SPORTS N STUFF

Carolina Hurricanes co-owner Thomas Thewes died after a two year battle with leukemia. He was 76.
Thewes, who passed away Sunday, most recently served as vice chairman of the board of directors of the Compuware Corporation, the company he founded in 1973 along with Peter Karmanos Jr. and Allen Cutting.

Along with Karmanos and current president Jim Rutherford, Thewes acquired the NHLs Hartford Whalers on June 28, 1994, and the team moved to North Carolina to become the Hurricanes in 1997.

Thewes also was the co-owner of the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and the Florida Everblades of the ECHL.

Chicago Blackhawks goalie Nikolai Khabibulin has been put on waivers.
Khabibulin is entering the final season of a four-year, $27 million contract. He joined the Blackhawks from Tampa Bay as a free agent after leading the Lightning to the 2004 Stanley Cup.

The Blackhawks signed free agent goalie Cristobal Huet to a four-year, $22.5 million deal in July, giving them two top goaltenders.

Khabibulin was the Blackhawks’ highest-paid player until defenseman Brian Campbell signed an eight-year, $56.8 million free-agent contract with the team on July 1.

But Khabibulin has been inconsistent and injured over the past three seasons. In 2007-08, he appeared in 50 games, posting a 23-20-6 record with a 2.63 goals against average and .909 save percentage.

“We’re going to do what’s best for the Chicago Blackhawks,” general manager Dale Tallon said in August about the two No. 1 goalies. “If that means keeping Nick, we’ll do that. If not, we’ll move on.”

The Blackhawks finished 40-34-8 last season.

Though the regular season has yet to begin, the Pittsburgh Penguins already have suffered a hard hit.
The Penguins will be without top defenseman Sergei Gonchar for up to six months, according to a published report on Monday.

TSN of Canada reported Gonchar will undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair his dislocated left shoulder and will miss between four and six months.

The 34-year-old Russian was injured in the Penguins preseason opener on September 20 against the Tampa Bay Lightning after being checked by David Koci.

Gonchar recorded 12 goals and 53 assists in 73 games last season. Drafted 14th overall by Washington in 1992, the four-time All-Star has collected 185 tallies and 615 points in 904 career contests with the Capitals, Boston Bruins and Penguins.

Pittsburgh opens the regular season in Stockholm, Sweden against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

Hockey seasons aren’t made or lost in September, but roster spots are.
The Blackhawks went to 3-0 in exhibitions with a 4-3 victory over the Dallas Stars on Sunday night. Other than to most in the crowd of 18,425 at the United Center, the result didn’t matter as much as the performances of players fighting to stay with the team.

“I’ve told those young players and some of the guys fighting for jobs, ‘It’s every night, every shift,’ ” coach Denis Savard said. “You have one bad night and the other guy has a good night, we’re going to take the guys playing the best.”

Here are the players who helped — and hurt — their causes Sunday night:

Moving up:Jack Skille, right wing — The Hawks’ first pick in the 2005 draft displayed his scoring ability in the second period with a nice backhand move. Skille finished with a goal on two shots in 10 minutes 23 seconds.

“It’s important for me to go out there every shift like I did and be noticed,” Skille said.

Antti Niemi, goaltender — The free agent from Finland is a long-range prospect, but a trade or injury could put him in the mix as a backup along with Corey Crawford. Niemi flashed a quick glove and pads to finish with 28 saves and the victory.

Kris Versteeg, left wing — He played on the top line and was scoreless in four shots in 16:09. Versteeg was most effective as a penalty killer in helping hold Dallas to 0-for-7 on the power play.

Staying steady — Kyle Beach, left wing: In his second game in a Hawks uniform, this year’s top draft pick showed grit and just missed a goal when he fired over the crossbar.

Keith Carney, defense — The 38-year-old free-agent invitee was steady in 9:42.

Moving down: Michael Blunden, right wing — Played in his first exhibition of the season and was a minus-2 in 9:53.

Tim Brent, center — Made his debut and was a minus-2 with no shots on goal in 8:47.

Igor Makarov, right wing — Played his second game after being limited with a sore knee and was held off the scoresheet in 9:07.

