Neues » LAS VEGAS (AP) Aaron and Rhonda Hawley never truly embraced

LAS VEGAS (AP) Aaron and Rhonda Hawley never truly embraced how much the Vegas Golden Knights meant to them until late in the season.On March 29 Womens Jared McCann Jersey , their 17-year-old daughter Brooke and two classmates were killed in a traffic accident in Huntington Beach, California. Since then, the Golden Knights have helped the Hawleys during their grieving process.And even with the team trailing the Washington Capitals 3-1 in the Stanley Cup Final, they and thousands of others haven’t lost hope and are sticking by their first-year team until the last horn sounds. Aaron Hawley said that’s how his little girl would want it.”Her being a soccer player, she would kick a girl in the shin with one second left in the championship game if that’s what it took,” Hawley said Wednesday. ”Brooke was a fighter, and that’s what this team is about, it never gives up to the very last second.”On Wednesday, for the team’s first practice in Las Vegas since being pushed to the brink of elimination, fans decked out in team jerseys and hats and knights helmets and kids with hockey sticks or pucks in their hands packed the Knights’ practice facility before they even took the ice. And 45 minutes before the scheduled practice, with nothing in front of them but a fresh sheet of ice, the fans broke into a chant of ”Go Knights Go!” Game 5 is Thursday night.”We have a chance to play in front of our fans like we have all year long, use that energy to show them that we are also proud to be here and do something great for the city,” said Knights center Pierre Edouard-Bellemare. ”The city has our backs. I’m not worried about that situation whatsoever. It’s us to the city, we want to win for them. Once again Jonathan Huberdeau Jersey , it’s one game. That’s all we have to think right now.”Fan Jerrald Larkin, whose own daughter, Allyssa, played soccer with Brooke Hawley, said he started watching hockey in 1989 and was originally a Los Angeles Kings fan. ”But when VGK became a reality it was all in for them,” he said. ”VGK has been such a great team and this year has been nothing short of amazing. Right from the beginning this year has been filled with many emotions and some ups and downs. There is no way we can count our team out and we are VGK proud with any outcome.”Larkin said he and his wife, Theresa, and their four daughters have been able to grow closer to many other fans because of hockey. While Theresa’s family is from Chicago and has been following sports their whole lives, Jerrald is from Vegas and never had a home team to cheer for other than the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels basketball team.Hawley’s dedication to the team led him and his wife to follow the Golden Knights to Washington, where they watched Game 3 at a restaurant and attended Game 4 at Capital One Arena.”As a native Las Vegan, I’m thrilled to see Golden Knights hockey get as much attention as the 1990 UNLV basketball team got,” Hawley said. ”I consider that a huge accomplishment. I’m worried next year what’s going to happen, because what fans don’t realize is what this eight-month team has accomplished, is something the Capitals have been waiting on for 44 years.”But it’s the handful of games he attended with Brooke by his side that will forever be imprinted in his mind.”With soccer practice, and a young girl’s social calendar Keith Yandle Jersey , she made as many games as she could,” Hawley said, fighting back tears. ”How wonderful it was to sit with her, cheering on our hometown team. She really enjoyed it. We actually got her extra tickets for one game to bring her friend A.J., who also died in the accident. Those are times I will cherish and thank the team for an unbelievable inaugural season. The memories.”—More Stanley Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/StanleyCupFinals GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Anaheim gave up plenty of scoring chances, probably too many. The Ducks took a penalty with two minutes left, another with a minute left, and faced a 6-on-3 when Arizona pulled its goalie.John Gibson didn’t let anything through and now the Ducks are 2-0 to start the season despite missing a string of key players.Gibson stopped 41 shots, rookie Max Comtois scored for the second straight game to open his NHL career and the Ducks beat the Coyotes 1-0 on Saturday night.“When you get to the end of the game, it’s about sacrifice and doing the little things,” Gibson said. “We really did that.”The Ducks and Coyotes played a tight game until Comtois scored in the closing seconds of the second period. He had a goal 49 seconds into Anaheim’s season-opening win over San Jose.The Coyotes had plenty of chances after that and picked up the pressure in the third period.With 2:01 left, Anaheim’s Jakob Silfverberg was sent off for delay of game after sending a puck over the glass from his own end. Carter Rowney then was called for high-sticking with a minute left and the Coyotes pulled goalie Antti Raanta with about 30 seconds left.Nothing got through.The Coyotes rushed some shots and Gibson stopped the ones that did get to him, closing out his 17th career shutout.Arizona was shut out in consecutive games to open a season for the first time in 39 years as a franchise after opening with a 3-0 loss to Dallas.“It’s a hard league to score and I thought we left some opportunities out there,” Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. “And I thought we got a little antsy on that 5-on-3 instead of sticking to what we did in practice. We’ve got to score in that situation.”The Ducks opened the season without injured forwards Corey Perry Authentic Nick Bjugstad Jersey , Ryan Kesler, Ondrej Kase and Patrick Eaves. They still had plenty of offensive production in their opener, knocking off San Jose 5-2 behind three-point nights by Jakob Silfverberg and Richard Rakell.Gibson was sharp against the Coyotes, turning away a couple of good chances in the first two periods.Raanta stopped a pair of breakaways the first two periods, but was unable to come up with the stop on a mini breakaway by Comtois, who got behind Ilya Lyubushkin with 31 second left in the second.“It’s one goal and you have to make that save,” said Raanta, who had 19 saves. “It’s tough to take, but keep working and believe that it’s coming.”The Coyotes picked up the pressure to open the third, but Gibson kept turning them away, including Richard Panik’s quick wraparound attempt and later during the wild flurry at the end.“You don’t have too many 6-on-3s,” Ducks center Adam Henrique said. “We got a couple good bounces, put a little pressure on it and obviously Gibby making a couple big saves was key for us.”Notes: A moment of silence was held before the game for Sen. John McCain, a huge Coyotes fan who died this year. … The Coyotes are 14-6-0-2 in home openers since moving from Winnipeg to Arizona in 1996. … The Ducks are 4-1-0 the past two seasons against Arizona. … Silfverberg had his fourth assist of the season on Comtois’ goal.UP NEXTAnaheim plays at Detroit on Monday.Arizona plays at Anaheim on Tuesday.