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Storm rookies show shine in preseason loss to Mercury 

By
Charles Hamaker
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Photo by Aaron Nelson / fi360 News

Seattle, WA – A new age of Seattle Storm basketball is underway, showing reasons for both hope and worry in their first preseason game ahead of the 2023 season. The young Storm team started out with a lineup of veterans, and that group shot out with an immediate 11-0 run and grew a lead that reached 17 at one point. It looked like Seattle was going to be able to use their group of “misfits” to come together and truly play as a team to get victories, but things started to fall apart in the third quarter when the team simply couldn’t get stops on the Mercury. The Storm rookies attempted to mount a comeback in the dying moments of the fourth quarter, but failed to prevent Phoenix from furthering their lead.  

The beginning of this game very much looked like the type of Storm basketball that we’ve become accustomed to in recent memory, as who else but Jewell Loyd buried a three-pointer to open the scoring and begin a Seattle run. Veteran Yvonne Turner, starting the night as the Storm point guard, buried a three-pointer to follow up Loyd. Kia Nurse joined in to make it a trifecta of triples to begin this game and it felt like we were watching the big three of Bird-Stewart-Loyd with different faces. Nurse added two free throws before Phoenix was finally able to break through and end the run, as legend Diana Taurasi buried a three. The run had featured critical perimeter play on both ends, with the Mercury missing three of their four shots from beyond the arc.  

While Phoenix did close the gap to two by the team the first fifteen minutes had ended, the injection of some Storm youth onto the court helped Seattle build a strong lead that had hopes running high. Jordan Horston, the ninth overall selection in this past year’s draft, brought a spark of offensive versatility and defensive range. Rookie point guard Jade Melbourne, drafted in 2021 but played another year professionally before joining the team this year, was able to hang with the veterans even if she got roughed up a bit. It was encouraging to see the Storm get impact minutes from these rookie guards in their first ever game against real competition, as those two very likely could be a huge part of the future of this franchise.  

As everyone expected, this Storm team did have some injuries hold them back in this game, and the rough stretch that they faced ended up playing a big factor into why they lost this game. Out of the halftime break, the Mercury (with their starters now resting) were able to blow by the Seattle defenders on the court and force the Storm into bad shots throughout the third quarter. Seattle went on to miss their first three field goals of that quarter, and couldn’t stop Phoenix inside the paint or outside on the perimeter. The Mercury were playing good basketball, and clamped down the Storm as if the first half never happened. Seattle was only able to knock down four field goals in those fifteen minutes, all within three-point range. Although Ezi Magbegor did get a one-point lead back during the Phoenix surge, the Mercury regained the advantage and never looked back.  

Before their opening night battle against the reigning WNBA Champion Las Vegas Aces, a team that somehow got better this offseason, Seattle will play one more exhibition game. The Storm will head down to California for a closed scrimmage in Los Angeles against the Sparks on May 14th. Head coach Noelle Quinn said that Seattle still has a ton to figure out when it comes to the roster and the necessary decisions needed to be made to trim down before the regular season deadline, and the remainder of training camp and this scrimmage should help the coaching staff and front office figure out who wears a Storm jersey this year. 

Kraken slam Stars with 7-2 game three win to take series lead 

By
Charles Hamaker
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Period 1

Seattle, WA – Stanley Cup Playoff hockey returned to the Emerald City for game three of this second-round matchup between the Dallas Stars and Seattle Kraken. Outside of the one game during the regular season where Dallas beat Seattle by three goals, all the matchups (postseason +regular season) totaled together coming into this game tallied to five goals. The Kraken came out tonight and dominated the Stars, winning by a differential of five to match the total from those postseason and regular season games combined and rocking Climate Pledge Arena all Sunday-night long. With Philipp Grubauer remaining rock solid between the Seattle pipes, the Kraken were able to release their offensive pressure and relentless forecheck after a few days off to take the series lead at two-to-one and display the dominance their depth can generate.  

After a somewhat depleted effort proved to play a role in their loss in game two of the series back on Thursday, May 4th, Seattle as a team had two days off to take to themselves and recharge ahead of a game three battle with a deep Dallas team. It paid major dividends for the Kraken, as their relentless forecheck and offensive aggression showed was apparent in combination with the depth of their team. Seattle was able to dominate the offensive statistics throughout the first frame and looked ready to play from the jump, keeping the Stars on their heels and bringing the fight to Dallas. The Kraken got on the door step of a goal numerous times, often in frantic instances, but failed to get the ice to lean in their favor to go on the board first. The pace of the game was dictated by Seattle and they came out of the gate heavy on the forecheck, just the type of recipe that helped them knock off the Avalanche in round one.  