Pascal Pelletier, left wing — Followed an impressive effort in the opener with a minus-1 in 14:41 with no shots.

Doug Janik, defenseman — Minus-2 with a penalty.

One-timer: The Hawks’ power play was solid as Jonathan Toews scored twice and Patrick Sharp once. Brian Campbell had assists on all three power-play scores and also assisted on Skille’s even-strength goal.

A year ago, Matt Niskanen was a fresh-faced kid out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth. Who was ticketed for a year in the minor leagues.

Today, he’s one of the Stars’ core defensemen, eating up 20 minutes or more in every preseason game.

So much for being a rookie.

“He’s done a great job of adjusting, and that’s a big part of the job,” Stars coach Dave Tippett said recently. “And now, we expect him to take more responsibility. And it’s not just him, it’s all of our young defensemen. It’s time to take the next step.”

Niskanen played 22 minutes and 10 seconds Sunday in a 4-3 preseason loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, scoring a goal, registering four shots on net and finishing a plus-1.

The Stars did not have injured defensemen Sergei Zubov (hip) and Philippe Boucher (toe) and sat out defensemen Stephane Robidas and Nicklas Grossman, but the 20-plus-minute performance wasn’t unusual for Niskanen in the preseason. He has had games of 25:20 and 27:11, and nothing reflects trust in a player quite like time on ice.

But Niskanen said he wants that trust, and he embraces the expectations.

“Sometimes you get a little leeway as a rookie,” he said. “I’m not going to say I’m a veteran yet — I’m still a young guy — but I have that experience, so there is going to be a little extra pressure, and I’m going to have to learn to deal with that.”

The thought is that Niskanen will use Zubov as a security blanket in dealing with the pressure. The two showed strong chemistry last season, and Zubov said Niskanen’s play helped make him better.

When Zubov returns from his hip injury, probably in late October, the two might play beside one another. Until then, Niskanen will get a chance to prove himself in different scenarios.

“I think with the group we have and the injury situation, everyone should be ready to play with everyone,” Tippett said. “We’re obviously looking for pairs and chemistry, but at this stage, we have to be open to a lot of options.”

Niskanen proved last season that he is intelligent, durable and skilled. In 78 games, he posted seven goals and 19 assists and finished plus-22, the second-best plus-minus on the Stars, behind Brenden Morrow.

A hairline fracture in his foot, an injury to Zubov, and the intensity of the playoffs led to a slow finish, but that was somewhat expected for Niskanen, who is 21.

“He went above and beyond all of our expectations,” Stars co-GM Les Jackson said. “So because of that, he gets a new set of expectations. We expect him to keep pushing forward, and we’re confident he’ll do that.”

Sunday: The Stars finished a run of three preseason games in four days with a 4-3 loss to the Blackhawks in Chicago. Matt Niskanen, Loui Eriksson and Joel Lundqvist scored for the Stars. Chris Conner and B.J. Crombeen each had two assists. Tobias Stephan allowed four goals on 28 shots, and Dallas fell to 1-3-0 in the preseason. Brian Campbell had four assists for Chicago, which went 3-for-9 on the power play.

Monday: The Stars will start a three-day getaway in Colorado with a day of golf and a team gathering in Colorado Springs. They will practice Tuesday in Colorado Springs and play Wednesday in Denver. Expect the team to announce some cuts today to get the roster near 30 players.

Monday National Hockey League Capsules.
TORONTO 4, ST. LOUIS 3 (SO)

TORONTO Defenseman Luke Schenn scored the decisive goal in the fourth round of the shootout as the Toronto Maple Leafs skated to a 4-3 preseason victory over the St. Louis Blues.

Andy McDonald gave St. Louis the edge in the first round of the bonus format, beating goaltender Vesa Toskala with a wrist shot. But blue-liner Pavel Kubina evened things by putting a wrister past netminder Manny Legace in the third round.

Toskala turned aside Paul Kariyas shot before Schenn put a backhander by Legace. Toskala then denied T.J. Oshie on the Blues last chance, securing the win.

Niklas Hagman scored twice and Alex Steen also tallied for Toronto, while Toskala made 28 saves.

