yourself ready
Fitzgerald found it point- to play.”
less to speculate.
Fans would argue that
“What happens after Fitzgerald’s
impending
Sunday moving forward, decision is a very big deal.
none of us can control that
No. 11 jerseys far
on Thursday,” he said. “We outnumber any other when
just need to focus on the Arizona’s “Red Sea” of
things that we can control.” fans gathers at University
He resisted talking about of Phoenix Stadium. When
what might happen to he caught a TD pass to cap a
the organization once the big day last Sunday against
season ends.
the Giants, the crowd
“I personally have no chanted “Lar-ry, Lar-ry,
control over 98 percent of Lar-ry!”
the stuff,” Fitzgerald said.
Fitzgerald has shattered
“All I have control over is nearly every franchise
what I decide to do and that’s receiving record and has
caught a pass in 210 consec-
utive games, third longest in
NFL history. He ranks third
all-time (behind Jerry Rice
and Terrell Owens) in yards
receiving and third (behind
Rice and Tony Gonzalez) in
receptions.
He has had 17 quarter-
backs complete a pass to
him for a franchise that
has often lacked stability
let alone excellence at the
position, except for his time
with new Hall of Famer
Kurt Warner and Palmer.
Fitzgerald
enters
Saturday’s season finale
tied with Antonio Brown
(now injured) with 101
receptions, two fewer than
league leader Jarvis Landry.
Fitzgerald has 1,101 yards
receiving — the ninth, and
third straight, time he has
topped 1,000 yards in a
season.
He’s been selected to the
Pro Bowl for the 11th time.
He led the league last
year with 107 receptions
and had a career-best 109
in 2015 — all after he was
switched from wideout to
slot receiver when coach
Arians arrived.
“Pretty much the norm,”
Arians said. “He comes in
great shape, he catches a
hundred passes and gains a
thousand yards.”
Fitzgerald credited a
switch in emphasis to a
short, intermediate passing
game.
“I just think I’m reaping
the benefit of that change,”
he said.
And it’s no coincidence
the big numbers coincided
with the decision to move
Fitzgerald to the slot. That’s
a rough job, including
blocking, but it opened the
way for more one-on-one
coverage and other oppor-
tunities.
Fitzgerald accepted it,
worked hard at it and even-
tually excelled.
“Yeah, it was a decision
for him to leave playing what
he had played and was very
comfortable doing,” Arians
said, “and just trusting that,
‘Hey, it’s going to work out,
and you’re going to catch
a whole lot more balls this
way.’”
What’s not known is
how seriously Fitzgerald is
considering hanging it up
after 15 seasons. He has a
one-year contract, which
means if he does play it will
be for Arizona. But he has
not said whether he will
step away from the game
instead. So there’s a chance
this could be his last one.
It’s on to Seattle for what
Fitzgerald said is “hands
down” his favorite road
game.
“I’ve been looking back
through all the years. I’ve
never played (in) Seattle
before
Thanksgiving
before,” he said. “It’s
always late season, cold,
dreary, rainy, loud, miser-
able game. So I wouldn’t
expect it any other way.”
BLAZERS: Napier scored 15 of his season-high 23 points in the final quarter
Continued from 1B
and 12 rebounds, and
Portland won its fourth
straight against the Sixers
at the Moda Center. Napier
scored 22 points after half-
time.
Lillard missed his third
game with a strained right
hamstring. Portland’s top
scorer, averaging 25.2 points
per game, was injured in a
102-85 loss to San Antonio
on Dec. 20.
Lillard warmed up a
couple of hours before the
game and didn’t appear
hampered by the injury.
On the other side, Embiid
was questionable for the
game with back tightness,
but played. The 76ers were
coming off a 105-98 victory
over the Knicks at Madison
Square Garden on Christmas
that snapped a five-game
losing streak.
Nurkic made a layup
with nine seconds left to
give Portland a 52-51 lead at
halftime. But he was furious
in the third quarter when offi-
cials did not stop the game
when he had a bloody nose.
He collected his fourth foul
before heading for the locker
room.
Nurkic knocked heads
with Redick, who appeared
to have a cut lip.
The Sixers stretched
the lead to 75-59 with five
minutes left in the quarter,
outscoring Portland 24-7.
But Ed Davis capped a 10-1
Portland run with a dunk to
pull the Blazers to 79-70.
Napier had a personal
7-0 run to close the gap to
88-81. Jerryd Bayless made
a 3-pointer on the other end
— but it was later ruled no
good because of a shot clock
violation.
Napier made two of three
free throws and Nurkic added
two more, before Napier’s
layup got the Blazers within
88-87.
Portland was coming off a
95-92 victory over the Lakers
on Saturday.
TIP INS
76ers: The Sixers beat the
Blazers 101-81 in Philadel-
phia on Nov. 22. Embiid had
28 points and 12 rebounds.
Trail Blazers: Portland is
just 7-10 at home this season,
but 10-6 on the road. Asked
before the game if he’d ever
been on a team with that
kind of record disparity at
home, coach Terry Stotts said
simply “No.” ... McCollum
led all scorers in the first
quarter with 14 points.
