A huge surplus of food, which was intended for a bumper Optus Stadium crowd with a third day of cricket anticipated but never used as the game wrapped up inside two days, has been donated to charitable causes across Western Australia.
Bryce Hopkins scored 26 points, Oziyah Sellers added 22 and No. 14 St. John’s beat Baylor 96-81 on Tuesday in the second round of the Players Era Festival.
Bryce Hopkins scored 26 points, Oziyah Sellers added 22 and No. 14 St. John’s beat Baylor 96-81 on Tuesday in the second round of the Players Era Championship. Using a dominant second half to open a 23-point lead, the Red Storm (4-2) bounced back from an 83-82 loss to No. 15 Iowa State in the opening round Monday. Sellers went 5 for 7 from beyond the arc, and Hopkins was 9 of 12 from the floor while adding five rebounds and five assists.
DOVE VALLEY — As The Hockey News reported on Sunday, Joel Kiviranta appeared to be progressing well from his lower-body injury. Well, that’s because he has.
Coach Jared Bednar confirmed to reporters on Tuesday that Kiviranta is ready to go and will return to action Wednesday night when the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche take on the San Jose Sharks at Ball Arena.
One of the Avalanche’s three remaining injured forwards was on the ice at Tuesday’s practice. Valeri Nichushkin skated ahead of the group in a red non-contact sweater, working through skill drills before staying out for the start of the session. He looked sharper than he has in recent appearances, though there were still moments where he appeared hesitant to put full weight on his lower body. However, Bednar said he is progressing.
Gavin Brindley/Logan O’Connor
As The Hockey News noted on Sunday, Gavin Brindley joined the injured-skate session alongside Kiviranta but did not participate. Wearing tennis shoes, he stepped onto the ice briefly to work through light stickhandling and a few casual shots, offering encouragement to Kiviranta before heading back to the locker room. It was a welcome show of support from the rookie, but Brindley remains far from a return to game action.
“Still ways away. No update,” Bednar said when asked about Brindley.
The 21-year-old has recorded four goals and three assists in 18 games for the Avalanche this season. He suffered his lower-body injury in the first period of Colorado’s 6-3 win over the New York Rangers on November 20.
The 21-year-old has posted four goals and three assists through 18 games for the Avalanche this season. He sustained the lower-body injury in the first period of Colorado’s 6–3 win over the New York Rangers on November 20.
Logan O’Connor underwent a second hip surgery in the offseason and was on track for an early November return, but recently suffered a setback and has not been on the ice lately. Like Brindley, O’Connor won’t be back for some period of time.
Sharks vs. Avalanche
With Kiviranta returning, the Avalanche will require only one call-up for Wednesday’s game. Tristen Nielsen and Jason Polin both dressed over the weekend, so that could potentially mean another start for Taylor Makar, who has already made three NHL starts this season, but has played well.
Kiviranta is expected to slot into one of the wing positions on the fourth line alongside rookie center Zakhar Bardakov. Meanwhile, Parker Kelly has been elevated to the third line with center Jack Drury and winger Victor Olofsson. This move was made to fill Landeskog’s spot as he was forced to move to the second line to fill in for Brindley, who was initially elevated from the fourth line to the second to replace Nichushkin. With both men hurt, it’s been the hockey edition of musical chairs.
The Avalanche (16-1-5) take on the Sharks (11-9-3) Wednesday night at Ball Arena. Coverage kicks off at 7 p.m. local time.
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The Buffalo Sabres have won four of their past five games, and they’re finally out of the Atlantic Division basements. And by the sounds of it, the Sabres are going to get some more good news, as veteran center Josh Norris is nearing a return to action after missing every Sabres game since being injured in Buffalo’s first game of the season, missing the next 21 games.
But let’s be real here – given Norris’ unfortunate history of injuries, you can’t rely on Norris until such time as he proves he can stay healthy for long stretches of time. And even then, considering that Norris has only played as many as 66 games just one time in his NHL career, there are going to be skeptics he can do that. (And he won’t do that this season.)
“It’s never easy being out, and there’s only so much you can control,” Norris told media Tuesday. “You just come to the rink every day and do the things you can do, and stay on top of things that come up and just be a pro. Unfortunately, I’ve been on the wrong side of it for a little bit now, so that’s really frustrating personally.”