Brad Boyes scored his league-leading fourth goal of the preseason and David Backes netted his first for St. Louis. McDonald notched his league-high eighth point when he scored with 8:14 remaining in the third period to forge a 3-3 tie.

Legace turned aside 27 shots, including 10 in the first period.

PHOENIX 5, SAN JOSE 1

GLENDALE, Arizona Peter Mueller recorded a hat trick and Mikkel Boedker added two goals as the Phoenix Coyotes posted their first preseason victory, a 5-1 triumph over the San Jose Sharks.

Mueller, who recorded a pair of hat tricks as a rookie last season, led a furious comeback by Phoenix, which trailed, 1-0, after one period. Drafted eighth overall in 2006, the 20-year-old native of Minnesota single-handedly erased the deficit, scoring goals 49 seconds apart in the middle session before Boedker gave the Coyotes a 3-1 lead just 98 seconds later at 8:46.

Mueller completed his three-goal effort with 2:57 remaining in the period and Boedker – the eighth overall selection in this past Junes draft – capped the scoring at 4:40 of the third. In losing its first four exhibition games, Phoenix netted a total of eight tallies.

Ilya Bryzgalov made 19 saves over two periods before Mikael Tellqvist turned aside all nine shots he faced in the third.

Former Coyote Brian Boucher stopped 16 shots and Lukas Kaspar scored the lone goal for the Sharks, who went 0-for-6 on the power play.

COLUMBUS 7, CHICAGO 1

COLUMBUS, Ohio Captain Rick Nash scored two goals and set up two others as the Columbus Blue Jackets rolled to a 7-1 preseason victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.

Kristian Huselius and defensemen Rostislav Klesla and Fedor Tyutin each added a goal and two assists for the Blue Jackets, who totaled just nine tallies in their first four exhibition contests.

Blue-liner Christian Backman, who also had an assist, snapped a scoreless tie at 7:28 of the second period with a slap shot from the left faceoff circle during a 5-on-3 power play, and Nash doubled the lead 54 seconds later with a man-advantage goal. Raffi Torres made it 3-0 just 23 seconds afterward, and Huselius increased the lead to 4-0 just over two minutes later.

Acquired from Edmonton over the summer, Torres was playing for the first time since suffering a torn ACL on December 12. However, the 26-year-old former first-round pick of the New York Islanders separated his shoulder late in the second period of this contest and is expected to miss six weeks.

Nash and Tyutin, who along with Backman was obtained in an offseason trade with the New York Rangers, added tallies in the third before Petri Kontiola got Chicago on the scoreboard with a power-play goal midway through the period. Klesla capped the scoring during a man advantage with 3:32 remaining.

Pascal Leclaire made 22 saves for Columbus, which went 3-for-6 on the power play.

Hours after placing Nikolai Khabibulin on waivers, the Blackhawks saw Cristobal Huet yield all seven goals on just 22 shots. Huet was signed to a four-year, $22.54 million contract in July.

WASHINGTON 3, NEW JERSEY 2

NEWARK, New Jersey Brent Johnson stopped all 18 shots he faced, Michael Nylander set up a pair of second-period goals and the Washington Capitals remained unbeaten in exhibition action with a 3-2 victory over the listless New Jersey Devils.

Making his second preseason appearance, Johnson made 13 saves in the first period, when he helped kill an early two-man advantage for New Jersey. He turned aside five shots in the second period before giving way to Jose Theodore, the Capitals No. 1 netminder.

Nylander helped break a scoreless deadlock with a power-play tally 3:09 into the second period. After working a give-and-go with Nicklas Backstrom, he backhanded a pass through the low slot to defenseman Mike Green, who swept the puck into a half-empty net.

The Capitals struck again just over four minutes later as Nylander found Boyd Gordon, who shifted to his backhand and beat goaltender Kevin Weekes for his second preseason goal. Nylander leads Washington, which improved to 4-0-0 this preseason, with six points in three games.

The Devils started the third period on the power play, but reigning Hart Trophy winner Alex Ovechkin finished a 3-on-1 shorthanded break with his third goal in two exhibition contests.

