HOCKEY

Francois Brassard became the first Maine Mariners goalie to score a goal, scoring into an empty net with 19.5 seconds left in a 5-2 ECHL win over the Adirondack Thunder Sunday at Glen Falls, New York.

🚨GOALIE GOAL🚨 @fbrass31 ripped a shot at the empty net and scored the first goalie goal in Maine Mariners history! #CatchTheCurrent @ECHL pic.twitter.com/2aGwZAToii

— Maine Mariners (@MarinersOfMaine) December 18, 2022

Adirondack’s Sebastian Vidmar dumped the puck into the Maine zone and Brassard handled the puck near the net and fired the puck – just past defenseman Jeff Taylor at center – the length of the ice for the goal. He was mobbed by teammates and then skated to the bench for the handshake line.

Brassard also made 22 saves as Maine got its sixth win this month – five against the Thunder.

Tom Doherty and Reid Stefanson scored in the first period for the Mariners, who got a second-period goal by Master and two in the third by Nick Germain and Brassard.

GOLF

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS: Vijay Singh and his son finally cashed in on their 16th try at the PNC Championship. For Tiger Woods, he happily settled for another great week with his son in the one tournament where no one has a bad time.

“It was great being with Dad after working so hard to get here – for me school, and him just the injury,” 13-year-old Charlie Woods said. “Being out there with a great atmosphere and everyone being out there, it was awesome.”

It felt even better for Singh, the three-time major champion who first played the PNC Championship in 2003 when his son, Qass, was 13. Singh all but sealed it with a 6-foot birdie putt for a 59 in the scramble format, becoming the first team in tournament history to post a sub-60 score in both rounds.

They finished at 26-under 118 and won by two shots over defending champions John Daly and his son and 2020 winners Justin Thomas and his father.

Woods and his son fell out of contention with a bogey on the par-4 seventh hole when both drove into the woods. They tied for eighth in the 20-team field.

EUROPEAN TOUR: French golfer Antoine Rozner produced a brilliant burst of scoring on the front nine to win the Mauritius Open by five shots and become a three-time European tour champion, at Grand Baie, Mauritius.

Rozner, who started the final round with a two-shot lead, extended his advantage to five after carding an eagle and three birdies over the first nine holes.

Despite breezy conditions at Mont Choisy Le Golf, he held his own over the back nine in making one birdie and one bogey to sign for a 5-under 67, finish the tournament on 19-under 269 and erase the memory of his defeat to Rasmus Hojgaard in a playoff at this event three years ago.

Rozner’s previous European tour titles came in Dubai in 2020 and Qatar in 2021.

Rozner’s nearest challenger was Spaniard Alfredo Garcia-Heredia, who finished alone in second on 14 under after also posting a 67 on his 41st birthday.

France’s Julien Brun was two shots further back in third after his par-72.

SKIING

WOMEN’S WORLD CUP: Mikaela Shiffrin won a super-G at St. Moritz, Swizerland, to top off her first speed race weekend of the season with career win No. 77.

The result leaves the American skier five wins short of the women’s record set by her former teammate Lindsey Vonn.

Shiffrin finished sixth and fourth in two downhills over the past two days before excelling in the super-G format.

The defending overall champion overcame a tricky jump halfway through her run but otherwise relied on her spot-on timing to master the Corviglia course and finish 0.12 seconds ahead Elena Curtoni, the Italian winner of Friday’s downhill.

Romane Miradoli was four-tenths of a second  behind in third for her second career podium, after beating Shiffrin to win the penultimate super-G of last season in March at another Swiss resort, Lenzerheide.

MEN’S WORLD CUP: Lucas Braathen might be just the type of personality that skiing needs to join Marco Odermatt among the younger generation taking over the sport.

The 22-year-old Norwegian with a Brazilian mother and a taste for fashion – he’s got a line of jewelry for sale – showed off his skills on the slopes by winning one of the biggest giant slalom races at La Villa, Italy.

It was a second consecutive victory for Braathen, who won a slalom last weekend in Val d’Isere, France.

Braathen moved up from third after the opening run to finish a slim 0.02 seconds ahead of Norwegian teammate Henrik Kristoffersen on the Gran Risa course.
Odermatt, the Olympic champion, defending overall World Cup champion and current leader of the overall standings, recovered from a disappointing ninth in the opening leg to place third, 0.10 behind.

BOBSLED

WORLD CUP: Kaillie Humphries teamed with fellow U.S. Olympian Kaysha Love to win at Lake Placid, New York.

It was her 29th career World Cup win in the two-person event; of those, six have come in Lake Placid, more than any other track.

Humphries finished two runs in 1 minute, 54.93 seconds. It was Love’s second World Cup victory and her first appearance on the circuit this season; she is beginning the transition from push athlete to driver.

Germany got silver and bronze in the women’s race. Laura Nolte and Lena Neunecker were second in 1:55.05, while Kim Kalicki and Anabel Galander took third in 1:55.52.

In the four-man race later, Brad Hall of Britain had a breakthrough – his first World Cup win in 84 career attempts. Hall held off world and Olympic champion Francesco Friedrich by 0.01 seconds to get the win.

Hall’s team finished in 1:50.36. Friedrich rallied from fourth place after the first heat to finish in 1:50.37 for his 74th medal in his last 79 World Cup races.

Christoph Hafer of Germany drove to third in 1:50.43, after holding the lead following the first heat. Frank Del Duca was the top U.S. finisher, driving to a tie for sixth.

TENNIS

AUSTRALIAN OPEN: Venus Williams has been awarded a wild-card entry to play next month, 25 years after she played the Grand Slam tournament for the first time.

The 42-year-old Williams has reached the final twice in Australia, including a loss to her younger sister, Serena, in the 2017 championship match. She will be contesting the season-opening major for the 22nd time.

“I’ve been competing in the country for over 20 years now and the Australian community has always supported me wholeheartedly,” the seven-time major winner said in a statement.

Venus and Serena Williams combined to win the Australian Open women’s doubles title four times and Venus also won the mixed doubles title in 1998 with fellow American Justin Gimelstob.

Serena Williams will not be contesting the Jan. 16-29 tournament at Melbourne Park after announcing at the U.S. Open that she was ready to evolve away from tennis.