Oakland Roots forward Wolfgang Prentice heads the ball for a goal against FC Tulsa during the first half of a USL Championship match, Saturday, April 18, 2026, at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. (Bridget… More
Giants Beat Nationals In a 12 Inning Marathon 7-6
San Francisco Giants hitter Drew Gilbert swings for a single off Washington Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli (not shown) for an RBI that scored Helliot Ramos (not shown) at Nationals Park in DC on Sat Apr 18, 2026 (AP news photo)
By Barbara Mason
It took the San Francisco Giants (9-12) 12 innings to win game two of their series with the Washington Nationals (9-12) by a 7-6 score. Each team had opportunities in the extra innings to win but it was the Giants who prevailed.Heliot Ramos had another amazing game as did the entire roster with nearly every player in the lineup with at least one hit, some of them with multiple hits. The Giants struggled to start the game but they fought back and finished the game with a win.
Game recap: Lead-off batter James Wood got the game going in favor of the Nationals hitting a solo home run in the first inning for the early 1-0 lead. That hit preempted an explosive second inning for both teams. San Francisco tied up the game in the top of the second inning coming away with three hits and one run.
Jung Hoo Lee singled, Heliot Ramos doubled, Gilbert singled Ramos home and we had a tie ball game. The Nationals had a crazy bottom of the second inning scoring four runs off of three hits taking a 5-1 lead. It was a rough inning for Giant starter Adrian Houser who not only gave up three hits but also a walk. He hit James Wood with the bases loaded so it was not his best outing so far in this game.
San Francisco had some catching up to do and they did just that in the top of the third inning scoring two runs on two hits . Luis Arraez singled and Casey Schmitt doubled driving in Matt Chapman who scored on a fielding error and Arraez. The Giants had cut the Nationals lead to 5-3. Washington came up empty in the bottom of the third inning.
Each team had a hit in the fifth inning but neither were able to score. With a bit of ground to make up, San Francisco made it happen scoring two runs in the top of the sixth tying up the game 5-5.
Ramos who hit a three run home run in Friday’s game came up huge hitting a two run home run with Lee on second base. San Francisco had new life after having trailed by four runs.
Going into the seventh inning San Francisco was looking to break the 5-5 tie. Willy Adames got the inning going with a single moving onto second base on a wild pitch. Rafal Devers singled driving Adames home and the Giants had the lead for the first time in the game 6-5. The Nationals had no hits, no runs in the bottom of the seventh.
Going into the bottom of the ninth inning the score remained 6-5 in favor of the Giants. San Francisco was one out away from winning this game. With two outs, Brady House singled Wood, (who had been intentionally walked) home and this game was again tied at 6-6.
Neither team was able to finish this game in the tenth inning, the Giants with no hits, no runs and the Nationals with one hit but no runs in the bottom of the inning. This game would go on into the 11th inning yielding nothing for either team, no runs and no hits.
San Francisco took the lead in the top of the 12th inning 7-6 in a marathon. Matt Chapman singled Arraez home from second base. Now the Giants would be looking for three outs and the win in game two.
The Nationals were threatening in the bottom of the inning with two runners on base but two outs. Abrams flied out, Young lined out and for a third time the Giants were one out away from the win. Could the third time be a charm for San Francisco?
Closer Caleb Killian struck out Daylen Lile for the third out and that was the ball game. The Giants had won the second game of the series and their third game in a row.
San Francisco’s Adrian Houser went 5 2/3 innings allowing seven hits, five runs, two walks and one strike out. Relief pitchers Ryan Borucki finished the sixth inning. Erik Miller finished the seventh, Matt Gage the eighth, Ryan Walker the ninth and tenth.
It was a great game for closer Caleb Kilian who pitched the 11th and 12th innings and came away with the victory. After the game he did say that he was still shaking. The bottom line is that he didn’t show his nerves, he got the job done and got the win for San Francisco.
Game notes: Friday the Giants won their series opener beating the Nationals. The Giants had an outstanding second inning scoring six runs setting the stage for the eventual win. Saturday San Francisco won game two of the series and their third game in a row.
It’s difficult to say who the player of the game was. Every player on the roster contributed to the win with Matt Chapman leading the pack with three hits and three RBIs. Heliot Ramos hit a three run homer along with Casey Schmitt and Drew Gilbert each hitting solo home runs on Friday night.