New Jersey, which totaled one shot in the first 12 1/2 minutes of the second period, finally got on the board midway through the third, when Zach Parise whacked the puck past Theodore during a goalmouth scramble. Petr Vrana drew the Devils within one with 1:52 remaining, deflecting in defenseman Wade Brookbanks shot from the point.

Weekes, who was pulled for an extra attacker during a power play with over four minutes remaining, finished with 23 saves.

The Buffalo Sabres needed to add a little more experience on defense over the summer. They certainly needed to inject some more toughness in the backline as well.

Enter Craig Rivet. It looks like he’s the veteran tough guy they needed.

The 34-year-old has seamlessly fit right in to his new team, leading the blueliners with 20z minutes of ice time in Sunday’s 2-1 shootout loss to the Minnesota Wild before a generously announced crowd of 17,311 in HSBC Arena.

The game was marred by a left leg injury suffered by Buffalo winger Daniel Paille with about seven minutes to go in the second period. Paille took a borderline low hit from Wild defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron and hobbled off with what coach Lindy Ruff termed a bruised thigh.

Bergeron then took a beating from

Paul Gaustad, who rushed to Paille’s defense but jammed his thumb in the process. His X-rays were negative and Ruff said both might be out only a day or two.

Like Gaustad, Rivet stood up for his mates as well in the first period Saturday night with a beatdown of Toronto tough guy Ryan Hollweg. The Sabres were aggravated with Hollweg from Monday’s game in the Air Canada Centre and when he got a little too close to goaltender Ryan Miller on Saturday, Rivet sprung into action.

“That’s just part of the game,” Rivet said, discounting the notion he was trying to make a quick first impression on home ice. “When we’re battling in front of the net, you hear a whistle there’s a few extra jabs and things happen. You just want to protect your goaltender.”

Rivet played parts of 12 years in Montreal and the last two in San Jose. He can be physical but he can go to the net as well with a good shot that should get some use on the power play.

“I’ve watched him in practice, watched him with our young defenseman, I’ve watched his habits,” Ruff said. “He’s a great guy to have around your young players. He’s been through a lot . . . has a great physical nature to him.”

“It’s just a great presence for this team,” added winger Ales Kotalik. “Craig Rivet is an NHL veteran. He proved what kind of player he is in Montreal and San Jose. This is a guy with a great name around the league. This is the position we needed to fill. That’s just an outstanding addition.”

Rivet gives the Sabres another right-handed shot, another hole they wanted to fill.

“He can jump up on offense and play great defense too,” said Jaroslav Spacek. “That’s what we needed. He’s a great guy. He’s really strong and he brings some respect from the other team.”

Rivet, remember, wasn’t real happy to get traded from San Jose when the deal went down in July. But he started to warm to the idea as the summer went on and the reception he’s gotten since training camp started has taken him aback, right from the huge ovation he got when introduced during the team’s third jersey unveiling last weekend.

“It’s been fantastic,” Rivet said. “I’ll tell you, there’s a lot of passion in this city for the game of hockey. You can really see they love their sports, they love their Bills and Sabres. I’m really happy to be part of it right now.

“I hated playing in Buffalo because it was an extremely difficult place to play with the style that they played. They were very aggressive. I’m certainly happy to be part of the team right now.”

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The Sabres fell to 1-2-1 in the preseason with the loss. Jochen Hecht scored the Sabres’ goal 13 seconds into the second period on a Jason Pominville feed after good work behind the net by Clarke MacArthur. The Wild tied it on a fluke goal with 2:57 left as Andrew Brunette’s feed to the slot on a power play went into the net off Spacek.

The Wild won the shootout, 2-1, as it took four rounds to complete. Drew Stafford scored the lone goal for Buffalo while Brunette beat Patrick Lalime for the game-winner. The Sabres had a 29-19 edge in shots and Lalime, their new backup, was sharp for all 65 minutes.

“I thought the team was good tonight,” Ruff said. “I thought we really didn’t give up anything the last 25 minutes except for a tough bounce, which was about the only opportunity they had in that period.”