With a blank scoreboard after 20 minutes that saw the Kraken play the game that they wanted to, Seattle was finally able to kick the door down and find results. The scoring began in a somewhat peculiar way, as Kraken rookie forward Tye Kartye attempted to whip a puck in on Oettinger. The puck either took a weird angle or was redirected off the tip of a Stars skater that was trying to block Kartye, sending it directly at the face of Dallas’ Miro Heiskanen, sending him to the ice immediately. The puck fell right in front of the crease after colliding with Heiskanen, and Jordan Eberle was in the right spot at the right time, zooming into the play before making a move around Oettinger to score. A bang-bang play, Heiskanen taken off the ice and out of the game following the sequence, but it was the first domino to fall for this Kraken win.  

“We might not have the biggest names like a lot of teams but you know, we play like a real team. That’s what we’ve been doing it all year,” Matty Beniers, Seattle Kraken rookie forward, on the team’s depth scoring. 

Less than two minutes later, Seattle caught Dallas unprepared off a Kraken faceoff win (those are rare). Seattle’s Jaden Schwartz, demanding attention from two Stars skaters, was able to hold the puck just the split second long enough to get linemate Alex Wennberg wide open to snipe a puck near top corner and double the Kraken lead. Everything started to go Seattle’s way, as defenseman Carson Soucy jumped into the play and created some space for himself before taking advantage of Oettinger leaving his five-hole unchecked. In a span of minutes, the Kraken had jumped on the Stars and the floodgates had been opened. 

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what the final score is. It’s a second win of the series for us. Flip the page, move on to Game 4, and make sure that energy that we had tonight is back with us two nights from now,” Dave Hakstol, Seattle Kraken head coach, on the win.  

The Kraken will host the fourth game of this series and second consecutive contest on Tuesday, May 9th against these Stars. Coming off a game that saw Seattle’s players get time off, the Kraken will take a day between games before they get an opportunity to take an imposing 3-1 lead over the Stars before the series swaps back to Dallas for game five. The puck drop time for that game four takes place at 6:30PM PST and will be broadcast on ESPN, and the Kraken may be getting a critical piece of their lineup back. Seattle forward Jared McCann was on the ice for morning skate ahead of game three in a normal jersey, and while he wasn’t available tonight, he’s progressing well in his recovery. 

Los Angeles Lakers Rout Golden State in Game 3

By
Christopher Floch
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LOS ANGELES, CA – Anthony Davis was dominant in critical Game 3 on Saturday night leading the Los Angeles Lakers past the Golden State Warriors 127-97 at Crypto.com Arena. AD scored 25 points and 13 rebounds as the Lakers took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.

LeBron James filled up the stat sheet finishing with 21 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. D’Angelo Russell carried the Lakers early by scoring all of his 21 points in the first half. The Lakers remained unbeaten at home in the postseason with a strong defensive effort against the reigning NBA champions.

Los Angeles seized control in the middle quarters, outscoring the Warriors 63-38 to turn Game 3 into a joke.

“After that first quarter, guys just really turned it up,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “They dialed up their competitiveness, and their communication was great. … We were just playing a really physical, forceful downhill game.”

The Warriors led 30-22 after the 1st quarter. From that point forward, it was all Purple and Gold. Going on a game changing 30-8 run thanks in part to Russell’s sweet stroke. Russell hit five 3-pointers while scoring 21 points for the seventh-seeded Lakers, who suddenly are not looking like a seventh seeded team.

Seems like everytime the Lakers win it comes down to defense and rebounding. When The Lakers utilize their size and drive aggressively to the rim, they are tough to beat.

It was the second consecutive blow out, the Warriors cruised to a 27 point victory on Thursday. Less than forty eight hours later, it was the Lakers who won by 30 points.

Golden State is on the ropes once again, as their offensive woes continue. committing 19 turnovers while never mounting a response to the Lakers on either end in the second half.

The Warriors were one dimensional in Game 3, hopelessly launching desperate three pointers with no ball movement due to the Lakers smothering defense.

Golden State went 13 for 44 on 3-pointers — making just 10 while the game was still competitive — after hitting 21 in each of the series’ first two games in San Francisco.