The Giants offense is cranking and they got more scoring seven runs just enough to edge the Nationals at Nationals Park in DC. San Francisco starter Adrian Houser went 5.2 innings giving up seven hits and four earned runs. For Washington’s starter Cade Cavalli four innings of work, seven hits and one earned run allowed and struck out five batters.
Sunday San Francisco will be going for the sweep in game three. Both teams could be emotionally and physically drained after Saturday’s game but they will be on an equal playing field. The only difference will be that it was the Giants who came away with the win in game two. Robbie Ray will take the mound for the Giants with a 2-2 win/loss record and a 2.42 ERA. Miles Mikolas has struggled with a 0-3 win/loss record and a 11.49 ERA. First pitch Sunday is scheduled for 10:35 AM PDT.
A’s Rally From 5-0 Deficit, Walk-Off White Sox 7-6 in 11th
(L-R) Max Muncy #3, Lawrence Butler #4 and Jacob Wilson #5 of the Athletics celebrate after Muncy hit a walk-off sacrifice fly scoring Wilson to defeat the Chicago White Sox 7-6 in the bottom of the 11th inning at Sutter Health Park on April 18, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Mandatory photo credit: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
By Jeremiah Salmonson
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Athletics and the White Sox engaged in game two of their three-game series on Saturday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. PST.
After Friday night’s tough loss, the A’s bounced back to defeat the White Sox 7-6 in 11 innings.
Luis Severino got the ball for the A’s to start the game on Saturday, and he struggled in his outing. Severino ground through five and a third innings of work and gave up five runs (all earned) on five hits while walking four and striking out three. Severino needed 96 pitches to get through his outing while suffering from a three-run homer and a lack of command.
However, the A’s bullpen did its job in relief of Severino to keep the game close and the A’s in it.
Hogan Harris was first out of the pen for the A’s, and he tossed one and a third innings with his only blemish being a Munetaka Murakami solo home run. Other than that, he allowed no other hits.
Next out of the bullpen for the A’s was Joel Kuhnel. Kuhnel came on and pitched a scoreless inning and a third for the A’s. He allowed nothing more than a hit amid an otherwise perfect outing.
Mark Leiter Jr. was the third man out of the bullpen for Mark Kotsay and struggled. Leiter tossed just two-thirds of an inning, allowing two walks and striking out one prior to being lifted for Jack Perkins.
Perkins, who has been serving as a bit of a longman for the A’s, came in and got the last out of the ninth inning to keep the game tied. Perkins also tossed the 10th inning without allowing much other than a hit by pitch to keep the game tied and strand the designated runner who started the inning at second base. With the A’s unable to score in the 10th, Perkins was back out for the 11th inning, where he got into a bases-loaded jam early, but escaped without allowing a run.
On the offensive side of the ball, the A’s impressed, coming all the way back from 5-0 down to tie the game at six in the bottom of the seventh.
The A’s first scoring came in the second inning when Jacob Wilson hit a solo home run to left field to get the A’s on the board.
In the third inning, the A’s got their second run of the game courtesy of a Jeff McNeil sacrifice fly to score Lawrence Butler.
In the fifth inning, the A’s continued to claw back with an RBI single from Tyler Soderstrom to make it a 5-3 game.
In the sixth, Lawrence Butler reached on a fielder’s choice, driving home Max Muncy to get the A’s to within one, 5-4.
In the seventh inning, the A’s climb up the mountain was completed as Nick Kurtz launched a two-run homer to right field to tie the game at six apiece and give the A’s new life.
However, the rest of the action would take much longer before the A’s could truly celebrate.
The game presented numerous chances the rest of the way for either team to seize the win, but it wasn’t until the bottom of the 11th inning, when Max Muncy hit a sacrifice fly to left field, that either team would. Jacob Wilson would score from third base on the play, and the A’s would score their seventh run to walk off the White Sox 7-6.
After the game, A’s manager Mark Kotsay summed up what pretty much everyone was thinking.
“There was a lot to unpack from this game,” Kotsay said. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to unpack it all, but like I said to start this conversation, it was a pretty emotional rollercoaster.”