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The Sabres’ big-name scratches Sunday were Derek Roy, Thomas Vanek, Ales Kotalik, Tim Connolly, Patrick Kaleta, Andrew Peters, Nathan Paetsch, Toni Lydman and Teppo Numminen.

Other than Adam Mair, who has missed the entire preseason with a knee injury, Connolly is the only player who didn’t play in either weekend home game. Connolly is nursing a sore back and was held out as a precaution.

Connolly did, however, practice at full speed both Saturday and Sunday, taking part in the session with the roughly 25 players not dressing for the game. Ruff said he should play this week. The Sabres return to action with a rematch Wednesday at Minnesota.

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South Buffalo native Tim Kennedy and former Boston College star Nathan Gerbe made their home debuts. Kennedy nearly added to Buffalo’s lead in the second period when he moved in alone and had Niklas Backstrom beat with a deke but shot wide.

Backstrom then stopped Kennedy on a Hecht feed with seven seconds left in OT and again on a deke attempt in the shootout.

Guards J C Clark and Jamel White were both dismissed. From the Louisiana Tech mens basketball team, the school announced on Monday.

The senior Clark and the Nebraska transfer White were both kicked off the team due to a violation of unspecified team rules.

Although I am disappointed by these circumstances, there is an expectation of conduct that will not be compromised in our program, coach Kerry Rupp said. Every member of our team is also a representative of this university, and we will continue to reinforce the core values that are the backbone of our program.

The 6-0 Clark appeared in 30 games – 28 starts – last season, finishing second on the team in scoring with 9.5 points. He also averaged 2.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals.

The 6-3 White sat out last season after transferring from Nebraska, where he averaged 9.3 points as a sophomore in 2006-07.

The Bulldogs, who went 6-24 last season en route to finishing last in the Western Athletic Conference, will open the regular season against Louisiana-Lafayette on November 15.

Standout Santa Clara center John Bryant was recovering Monday. From stab wounds to the back stemming from an off-campus incident early Saturday, Santa Clara Police said.

“Yes, John Bryant was a victim of assault,” Santa Clara Police Sgt. Kurt Clarke said in a phone interview. “We don’t know specifically what transpired. It’s still under investigation. We are interviewing victims and witnesses.”

Bryant, who led the West Coast Conference in rebounds and blocked shots last season and was second in scoring, was moving around on his own Monday and expected to be playing again soon, the school said. Bryant, who will be evaluated in the coming days, will begin his senior season for the Broncos when practice starts next month.

Bryant was briefly hospitalized and Santa Clara coach Kerry Keating and members of his staff visited Bryant within 30 minutes of his admission, the school said.

“He’s up walking around and doing fine and is expected to be back on the basketball court soon,” spokeswoman Michelle Schmitt said Monday. “Kerry said John is going to class Tuesday. He doesn’t have classes Monday. He needs to see the trainer before getting back on the court.”

Bryant started 30 of 31 games last season as a junior, leading Santa Clara with averages of 18.0 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks.

Bryant, who grew up in nearby San Pablo, worked hard this offseason to get in better shape, trimming his 6-foot-11 frame to 275 pounds.

“He is expected to make a full recovery,” Santa Clara athletic director Dan Coonan said in a statement. “Due to the ongoing investigation by the Santa Clara Police Department, the Santa Clara Athletics Department will have no further comment at this time.”

The Demon Deacons essentially start two point guards in sophomore Jeff Teague and junior Ishmael Smith.
Both have great wheels they could be the fastest tandem in the country and they complement one another because each uses his speed for different purposes.

Teague is the score-first type who can rack up points quickly. Teague scored 25 or more in five games last season. Four of those resulted in wins for the Deacons, including an 86-73 upset over then-No. 9 Duke where Teague finished with 26 and looked like the best player on the court. Teague excels at beating defenders off the dribble, and he does a good job finishing around the basket and drawing fouls. The former four-star prospect is also a good on-the-ball defender. With a year of experience to draw from, expect him to be a little better in all areas and blossom into an All-ACC selection.

Smith, who enters his third year as a starter, is more of a setup man who can score but prefers to pass the ball. Smith suffered a foot injury in a pickup game last week that required surgery, and he probably will miss most of preseason practice. Hes expected to be back in time for the season opener. The Deacons need Smith to be healthy so they can take full advantage of what promises to be a deep rotation loaded with scoring threats.