Stephen Curry scored 23 points and Andrew Wiggins had 16 in a collective letdown for Golden State. The Warriors were held under 100 points for only the fifth time in 92 games this season.

After a rough Game 2 in which Anthony Davis scored only 11 points, he had an exceptional effort in Game 3. Davis played well on both ends of the court, blocking four shots and leading the Lakers’ latest strong defensive effort.

Los Angeles has built its 16-5 run since March 17 on defense, and the Warriors couldn’t hit enough shots from the perimeter to counteract their disadvantages in size and athleticism.

What superlatives can one even use to describe LeBron James? At 38, he is still in his prime mixing in a handful of plays that defied his age and 20 years of NBA experience. He made a deft spin move and blocked a shot on the other end shortly after he leaped the front row of fans and ran well up into the stands after making a deflection. King James in full force.

Pivotal Game 4 is on Monday, May 8 at Crypto.com Arena. Tipoff is at 7:00 pm.

New Roads Baseball wins Coast League

By
Press Release
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New Roads Baseball Celebrate a win. (Photo by Full Image 360)


New Roads School is a college preparatory private independent school in Santa Monica serving the Westside area.  At New Roads, students build a foundation for their futures by engraining in meaningful scholarship and developing a well-defined moral compass.  New Roads is known for placing its graduating students into extraordinary universities where each student is prepared to thrive.  New Roads, however, is not known for its baseball team.  Indeed, over the past four years, the New Roads varsity baseball team compiled a record of 1-41.

That has changed. This past Friday, New Roads defeated Coastal League two-time defending champion Lennox Academy by a score of 4-1 on Senior Night in front of a crowd of nearly 200 at Clover Park. That victory clinched New Roads’ first Coast League championship ever.

New Roads School Jaguars Baseball 2023 Coastal League Champions. (Photo by Full Image 360)

New Roads made a statement move last season, hiring former New York Yankee prospect and community college coach, Culver City’s Hector Zamora to turn the baseball program around.  Zamora brought in former New Roads star outfielder Erik Scott, as well as Culver City’s Justin Weiner and Scott Zeidman to assist in the program’s turn-around. 

New Roads entered Friday’s league championship game with one loss, facing off with the previous unbeaten Lennox Academy.  New Roads turned to staff ace freshman Xavier Walker for the start.  With the playoffs looming and on a limited pitch count, Walker was scheduled to go two innings.

Tristan Nash at the plate. (Photo by Full Image 360)

Lennox took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first.  New Roads answered in the bottom of the first as Junior shortstop Tristan Nash led off with a booming double to right.  Sophomore second baseman Fox Raggio followed with a triple, scoring Nash.  Likely Coastal League Most Valuable Player, freshman Elio LaPorta, singled in Raggio, giving New Roads a 2-1 lead.

Walker excelled in his two innings, striking out five and giving up the lone run in the first.  Leading 2-1, LaPorta followed Walker on the mound.  La Porta was nearly unhittable for the next four innings, giving up a lone infield single and striking out seven.

New Roads clung to a precarious 2-1 lead going into the bottom of the sixth inning of the scheduled seven inning game.  New Roads exploded for two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth, with Raggio and Walker. Freshman Hayden Farrell-Katseanes contributed to the scoring with a clutch single.

LaPorta throws a pitch on the mound. (Photo by Full Image 360)

LaPorta took the mound for the seventh inning and made quick work of the Lennox lineup, retiring the side on 12 pitches, sealing the victory for New Roads.  Asked about how it felt to beat Lennox for the first time in his high school career, senior captain Jackson Chapman couldn’t have been more diplomatic.  “That Lennox team is incredibly good. They are fundamentally sound, and make the plays.  This game could have gone either way, and I expect to see Lennox go far in the playoffs.”  Chapman continued, “We (the New Roads team) worked so hard this year under coach Hector (Zamora).  I’m so happy for the seniors (Chapman, Diego Flores-Montes and Isaac Snegaroff) as we’ve experienced a lot of losing before this year.  That makes this year that much better.  And look, we start six freshman (Walker, LaPorta, Katseanes, Shea Tucker, Asamino Spong, and Bishop Banks).  This might be our first playoff appearance, but it certainly won’t be our last.  We are stacked!”

New Roads is scheduled to face the winner of Tuesday’s Wild Card game between Brentwood and Coastal Christian in the CIF Division 7 playoffs this Thursday.

