Florida Sports Wire

  JACKSONVILLE  –  Yonny Chirinos fired five scoreless innings and Victor Mesa Jr. homered as the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp took a 3-1 win over the Indianapolis Indians Wednesday night at 121 Financial Ballpark for their fifth consecutive victory. In the bottom of the second inning, Jonah Bride ignited the momentum for the Jumbo Shrimp (30-35), threading a base hit past Indianapolis (26-37) third baseman Malcom Nuñez.  Griffin Conine followed with a base hit, sending Bride to 2nd base. Tristan Gray knocked the third consecutive base hit, loading the bases. Will Banfield reached on a fielder’s choice error, allowing Bride to score the opening run. Two batters later, Javier Sanoja drove in Jacksonville’s second run with a sacrifice fly, increasing their advantage to 2-0.   Mesa Jr. (11) started the fifth frame with a solo home run off Indianapolis Domingo Germán (L, 0-4), pushing the lead to three.   The Indians broke through Jumbo Shrimp pitching in the top of the seventh inning.. Matt

  SHREWSBURY, N.J. – The ECHL on Monday announced the Protected Lists as submitted by each of its Member teams. Teams are allowed to protect as many players as they wish provided the players protected meet the guidelines as defined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the ECHL and the Professional Hockey Players’ Association which state that teams shall retain the rights to each player that: 1. Signed an SPC in 2023-24 with the Member, and has not been traded or released, OR 2. Signed an SPC in 2023-24, and was recalled to the NHL/AHL or IIHF team, and has not been traded or released, OR 3. Had received a Qualifying Offer last summer for the current Season, DID NOT sign an SPC, and has not been traded or released, OR 4. Has been suspended by the Member or League, and has not been traded or released, OR 5. Signed an SPC on or after the first day of the 2023-24 Regular Season, then subsequently signed an NHL/AHL contract, and has not been traded or released, OR 6. Has executed

JACKSONVILLE -  The Gator Bowl Sports Board of Trustees recently elected its 2024-25 full slate of volunteer leadership during its last quarterly meeting. The Board of Trustees previously announced that Andy King would serve as Chairman for the 2024-25 season.  King currently serves as Vice President at GFL (Green For Life), a diversified environmental services company.  Chairman King joins the impressive ranks of the Gator Bowl Board of Trustees after serving in a variety of volunteer roles with Gator Bowl Sports since 2008.     Sara Pomposo  will serve as the Chairman-Elect.   Sara is the Vice President, Marketing & Brand Strategy for BHRS Companies.  Prior to her current role, she was the Publisher and Market President of the Jacksonville Business Journal, a role she held for seven years.  During that time, she has also been actively involved with Gator Bowl Sports where she spearheaded the development of the Bowl’d Ladies membership group. Scott P. Keith, Regional President at

ByShawn P. Roarke @sroarke_nhl NHL.com Senior Director of Editorial SUNRISE, Fla. -- It didn’t take long for Sergei Bobrovsky to put his stamp on the Stanley Cup Final. The goalie made 32 saves for the Florida Panthers, who defeated the Edmonton Oilers 3-0 in Game 1 at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday. "We're happy with the win, and it's a very fun game,” Bobrovsky said. “We’ll reset, refocus and get ready for the next one." Bobrovsky became the first goalie in 13 years to get a shutout in Game 1 of the Cup Final. Roberto Luongo, now in Florida’s front office, did it with the Vancouver Canucks in 2011. “He was incredible tonight,” said forward Evan Rodrigues, who scored Florida’s second goal. “He did everything for us.” Carter Verhaeghe and Eetu Luostarinen also scored, and Aleksander Barkov had two assists for the Panthers, the Eastern Conference champions. Florida took a series lead for the first time in three Final appearances. Teams that win Game 1 of a best-of-7 F

CHARLOTTE, N.C.   –   Griffin Conine   homered for the fourth straight day and the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp earned a series win with Sunday’s 7-4 triumph over the Charlotte Knights at Truist Field.   A four-run second proved to be critical for Jacksonville (28-35). Troy Johnston began the inning with a double against Charlotte (25-37) starter Cory Abbott (2-1). Two batters later, Conine notched an RBI single for the game’s first run. After a Marty Costes base hit, Jonathan Davis’ double brought in Conine. Two batters later, Javier Sanoja’s two-run single made it 4-0.   In the third, Johnston drew a one-out walk. Following a strikeout, Conine crushed a monstrous 428-foot home run to widen the gap to 6-0.   The Knights got on the board in their half of the third. A Wilmer Difo single, Wynton Bernard double and Zach Remillard walk loaded the bases with nobody out. Jumbo Shrimp reliever Jonathan Bermúdez walked Mark Payton to force in a run before Carlos Pérez registered a sacrifice fly.

  ORLANDO   – The UCF men’s basketball team has signed its highest-rated recruit in program history, adding Moustapha Thiam to the 2024-25 roster, head coach Johnny Dawkins. Thaim was the top-ranked center in the class of 2025 before reclassifying to join the Knights for the upcoming season. "We're excited to have Moustapha join our team this year. The timing is great. He will be wonderful in the community and our UCF family. His defensive and offensive versatility will be a great addition to our frontcourt. He's been improving at a fast pace and we are looking forward to helping him maximize his potential." – Johnny Dawkins, UCF Men’s Basketball Head Coach The 7-2 center is a five-star recruit, the first in program history, with a .9943 composite ranking according to 247Sports. He was ranked as the No. 1 center in his class and the No. 14 overall recruit before reclassifying. Thiam was originally slated to join UCF for the 2025-26 campaign before his reclassification

  JACKSONVILLE - The Jacksonville Icemen are pleased to announce that the team has been nominated as finalists for six(6) ECHL 2023-24 Team Awards ,  presented by  SponsorCX , which will be presented at the 2024 ECHL Hockey Summer Meetings in Las Vegas on Wednesday, June 26. The presentation will also be available for streaming on the  ECHL Facebook page  at 7 p.m. ET on June 26. The Icemen have been nominated for the following league awards: Team Award of Excellence Marketing Team of the Year Ticket Department of the Year Corporate Partnership Team of the Year Group Department of the Year – Aggregate Most Creative Revenue Generation of the Year  (Jacksonville Sports Hall of Fame)   The annual ECHL Team Awards honor teams and individuals in several categories for their accomplishments during the 2023-24 Season. The complete awards and finalists are:   Community Service Team of the Year Marketing Team of the Year Most Creative Revenue Generation of the Year Cincinnati Cyclones Allen Ame