UP NEXT
76ers: Visit Denver on
Saturday.
Trail
Blazers:
Visit
Atlanta on Saturday to kick
off a three-game road trip.
PREP ROUNDUP: Mac-Hi boys best Pilot Rock, Umatilla blows out Monroe
Continued from 1B
their own to claim the lead
as the clock winded down,
but the Bulldogs dished out
a 3-pointer of their own from
senior Hannah Thompson to
seal the deal.
For the second day in a
row, junior Jordan Thomas
led Hermiston with a game-
high 19 points. For Lake
Oswego, junior Katy Gilbert
was the top point getter with
14.
———
HHS
9 5 13 11 — 37
LOHS
8 9
9
9 — 35
HERMISTON — J. Thomas 19, H. Thom-
spon 10, R. Meyers 3, P. Palzinski 2, J. Ray
2, M. Wilson 1.
LAKE OSWEGO — K. Gilbert 14, T.
Anders 8, K. Dawkins 6, M. Woolard 4, J.
Ruttert 3.
3-pointers — HHS 2, LOHS 4. Free
throws — HHS 5-14, LOHS 1-4. Fouls —
HHS 12, LOHS 14.
PILOT ROCK 56,
MAC-HI 34 — At Irrigon,
Pilot Rock opened the Irrigon
Invite with a 56-34 win over
Mac-Hi after a near triple-
double performance from
senior Rhyanne Oates.
Oates notched eight
points, eight assists and 10
rebounds to help keep the
Rockets (7-3) win streak
alive.
Pilot Rock head coach
Dan Deist was happy with
the teams defensive efforts at
the rim.
“We rebounded really
well,” he said. “We took care
of the glass,” which was a
key factor in the Rockets
third straight win.
Senior Kayla Deist was
the top scorer, as she dished
out 13 points, and junior
Kaitelyn Evans added 10
points to Pilot Rock’s total.
For the Pioneers (2-9),
senior Brianna Hernandez
lead the team with 13 points.
Fellow senior McKenna
Yensen pitched in 11 of her
own.
———
M-H
7 9
9
9 — 34
PR
12 18 13 13 — 56
MAC-HI — B. Hernandez 13, M. Yensen
11, B. Garcia 4, V. Garcia 3, K. Casillas 3.
PILOT ROCK — K. Deist 13, K. Evans 10,
S. Weinke 9, G. Austin 9, R. Oates 8, L.
Brewer 5, B. Howland 2.
3-pointers — M-H 4, PR 1. Free throws
— M-H 8-12, PR 11-21. Fouls — M-H 14,
PR 13.
HELIX 71, TROUT
LAKE (WA) 45 — At Helix,
Sadie Wilson scored a game-
high 20 points and pulled
down 12 rebounds to help
her Grizzlies beat Trout Lake
on Thursday.
Helix (6-4) had four
players finish in double
figures, with Annie Wood
scoring 15 points, Kailey
Mize with 12 and Emma
Fehrenbacker with 11. Helix
dominated the boards with
60 rebounds, 16 of those on
the offensive glass.
————
TL
16 15
4 10 — 45
GHS
19 18 15 19 — 71
HELIX — S. Wilson 20, A. Wood 15, K.
Mize 12, E. Fehrenbacker 11, A. Krol 8, H.
Christman 3, C. Bennett 2.
3-pointers — TL 4, GHS 6. Free throws
— TL 9-16, GHS 15-26. Fouls — TL 15,
GHS 12.
LIBERTY CHRISTIAN
55, HEPPNER 50 — At
Irrigon, Sydney Wilson
scored 14 points and Jacee
Currin added 12, but it was
not enough as the Heppner
Mustangs
dropped
a
non-league game to Liberty
Christian on Thursday.
The Mustangs (6-3) were
beaten by a two-person show
of Emma Reed and Maddie
Godwin, who combined for
38 of Liberty Christian’s
(2-6) 55 points.
————
LC
15 14 12 14 — 55
HHS
13 15
9 13 — 50
LIBERTY CHRISTIAN — E. Reed 21, M.
Godwin 17, K. Steele 9, A. Croskrey 4, J.
Gregg 2, J. Mamma 2.
HEPPNER — S. Wilson 14, J. Currin 12, S.
Grant 7, M. Correa 6, K. Gray 5, M. Combe
2, M. Nichols 2, M. Ashbeck 2.
3-pointers — LC 2, HHS 1. Free throws —
LC 7-14, HHS 11-16. Fouls — LC 7, HHS 11.
NIXYAAWII
84,
SOUTH
WASCO
COUNTY 25 — At Helix,
Nixyaawii continued its
perfect season with a thun-
derous win over South Wasco
County. The nearly 60-point
defeat was highlighted by a
31 point performance from
senior Milan Schimmel.
Fellow senior Mary
Stewart added 28 points
of her own. Junior Ermia
Butler also had a solid outing
and led the team with 17
rebounds and chipped in two
points.
The Eagles (10-0) got off
to a hot start, dropping 49
points in the first two quarters
and the Redsides (6-2) just
couldn’t keep up. They were
held to single digit scoring
in all but one quarter and
lost their second consecutive
game.
