Sports – Page 676 – North Platte Post Archive

Storm Fall To Black Hawks In Shootout

Posted on October 12, 2013October 14, 2013

KEARNEY, Neb. – It took a shootout to decide a winner once again at the Viaero Event Center on Saturday night, as the Waterloo Black Hawks (4-1-0) squeaked past the Tri-City Storm (2-1-2) by a final score of 3-2.

Tri-City got goals from forwards Austin Poganski and Thomas Aldworth, while goaltender Jacob Johansson had another outstanding night between the pipes, making 53 saves.

After a scoreless opening period, the Storm were able to survive falling behind twice during the second, as Waterloo took two separate leads during the middle frame.

The Black Hawks wasted no time once they got out of the locker room for the second, scoring just 10 seconds into the new period. After winning the faceoff and moving into the Storm end, Zach Sanford deflected a Mark Friedman shot past Johansson for the first tally of the night.

Waterloo wanted more, taking control of the first few minutes of the period, but Johansson would have none of it and kept the score 1-0.

The Storm were able to tie up the game nine minutes later with a power play strike from Poganski. While on the man advantage, Chase Berger found the forward from St. Paul, Minn. open in front for his first goal of the season. Linemate Chris Wilkie picked up the second assist on the play.

Before the end of the second the Black Hawks retook the lead on a power play goal by Hayden Shaw at 12:36.

Down a goal in the final period, the Storm found what they needed when Aldworth found a loose puck and took off, streaking down the ice. Ahead of the play, he fired a shot past Waterloo netminder Mathias Israelsson to tie the game and give Tri-City some momentum.

Both sides had chances late but neither could break a 2-2 tie and the game headed to a shootout.

Waterloo forward Patrick Russell was the only player who converted in the shootout and he sent the Black Hawks home with a 3-2 victory.

Johansson continued his dominance in his fourth career USHL game, making key saves at important times, but fell just short in the shootout.

The Storm are back at the Viaero Event Center next week for two more home games. The first tilt is on Friday against the Des Moines Buccaneers at 7:30 p.m. and the action continues Saturday with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders at 7:05.

Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Robbie Payne, Joey DiBenedetto, Nick Hutchison, Chase McMurphy and defenseman Garrett Cecere.…

NPCC Lady Knights Lose Twice on Day Two of Jimmy John Invite

Posted on October 12, 2013October 14, 2013

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights (17-12) volleyball team finished the Jimmy John Invite with a 0-4 record after losing two more on Saturday. The Lady Knights opened up the day with the Division I #8 Iowa Western Community College Lady Reivers (31-3) who they lost to in straight sets (22-25, 10-25, 16-25). The Lady Knights would then square off with the Kansas City Kansas Community College Lady Blue Devils who they would also fell to in straight sets (16-25, 20-25, 22-25).

The Lady Knights gave the Lady Reivers all they could handle in the opening set of their game this morning as the set would not be decided until the final point as Iowa Western would hang on to win 22-25. The Lady Reivers would then take control of the match as they won the second set 10-25 and the third set 16-25.

Samantha Kennedy led the Lady Knights with six kills in the match and Joli Hopping led the team with 17 assists. Shannon Liewer and Samantha Byrn each had eight digs for the Lady Knights.

“I thought our kids played really hard in the first set,” said head coach Sally Thalken. “Iowa Western is very big and very good. They regrouped and raised the bar.”

In the second game of the day for the Lady Knights they started out slowly as they would fall to the Lady Blue Devils in the opening set 16-25. The Lady Knights would go toe-to-toe with Kansas City Kansas in the second set before falling 20-25 and then would push the Lady Blue Devils to the limit before falling in the decisive third set 22-25.

The Lady Knights were led by Samantha Byrn who finished with seven kills in the game. Shannon Liewer paced the Lady Knights with 16 digs and Joli Hopping had 12 assists. Samantha Kennedy and Sandrina Hallahan each had three blocks for North Platte.

“We played some very good teams this weekend,” said coach Thalken. “We knew coming in it would be a challenge but we welcomed the opportunity. We are at a critical point in our season. We have a short turnaround as we are again on the road and play Eastern Wyoming on Monday.”

The Lady Knights remain on the road the rest of the season as they travel to Torrington, Wyo. on Monday October 14 to face Eastern Wyoming College at 7 p.m. and to Columbus on Thursday October 17 to face Central Community College at 7 p.m. The game Monday with Eastern Wyoming College will be broadcast live on ESPN 1410.

Abdullah, Nebraska Run Past Purdue 44-7

Posted on October 12, 2013October 14, 2013

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Ameer Abdullah ran for 126 yards and a touchdown to help Nebraska defeat Purdue 44-7 on Saturday.

