Florida Sports Wire

JACKSONVILLE ( www.jaxsportsday.com ) – Vincent Marleau scored twice to guide the Savannah Ghost Pirates to a 4-2 victory over the Jacksonville Icemen in the preseason finale Saturday night at the Community First Igloo.    The Ghost Pirates struck first at 5:48 into the contest when Anthony Collins backhanded a shot to the right of the crease that slipped low past Icemen goaltender Joe Murdaca to give Savannah a 1-0 lead.    The Icemen evened the score at the 14-minute mark of the middle frame when Garrett Van Wyhe picked up the puck down low and clipped a shot past netminder Michael Bullion for the tying goal.    Just over a minute later, Savannah reclaimed the lead on a stellar tally by Vincent Marleau.   Marleau utilized his speed to gain a step on the defender and go in on goal against Murdaca.  Marleau deked forehand to the backhand to slide the puck around Murdaca for the go-ahead marker.    The Ghost Pirates seized control of...

By Mike Bonts, Florida Sports Wire TAMPA ( www.floridasportsday.com ) - The Tampa Bay Lightning opened the 2023-24 season with a 5-3 win over the Nashville Predators. Nikita Kucherov was the first goal scorer of the 2023-24 NHL season, firing a one timer from above the right circle to give the Lightning a 1-0 lead at 9:48 of the first period.' Ryan O’Reilly scored his first goal as a Predator to tie the game 1-1 at 16:15 of the second period Eleven seconds into the third period, Juuso Parssinen capitalized on a Lightning turnover and gave the Predators a 2-1 lead. Nick Paul tied the game back up with a power-play goal, jamming at a loose puck in a net mouth scramble at 2:25 of the third period. Brandon Hagel was awarded a penalty shot after being held while on a breakaway at 3:07 of the third period. Hagel was able to convert on the penalty shot attempt and give the Lightning a 3-2 lead at 3:07 of the third period. Tommy Novak scored short-side high on a shot from the left circle ...

CORAL GABLES ( www.jaxsportsday.com )  - The University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame & Museum announced Wednesday its Class of 2024 inductees for the 54th UM Sports Hall of Fame & Museum Induction Banquet, which will be held next spring.  The 10-member Class of 2024 is comprised of Kimberli Barrett (women’s track & field), Johan Donar (men’s tennis), Jose "Chemi" Gil (men’s diving), Megan Saake-Knokey (women’s basketball), Shane Larkin (men’s basketball), Brandon Meriweather (football), George Oliver (polo coach), Chris Perez (baseball), and Eric Winston (football).  Rounding out the class of inductees is longtime athletics administrator Rick Remmert. "On behalf of the UM Sports Hall of Fame & Museum, it gives us great pleasure to announce the 2024 Class, which is comprised of UM athletes from seven sports, a coach and an athletics administrator," said UMSHoF&M President Mike Ward. "We will celebrate this diverse class and showcase their out...

NEW YORK ( www.jaxsportsday.com ) - Hockey leagues across the United States and Canada have come together to form the Respect Hockey Culture Center – a centralized platform which provides access for players, coaches and employees to confidentially receive mental health support services and to report on incidents of bullying, abuse, harassment and discrimination. This unprecedented alliance includes the American Hockey League (AHL), Canadian Hockey League (CHL), ECHL, Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), and United States Hockey League (USHL). The CHL is comprised of three Member Leagues: the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), and Western Hockey League (WHL). The collaboration seeks to reduce barriers to reporting abuse and misconduct, an essential step in fostering a respectful, psychologically safe, and inclusive environment in hockey. The leagues take allegations of unethical behavior and misconduct seriously and will review all reports mad...

(From NFL Communications) - A look at seven statistical highlights from games played during the 9:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. ET windows on Sunday, October 8, the fifth week of the 2023 season. The PHILADELPHIA EAGLES defeated the Los Angeles Rams, 23-14, in Week 5 and advanced to 5-0 for the second-consecutive season. The SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (4-0) can join Philadelphia at 5-0 with a win over Dallas on Sunday Night Football (8:20 PM ET, NBC). The JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS defeated Buffalo, 25-20, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London in Week 5 after earning a 23-7 win over Atlanta at Wembley Stadium in London last week. The Jaguars are the first team ever to win multiple international games in a season. The MIAMI DOLPHINS totaled 524 yards of total offense in their 31-16 win over the New York Giants. Miami has 2,568 total yards of offense this season and surpassed the 2000 ST. LOUIS RAMS (2,527 total yards) for the most total yards of offense by a team in their first five games of a season ...

JACKSONVILLE ( www.jaxsportsday.com )  – The Jacksonville Icemen, ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres and the AHL’s Rochester Americans announced the following roster transactions: Forwards Damien Giroux, Riley Fiddler-Schultz, Dominick Mersch and defensemen Nicolas Savoie and Chris Jandric have all been assigned to the Icemen by Rochester (AHL).   Giroux , 23, joins the Icemen after playing the last three seasons with the AHL’s Iowa Wild where he totaled 48 points (13g, 35a) in 149.  Last season, Giroux made his NHL debut, appearing in one game with the Minnesota Wild recording an assist in the contest.  The 5-10, 177-pound forward had a productive junior career with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit totaling 194 points with 101 goals in 249 career games.    Fiddler-Schultz , 21, enters his first professional season after logging 75 points (31g, 44a) in 64 games played last season with the Calgary Hitmen of the Western Hockey League (WHL).  Fidder-Schu...

ATLANTA ( www.jaxsportsday.com )  -  Lillian Young was named the Atlantic Sun Player of the Week, the conference announced on Tuesday afternoon. Young, a freshman from Lebanon, Pennsylvania, scored both Dolphins goals last week against Bellarmine. She currently leads the team in goals and points and ranks second in the ASUN in goals scored and fourth in points.  The freshman has scored in five games this season, with the Bellarmine being her first game with multiple goals scored. She is the first Dolphin this year to be awarded with a weekly award from the conference.