If it’s frustrating being Norris right now, imagine how tough it is for Sabres fans right now. They’ve been hopeful the moves Sabres GM Kevyn Adams were going to pan out, but the final judgement has yet to be made on the Norris trade that sent Dylan Cozens to the Ottawa Senators. Cozens is thriving as a Senator, with eight goals and 16 points in 22 games.
Norris is always going to be measured against Cozens, and at the moment, and while things can change, as it stands right now, you’d have to say that Ottawa is the winner of that trade.
That said, if Buffalo does get Norris back this coming weekend, the Sabres are clearly going to be a better team. Buffalo’s strength down the middle wasn’t great even with Norris in the lineup, but without him, the Sabres’ lack of depth at center was exposed. And there was no way Adams was going to be able to acquire a proven pivot of a high-end caliber.
We should remember that Norris has played exactly four games with the Sabres. With expectations that are managed for him, he can be an effective player for Buffalo. But the durability question is always going to linger for Norris, and the Sabres desperately need him to be a difference-maker and needle-mover – and above all else, to stay in the lineup.
If he can do that, all this waiting around for Norris will be worth it.
Eight power conference gigs are open — four of them are considered championship programs in LSU, Florida, Auburn and Penn State. And the decisions made at those schools will ripple throughout the sport.
As he sprints down the corridor of the American Airlines Center’s bowels, Beckett Sennecke’s ball cap flies off his head. The 19-year-old curses softly under his breath as he bends down to pick up his headwear. Upon resuming his course, he realizes that his guide to the team bus, teammate Nikita Nesterenko, has deserted him. Fortunately, the Ducks' broadcast crew is just around the corner to help lead young Sennecke to his destination.
It’s far from the first rookie moment that Sennecke has had this season as he continues to navigate the NHL, both on and off the ice. On the ice, he’s taken the league by storm, currently second in the NHL in rookie scoring and tied for first in rookie goalscoring.
Off the ice, he’s now living on his own in a house, which is habitually visited by housemate Sam Colangelo, who is currently in the AHL with the San Diego Gulls. Sennecke doesn’t have a car just yet (it’s on the way), so he has a rotation of teammates whom he plays passenger princess for when he needs a ride to practices or games.
Sennecke is the youngest player on the Ducks, but he’s accompanied by a cohort of teammates in the same age range as him. He began the season on a line with 21-year-old Cutter Gauthier and 22-year-old Mason McTavish, and has since been shifted to a line with Gauthier and 20-year-old Leo Carlsson. Sennecke is rooming with Carlsson on road trips.
“It’s been fun,” Carlsson said. “Great guy. Kind of similar, but (also) not really. It works out fine. He doesn’t disturb me at all, I don’t disturb him. But we talk a lot, too, so it’s been good.”
Carlsson said that the two of them don’t talk about hockey very much in their room and Sennecke couldn’t contain his laughter when asked about what they talk about instead.
“We’re young,” Sennecke said. “Typical kid stuff, I guess. Sports. Not too much about hockey, honestly.”
Though Sennecke isn’t yet old enough to legally drink in the country that he plays in, he’s been playing a grown man’s game. A somewhat unimpressive rookie faceoff showing, followed by a vanilla performance in preseason, posed the question of whether Sennecke was ready for full-time NHL duty. But he quickly silenced those doubts with a goal in his NHL debut and a multi-point outing in his second game.
“He did a lot of good things out there today,” Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville said following Sennecke’s debut. “I think he had the puck a lot. Strong in the puck areas and sustained some possession. I still think there’s some good things that he’s going to bring to our team game. We can use him in a lot of different ways and different areas as the game progresses. It was a good start for him.”
There’s been growing pains, for sure. Every so often, Sennecke will try a move that works in juniors, but gets snuffed out in the NHL. Take his turnover against the Dallas Stars, which led to a goal against. At the end of a shift, Sennecke attempted to dangle his way past defenseman Miro Heiskanen instead of getting the puck deep. Heiskanen swatted the puck away with ease, with Tyler Seguin eventually receiving an outlet pass and scoring to give the Stars a 3-2 lead.