Avalanche come out on the offensive, take game six as Kraken fail to capitalize on massive opportunity 

By
Charles Hamaker
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Photo by Aaron Nelson / fi360 News

Seattle, WA – With a chance to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a victory, the Seattle Kraken fell flat on their face in front of their raucous home crowd at Climate Pledge Arena. The Kraken failed to mitigate the intensity and aggression displayed by an Avalanche team with their season on the line and already down numerous starters due to various reasons, and Colorado pushed through. With their backs against the wall, the defending Stanley Cup Champions showed why they secured the Central division in the western conference and their loaded top line pushed the pace all night. Now, the fate of both teams’ seasons hangs in the balance of game seven on Sunday.  

The Avalanche had to come out in this game swinging and bring the fight to the Kraken, and that they did. Seattle had been the better team early in nearly every game of this series, and Colorado knew that if they were to take game six on the road they’d need to get off to a good start. Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar decided to load his top line, placing Artturi Lehkonen, Nathan MacKinnon, and Mikko Rantanen together to really put pressure on the Kraken. It appeared Colorado were going to find an early score to begin this game, as Bowen Byram used numerous Seattle skaters in front of Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer as screens to find the back of the net. Seattle’s head video analyst Tim Ohashi had the team challenge the goal for offsides and they won, taking the goal off the board, but the Avalanche were not deterred in their intensity.  

After the Kraken seemed to respond with a goal that counted, putting the Avalanche in a deficit, Colorado roared back and struck in a crucial moment before the intermission. In the dying seconds of the first frame, the Avalanche built from their defensive zone with speed as Nathan MacKinnon facilitated a pass from a faceoff circle to teammate Devon Toews who was jumping into the play. Toews shot was stopped initially by Grubauer, but remained free as it bounced in front of the crease. No Seattle stick could clear the puck in time, allowing Colorado’s Evan Rodrigues to poke the loose puck over to teammate Mikko Rantanen for the easy tap in. Just like that, there was no lead heading into the first intermission, and the Avalanche had broken through.  

“A lot of pace in the first period, back and forth, both ways up and down the rink. Second period, they tilted the game their direction in terms of they got on top of us with their forecheck, which it starts momentum, and we weren’t able to break that enough. So you start defending, you end up defending and end up in that period killing six minutes in penalties, and now you’re coming off of that and fighting for energy and fighting to turn around the momentum at the same time, we weren’t able to do that in that second period,” Dave Hakstol, Seattle Kraken head coach, on his assessment of the loss.  

A big reason for the success of Seattle in this series against the defending Stanley Cup champions has been their quick starts and waves of pressure generated against Colorado. The Kraken were able to find a faint hint of that in this game, thanks to Vince Dunn’s one-timer goal to open the scoring in the first period. Just over a minute after the Avalanche “goal” by Bowen Byram was overturned, Seattle had a zone entry that saw rookie forward Tye Kartye send a puck towards Colorado goaltender Alexandar Georgiev. Georgiev made the right leg pad save, and teammate Erik Johnson attempted to clear the puck up the boards for a change. In the right place, at the right time, was Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn, who immediately took his shot and slammed a one-timer past Georgiev cleanly to open the scoring.  

The vibes were good inside of Climate Pledge Arena following the Dunn goal, the 17,151+ fans waving their rally towels and erupting in immediate succession. It appeared that Seattle was again going to muster up that pressure that they had generated early in each game of the series to this point, but it turned out to be a blip on the greater scale of Colorado’s most complete game of the series. After a first frame that saw them register ten shots on goal, the Kraken were only able to muster four shots in five-on-five play in the final two periods. In total, Seattle registered 13, but both of those numbers are truly inexcusable when it comes to trying to close out a series against a team that’s down numerous notable players and when the chance to advance is in your home building. 

“I thought we played a lot on our heels tonight. We expected them to give the game to us and didn’t really play with pressure. And obviously a good team like that or play with desperation, they’re going to come at you in waves. I think obviously that we were in the box a lot too. It gives their power play a lot of opportunity and that just creates momentum and then tires us out. So, I mean, accustomed to a lot of that stuff,” Jordan Eberle, Seattle Kraken forward and alternate captain, on what changed after his team scored first.   

Tonight’s game six result sets up a winner take all game seven on Sunday, April 30th with a puck drop time of 6:30PM PST. Instead of handling business and advancing to the second round in their own building, the Kraken couldn’t put it together against this inspired Avalanche team and the series will meet its end in Colorado at Ball Arena. While Seattle has showed throughout the course of this series that they belong and that they’ve been the better team, the lack of effort and drive to close tonight’s game out raises the question if perhaps the experience of the Avalanche is pushing through. The Kraken will look to bounce back from this poor performance and make history in game seven this Sunday.   