Terrell Newby ran for 61 yards and Imani Cross added 56 yards and two touchdowns for the Cornhuskers (5-1, 2-0 Big Ten).

Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez sat out with a turf toe injury. Tommy Armstrong Jr. started and completed just 6 of 18 passes for 43 yards with three interceptions. Ron Kellogg III stepped in and completed 10 of 13 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown.

Nebraska held Purdue to 216 yards, and the Boilermakers didn’t score until the final minute of the game. Purdue ran for just 32 yards on 25 carries.

Danny Etling completed 14 of 35 passes for 184 yards and a touchdown in his first career start. DeAngelo Yancey caught five passes for 146 yards and a touchdown for the Boilermakers (1-5, 0-2).

2013 NSAA State Softball Championships

Posted on October 12, 2013October 14, 2013

The Nebraska School Activities Association will be conducting its 2013 State Softball Championships in Hastings on October 16-18.

Twenty-four teams, eight teams from Class A, B & C will be participating in first-round games at the Smith Softball Complex on Wednesday (Oct 16^th). Semifinal games are scheduled for Thursday (Oct 17^th), with the championship finals scheduled for Fridayafternoon (Oct 18^th). See the attached bracket for details on the qualifying teams, game locations and times.

Tickets, which are day passes, are available $9 for adults and $7 for students (age 5 through high school) and can be purchased online at https://nsaahome.ticketleap.com/, or at the championship site.

Youth Hunts in Nebraska Scheduled in October

Posted on October 12, 2013October 14, 2013

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Youths ages 15 and younger are invited to join in special hunts at Nebraska’s nine wildlife management areas.

The youth hunts during pheasant, quail and partridge season are scheduled for Oct. 19-20.

Rooster pheasants will be released at all designated sites before the special hunt season. The hunts are open to the public, and the number of participants is not limited. No registration or special permit is required, but special regulations will be posted at each location.

The hunts are at Pressey in Custer County, Sherman Reservoir in Sherman County, Oak Valley in Madison County, Branched Oak in Lancaster County, Twin Oaks in Johnson County, Hickory Ridge in Johnson County, Wilkinson in Platte County, Peru Bottoms in Nemaha County and Yankee Hill in Lancaster County.

Musketeers Top Storm 6-1

Posted on October 11, 2013October 14, 2013

KEARNEY, Neb. – Sioux City (2-2-1) got goals from six different forwards on their way to their second win of the season at the Viaero Event Center, defeating the Tri-City Storm (2-1-1) 6-1 on Friday night.

The lone Tri-City tally was scored by forward Chris Wilkie, who collected his first goal in a Storm sweater.

The Musketeers took the initial lead on a power play goal from Jared Thomas at 13:45 of the first period. It was their first of three man-advantage goals on the evening.

But the Storm battled back in what was an even first period, getting the goal from Wilkie in the final two minutes of the opening frame to knot the score at 1-1 heading into the first intermission.

Things changed in the second period however, as Sioux City scored four unanswered goals in the middle frame to take a commanding 5-1 lead. Musketeer scorers in the second included Adam Johnson, Avery Peterson, Jake Montgomery and Kyle Schmidt.

The Storm couldn’t dig themselves out of that hole in the third, allowing one final goal to Joe Snively and fell 6-1.

Hayden Lavigne made 39 saves, taking the loss in his USHL debut, while Connor Girard picked up his first win of the year for the Musketeers, making 31 saves.

The Musketeers went 3-7 with the man advantage, while Tri-City was held off the board, going 0-4.

The Storm are back at the Viaero Event Center on Saturday night to host Waterloo in Fire and Ice Night at 7:05 p.m.

Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Ross Olsson, Steven Haydon, Joey DiBenedeto, Thomas Aldworth and defenseman Garrett Cecere.…

NPCC Lady Knights Drop Two at Jimmy John Invite

Posted on October 11, 2013October 14, 2013

The North Platte Community College Lady Knights (17-10) volleyball team fell twice on Friday afternoon on the first day of the Jimmy John Invite in Columbus. The Lady Knights played their third straight five set match this week against the #20 Bismarck State College (28-4) Lady Mystics (28-4). The Lady Knights would fall after taking a 2-1 lead (25-22, 21-25, 25-22, 17-25, 10-15). The Lady Knights would immediately return to the court and lose in straight sets to the top ranked Cowley County Community College (22-3) Lady Tigers (16-25, 18-25, 12-25).