Junior L.D. Williams, a two-year starter, could be moved to the bench in favor of a bigger lineup, but he will still play 20-plus minutes a game. An athletic 6-foot-4 wing, Williams may be the best defender on the team and in the past has guarded the opponents top perimeter scorer. Williams has a knack for energizing the team with highlight-reel worthy dunks. He needs to improve his ball-handling and outside shooting.

Shooting guard Harvey Hale, a senior, will be one of the first players off the bench. Hale, who has been a starter on and off for the past three seasons, has a history of being a streaky shooter. Sophomore shooting guard Gary Clark, who saw action in 24 games last season, could be used as a role player to provide more depth.

That group of guards is the deepest in the ACC and also ranks among the most talented. But the Deacons need someone to knock down open 3-pointers with regularity. They shot 31.6 percent from beyond the arc last season, last in the ACC.

FRONTCOURT

The Deacons are welcoming a collection of big men who will make coaches at the most elite programs envious. Forward Al-Farouq Aminu (6-9) and centers Tony Woods (6-11) and Ty Walker (7-0) which made up the nations No. 3-rated recruiting class are all five-star recruits. Each probably will play in the NBA someday. That trio joins what was already a solid returning core and will combine to give the Deacons one of the most talented and deepest frontcourts in the nation.

The multi-dimensional James Johnson was arguably the best freshman in the ACC last season. An inside-outside scoring threat, Johnson ranked 12th in the league in scoring (14.6 ppg), third in rebounding (8.1 rpg), fifth in field-goal percentage (48.7 percent) and eighth in blocks (1.3 bpg). Johnson had eight double-doubles, including a 24-point, 16-rebound performance in that signature win over the Blue Devils. With such an influx of talent, Johnson may not be relied upon as much, but he still could prove to be the teams best player.

The Deacons also return a pair of juniors who saw regular action last season 7-foot center Chas McFarland and power forward Jamie Skeen. McFarland was one of the ACCs most improved players. After barely playing as a freshman, the big man ranked second on the team in rebounding and fifth in the league in blocks. Skeen was a solid contributor off the bench and can be counted on for rebounding.

Aminu is the most ready of the three freshmen and could start from Day One. Long and athletic, Aminu possesses a similar game to that of Johnson with an ability to shoot from 3-point range and score in the paint. The Deacons will use the two together frequently, which will create big matchup issues for opponents.

Walker and Woods, who will challenge McFarland for a starting job, will make their biggest impact on defense. Both have the size and athleticism to be great shot blockers. Walker is more polished and can step outside and hit jump shots. Woods is more of a raw project who could go through some growing pains this year.

OFFENSE

Deacons ranked eighth in the league last season in scoring offense at 72.2 points per game. Expect that number to rise by four to six points. Their personnel is built for the open court, and with a much deeper rotation, they will be pushing the pace much more. In halfcourt sets, Smith will look to create off the dribble, and Teague and Johnson probably will remain the No. 1 and No. 2 options.

DEFENSE
The defensive problems that plagued the Deacons during the last couple years of the Skip Prosser era appear to have been fixed. After ranking last in scoring defense and field-goal percentage defense in 2006-07, the Deacs moved to fourth and sixth, respectively, in those categories. A change from an aggressive man-to-man to more of a pack-line defense where nobody drifts out beyond the 3-point line deserves the credit. In the second year of the new system, the Deacs should improve a little more.

SHOES TO FILL

Nobody. All scholarship players return for the Deacons.

MUST STEP UP

Three-point shooting. The Deacons lack a reliable outside shooter, and as a team they need to do a better job of knocking down 3-point shots. Otherwise, they wont be able to do any damage in the NCAA tournament.

IMPACT NEWCOMER

Aminu. Ranked as the No. 7 prospect in the 2008 class, Aminu has the potential to be a one-and-done player. Aminu will certainly bolster Wakes offense, but its on the boards where the versatile small forward could make the biggest difference. The coaching staff says he can be a great rebounder from the start.