Jordan Eberle’s overtime winner tops Avalanche in game four as Kraken tie series 

By
Charles Hamaker
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Period 3

Seattle, WA – After a tough loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning last March, Kraken alternate captain Jordan Eberle said that the team had “twenty days to find out who wants to be here” when referencing the trade deadline. Numerous veterans were shipped out as Seattle looked to the future, and Eberle made a statement that he wanted to be here as a member of the Kraken and build something special. Tonight, in game four of the first-round Stanley Cup Playoffs matchup against the Colorado Avalanche, Jordan Eberle scored the most important goal in franchise history to tie the series at two games apiece.   

Game four of this series started off fast for the Kraken, just as it has in every single game of this first round Stanley Cup Playoffs matchup. Seattle became the second team in NHL history to score first in their first four contests of the postseason, joining the Toronto Arenas (Now the Maple Leafs) thanks to Will Borgen’s first period goal. Just as they had before, the Kraken were displaying the waves of attacking pressure that they can bring thanks to their depth, and it was doing its job against Colorado. Seattle continued to pelt Avalanche goaltender Alexandar Georgiev with shots through the first frame and were able to create a golden opportunity on an unfortunate event.  

Colorado defenseman Cale Makar hit Kraken forward Jared McCann far after the whistle, slamming him in the boards and eventually taking him out of the game as he did not return. Considering that the play had been blown dead and the puck was not close to the two, Makar was issued a major penalty (five minutes) initially before the officials discussed and decreased it to a minor. That itself is ridiculous and here’s to hoping that the NHL safety committee punishes Makar for the play, but the Kraken pushed on and took advantage of the power play when Daniel Sprong rang the puck off the pipes of the goal in the dying seconds of the man advantage. Once again in this series, Seattle had a two-goal lead to begin the game.  

“Yeah, it’s part of the plan. I mean, we’ve got to play at the bottom there, I think we have a lot of success there. Keep using our D, keep shooting the puck. If we do that, I think we’re a pretty successful group,” Yanni Gourde, Seattle Kraken forward and alternate captain, on the team trying to wear down the Avalanche. 

Stanley Cup Playoff hockey continues to show out for the Seattle Kraken and their fans, in a variety of different ways. Whether that be the intensity level of the play on the ice, the stress that it brings on a minute-by-minute basis throughout the course of each game, or the physicality in each hit. The Kraken and their fans are seeing it all play out in this first round series against the Avalanche, and one of those key aspects was especially apparent in the win for Seattle.  

“I think all around. I think our forecheck was much better tonight. I think part of it is just having a better chip. It’s tough to forecheck someone when their eyes up, especially that group of defensemen there, they’re pretty solid. But any defenseman that is trying to dig out that puck from the wall, it’s pretty inconvenient, and that’s what we did tonight. We put the puck in better spots, and it was easier to forecheck that way. So, like I said, we did a better job tonight sticking to our system,” Yanni Gourde, Seattle Kraken forward and alternate captain, on tonight’s physicality. 

The series now switches off into individual games instead of the two game blocks through the first four. The Kraken will head back to Colorado for game five of this series, taking place on Wednesday April 26th with a puck drop at 6:30PM PST. Seattle, coming off this historic victory, will be gunning to keep the pressure on the Avalanche but will have to do so without 40-goal scorer Jared McCann, as the forward was taken out after the whistle by Colorado defenseman Cale Makar. The win tonight guarantees we will have a game six, which will take place on Friday, April 28th with a puck drop that is still to be announced back at Climate Pledge Arena.   

CU officially enters Prime era with annual scrimmage

By
Devon Martinez
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"Coach Prime" takes in the action during the CU Black and Gold Spring Game at Folsom Field in Boulder, CO on Saturday April 22, 22023. "Offense" defeated "Defense" by a score of 39 to 27. (Photo by Laura Domingue/fi360 News).

The CU Buffalo scrimmage on Saturday, April 22 at Folsom Field showcased the new era with coach Deon Sanders as more than 45,000 tickets were sold, demolishing the previous 17,800 record attendance in 2008.

Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders (2) hands off to white team Anthony Hankerson (22) during the CU Black and Gold Spring Game at Folsom Field in Boulder, CO on Saturday April 22, 22023. “Offense” defeated “Defense” by a score of 39 to 27. (Photo by Laura Domingue/fi360 News).