With the win, the A’s improved to 11-10 on the season to even the series with the White Sox at a game apiece. The rubber game of the series will take place on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. PST. The A’s will send Jeffrey Springs (3-0, 1.46 ERA) to the mound, while the White Sox will counter with Noah Schultz (0-1, 6.23 ERA).
Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.
⚡Craft cocktails? Check.
🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah.
🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.
Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.
Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.
📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street
Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm
Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.
NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast Mary Lisa: Puck drops this weekend on the post season; A review of each matchup
Ottawa Senators Warren Foegele (37) takes a victory lap in front of the Sens bench after scoring a goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa on Wed Apr 15, 2026. The Senators visit the Carolina Hurricane for game 1 of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Sat Apr 18, 2026 in Carolina (Canadian Press via AP photo)
NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast Mary Lisa:
Mary were going to run down each match up for Saturday and Sunday’s NHL Stanley Cup Playoff game and go ahead and analyze each one all games are game 1.
Saturday’s games
#1 Ottawa Senators at Carolina Hurricane
#2 Minnesota Wild at Dallas Stars
#3 Philadelphia Flyers @ Pittsburgh Penguins
Sunday’s games
#1 Montreal Canadiens @ Tampa Bay Lightning
#2 Boston Bruins @ Buffalo Sabres
#3 Utah Mammoth @ Vegas Golden Knights
Mary Lisa analyzes the NHL Stanley Cup Playoff Saturdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com
Sacramento A’s podcast Tony Harvey: Sox 4 run seventh costly in A’s 9-2 loss at Sutter Health
The baseball is at Chicago White Sox runner Luisangel Acua (0) has the baseball at his back and A’s first baseman Nick Kurtz (left) won’t get it in time for the putout at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento
Sacramento A’s podcast Tony Harvey:
#1 The Chicago White Sox Munetaka Murakami’s first career grand slam launched the White Sox into the win column with a 9-2 win over the Sacramento Athletics on Friday night at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento.
#2 The Sox also got good pitching from Davis Martin who gave up three hits over seven innings pitch surrendering three hits and one earned run. No doubt Martin had his stuff working for him.
#3 Sacramento pitcher Aaron Civale struggled pitching 4.2 innings he got racked up by Sox hitting for 11 hits and five earned runs.
#4 A’s Nick Kurtz slugged a RBI single in the last of the fourth that sent A’s Shea Langeliers home and the A’s Andy Ibanez hit for an RBI scoring Max Muncy and that was all the damage the A’s could muster on Friday night.
#5 Match ups for Saturday at Sutter Health Park for the White Sox RHP Erick Fedde (0-3 ERA 3.38) for the A’s RHP Luis Severino (0-2 ERA 5.59) first pitch 1:05pm PDT.
Join Tony Harvey each week for the Sacramento A’s podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com
Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.
⚡Craft cocktails? Check.
🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah.
🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.
Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.
Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.
📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street
Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm
Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.
White Sox Power Past A’s 9-2 in Series Opener in Sacramento
Aaron Civale #45 of the Athletics pitches against the Chicago White Sox in the third inning at Sutter Health Park on April 17, 2026 in Sacramento, California. (Mandatory photo credit: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
By Jeremiah Salmonson
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Athletics welcomed Munetaka Murakami and the Chicago White Sox to Sacramento on Friday night for the beginning of a three-game series.
The White Sox handled business behind a powerful offensive performance, defeating the Athletics 9-2 in front of a sold-out crowd of 12,027.
Aaron Civale started the game for the A’s and was immediately in trouble as he gave up a leadoff double, and the White Sox never looked back. Civale struggled locating his pitches, which led to hits and not walks on this particular occasion. Civale managed to go four and two-thirds innings while allowing five runs on 11 hits while walking one and striking out four. Civale needed 103 pitches to get through his laborious outing.
“I think there’s probably a lot of balls left in the middle of the plate tonight…he grinded…I thought he gave us everything he had tonight,” Mark Kotsay said after the game.
In the clubhouse, Aaron Civale was doing his best to move on from the draining outing in which he threw 103 pitches.
“I felt like we were doing a good job out there, competing,” Civale said after the game to reporters. “From what I can tell, it’s just kind of one of those days you gotta flush it and move forward.”
The A’s bullpen came in and looked to keep the game within striking distance, but they weren’t able to do that.