The Lady Knights would start out the opening game of the day well as they would win the opening set 25-22 over the Lady Mystics. Bismarck would then even the game at one set apiece as they would win the second set 21-25. North Platte would then take a 2-1 lead as they would go on to win the third set. The teams continued the pattern of alternating set wins as the Lady Mystics would win the fourth set 17-25. Bismarck would upset the pattern and take the fifth set and the game as they won 10-15.

The Lady Knights were led by Samantha Kennedy who finished with 12 kills and four blocks. Kylie Wroot (11), Sabrina Hallahan (11) and Sandrina Hallahan (10) were in double figures for kills. Joli Hopping led the Lady Knights with 25 assists and Laura Beckman wasn’t far behind with 23. Shannon Liewer paced the Lady Knights with 19 digs.

The Lady Knights would get no rest as next up was Division II #1 Cowley County Community College. The Lady Tigers would take the first set 16-25. Cowley County would continue their strong play as they won the second set 18-25 and would end the game with a 12-25 third set victory.

Samantha Kennedy and Sandrina Hallahan would both have seven kills to lead the Lady Knights. Shannon Liewer would have 19 digs to pace the Lady Knights while Joli Hopping had 18 to go along with her team leading 14 assists.

The Lady Knights return to action tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. as they face Division I #8 Iowa Western Community College and then face Kansas City Kansas Community College at 1 p.m. to finish out the invite.

The Lady Knights remain on the road the rest of the season as they travel to Torrington, Wyo. on Monday October 14 to face Eastern Wyoming College at 7 p.m. and to Columbus on Thursday October 17 to face Central Community College at 7 p.m. The game against Eastern Wyoming can be heard on ESPN Radio 1410.

NPCC Knights Softball Concludes Fall Season, Holds 21 Inning Sponsorship Game

Posted on October 11, 2013October 14, 2013

The North Platte Community College Softball team has finished up their 2013 Fall Season. The season included trips to McCook to face McCook Community College, Scottsbluff to face TC Thunder, Chadron State College and Western Nebraska Community College and Kearney to face the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The Fall Season cumulated with a 21 inning sponsorship game against McCook Community College at home.

The Lady Knights and Lady Indians of McCook played three games (21 innings) and had sponsorship from the community for almost every inning. The Lady Knights softball’s host families had a barbecue feed between games two and three that fed both softball teams, fans from both teams and all the volunteers.

“Having sponsors within the community is huge for us,” said head coach Janelle Higgins. “For a small community we really do have a great support system. Thanks to our host families for putting on the barbeque.”

Sponsorship for the games includes:

Premier Audio Video Inc

Dave’s Auto-Body

Tri State Spa

Rosenberg Insurance Inc

ATC Communication

Lusk Heating and Air Conditioning Inc

Merricks Ranch House

Dr. Debs Express Medical Care

Kimberly Suter DDS

Lieber Business Group

First Nebraska Financial Services Inc

The Sports Shoppe

Franzen Plumbing

Menards

Tattoo Clinic

DOM LLC

With the end of the Fall Season the Lady Knights begin preparation for their first scheduled game on Feb. 15 2014 against Colby Community College. The Fall Season was the first collegiate softball for the 11 new players to the program and a return for six Lady Knights from a year ago.

The Lady Knights will participate in CrossFit workouts during the winter months. Also, the Lady Knights are already working on their annual “Spirit Haunting in a Ghost Town” that will be held at the Lincoln County Historical Museum from Oct. 23-31.

“It was a great way to end our fall season (21 inning game),” said Higgins. “We saw a lot of good leadership from our returning athletes and we are excited about the enthusiasm our freshmen are bringing. The team is excited about the starting of CrossFit and we are looking forward to the haunted house coming up at the end of the month. We have added new scenes and twists to it this year!”

Armstrong to Start vs. Purdue

Posted on October 10, 2013

Lincoln, Neb.-The Nebraska football team wrapped up its preparation for Saturday’s Big Ten conference road opener against Purdue on Thursday afternoon. The team practiced in helmets and shorts for 90 minutes inside the Hawks Center and outside at the Ed and Joyanne Gass Practice Fields.

Head Coach Bo Pelini met with the media after practice, noting that redshirt freshman Tommy Armstrong Jr. will be making his third start Saturday versus Purdue.

“As of right now it is (going to be) just like we have been at the quarterback position.” Pelini said.

Pelini also added that senior Quarterback Taylor Martinez will still make the trip up to West Lafayette, but will not play.

“Like I said, Taylor is still day-to-day, and he is getting better. He is a lot better than he has been.”

Another injury concern that Husker fans have been monitoring has been junior wide receiver Jamal Turner’s hamstring injury. Pelini noted that Turner practiced today and will be ready to go for Saturday’s matchup against the Boilermakers.