———
SWC
2 6 15
4 — 25
NCS
20 29 26
9 — 84
SOUTH WASCO COUNTY — A. Noland
7, M. Davis 6, J. McCoy 6, J. Myers 3, A.
Birman 2, K. Delco 1.
NIXYAAWII — M. Schimmel 31, M.
Stewart 28, K. Melton 6, K. Mountain Chief
6, I. Herrera 5, T. Van Pelt 4, L. Moses 2,
E. Butler 2.
3-pointers — SWC 2, NCS 7. Free throws
— SWC 3-13, NCS 3-10. Fouls — SWC 11,
NCS 12.
ECHO 59, IONE 36 —
At Helix, the Echo Cougars
(4-6) snapped a two-game
losing skid with a victory
over the Ione Cardinals (1-6)
on Thursday evening at the
Bouncing Cancer fundraiser.
RIVERSIDE
45,
STEVENSON (WA) 34 —
At Stevenson, the Riverside
Pirates picked up their 10th
win of the season with a
victory over Stevenson
(WA), the fifth consecutive
win overall for the Pirates
(10-2).
BOYS BASKETBALL
LIBERTY CHRISTIAN
(WA)
63,
HEPPNER
56 — The Liberty Christian
Patriots ran away with a win
on the first day of the Irrigon
Invite thanks to a 23-point
performance from senior
Nico Shupe III.
Shupe led the Patriots to a
63-56 win over the Heppner
Mustangs.
Heppner was able to hold
its own against the school
from Richland, Wash., but a
low scoring third quarter hurt
the Mustangs chances at a
comeback.
Along with Shupe, senior
Riley Sullivan and freshman
Grant McClure put up 12
points apiece.
Leading Heppner was
junior Hunter Nichols with
11 points.
The Mustangs (3-6) got a
mere 24-of-53 shots in while
knocking down only two
three’s. The Patriots (5-2) hit
seven 3-pointers and were
26-of-56 from the field.
———
HHS
18 16
9 13 — 56
LC
22 18 15
8 — 63
HEPPNER — H. Nichols 11, J. McAninch
10, T. Smith 9, T. Carter 7, W. Steagall 6, G.
McCurry 6, B. Wolters 3, A. Lindsay 2, D.
Howard 2.
LIBERTY CHRISTIAN — N. Shupe 23, R.
Sullivan 12, G. McClure 12, N. Olsen 8, J.
Godwin 4, M. Knode 2, N. Hayden 2.
3-pointers — HHS 2, LC 7. Free throws —
HHS 6-12, LC 4-9.
TROUT LAKE (WA)
61, HELIX 41 — At Helix,
Trout Lake made the trip for
the Bouncin’ Cancer basket-
ball event and with it took a
61-41 victory on the first day.
The Grizzlies (0-9) have
yet to catch a break during
the start of their season, and
have yet to pick up a win of
their own.
Down by only by only
five points at the half, Helix
was within striking distance.
But a lax third quarter gave
the Mustangs (6-2) a chance
to run away with the lead.
“We had a lapse and that
was the difference of the
game,” Helix head coach
Zach Orem said.
Orem also commended
the team’s fight despite
letting the game get away
in the second half. Leading
the Grizzles was sophomore
D’Artagnan Carlson with
14 points. Freshman Eli
Sprenger chipped in 13 for
Helix.
———
TLHS
16 8 19 18 — 61
HHS
9 10
9 13 — 41
TROUT LAKE — C. Lands 18, R. Painter
13, M. Colburn 10, D. R. Allaway 7, Cortez
5, C. McKinney 3, D. Coaster 3, A. Cortez
2.
HELIX — D. Carlson 14, E. Sprenger 13,
G. Newtson 6, M. McBee 5, L. Davis 3.
3-pointers — TLHS 5, HHS 4. Free throws
— TLHS 10-18, HHS 3-10. Fouls — TLHS
10, HHS 16.
MOUNTAIN VIEW 59,
PENDLETON 33 — At
Bend, the Pendleton Bucka-
roos (5-4) had its three-game
win streak snapped with a
rough loss to the Mountain
View Cougars (6-3) on
Thursday at the Les Schwab
Holiday Hoopfest.
MAC-HI 62, PILOT
ROCK 59 — At Irrigon,
the Mac-Hi Pioneers (9-2)
picked up their ninth win of
the season after pulling out
a three-point victory over
the Pilot Rock Rockets (7-4)
on Thursday at the Irrigon
Invite.
STEVENSON
(WA)
85, RIVERSIDE 63 — At
Stevenson, the Riverside
Pirates (6-6) fell back to .500
on the season with a loss to
Stevenson (2-3) on Thursday
evening.
UMATILLA
71,
MONROE 34 — At Salem,
the Umatilla Vikings (9-1)
started the Salem Academy
Tournament with a big win
on Thursday, blowing out the
Monroe Dragons (5-4).
ECHO 70, IONE 54 —
At Helix, the Echo Cougars
(4-6) earned their fourth win
of the season with a victory
over the Ione Cardinals (1-6)
at the Bouncing Cancer fund-
raiser on Thursday.