In brief: N.Y. Islanders defeat Carolina in season opener
NHL: These New York Islanders didn’t look much like the team that finished last year in last place.
Which makes sense: So many of the contributors Friday night weren’t with them when last season ended.
Johnny Boychuk had a goal and two assists in his Islanders debut, leading them past the host Carolina Hurricanes 5-3 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Brock Nelson began his second NHL season with two goals and two assists, but three other Islanders who played key roles in this one weren’t around for the end of last year.
Free-agent signee Mikhail Grabovski had a goal, trade acquisition Jaroslav Halak made 21 saves, and John Tavares had three assists in his return after injuring a knee during the Olympics.
“This is a big starting point for us, the new faces contributed, and that’s why they’re here,” Nelson said. “If we get more than a couple guys on the score sheet, we’re going to be a pretty good hockey club.”
Travis Hamonic also scored a goal for the Islanders, who scored twice on the power play, and center Ryan Strome added two assists.
• IceArizona agrees to sale of Coyotes: IceArizona has agreed to sell a majority stake of the Arizona Coyotes to Philadelphia hedge fund manager Andrew Barroway.
The sale and ownership transfer must be approved by the NHL’s Board of Governors. If the deal is completed, Barroway will serve as the team’s chairman and governor.
IceArizona purchased the Coyotes last year from the NHL, which ran the team for four seasons after Jerry Moyes took it into bankruptcy, The Coyotes said in a statement Friday that Barroway’s purchase of a 51 percent stake in the team will strengthen its long-term future in Arizona.
Barroway, managing partner of Merion Investment Management LP, previously tried to buy the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders.
• Lawyers argue fines for Stars owner: Dallas Stars owner Tom Gaglardi and his company should face $300,000 in fines for damaging a fish habitat, a Crown lawyer argued Friday at a sentencing hearing.
Digby Kier said Gaglardi had no regard for a fish habitat when he renovated his vacation home on Kamloops Lake in 2010. Gaglardi, also the owner of the Western Hockey League’s Kamloops Blazers, and Northland Properties were convicted in August of two counts of harmful alteration of a fish habitat.
The work involved the construction of a boat launch.
Kier said Kamloops Lake is a significant stop for juvenile salmon on their way from the Interior to the Pacific Ocean.
Kier said neither Gaglardi nor Northland obtained a building permit for any of the renovation work, and that it will take 40 to 50 years for the fish habitat to return to a healthy state.
Defense lawyer Rob Bruneau said a $300,000 fine is excessive given previous sentences for similar offenses.
Complaint dropped, Florida QB reinstated
College Football: Florida quarterback Treon Harris has been fully reinstated by the university and the football team after a fellow student accuser withdrew her sexual battery complaint against the freshman.
The school said in a statement that the woman who made the allegation “is not pursuing criminal charges against him at this time, but maintains the right to do so in the future.” The university added that it is not proceeding with any action against Harris.
Florida coach Will Muschamp responded by reinstating Harris, but said he will not play in Saturday night’s game against Southeastern Conference rival LSU.
“We have been notified that the university and legal process is complete,” Muschamp said in a statement. “Treon has been reinstated to the team, but he will not play Saturday.
“This has been a learning experience for everyone involved. Treon has been honest with me throughout the process and is looking forward to rejoining his teammates.”
Harris took to social media to recognize his supporters.
“I wanna thank everybody who supported me through this whole situation with the prayers and the love,” Harris posted on his Instagram account.
Under Florida law, the woman could be charged with a misdemeanor if authorities believe she filed a false police report.
• Irish CB Russell out for season: Notre Dame cornerback KeiVarae Russell has posted a message on social media saying he will not play football this season and will likely miss the spring semester.
Russell said in the Instagram posting Friday he was disappointed in the school’s decision, but said he plans to return in June and earn his degree. Russell and four other players have been held out of practices and games since August while the university determined if they were involved in academic dishonesty.
Laird goes 5 under again to lead Frys
Golf: Martin Laird wasn’t sure what to expect out of his game after a seven-week break. He hasn’t found too much wrong after two rounds of the Frys.com Open in Napa, California.
Laird bounced back from his first bogey of the new PGA Tour season by running off four straight birdies around the turn. One last birdie on the par-5 18th at Silverado gave him a second straight 5-under 67 and a one-shot lead over Bae Sang-moon.
The Ryder Cup trio of Hunter Mahan, Matt Kuchar and Jimmy Walker played in the afternoon. Lee Westwood of England shot a 69 to at least avoid missing the cut, though he was eight shots behind.
Laird was at 10-under 134.
• Ryu on top of field in Malaysia: South Korea’s So Yeon Ryu shot a 6-under 65 to take a two-stroke in the LPGA Malaysia, the second event of the tour’s six-tournament Asian swing.
Ryu birdied five of her first seven holes in hot conditions and finished with seven birdies and a bogey to reach 11-under 131 at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.
Japan’s Akayo Uehara, New Zealand’s Lydia Ko and England’s Jodi Ewart Shadoff and South Korea’s Eun Hee Ji were tied for second. Uehara had a 63, Ko and Ewart Shadoff shot 64, and Ji had a 67.
• Boros pulls in front at SAS Championship: Guy Boros birdied the final hole Friday for a 6-under 66 and a one-stroke lead over Tom Lehman and Marco Dawson after the first round of the Champions Tour’s SAS Championship in Cary, North Carolina.
Boros, the son of late Hall of Famer Julius Boros, turned 50 on Sept. 4 and is playing in his second event on the tour. He won the PGA Tour’s 1996 Greater Vancouver Open.
Hale Irwin, the 69-year-old star who won the 2005 tournament at Prestonwood, opened with a 68 – the seventh time he has bettered his age this year. He had six birdies and a double bogey on No. 8.