Elvis Alvarado came on in relief and tossed two innings of his own. Elvis gave up four runs on a mammoth grand slam to Munetaka Murakami that cleared the batter’s eye in center field. All in, Elvis tossed 45 pitches in his two innings of work while giving up three hits and walking three batters while striking out three.
The A’s finished the game with Justin Sterner, who was on the mound for the A’s late collapse on Thursday. Sterner tossed an impressive two and a third innings of one-hit, no-run baseball while striking out four batters and not allowing a walk. It was a nice bounce-back for the right-hander, who needed 46 pitches to get it done.
On the offensive side, the Athletics couldn’t get much going against the White Sox. Starter Davis Martin for Chicago was dealing early and took a no-hitter into the fourth inning. In total, the A’s managed two runs while collecting four hits and walking four times against the White Sox staff.
The A’s scored two runs, with one coming in the fourth inning and the other in the eighth inning.
In the fourth, Nick Kurtz had an RBI single into right field that scored Shea Langeliers from second base.
In the eighth, Andy Ibáñez collected an RBI when he grounded out to score Max Muncy from third base.
Other than that, the A’s were blanked by the White Sox staff on a brisk West Sacramento night, falling by the final score of 9-2.
With the loss, the A’s fell to 10-10 on the season and will take on the White Sox in Game 2 of the three-game series on Saturday afternoon at 12:05 p.m. PST. Luis Severino (0-2, 5.59 ERA) will take the mound for the A’s, while the White Sox will send Erick Fedde (0-3, 3.38 ERA) to the bump.
Whether you’re pre-gaming with the Kings or celebrating an A’s win, Cyprus Grille at the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena is your downtown go-to.
⚡Craft cocktails? Check.
🔥Game-day bites? Oh yeah.
🏟️Steps from Golden 1 Center? You bet.
Open daily, Cyprus Grille is serving up local flavor with a front-row seat to the action. Stop by before or after the game—or make it your new downtown hangout.
Cyprus Grille—where fans fuel up.
📍Located inside the Holiday Inn Sacramento Downtown – Arena @ 300 J Street
Happy Hour – 4pm-6pm
Show your ticket for additional discounts when dining in.
Barracuda fall 5-2 to Condors, extend losing streak to 6
San Jose Barracuda vs Bakersfield Condors on Friday April 17th at Dignity Health Arena (via sjbarracuda)
By Madison Montez
The San Jose Barracuda dropped their sixth straight game as the slump continues losing to the Bakersfield Condors 5-2 at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield on Friday night.
Bakersfield opened up the scoring, 1:46 into the first period, Sam Poulin scoring his 20th goal of the season. They extended that lead when Isaac Howard scored his seventh goal of the season.
Sam Poulin extended Bakersfield’s lead to 3-0 scoring his second of the game, and 21st goal of the season. San Jose avoided the shutout when Brendan Hoffman scored his fifth goal of the season. Patrick Giles recorded the primary assist while Jarod Crespo recorded the secondary assist.
Cutting the lead to one, and making it 3-2, Filip Bystedt scored his 22 goal of the season. Jake Boltmann recording the primary assist and Quentin Musty recording the secondary assist. Scoring their second powerplay goal of the night, Bakersfield made it 4-2 when Roby Järventie scored his 22 of the night. To secure the win, Roby Järventie scored an empty netter to make it 5-2.
After the first period, Bakersfield outshot San Jose nine to eight. After the second period, San Jose outshot Bakersfield 12-11. Lastly, after the third period, Bakersfield outshot San Jose 11-10.
Special teams played an early role in Friday night’s game. San Jose went 0/5 on the powerplay. Bakersfield went 2/4 on the powerplay.
Friday night, Laurent Brossoit got the start for San Jose. Making 17 saves on 20 shots, Brossoit recorded Friday night’s loss. For Bakersfield, Matt Tomkins made 28 saves on 30 shots, and recorded Friday night’s win.
THREE STARS OF THE GAME:
- Sam Poulin
- Roby Jarventie
- Matt Tomkins
The Barracuda will be back in action Saturday at 7pm, where they will host the Bakersfield Condors for their last regular season game.