Sennecke missed a few shifts and was even demoted to the third line briefly, but he was returned to his usual line later in the game, helping set up two goals in a 7-5 win.
“Draws the power play, makes a huge play on that power play,” Chris Kreider said after that game. “Apologized to the group, and then went out and got one for us. Instrumental in getting one for us. That’s super mature of him. Kudos to him for doing that, that was awesome to see.”
“I know that that's kind of a tough play to make, especially in that time in the game,” Sennecke said. “(The coaching staff) basically told me that ‘We know that you know.’ Missed a couple of shifts there. I'm glad I had their trust to put me back out there in the third.”
The flip side of Sennecke attempting moves that may cause Quenneville to pull out his remaining hair is that when those moves do pop, they have helped set up optimal scoring chances. A neat series of dekes to avoid pressure from both Brett Howden and Shea Theodore during Saturday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights almost led to the overtime winner.
Sennecke with an absolutely ridiculous move outnumbered at the blue line. Couldn’t finish the sequence, but what a play. #FlyTogetherpic.twitter.com/VqictCif04
Sennecke has also been a forechecking force and is improving his work around the boards. Areas where he was often dumped to the ice or shoved aside without much pushback are becoming spots where he is muscling off defenders and sticking with plays.
“I think that his overall game is getting more consistent as far as how we play in our own end,” Quenneville said. “Positionally aware, how you use your stick, how you get in shooting lanes. The offensive side of things, he’s got it, so get out of the way and let him go.”
The Ducks’ overtime win on Nov. 17 was capped off by Sennecke freezing all three Utah Mammoth skaters—and goaltender Karel Vejmelka—before sliding a pass to a wide-open Olen Zellweger for the game-winning tally.
“That was great patience on that play, great play recognition,” Quenneville said. “He had the goalie coming out, two guys coming at him down the barrel. He sees the play, you’re sitting there just looking at the goalie and you’re thinking, ‘I’ve got to shoot this thing.’ Then, he has the presence of mind of making a beautiful pass, and (it) ended in a nice play.”
“(He has) a ton of skill,” Kreider said. “Speed, confidence, desire to make plays. Desire to get better and have an impact. Off the ice, pretty goofy kid, fun to be around. Enjoys coming to the rink. He definitely brings a lot of energy.”
“I think he's just getting better and better,” Frank Vatrano said. “Playing in this league at 19 is no easy task, and I know he's got the swagger and the confidence to do it. For him, just keep growing and just keep taking it day by day. You can't look too far. There’s going to be ups and downs throughout the season, but now we’ve got a good group in here and we're here to help the young guys out in any possible way.”
While there were expectations that Sennecke could be on a load management plan this season, similar to what Carlsson went through during his rookie season, Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek revealed on Ducks Stream that Sennecke’s testing was more advanced than expected and that his ‘modified’ load management plan setup does not force him to miss any games.
“He’ll tell us how that's all going to play out,” Quenneville said. He’s a big kid, he's a strong kid. We'll see how he handles it. I don't know how much ice time on a game-to-game basis, I'd say he's gonna be (at) the numbers he's playing at right now. I think we're probably playing our top guys offensively a little bit more in those games. Every game's different, but I don't expect him (to be) playing close to 19 minutes on a game-to-game basis. But, we'll see. He'll tell us.”
“You can kind of watch, especially what the older more experienced guys do out there,” Sennecke said regarding taking care of his body during a compact schedule with plenty of travel. “You can pick up little things by just watching.”
“The travel's long, being in a hotel so much. It's kind of something that you're not quite used to, because most times in the OHL, you bus back the day of. But, they’re nice hotels, it's not too tough.”
Several Ducks veterans were queried about which players they learned from when they were first coming into the league, like Sennecke now. Names like Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, Sami Salo, Ryan McDonagh, Brad Richards, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Zdeno Chára were produced.
While perhaps there isn’t a veteran with that caliber of resumé on the team, there are still plenty of valuable resources that Sennecke can pull from on this Ducks team. There’s also a wealth of knowledge on the coaching staff, which contains three former head coaches behind Quenneville himself.