The game was also the only broadcasted spring game on ESPN this weekend despite much nationally ranked teams like Alabama and Notre Dame also having scrimmages the same day.

After taking the helm in December, Sanders has been vocal over the team’s future and how Colorado fans deserve more than the past couple of seasons, including their dismal 1-11 record last season.

“We don’t look behind us; we look ahead,” Sanders said at the post game conference.

According to Sanders, due to weather conditions and several other reasons there was not a full-on scrimmage, but instead a “speed day.”

Colorado black team Tayvion Beasley (13) tackles white team Kaleb Mathis (13) during the CU Black and Gold Spring Game at Folsom Field in Boulder, CO on Saturday April 22, 22023. “Offense” defeated “Defense” by a score of 39 to 27. (Photo by Laura Domingue/fi360 News).

The near freezing temperatures and snow did not stop the sellout crowd to join in with electric enthusiasm. This energy carried onto the field, according to Sanders.

“I was amazed,” Sanders said later when talking about the Colorado crowd. “It was a moment you’ll never forget.”

Colorado two-way player Travis Hunter (12) makes a reception during the CU Black and Gold Spring Game at Folsom Field in Boulder, CO on Saturday April 22, 22023. “Offense” defeated “Defense” by a score of 39 to 27. (Photo by Laura Domingue/fi360 News).

The scrimmage started off with 98-year-old Colorado superfan Peggy Coppom taking the opening kickoff while being escorted by Sanders.

Sanders named her MVP after the game.

“She was quick, her first step was unbelievable,” Sanders said. “She was very physical when she grabbed me and made sure I held her arm.”

The period format for the scrimmage for all four quarters featured kick off practice, followed by a drive from the 1st team offense vs. the second team defense. The second team offense then faced against the first team defense for a drive, and the period ended with the 3rd team offense and defense battling for a drive and some field goal practice.

There was also seven on seven play and one-on-one battles between the offensive and defensive lines almost halfway into the scrimmage.

Colorado white team Anthony Hankerson (22) is tackled by black team Aubrey Smith (32) and Jordan Woolverton (16) during the CU Black and Gold Spring Game at Folsom Field in Boulder, CO on Saturday April 22, 22023. “Offense” defeated “Defense” by a score of 39 to 27. (Photo by Laura Domingue/fi360 News).

Offensive players donned white and defensive players were in black; quarterbacks wore gold jerseys and special teams’ players wore silver.

Sander’s son quarterback Shedeur threw for a couple of touchdowns, including a 98-yard score to returning wide receiver Montana Lemonious-Craig; they had a combined 154 yards and two touch downs together.

Shedeur followed his father from Jackson State where he finished with 40 touchdowns and 6 interceptions last season.

Travis Hunter, a cornerback and receiver out of high school, also showcased his skills as a promising recruiting victory by Sanders. He received a touchdown toss from Shedeur and followed that by not allowing a catch despite being targeted three times.

Colorado quarterback Ryan Staub (16) takes off for a run during the CU Black and Gold Spring Game at Folsom Field in Boulder, CO on Saturday April 22, 22023. “Offense” defeated “Defense” by a score of 39 to 27. (Photo by Laura Domingue/fi360 News).

Overall, CU fans caught a glimpse into the Prime era at Boulder. CU will begin their regular season Sept. 2 against TCU.

Avalanche take series lead, poke holes in Kraken defense in game three 

By
Charles Hamaker
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Photo by Aaron Nelson / fi360 News

Seattle, WA – For the first time since the early part of the 1900s, there was Stanley Cup Playoff hockey in the great city of Seattle. Game three and four of this first round series between the Colorado Avalanche and Seattle Kraken flipped to the Emerald City, where the Kraken again aimed to start fast and maintain that energy for the full 60 minutes. Early showings made it seem as though Seattle could ride their home-ice momentum to a victory, but the Avalanche found the weak points in the Kraken play and exploited them. Colorado’s superstars came to play and made their mark to put the game out of reach for Seattle, after the Kraken had fought back with a two goal second period to tie things up. With the 6-4 victory, the Avalanche took a two games to one lead in the series.   