Giants Offensive Excellence Wins Game One Against Nationals 10-5; That’s two in a row for SF
San Francisco Giants Heliot Ramos is thrilled after hitting a three run home run against the Cincinnati Reds in the top of the second inning at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati on Fri Apr 17, 2026 (AP News photo)
By Barbara Mason
The San Francisco Giants (8-12) won the first game in their series with the Washington Nationals (9-11) 10-5. They scored multiple runs early in the second inning after leading after two innings 6-0. The offense everyone has been waiting to see finally revealed itself and it was great. Every single player in the lineup had at least one hit and Matt Chapman had 3 hits.
Game recap: The first inning was uneventful for both teams, the Giants Luis Arraez singled but that was it for the opening inning. The Nationals went three and out.
San Francisco got something really big going, more like an explosion, in the second inning. They strung out some hits with Casey Schmitt and Jung Hoo Lee both singling and then a big hit off the bat of Heliot Ramos for a three-run home run to center taking a 3-0 lead.
Daniel Susac singled but was thrown out trying to steal second base. With only one out, Drew Gilbert walked followed by a Willy Adames single. The Giants went back to work putting more runners on base. Luis Arraez grounded out and with two outs a Chapman single drove Gilbert and Adames home for a 5-0 lead.
San Francisco was not finished. Rafael Devers doubled and Chapman scored pushing the lead to 6-0 in favor of the Giants. A rough inning for the Nationals finally came to an end when Schmitt flied out but San Francisco had a huge inning already with six hits in the game. Starting pitcher for Washington Zack Littell gave up eight hits and six runs in the second inning.
Meanwhile Logan Webb worked his way through the second inning giving up a CJ Abrams single and then dismissed the next three at bats and this game went into the third inning. Webb was systematically working his way through the Washington lineup giving up very little.
San Francisco had scored a lot and they had scored early a huge edge going forward in the game but there was still a lot of baseball to be played. That aside what a great way to start a ball game for the Giants.
Littell had a vastly improved in the third inning, his best of the game with a three and out. The Nationals got something going in the bottom of the third, Jose Tena and Keibert Ruiz had back to back singles.
Top of the batting order for Washington James Wood came to the plate with no outs. Webb was in a bit of a jam but he did strike Wood out. The next at bat for the Nationals was a fielders choice ground out but Jose Tena scored for the first National run of the game.
With two outs there were two runners on base for Washington but Webb got the third out without giving up a lot. It had been a long inning for Webb; he already had a 55 pitch count going into the top of the fourth inning. San Francisco had given up the one run still leading 6-1.
The Giants got a great hit in the fourth inning from the bottom of the batting order. Drew Gilbert hit a solo home run, his first of the year, to right center, the second of the game for San Francisco.
Adames followed that home run up with a double. With Adames on third Chapman singled driving in another run for an 8-1 score.11 hits through four innings plus every player on the roster with at least a hit was probably the best game the team has played so far this season. Littell’s pitch count was really getting up there as well with 77 pitches though four innings.
The Nationals cut the Giants lead in the bottom of the fourth to 8-3 when Daviid Liles hit a 2-run home run with Joey Weimer on base. 79 pitches later Webb got out of the inning.
Littell was relieved in the fifth inning by Paxton Schultz. Littell allowed 11 hits, 8 runs, 1 walk, 2 home runs and 4 strikeouts.
The hits quieted down in the second half of the game for the Giants. San Francisco had one hit in the fifth inning, a Susac double but that would close out the inning. The Nationals went three and out in the inning and this game was moving along. It only took Webb five pitches to get out of the inning.
It was a three and out in the sixth inning for San Francisco. The Nationals were able to score in the bottom of the sixth. A Lile walk resulted in a fourth run for Washington when Tena singled him home for an 8-4 San Francisco lead.
The Giants extended their lead with a third home run in the top of the seventh inning 9-4. Schmitt hit a solo long ball 399 feet to left center. The Nationals would answer in the bottom of the inning when Wood blasted a Matt Gage pitch out of the park. Gage had relieved Webb after six innings. Webb finished with 7 hits, 4 runs 2 walks and 6 strikeouts. He allowed one home run.
Washington’s PJ Poulin relieved Schultz going into the eighth inning . Schultz had pitched for three innings for the Nationals. Schultz finished with 2 hits, 1 run, (a home run) and 1 strikeout. The Giants Caleb Kilian would take over for Gage in the eighth inning only giving up a walk and it was on to the ninth inning.
