Dec 11, 2018 4 min read

Pens’ Murray nearing return

Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Matt Murray is nearing a return from a lower-body injury that has sidelined him since mid-November.

The two-time Stanley Cup winner practiced with his teammates on Tuesday for the first time since going on injured reserve last month. The 24-year-old has struggled this season when able to play. He is 4-5-1 with a 4.08 goals-against average in 11 appearances but declined to use the injury as an excuse for his shaky performance.

“I was sore, but it was nothing to come out of play,” Murray said. “I was playing with it for a few weeks and it was fine. I just tweaked it one day. It didn’t hinder many parts of my game. It’s a specific place. Just giving it time to heal is the biggest thing.”

Murray said he’s uncertain when he’ll be cleared to play. The Penguins face the Blackhawks on Wednesday night, then return home on Friday to play Boston.

Casey DeSmith has played well in place of Murray. DeSmith is 16-9-4 with a 2.35 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage for Pittsburgh. The Penguins have recovered from a poor start and are 6-2-2 in their last 10 games.

Cal women at No. 14

Following a week that featured three upsets among the top 10, the California University women’s basketball team jumped three positions to No. 14 in the latest Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Top 25 poll on Tuesday afternoon.

The Vulcans (8-0) are one of 12 teams in NCAA Division II that remain unbeaten this season. Cal cruised to a 77-36 non-conference victory over Cheyney on Sunday after forcing 37 turnovers and allowing only 13 first-half points.

Cal remains one of two teams from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division and also one of three teams from the Atlantic Region featured in the rankings. IUP (8-0) jumped one spot to No. 2 following a 34-point home win on Saturday, while Virginia Union (8-1) dropped four positions to No. 12 after suffering a three-point road loss.

As a result of the three upsets, the top 10 of the national rankings are virtually completely shifted from last week. Union (Tenn.) (9-0) moved up one to No. 1 after receiving 18 first-place votes followed by IUP with three first-place votes. West Texas A&M (8-0) jumped one position to No. 3 and Drury (Mo.) climbed two spots to No. 4, while Bentley (Mass.) (10-0) remained at No. 5.

Previous No. 1 Ashland (8-1) suffered a 33-point loss to nationally ranked Grand Valley State on Thursday to snap a 69-game winning streak for the Eagles in the regular season.

At The Meadows

Strawb’s Chippie N zipped to the point and held tough in the lane to score in Tuesday’s opening leg of a Holiday Claiming Series for $20,000 claiming filly and mare pacers at The Meadows. My Kind Of Dance captured the other $15,000 opening-leg split.

The Meadows this week is kicking off six Holiday Claiming Series that conclude on a special New Year’s Eve card that also features the career finale of Foiled Again, the richest Standardbred all time with earnings exceeding $7.5 million. First post Dec. 31 is 5:30 p.m.

Strawb’s Chippie N had won two of her three previous starts on the front end, and her victory Tuesday for Aaron Merriman, trainer Mark Goldberg and owner Rags To Riches Of PA was much the same. She shrugged off the Lightning Lane challenge of Always A Z Tam and defeated her by 3/4 lengths in a sharp 1:53.2, with the first-over Ellasen third. The 7-year-old daughter of Stonebridge Regal-Strawb’s Last Chip now has banked $115,385. It was one of four wins for Merriman on the 13-race program.

Tuesday’s card also included the opening leg of a series for $10,000 claiming filly and mare pacers. Deprived, Love Love Me Do and Spoxys Girl took the $8,000 divisions.