After every Ducks home goal, their goal song, ‘Coming For You’ by The Offspring, blares from the Honda Center speakers. It’s then followed by a goal song personally chosen by the player who scored. When Sennecke scored on Nov. 2 against the New Jersey Devils, Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Manchild’ emitted. This wasn’t Sennecke’s doing. He hadn’t even chosen a goal song. But now it’s his, and it perfectly encapsulates the Gumby-esque teenager with the voice that sounds like it’s been modulated.
Between the current automatic bids and bloated conferences, the current playoff needs another overhaul. But with the SEC and Big Ten still spatting about its future, what's the best step forward to a playoff that actually makes sense?
Mavericks' center Dereck Lively II will miss at least the next three games due to "swelling and discomfort" in his right foot, the team announced on Tuesday.
Mavericks center Dereck Lively II is currently being evaluated for swelling and discomfort in his right foot.
He will miss the team’s upcoming three-game road trip and a further timeline will be provided in approximately 7-10 days.
The Mavericks fear it could be much more than three games, with Mark Stein reporting it could be an "extended absence."
Lively had surgery on this same foot in the offseason and has already missed a dozen games this season, although nine of those were due to knee pain. Even when he has played, Lively has been limited to 16 minutes a night and is averaging 4.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game.
The good news for Dallas is that Anthony Davis appears to be nearing a return to the court from the calf strain that has limited him. Still, the Mavericks are 5-14 on the season and have the worst offense in the league.
Late goals from Liam Kitching and Ellis Simms helped Coventry to extend their advantage at the top of the Championship table with a 4-2 win against Middlesbrough.
The Sky Blues landed two early blows in the opening 15 minutes, going ahead through Simms’s stunning top-corner strike and Kitching’s header.
Tre White had 15 points and 10 rebounds, Flory Bidunga added 13 points and 14 boards, and Kansas beat Syracuse 71-60 on Tuesday at the Players Era tournament. Syracuse was within 52-50 before Kansas scored 11 straight on layups and free throws to pull away. White completed a three-point play with 4:49 remaining in the second half and he added three free throws on Kansas' next possession for a 60-50 lead.
The Colorado Avalanche are making a statement early in the 2025-26 NHL season, emerging as clear frontrunners for the President’s Trophy. With a staggering 16-1-5 record through 22 games and -149 odds on BetMGM, the Avalanche are showing all the signs of a team built for regular-season dominance. Many are already drawing comparisons to the 2023 Boston Bruins squad that set a record with a 65-12-5 finish.
Led by superstar Nathan MacKinnon, who tops the NHL with 37 points (17 goals, 20 assists), Colorado’s offense is firing on all cylinders. Defenseman Cale Makar is contributing 29 points, leading all blueliners in scoring, while Martin Necas has stepped up as a replacement for Mikko Rantanen with 28 points. Artturi Lehkonen looks poised to return to form, tallying 19 points and reminding fans of his Stanley Cup-winning performance in 2021.
Depth has also played a key role in Colorado’s hot start. Victor Olafsson and Brock Nelson have provided timely contributions, and Valeri Nichushkin has picked up the pace with 12 points in 17 games. The Avalanche are averaging four goals per game while allowing just 2.18 goals against—the best defense in the NHL this season.
Goaltending has been equally impressive. Scott Wedgewood boasts a 13-1-2 record, a 2.09 goals-against average, and a .918 save percentage, while backup Mackenzie Blackwood is undefeated in four appearances with a 2.47 GAA and .911 save percentage.
Colorado’s remaining schedule also favors their run, featuring 11 games against lower-ranked teams including the Calgary Flames, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues, and Vancouver Canucks. With elite offense, lockdown defense, and a manageable schedule ahead, the Avalanche are positioning themselves as the team to beat. At -149 odds, bettors may want to act quickly if they want to ride what could be a historic regular-season campaign. Colorado may also be worth a look at +400 to win the Stanley Cup if they continue their rampant hot streak.
All betting lines are from BetMGM Sportsbook and are subject to change. Hockey is a difficult sport to predict so please gamble responsibly.
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By an enormous margin, the shorthanded Sixers fell to their worst loss so far this season on Tuesday night.
Going into their meeting with the Magic, the Sixers’ largest margin of defeat was 11 points. They trailed by as many as 46 against Orlando and lost by a 144-103 score.
