HOCKEY
Shane Conacher scored the tie-breaking goal three minutes into the third period, and Peter MacArthur and Jake Linhart added insurance goals as the Adirondack Thunder clinched a playoff berth with a 7-5 ECHL victory over the Maine Mariners on Sunday in Portland.
Maine fell to three points behind Brampton, which completed a road sweep in Worcester, in the race for the North Division’s final playoff opening. With four games remaining in the regular season, the Mariners still have a game in hand on the Beast, as well as the Manchester Monarchs, who are also ahead of the Mariners by three points.
The Mariners tied the score at 4-4 with late second-period goals from Taylor Cammarata and Nick Master.
The Mariners received reinforcements before Sunday’s game, with Greg Chase returning from loan to the Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL), and defenseman Josh Wesley being assigned to Maine for the game.
COLLEGES
BASEBALL: Stony Brook (14-8, 6-0 America East) pitcher Bret Clarke outdueled Cody Laweryson of Maine (2-21, 1-4) and the Seawolves won 2-0 in Stony Brook, New York.
Laweryson, who took a perfect game into the seventh, had faced the minimum of 21 batters entering the eighth. However, he gave up two runs on four hits before leaving with two outs in the inning. Laweryson struck out nine. Clarke allowed three hits over eight innings.
Jake Roper doubled twice to account for two of the four Maine hits.
SOFTBALL: Casey Harding lined a three-run homer to cap a four-run second inning and start UMass-Lowell (14-12, 3-0 America East) on its way to an 8-0 win over Maine (8-17, 0-3) in Lowell, Massachusetts.
The Black Bears managed two hits – singles by Laurine German and Kelby Drews – against pitcher Lovina Capria.
TENNIS
MIAMI OPEN: Roger Federer became the first player with two tournament titles this year when he won his 101st career title by beating defending champion John Isner, 6-1, 6-4, in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Federer neutralized Isner’s big serve and won 32 of 35 points on his own serve. The 6-foot-10 Isner scrambled so desperately to stay in rallies that he hurt his left foot and limped badly through the final few points.
Federer was the Dubai champion on March 2, and was runner-up at Indian Wells two weeks ago. He’s 18-2 this year, which stamps him as a serious threat in Grand Slams later this year, even at age 37.
GOLF
PGA: Graeme McDowell won the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic for his first PGA Tour title since 2016, closing with a 3-under 69 for a one-stroke victory over Chris Stroud and Mackenzie Hughes.
McDowell took the lead from Stroud with a 7-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th and closed with a bogey – lagging a 30-foot par putt to inches – on the par-4 18th. Stroud bogeyed the final two holes in a 69. Hughes also closed with a bogey for a 66.
McDowell finished at 18-under 270, rebounding from an opening 73 with consecutive 64s to take a one-stroke lead over Stroud into the final round.
EUROPEAN TOUR: Stephen Gallacher birdied three of his last four holes in a stunning comeback at the Hero Indian Open in New Delhi.
Gallacher finished at 9-under 279, one shot ahead of Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura.
CHAMPIONS TOUR: Scott Parel made a 12-foot par putt to match Kevin Sutherland on the fifth hole of a playoff at the Rapiscan Systems Classic before play was suspended because of darkness in Biloxi, Mississippi.
They will finish Monday morning.
Sutherland, the second-round leader, missed a 2-foot par putt on the second extra hole – the third straight hole he missed putts for the victory. He closed with a 3-over 75 to match Parel at 7 under.
LPGA: Nasa Hataoka won the Kia Classic at Aviara Golf Club in Carlsbad, California for her third victory in her last 16 LPGA Tour starts.
The 20-year-old Japanese player closed with a 5-under 67 for a three-stroke victory over Inbee Park, top-ranked Sung Hyun Park, Jin Young Ko, Azahara Munoz and Danielle Kang.
AUTO RACING
FORMULA ONE: Race leader Charles Leclerc’s engine started losing power with less than 10 laps left, allowing Lewis Hamilton to shred a 10-second deficit and lead a 1-2 finish for Mercedes at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Sakhir, Bahrain.
Valtteri Bottas passed Leclerc for second place with three laps to go.
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