Kraken forward Jaden Schwartz began the scoring in this game, notching the first ever home playoff goal in Kraken franchise history, with a tipped puck in the Colorado crease. After some chaos in front of the Avalanche net where Seattle tried and tried to get a greasy goal against Alexandar Georgiev, Kraken forward Alex Wennberg pushed the puck out to defenseman Justin Schultz at the blue line. Schultz, a two-time Stanley Cup champion, flung the puck towards the goal where Schwartz had parked himself net-front. Schwartz made the redirection play with his stick, and the capacity crowd at Climate Pledge Arena erupted like only a Seattle sports crowd could. Schwartz notched his first goal of this postseason, 25th in his playoff career, and began the show in Seattle that seemed like it was going to be joyous for the Kraken and their fans.   

“We had a good start and some momentum. Got some energy, spent a lot of time in their zone and then they grabbed the momentum back on just a couple errors that end up in the back of our net and did a good job of climbing back. That’s how these games are. They’re tight. Each teams seem to grab momentum at different times and it’s close out there, tight games,” Jaden Schwartz, Seattle Kraken forward and alternate captain, on the start of the game.  

All season long, defensive lapses and mistakes have hindered Seattle’s ability to be even better than they have been. The Kraken, an excellent team in five-on-five play with incredible offensive production up and down the entirety of the lineup this season, still need to tighten up on the backend. While they’ve been able to do so to reach this point, tonight the Avalanche exposed the issues that remain in Seattle’s defensive areas. Top defenseman pairing Vince Dunn and Adam Larsson have been the easy choice for best duo on the backend, but even those two have had their issues here and there throughout the year.  

Seattle Kraken (Photo by Megan Connelly / fi360 News)

Tonight, Seattle’s issues actually began when the Kraken were on a power play. On the man advantage with four minutes to play before the first intermission, the Avalanche were able to battle along the boards to regain possession and launch a counterattack. It appeared that Seattle was going to be able to defend it just fine, as the Kraken were able to match the two Colorado skaters with two of their own in Justin Schultz and Daniel Sprong. Sprong lost traction and fell on his backside trying to backpedal as the Avalanche counter came down ice, leaving Colorado’s J.T. Compher wide open to receive a pass from teammate Cale Makar and dangle around Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer to tie the game. From there, the Avalanche scored on a four-on-four, immediately off a faceoff and caught Seattle in a three on two to display a few of the ways they found cracks in the Kraken.  

“Well, those guys, we know the level of players there. Those guys are world class players, we gave them too much time and space a little too easily tonight, right? They’re going to work. They’re going to generate. They’re going to get their opportunities. When we’re taking away some of that time and space and defending and making it a little more difficult, that’s obviously a better scenario for us. Like I said tonight, the first one is a mistake on the power play, right. The second we dive in on a four on four when 29 is on the ice. That’s something you can’t do, and then you can go through each one. But we got to do a better job as a group on those guys,” Dave Hakstol, Seattle Kraken head coach, on defending Colorado’s superstars better moving forward.   

Like game two’s loss, the Kraken will need to flush this loss quickly after game three’s result. Seattle will not skate tomorrow, and will get back to action on Monday, April 24th for game four of this first round Stanley Cup Playoffs matchup. Puck drop for Monday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche is at 7PM PST, as the Kraken will view this game as a must win before the series will flip back to Colorado for game five of the series. Depending on the result of game four, we’ll see if a game six in Seattle and or a game seven in Colorado will be necessary for this series.   

Phoenix Pulls Away In Second Half Over The Clippers

By
Christopher Floch
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Chuck the Condor (Full Image 360)

PHOENIX, AZ– With the Los Angeles Clippers winning game 1 of the playoffs over the Phoenix Suns on the road, the Phoenix Suns led by Devin Booker’s 38 points pulled away in the second half cruising to a 123-109 victory on Tuesday, April 18.

This exciting Western Conference first-round series is tied 1-1. The Clippers opened up the game with more energy, physicality and superb defense in the first half. Los Angeles held an early 13 point edge, while Phoenix went ice cold from the field.

Unfortunately, Phoenix soon found their stroke, going on a 19-2 run which included a Devin Booker 3 pointer just before the buzzer to even the score at 59 apiece heading into the locker room. 

Although Kevin Durant scored 25 points, his  greatness is not enough to propel the Suns to an NBA Title. The heart and soul of the Phoenix Suns is Devin Booker. Booker went absolutely wild in the third quarter, torching the Clippers for 18 points on 7 of 8 from the field. 

“He’s an all-around player,” Kevin Durant said speaking of Booker. “He can do everything at an elite level on a basketball court.” 