Something Husker fans haven’t been accustomed seeing was missed extra points and missed field goals after last Saturday’s victory over Illinois. Pelini said that senior transfer Pat Smith will be the man NU relies on in their kicking game this upcoming Saturday.

“I saw improvement, which after last week isn’t saying a whole heckuva lot, but I thought Patrick had a really good week, so the guy you will see in there is Patrick Smith.” Pelini said.

With Danny Etling making his first career start Saturday at quarterback for Purdue, Pelini believes that the Boilermaker offense will have a little bit different of a look, but should be very similar to what they have ran up to this point of the season.

“I think somewhat they have to run what they have been doing, but they might lean to some different plays or different personal groupings.” Pelini said, “When he came into the game last week they slung the ball around, and did not run the ball much when he was in the game.”

Nebraska will conduct a walk-thru in Lincoln on Friday morning before departing for West Lafayette. NU will face the Purdue Boilermakers on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT. The game will be televised nationally on Big Ten Network.

NPCC Lady Knights Win Five Set Thriller

Posted on October 9, 2013

After a two hour and thirty minute five set match on Monday, the North Platte Community College Lady Knights (17-8) volleyball team followed it up with a two hour eleven minute five set match on Wednesday as they defeated the Southeast Lady Storm (9-12) to finish the season 10-1 at home (24-26, 25-11, 20-25, 25-20, 15-13).

The match was the last home contest of the season and marked the final home game for the five sophomores in the Lady Knights program. The sophomores include Laura Beckman of Julesburg, Colo., Sabrina Hallahan of Brush, Colo., Sandrina Hallahan of Brush, Colo., Jacee Kershaw of Culbertson and Shannon Liewer of Imperial.

The first set would start out with neither team being able to gain any advantage as the teams exchanged side outs. The Lady Storm would open up a 15-17 lead and force the Lady Knights into a timeout. The Lady Knights would even the game back up and the two teams would exchange leads until the Lady Storm again pulled ahead 21-23 forcing another Lady Knights timeout. The Lady Knights would again even the score at 23 before the Lady Storm earned a game point. The Lady Knights extended the set by blocking a kill attempt. The Lady Storm would score the final two points to take the first set 24-26

The second set would open with the Lady Storm scoring the first point of the set. It wouldn’t last long as the Lady Knights raced out to an 8-4 lead that forced a Southeast timeout. The Lady Knights would then extend their lead and take control of the match at 15-8. The Lady Knights would continue to extend their lead to 24-9. The Lady Storm scored two more points but it was not enough as the Lady Knights evened the match at one set apiece with a 25-11 victory.

The third set was similar to the first set as neither team could gain an advantage early in the set. The teams would trade side outs and leads before the Lady Storm would earn the first two point lead of the night at 18-20. Southeast would extend the lead to 18-23 before the Lady Knights would score two straight. It was too little too late as the Lady Storm would take the third set 20-25.

The Lady Knights started strong in the fourth set as they opened up a 7-3 lead that forced the Lady Storm into an early timeout. The lead would prove to be insurmountable as the Lady Knights would extend their lead and not allow the Lady Storm to get any closer than four points at 22-18 and 23-19 on their way to a 25-20 fourth set victory

The deciding fifth set would be back and forth as neither team could gain a large advantage. The teams switched sides of the court as the Lady Knights held the slimmest of leads at 8-7. After being tied at 9-9 the Lady Knights would score three straight points to take a 12-9. The Lady Storm would score the next two before the teams traded points to leave the score at 13-12. The Lady Knights would earn a set and game point at 14-12 forcing a Southeast timeout. The Lady Storm would score a point to extend the match but a spike by Sandrina Hallahan would win the set and game for the Knights 15-13.

“I wanted to win so bad since it was our last home game,” said Sandrina Hallahan. “I put all of my effort into that last hit.”

The Lady Knights were led by Samantha Byrn who finished with 13 kills. Sandrina Hallahan and Kylie Wroot were also in double figures with 11 and Samantha Kennedy was as well with 10. Joli Hopping had 26 assists and Laura Beckman had 24 for the Lady Knights. Shannon Liewer led the team with 20 digs.

“I am so proud of our sophomores and everything they have brought to this program,” said head coach Sally Thalken. “I was happy to win their last home game but we need to find a way to start matches out faster.”

The Lady Knights return to action this Friday and Saturday as they travel to Columbus for the Jimmy John Invite. The Knights will play their first game at 1 p.m. on Friday against #20 Bismarck State College and will play again at 5 p.m. against Division I #8 Iowa Western. The competition remains stiff as Saturday the Lady Knights face #1 Cowley County Community College at11 a.m. and Kansas City Kansas Community College at 3 p.m.