Month: November 2019

INJURY REPORT:

PHI@TOR

Philadelphia 76ers

Korkmaz, Furkan Available Injury/Illness – Left Ankle; Sprain Had been listed as probable.
O’Quinn, Kyle Out Injury/Illness – Left calf; Strain Had been questionable
Pelle, Norvel Out G League – Two-Way
Shayok, Marial Out Injury/Illness – Right quad; Contusion (G league 2 way)

Toronto Raptors

Hernandez, Dewan Out Injury/Illness – Right Thumb; Sprain

– Ibaka, Serge Doubtful Injury/Illness – Right Ankle; Sprain –

Johnson, Stanley Out Injury/Illness – Left Groin; Stress reaction

– Lowry, Kyle Out Injury/Illness – Left Thumb; Fracture – distal phalanx –

McCaw, Patrick Out Injury/Illness – Left Knee; Surgery

– Ponds, Shamorie Out G League – Two-Way

LAST GAME STARTERS

NBA Game #1: Philadelphia 76ers at Toronto Raptors We get a potential NBA playoff series preview with the 76ers and the Raptors on November 25. Both teams are solid Eastern Conference foes this season and have solid star players in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons for Philadelphia. For the Raptors, they are led by Pascal […]

Key NBA Match-Ups to Watch: November 24-30, 2019 — CrownHoops

TORONTO MARLIES (13-2-2-1 – 29 Points) vs. MANITOBA MOOSE (10-10-0-0 – 20 Points)

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2019

	1	2	3	OT	FINAL
MANITOBA	0	0	1	–	1
TORONTO	0	2	2	–	4

GAME SUMMARY    |    GAME SHEET |    PHOTOS    |      SCRUMS

SCORING SUMMARY

Manitoba: J. Harkins (6) PP (A. Chibisov, K. Vesalainen)
Goaltender: M. Berdin (25/28)

Toronto: K. Agostino (10) (J. Bracco, A. Brooks), T. MacMaster (4) (D. Archibald, P. Aberg), P. Aberg (9) PP (K. Agostino), T. Kivihalme (1) EN (Unassisted)
Goaltender: J. Woll (31/32)

ON THE SCORESHEET

• Kenny Agostino opened the scoring at 5:36 of the second period and later add the sole assist on Aberg’s third period goal. Agostino has nine points (6 goals, 3 assist) in six games. Agostino is tied for eighth overall in goals (10).
• Tanner MacMaster scored Toronto’s second goal at 6:06 of the second period. MacMaster has picked up a point (2-4-6) in each of his last six games. He has matched a career high in points (11) through 17 games this season.
• Pontus Aberg scored Toronto’s third goal of the game at 17:11 of the third period on the power play and earlierhad the secondary assist on MacMaster’s second period goal. Aberg has points (2-5-7) through six games.
• Teemu Kivihalme scored an empty net goal at 17:37 of the third period. This is Kivihalme’s first career AHL goal.
• Jeremy Bracco recorded the primary assist on Agostino’s second period goal. Bracco is now fourth for the Marlies in all-time assists (96).
• Adam Brooks registered the secondary assist on Agostino’s second period goal. Brooks has seven points (2 goals, 5 assists) through nine games this season.
• Darren Archibald collected the primary assist on MacMaster’s second period goal. Archibald has four points (3 goals, 1 assist) through 11 games this season.
• Joseph Woll stopped 31 of 32 shots he faced and was named first star of the game. Woll is now 4-1-1-1 on the season with a 0.902 Save Percentage and a 3.09 Goals Against Average.

OF NOTE…

• Toronto is undefeated at home this season and set a franchise record with their ninth consecutive home win. Toronto has outscored their opponents 38-20.
• The goals scored by Pontus Aberg and Teemu Kivihalme in the third period were 26 seconds apart, the fastest two goals scored by the Marlies this season. The previous record was set in the second period by Kenny Agostino and Tanner MacMaster whose goals were 30 seconds apart
• Assistant coaches Rob Davison and A.J. MacLean assumed duties behind the bench for today’s game against the Manitoba Moose.
• Toronto was 2-for-3 on the penalty kill and was 1-for-2 on the power play.
• Manitoba had a 32-29 edge in shots in all situations. Pontus Aberg, Jeremy Bracco, Adam Brooks, Hudson Elynuik and Garrett Wilson led the Marlies with three shots on goal.
• The Marlies are 7-2-0-0 against Central Division opponents and sweep their regular season series with four wins against the Moose. Toronto outscored Manitoba 15-5 through their four games.