Even with the loss the Clippers still achieved their goal by getting a split in Phoenix. In addition, Kawhi Leonard led all Clippers with 31 points. Their spirited effort showed NBA fans that this is shaping up to be a long, perhaps legendary playoff series. One in which the Clippers now possess home court advantage. 

Russell Westbrook scored 28 points in the loss. “We know it’s going to be a tough series, they came back and took care of business tonight.”

Moving ahead, the Clippers have been frustrating and confusing the Suns with their unpredictable defensive sets. Seamlessly rotating, double teams-anything to cause chaos. 

The Phoenix Suns truly did heat up in the second half. Suns center DeAndre Ayton had 14 points, and Torrey Craig drained five three pointers in the must win for Phoenix. 

In Game 1 on Sunday afternoon, the Clippers went into Footprint Center, and won 115-110 to open up the Western Conference playoff series. 

This series now shifts to LA, when the Phoenix Suns visit the Los Angeles Clippers tomorrow night , April 20. Tipoff is at 7:30 pm. Attention all Clippers fans: make the journey to Crypto.com Arena to support your team. 

In 2021, the Phoenix Suns eliminated the Los Angeles Clippers in game 6 of the Western Conference Finals. That game wasn’t even a sellout. Game 3 figures to be different. 

The series now turns into a best of five. Two of those games will be in Los Angeles including a game 7 if necessary.  Buckle your seatbelts- this will be a wild ride!

Kraken come within inches, can’t end regular season with win, falling to Golden Knights

By
Charles Hamaker
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Photo by Maddy Grassy / fi360 News

Seattle, WA – The Seattle Kraken ended their second regular season in franchise history with a narrow defeat, literally and figuratively, to divisional rival Las Vegas. The Kraken had numerous near misses on scoring opportunities throughout the course of the game and arguably dominated in that category but couldn’t locate the final piece to complete their puzzle. Regardless of the result, Seattle is heading to the postseason, but the loss doesn’t help clear up who their opponent will be in the first round. Following the loss to the Golden Knights, the Kraken will await the result of tomorrow’s Colorado vs Nashville game to determine if they will face the Avalanche or the Dallas Stars.  

“I like our team. I think we match up well with anyone and I know what we can do in this room and what guys are fully capable of… it’s going to be lots of fun,” Kraken forward Morgan Geekie on how he feels about Seattle being in the playoffs.  

The scoring got underway in an unfortunate manner, as Las Vegas got a wacky bounce off Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn trying to clear the puck up the ice. Four ticks below ten minutes into the period, Dunn came around his own goal and looked to throw the puck down the ice to clear it from his zone but was impeded by Las Vegas forward Reilly Smith. The Golden Knights forward stuck his skate backwards in the direction of the puck, redirecting it back towards an unsuspecting Seattle goaltender Philipp Grubauer. It was an odd, bang-bang play that was unfortunate and technically was Las Vegas’ first shot of the night as the Kraken had been dominating with heavy pressure to begin the game. That play and its vibes set the tone for the rest of this contest, in one of the weirder ways that Seattle has lost a game this season. 

Veteran Kraken forward Jaden Schwartz scored the only goal in tonight’s game for Seattle, a response to Las Vegas’ odd bounce score earlier in the opening period. One of the teams’ alternate captains, Schwartz was seen in full pads for morning skate ahead of the regular season finale which is a rarity as he’s always seen in a track suit for practice. Perhaps the 2019 Stanley Cup champion was feeling it today, as he hammered home one-timer off a pass from Alex Wennberg through heavy traffic to tie things up with under four minutes before the first intermission. Keeping Schwartz’s health as a top priority will be a major key if the Kraken want to go deep into the playoffs. 

“Both have great depth, that’s big. Both teams are hard to play against, they make teams work for chances. And they’re very close-knit groups,” Seattle forward and alternate captain Jaden Schwartz on what similarities exist between the 2019 cup-winning St Louis Blues and this Seattle team 

When the Los Angeles Kings secured victory during this game, it meant that the result of Las Vegas against Seattle was obsolete and that it had no value for the Kraken in terms of seeding. Now, Seattle and their fans will have to wait till tomorrow at 5PM PST when the Avalanche take on the Predators in a game that will decide who the Kraken face in round one, their first ever playoff series. It’s as simple as this: If Colorado wins, then the Kraken will play Colorado. If Colorado loses, the Kraken will play the Dallas Stars. Those two are both teams that Seattle has beaten over the course of the past few months, but the Kraken must remain purely focused on the task at hand.   

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