Richard Lovelady relieved Poulin in the ninth inning. The Giants threatened to bust this game wide open to finish. Lovelady gave up a single to Arraez, and a single to Chapman with no outs.
Lovelady went on to strike out Devers and Schmitt popped out for two outs. Lee walked loading the bases followed by a Ramos walk and Arraez scored. Getting that third out was a horrible struggle for Lovelady.
When all the dust had settled and the Nationals got that third out, the Giants were leading 10-5. It was only the one run scored but could have been a whole lot worse for Washington. Blade Tidwell closed out the game for the Giants winning game one 10-5.
Game notes: After breaking a four game losing streak Thursday beating the Reds 3-0, the Giants began a three-game weekend series with the Nationals at blustery Nationals Park Friday night. At the start of the game the winds were fairly calm and so wind was not be a factor in the game Friday night.
The Giants continued their winning streak with a convincing 10-5 win Friday night. Adames lead-off and Heliot Ramos batted seventh, Daniel Susac eighth and Drew Gilbert ninth. After Adames, Arraez, Chapman, Devers, Schmitt and Lee will fill in the roster.
The Giants had won the series opener. San Francisco finished the game with 15 hits and had won their second game in a row.
For Saturday’s game Adrian Houser will take the mound for the Giants in game two. Houser has an 0-2 win/loss record and a 5.06 ERA. Cade Cavalli will get the nod for the Nationals with a 0-1 win/loss record and a 4.60 ERA. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 PM PDT.
San Jose Sharks/NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs podcast Len Shapiro: It’s Macklin again in laying out offense as Sharks close out season against Jets 6-1
San Jose Sharks Macklin Celebrini broke the Sharks all time points record with 115 passing Shark great Joe Thornton against the Winnipeg Jets at the Canadian Life Centre in Winnipeg on Thu Apr 16, 2026 (San Jose Sharks X photo)
San Jose Sharks podcast Len Shapiro:
#1 San Jose Sharks Macklin Celebrini scored a goal and got a pair of assists and broke former Shark Joe Thornton’s points record with 115 as the Sharks demolish the Winnipeg Jets in the last regular season game 6-1.
#2 For the season Celbrini scored 45 goals, had 70 assists in 82 game and became the team’s all time points leader passing Thornton doing it in just in 82 games. Celbrini was also impressive in his rookie year with 63 point and 25 goals in 70 games.
#3 NHL Stanley Cup Playoff matchup upcoming.
Len Shapiro does the NHL podcasts at http://www.sportsradioservice.com
Utah Mammoth game wrap: Utah Wraps Regular Season On Blue Note, Losing 5-3 To St Louis
Utah Mammoth John Marino takes in the warm up before their game against the St Louis Blues Thu Apr 3, at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City (Utah Mammoth X photo)
By Tom Walker
SALT LAKE CITY–The Utah Mammoth (43-32-6) suited up early Thursday afternoon for their nationally televised regular season finale against the St. Louis Blues (36-33-12). Regardless of the outcome, head coach André Tourigny entered the contest riding a streak of five consecutive seasons of continuous improvement beginning with a 25-50-7 record in his Arizona Coyotes debut in 2021-22. The Mammoth dropped a 5-3 decision to the Blues.on Thursday.
St. Louis took an early lead in the first period when Pavel Buchnevich picked up a loose puck to the side of the Utah net and knocked it in for his 20th of the season at 3:45 assisted by Jordan Kyrou and Pius Suter. With just over three minutes remaining in the frame, Michael Carcone evened things up with a snap shot into the top shelf corner over the right shoulder of netminder Joel Hofer for his 16th of the season, assisted by JJ Peterka and John Marino.
Carcone is enjoying a bounce back season in Utah after having initially anticipated to be playing elsewhere following a disappointing seven-goal campaign last year. He won’t be looking for a new home this coming offseason, having signed a two-year, $3.5 million contract extension last month. The two squads headed to the locker room knotted up at one apiece, with Hofer having stopped 8 of 9 shots and Karel Vejmelka turning away 10 of 11.