REGULAR SEASON LEADERS

• Goals: K. Agostino (10)
• Assists: J. Bracco (13)
• Points: P. Aberg (19)
• PPG: E. Korshkov (4)
• Shots: P. Aberg (57)
• +/-:  T. Kivihalme (+11)
• PIMS: G. Wilson (43)

RECORD WHEN…

• The Marlies are 4-1-0-0 when tied after the first period and 9-0-0-0 when leading after the second period.
• Toronto is 7-2-1-1 when outshot by their opponent.
• The Marlies are 3-0-1-0 in Sunday games and are 7-2-0-1 in November.

CURRENT POINT STREAKS

• Pontus Aberg has points (1-2-3) in consecutive games.
• Kenny Agostino has points (2-2-4) in consecutive games.
• Adam Brooks has points (1-1-2) in consecutive games.
• Teemu Kivihalme has points (1-1-2) in consecutive games.
• Tanner MacMaster has points (2-4-6) in six consecutive games.

MARLIES UPDATES.

• Kevin Gravel (illness) did not dress for today’s game against Manitoba.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

• November 18: Recalled forward Pierre Engvall from loan by Toronto (NHL).

POSTGAME QUOTES

ASSISTANT COACH A.J. MacLEAN

On whether he was happy with the team’s performance this weekend:
I was very happy. I thought with everything that went on this week I thought the guys, for the most part, were very focused, were dedicated to the plan. Tonight for moments I think Manitoba got to their game plan for a lot longer stretches than us. But when we stuck to our play and we were very opportunistic, it ended up working out well in the end.

On Joseph Woll:
Coming in I didn’t really know much about him. I knew he was a very good prospect for us but seeing him from day one at Leafs camp. He works incredible hard every day. His attitude is great. He smiles all the time. You literally have to drag him off the ice every day. He’s a true professional. I have no doubts in his game anytime he’s in the net.

NEXT GAME:

November 29 at Rochester – 7:05 p.m. ET
November 30 vs Utica – 1:30 p.m. ET (Scotiabank Arena)
December 1 vs Utica – 4:00 p.m. ET
December 4 at Rochester – 7:05 p.m. ET
December 7 vs San Antonio – 4:00 p.m. ET

The B

Braves sign Travis d’Arnaud to two-year, $16 million contract — HardballTalk

CANADA EARNS A HISTORIC FINAL BERTH AT DAVIS CUP
The Canadian squad overpowers Russia at the Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals

Madrid, November 23, 2019 – On Saturday, Canada qualified for the Davis Cup Final for the very first time in its history when the squad posted a 2-1 win over Russia at the outcome of a fight to the bitter end.

It came as no surprise when captain Frank Dancevic called upon Denis Shapovalov (Richmond Hill, ON) and Vasek Pospisil (Vernon, BC) to play the singles matches for the fourth time this week. Russian captain Shamil Tarpischev selected Karen Khachanov (17) and Andrey Rublev (23).

The tie was the first between Canada and Russia since 1969. The teams had previously met on only one occasion from which Russia emerged victorious.

Pospisil headed out first with a perfect 3-0 Davis Cup Finals record with his three wins over Top 40 players. But the World No.150 couldn’t keep the momentum going and fell in two identical sets (6-4, 6-4). He got off to a slow start, dropping the first eight points and losing his serve. The 29-year-old then tried hard to turn things around but, on his sixth try, Rublev secured the first set. The second set was a lot like the first, and Pospisil was broken again early on. He managed to level the playing field at 3-3, but was broken in the next game and never recovered.

Shapovalov had the pressure of an entire nation on his shoulders in his match against Khachanov. The World No.15 and World No.17 collided for the first time in their careers, and Khachanov’s strong start quickly led him to a 4-1 lead. But Shapovalov found his rhythm, got fired up and won five consecutive games to claim the first set. Khachanov stayed in it and forced a third set with a lone break at 5-4. The Canadian then broke Khachanov at 3-3. Serving for the match at 5-4, the Shapovalov clawed his way back from a 0-40 deficit and nabbed the point for his country.

