National Sports

CALGARY — It's a game of chance for thousands of Albertans playing group sports as the Omicron COVID-19 variant rips through the province.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic now knows he’ll face fellow Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic in the first-round of his Australian Open title defense, if he’s allowed to play.

EVERETT, Wash. — Jacob Wright scored twice, powering the Everett Silvertips to a 6-2 romp of the Tri-City Americans in Western Hockey League action on Wednesday.

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Ryan Dzingel scored two goals, Karel Vejmelka stopped 45 shots and the Arizona Coyotes defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 2-1 Wednesday night. Dzingel, playing his first game since Dec.

MILWAUKEE — Mikhail Berdin stopped all 24 shots he faced on Wednesday and the Manitoba Moose downed the Milwaukee Admirals 2-0 in American Hockey League action. It was the 23-year-old goalie's third shutout of the season.

BOSTON (AP) — Brad Marchand skated around the ice, waiting for the cleanup crew to gather up the hats tossed over the glass to celebrate his fifth career hat trick.

LAVAL, Que. — The Laval Rocket returned from a COVID-19 outbreak to beat the Syracuse Crunch 3-2 in American Hockey League play on Wednesday. Jean-Sebastian Dea put away the game winner 13:31 into the third period.

Two-sport Canadian Olympian Seyi Smith is taking his experience in hefty athletic issues and running for a position on the International Olympic Committee's athletes' commission.

SARNIA, Ont. — Nick Chenard stopped all 27 shots he faced Wednesday, leading the Owen Sound attack to a 5-0 victory over the Sarnia Sting in Ontario Hockey League play. The win marked the 19-year-old netminder's first shutout of the season.

HAMILTON — Dane Evans won't be waiting for the start of CFL free agency after all. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats re-signed the American quarterback through the 2023 season Wednesday.