The 9-8 Sixers’ top scorer was Tyrese Maxey with 20 points. Anthony Black scored a career-high 31 for the 11-8 Magic.
The Sixers were missing the following players:
Joel Embiid (right knee injury management)
Paul George (right ankle sprain)
VJ Edgecombe (left calf tightness)
Kelly Oubre Jr. (left knee LCL sprain)
Adem. Bona (right ankle sprain)
Sixers head coach Nick Nurse said pregame that Embiid had been “trending toward playing” Tuesday and participated in some of the team’s morning shootaround, but he’s “not quite there yet.”
Nurse said Edgecombe’s calf is “improving” and that George reported ankle soreness after the Sixers’ loss Sunday to the Heat. He was unsure whether the 35-year-old forward would need to be sidelined for multiple games.
Tuesday’s game was an NBA Cup contest. The Sixers are now 0-3 in East Group B and Orlando is 3-0.
The Sixers’ final Cup game will be Friday night in Brooklyn against the Nets. Here are observations on their blowout loss to the Magic:
Sixers’ injury list grows
The Sixers went to their bench early, bringing in Jared McCain and Trendon Watford to replace Justin Edwards and Dominick Barlow.
Both Watford and McCain were strong in their first stint. McCain nailed a catch-and-shoot three-pointer on his first shot. Watford had a couple of driving baskets around the midpoint of the first quarter. He also drew and made four free throws later in the period.
McCain celebrated with Maxey and Watford after drilling another long-range jumper in transition, giving the Sixers a 21-17 edge and prompting an Orlando timeout. As a duo, McCain and Watford posted 15 points in the first quarter on 4-for-4 shooting.
Unfortunately for Watford, his night ended abruptly in the second quarter.
While he was handling the ball on a fast break, Watford fell awkwardly to the floor. He was helped back to the locker room with 4:07 left in the second and ruled out at halftime with a left adductor strain.
Justin Edwards also went to the locker room at the 10:24 mark of the third quarter. Whatever Edwards’ issue, he got the green light to return to the game late in the third.
Woeful defensive night
The Sixers turned to a zone defense early in the first quarter. Orlando was unable to knock down jumpers in the opening minutes, starting 0 for 8 from three-point range, which allowed the Sixers to sit in the zone for an extended stretch.
Finally, the Magic saw a few deep shots drop late in the first quarter. A Tyus Jones three with 2.5 seconds left in the first tied the game up at 35 apiece.
Defensive rebounding was a predictable, major challenge for the Sixers in their zone. The Magic scored 15 second-chance points in the first half to the Sixers’ zero.
Orlando’s offense stayed hot to begin the second quarter and the Sixers’ relative lack of size became a more glaring problem. Multiple Sixers also had very porous moments individually, allowing just about everyone on the Magic to coast to the rim.
Black was a giant standout off of Orlando’s bench. His second straight corner three extended the Magic’s lead to 57-43. In animated fashion, Maxey appeared to ask Andre Drummond why he hadn’t closed out on the player torching the Sixers. Fair question.
The Sixers’ deficit ballooned to 80-54 on a Wendell Carter Jr. alley-oop slam late in the second quarter and they heard boos from the home crowd.
Black scored 27 points in the first half. Before Tuesday, his career high for a game was 23.
Dust-up adds a bit of drama
Drummond was at the center of a dust-up in the final minute of the first half.
He fouled Carter on the perimeter and then squared up to the Magic big man with a boxing-style stance. Drummond didn’t throw any punches, but the situation escalated when Jalen Suggs shoved him. Jabari Walker joined the fray, too.
After the dust settled, officials assessed technical fouls to Drummond, Carter, Desmond Bane and Walker. Suggs received two technicals, which resulted in his ejection.
Nothing about the second half was nearly as interesting. Johni Broome checked in with 5:09 to go in the third quarter and finished with four points on 2-for-9 shooting and six rebounds. Fellow rookie Hunter Sallis played most of the fourth quarter.
Kyle Lowry was the one active Sixer who didn’t see any action, although “We want Kyle” chants popped up. Maxey logged a season-low 32 minutes and watched the whole fourth.