For a second consecutive tie, Pospisil and Shapovalov teamed up to clinch the nation’s winning point. They fought until the very end—a dramatic third-set tiebreak—to confirm their supremacy over Khachanov and Rublev (3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5)). Both teams demonstrated a tremendously high level of play, but Canada was able to come back from 3-0 and 4-1 in the tiebreaker and take its rightful place in the Davis Cup Finals for the very first time in its history. Canada had come up short in two previous semifinals, the last being in 2013 against Serbia.

The ultimate showdown gets underway at 10:45 a.m. EST on Sunday and will be televised on Sportsnet One. Canada will try to topple the winner of the other semifinal between Spain and Great Britain.  

With its semifinal appearance, Canada merited its place in the 2020 Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals, which will also be presented in Madrid, and is therefore exempt from playing in the qualifying event next March.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

Vasek Pospisil

“Today was an incredible match. The doubles, with the buildup, obviously; getting to this moment, the last five days took a lot of emotions, even to get to this match. It’s building, building, building in every match. It gets that much more emotional. It’s a huge success. To win that in the third set tiebreak made it that much more dramatic, that much more special. It’s pretty incredible to make the finals for the first time in history for Canada. And, to do it the way it happened, was very special to be a part of.”

“For me, I’ve been on the tour for 12 years now, and it’s an incredible moment to be a part of it. I was injured in the beginning of this year, had surgery, wasn’t sure how many moments like this I might have, but I got back at a really high level much faster than I expected, which was really nice. I worked really hard for that. Playing in the Davis Cup Final for Canada, it’s pretty incredible.”

Denis Shapovalov
“In terms of what we’ve been doing this week, there is really no word for it. I don’t think any of us expected that we could get this far. We knew we had a great team, but you need a bit of luck on your side and to play some ridiculous tennis—play at a ridiculous level—and we played at a ridiculous level today. I’m super stoked to be in the finals. It’s one of my dreams to play in a Davis Cup Final. To bring the country to this position, it’s just a dream come true.”

Frank Dancevic

“It’s been an amazing ride so far as a captain. It’s quite new to me. I’ve been doing this for two and a half years. To be in this position, this early in my captain career, has been amazing. It’s a great team to back it up. These guys are world-class players, and, this week, they’ve played lights out. I’m really happy with everything that’s going on. I wasn’t expecting it. I knew we had a great team, knew we had great players, but to play in a Davis Cup Final is a really big deal. It’s sort of surreal. We have a shot at the title. It’s great.”


About Davis Cup
Davis Cup by Rakuten is the World Cup of Tennis. It is the largest annual international team competition in sport, with 133 nations entered in 2019. The competition is 119 years old, having been founded in 1900. In 2019, the all-new Davis Cup by BNP Paribas finals will be hosted at the iconic La Caja Magica in Madrid, Spain. Twenty-four nations will contest the Qualifiers on 1-2 February, competing in 12 locations around the world on a home-and-away basis. The 12 winning teams will join the 2018 semifinalists plus two wild card teams in an 18-nation Davis Cup season finale.

About Tennis Canada
Founded in 1890, Tennis Canada is a non-profit, national sport association with a mission to lead the growth of tennis in Canada and a vision to become a world-leading tennis nation. We value teamwork, passion, integrity, innovation and excellence. Tennis Canada owns and operates the premier Rogers Cup presented by National Bank WTA and ATP World Tour events and one professional ITF sanctioned event. Tennis Canada also owns and financially supports 13 other professional tournaments in Canada. Tennis Canada operates junior national training centres/programs in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary. Tennis Canada is a proud member of the International Tennis Federation, the Canadian Olympic Committee, the Canadian Paralympic Committee and the International Wheelchair Tennis Association, and serves to administer, sponsor and select the teams for Davis Cup, Fed Cup, the Olympic and Paralympic Games and all wheelchair, junior and senior national teams. Tennis Canada invests its surplus into tennis development. For more information on Tennis Canada please visit our Web site at: www.tenniscanada.com and follow us on Facebookand Twitter.