Lawson Crouse gave Utah their first lead of the game at the drop of the puck in the second period, banging in a rebound off a shot by MacKenzie Weegar 45 seconds into the frame. Clayton Keller picked up the second assist on Crouse’s 24th goal of the season. The goal matched Crouse’s previous career high of 24 from the 2022-23 season in Arizona, and Keller’s assist extends his franchise assist and point streak record to 10 games. Keller joins Quinn Hughes (MIN) and Artemi Panarin (NYR) as the only players in the NHL to register 10-game assist streaks this season.
At 8:14, Robert Thomas tied it up again with his 23rd goal of the season, one-timing a nifty backwards pass from Dylan Holloway who was battling two defenders at the side of the net. Three minutes later Thomas struck again, putting the Blues up 3-2 with his 24th goal, assisted by Cam Fowler and Holloway. With 68 seconds remaining in the frame, Kailer Yamamoto came through with his 13th of the season to even the score once again, assisted by Weegar and Keller.
There may have been a buzzer to mark the end of the period, but it might as well have been a trip gong of a boxing match as fists began to fly between the players on the ice. When the scrum concluded, Logan Cooley and Philip Broberg were each assessed two-minute roughing penalties to carry over into the third period. Hofer stopped 9 of 11 Mammoth shots in the period, while Vejmelka turned away 5 of 7.
With the score still tied 3-3 and less than three minutes remaining in the third, the possibility of an overtime match and even the first shootout of the season for the Mammoth seemed in play, but when Utah defenseman Nate Schmidt attempted to clear the puck from behind the net, St. Louis defenseman Logan Mailloux snagged it off the dasher boards and wristed a backhand shot past Vítek Vaněček who had entered the game in the third to spell Vejmelka.
Mailloux’s unassisted goal was his fifth of the season, giving the Blues a 4-3 lead. With Vaněček pulled for an extra attacker, Robert Thomas completed his hat trick into an empty net with 38 seconds remaining to put the game away 5-3. Utah completes the regular season with new franchise records in wins (43), points (92), and points percentage (.561).
Following the game, the Mammoth remained on the ice for the team’s regular season awards as follows: All-In Award: Lawson Crouse Community Obsessed Award: Michael Carcone Three-Stars Award: Dylan Guenther Leading Scorer: Clayton Keller (26g, 62a, 88pts) Team MVP: Clayton Keller
Mammoth Governor Ryan Smith concluded the award presentations telling the home fans, “This is your team. Tusks up! Let’s Go!”
In the locker room, Crouse commented on receiving the “All In” team award, “I think I just try and do my best each and every night out there. Obviously, a lot of guys on our team do so too. I think if you look around the room, there’s a lot of guys that come out for that award, and I am obviously very grateful to get that recognition.” On bringing the playoffs to Utah for the first time and what he’s expecting from the home crowd, Crouse added, “Feeling that energy and that atmosphere out there each and every night, I find it hard to believe that there is another level. Considering how loud they have been, they’ve continued to blow us away. So I’m sure they have something in the bag for us for the playoffs.”
On winning the MVP award, captain Clayton Keller said, “It means a lot, for sure. There’s lots of other guys in this room that could have received it. It’s very special, and it means a lot for sure.” As the Mammoth prepare to travel to Las Vegas for Game 83, Keller continued, “It’s super exciting. We’re so excited to be in the playoffs. This is where we wanted to go, and now the real fun starts. Regular season’s over. It doesn’t matter at all, really. It’s focus on Vegas.” Asked what makes Utah dangerous in the first round of the playoffs, Keller said, “I think we’re a very confident team right now. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun, lots of excitement, and great for our group to get into the playoffs and feel that. So I think we’re, like I said, super confident and can’t wait.”
Forward Michael Carcone, asked about receiving the Community Obsessed Award, said, “It’s exciting. Like I said from day one, this community has been special and done so much for my family and myself, so obviously getting recognized for this award is special to me.” With regard to the playoffs, Carcone added, “We did our job getting there, and now it’s on to the next milestone here – getting some wins, getting some experience, and doing what we came here to do.” When the Mammoth return to Delta Center, Carcone is expecting the volume to increase even further. “I mean, you’ve seen it the last few games, right? It’s been pretty electric in here. I think the fans are excited, just as excited as us, so it’s going to be special.”
