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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Penguins’ Guerin takes advantage of rare chance

Bill Guerin of the Pittsburgh Penguins fires the puck past Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Martin Biron for a second-period goal Friday night.  (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
From Staff And Wire Reports

This almost never happens in an NHL playoff game, a team going on a two-man advantage in overtime. Maybe that was all Bill Guerin needed to do something he had never done, either.

Guerin scored his second goal of the game for Pittsburgh, which rallied twice against Philadelphia and then won after being given a rare two-man edge in an extra period. The Penguins earned a 3-2 victory Friday night to go up two games in the first-round playoff series.

Guerin, at 38 the oldest player on a mostly young team, took Sergei Gonchar’s pass from center point and skated toward the net from the low left circle, faked a pass and beat goalie Martin Biron on a shot that deflected off the left post and into the net 18:29 into overtime. It was the first game-winning playoff goal in Guerin’s 17-season career.

“There’s a first time for everything, I guess,” said Guerin, who was traded by the last-place Islanders to the Penguins at the March 4 trade deadline. “It was a thrill for me to come over here. This was a big win for us.”

Hurricanes knot series: Defenseman Tim Gleason scored his first NHL playoff goal on a slap shot at 2:40 of overtime and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 at Newark, N.J., tying their first-round playoff series at a game apiece.

Gleason’s shot from the right point appeared to hit the skate of Devils defenseman Niclas Havelid and carom past defenseless goalie Martin Brodeur.

Eric Staal, who provided a screen in front of Brodeur, scored the other goal for the Hurricanes. Carolina, which lost the series opener 4-1 on Wednesday, seemed to find its game in the second period on Friday.

Canucks seize 2-0 edge: Roberto Luongo made 30 saves in his first NHL playoff shutout, and the Vancouver Canucks beat the St. Louis Blues 3-0 at Vancouver, British Columbia, to take a big lead in the Western Conference playoff series.

Mats Sundin put Vancouver ahead late in the second period. Luongo did the rest as the Canucks grabbed a 2-0 advantage in the series that will continue Sunday in St. Louis.

Golf

Birdie string leads Gay to one-shot lead

Brian Gay’s run of five straight birdies lifted him past a revived Todd Hamilton after two rounds of the Verizon Heritage at Hilton Head Island, S.C.

Gay made six birdies on the front nine, including five in a row from the fourth through ninth holes, to help him to a 9-under-par 66, one stroke ahead of former British Open champion Hamilton.

First-round leader Alex Cejka followed his 64 with an even-par 71 and was tied at 7 under with two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen.

Janzen’s round of 70 featured an ace on the 17th hole.

Gay has steadily improved over his 11 full PGA Tour seasons. His best came last year with his first career victory at the Mayakoba Golf Classic and a personal high of more than $2.2 million in earnings.

Nelson leads Outback: Larry Nelson shot a 6-under 65 to take a one-shot lead over Nick Price after the first round of the Outback Pro-Am at Lutz, Fla.

Nelson got going with a chip-in for par at No. 13 at the Champions Tour event at TPC Tampa Bay. He had birdies at Nos. 16, 1, 3 and 8.

“(No.) 13 was kind of the turning point of my day,” said Nelson, a winner of three majors on the PGA Tour. “I chipped it in probably from about 25 feet for par. (It) looked like I was going to double (bogey) there, but as difficult as this pin was, I actually chipped it in. That kind of kept things going for me.”

Mark McNulty and Mike McCullough had 67s, while Jay Haas shot a 68.

Basketball

Tyus’ departure leaves Gators with numbers gap

Florida forward Alex Tyus, the team’s second-leading scorer last season as a sophomore, has decided to transfer.

Coach Billy Donovan announced Tyus’ departure, a move that leaves the Gators with little frontcourt depth heading into next season.

Guard Nick Calathes declared for the NBA draft, forward Allan Chaney opted to transfer and incoming freshman DeShawn Painter asked to be released from his scholarship.

Arkansas forward joins draft list: Arkansas junior forward Michael Washington has made himself available for the NBA draft without signing with an agent.

The 6-foot-9, 239-pound Washington averaged 15.5 points per game this season and led the Southeastern Conference in rebounds at 9.8 per game.

Wizards improve draft chances: The Washington Wizards have won a tiebreaker with the Los Angeles Clippers, giving them a slightly better chance of landing the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.

Washington has a 17.8 percent chance of winning the draft lottery May 19. Los Angeles is at 17.7 percent. The teams tied for the league’s second-worst record at 19-63. Sacramento was an NBA-worst 17-65 and has a 25 percent chance.

Gymnastics

Georgia hands another title to retiring coach

It was a perfect start and finish for Courtney Kupets, and a perfect ending to Suzanne Yoculan’s 26-year career at Georgia.

The Gym Dogs sent out their retiring coach with a fifth straight national title and record 10th overall at the NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships at Lincoln, Neb.

Kupets, who won her third all-around title in four years on Thursday, opened the evening with a 10 on the uneven bars and wrapped up her collegiate career with a 10 on the vault.

As Kupets stuck her final landing, Yoculan pumped her fist, let out a “Yes,” and raced to embrace the woman Alabama coach Sarah Patterson calls the “queen of college gymnastics.”

Tiffany Tolnay, a star in her own right who was overshadowed by Kupets in the meet, followed with a 9.95 to give Georgia a season-high 49.625 in the event.

Stanford claims men’s crown: Finishing with a strong routine on the rings, Stanford won its first national title since 1995 in the NCAA Men’s Gymnastics Championships at Minneapolis.

Oklahoma sophomore Steven Legendre won the individual all-around title.