Utah Mammoth Head Coach André Tourigny has frequently spoken of his team’s resilience in post-game interviews, and Thursday was no different. “The resilience of the guys, the way they fought during the season, through certain moments of adversity, showed a lot of growth in our ability to have urgency when it was important. We stayed away from long periods of adversity. We were capable of having good consistency and strung a few winning streaks together that pushed us over the edge. Happy about the maturity our team had and how much they gel. Even if we have always been the team who is really tight to each other, you can’t take that for granted. Same thing with your family, my family, and all of our families. You don’t take relationships for granted. So, as much as we were tight, we’re even tighter now. So proud of the guys for that. I think they earned everything. They earned the right to play game 83. We talked about it all season long. Proud of the guys for that and excited to get going.” When asked if “brotherhood” is a superpower of the team, Tourigny said, “Yep, it is. I think there’s the excitement for wanting each other, the love they have for each other, and how much they care. I think that goes a long way. We said that we had so many examples this year when we were in adversity. Some guy had the opportunity to sign a long-term deal, and so on and so forth. I think all of that showed how much our team likes each other.”
The first ever playoff hunt for the Mammoth begins Sunday in Las Vegas against the Golden Knights.
André Tourigny’s career coaching record, seasons 1-3 in Arizona and 4-5 in Utah: 2021-22: 25-50-7 (57pts) 2022-23: 28-40-14 (70pts) 2023-24: 36-41-5 (77pts) 2024-25: 38-31-13 (89pts) 2025-26: 43-33-6 (94pts)
Sharks End Season With 6-1 Win, Celebrini Breaks Thornton Record
San Jose Sharks Dimitry Orlov (9) congratulates goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic (33) after defeating the Winnipeg Jets at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg on Thu Apr 16, 2026 (San Jose Sharks X photo)
By Mary Walsh
The San Jose Sharks ended the 2025-26 season with a 6-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. Sharks goals came from Macklin Celebrini, William Eklund, Will Smith, Igor Chernyshov, Collin Graf and Michael Misa. Alex Nedeljkovic made 25 saves for the win. Cole Koepke scored for the Jets and Eric Comrie made 27 saves in the loss.
Celebrini earned three points in the game, giving him 115 points for the season. That was enough to surpass the Sharks all-time single season record. Joe Thornton held the previous record with 114 points in the 2006-07 season. Celebrini also tied Thornton’s record for three-point games in a season with 18. Eklund and John Klingberg also had three-point nights and Will Smith had two points in the game.
The Jets scored first after a puck slipped by Mario Ferraro and out of the zone. Koepke had the jump on everyone and skated into the zone unimpeded for a snap shot into the top corner. That was at 3:28.
Igor Chernyshov tied the game with a power play goal at 6:26. Chernyshov got his stick on the rebound from Eklund’s shot, then he got his own rebound and put the puck behind the goaltender. Assists went to Eklund and Celebrini.
Will Smith gave the Sharks the lead at 16:54. Celebrini made a pass across the ice and Smith snapped it home from just inside the faceoff circle. Assists went to Celebrini and Klingberg.
The Jets outshot the Sharks 12-7 in the first period. Each took had a single penalty.
Collin Graf made it 3-1 at 5:51 of the second period. He knocked the puck free in the d-zone and carried it all the way to the Jets net to score.
The next goal did not come until late in the period, at 18:01. Michael Misa skated end-to end with the puck, entering the Jets zone two-on-one with Kiefer Sherwood. Misa took the shot from the face-off circle, then caught his own reboudn as he skated by the net and tapped it in. Assists went to Eklund and Klingberg.
William Eklund’s goal came even later, at 19:55. Eklund was one of several Sharks around the net, taking shots. Eklund found the puck as it trickled clear of the goaltender and, while dropping to his knees, Eklund pushed the puck over the line. Assists went to Mario Ferraro and Kiefer Sherwood.
The Sharks outshot the Jets 16-7 in the middle frame. The only penalty called went against the Sharks for too many men on the ice.
Macklin Celebrini scored the final goal of the game at 1:14 of the third. After passing the puck to his teammates several times, Celebrini finally took the shot from the slot to set a new single-season scoring record for the Sharks. Assists went to Klingberg and Smith.
Celebrini finished the season in fourth place for points and tied for fourth place in goals. The Sharks finished the season in 24th place in the league.
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