Sports briefs
Fort Cherry moves into semifinals
The Fort Cherry girls volleyball team advanced to the WPIAL Class A semifinals with a thrilling five-game victory over Geibel Catholic in the quarterfinals Monday night at Pine-Richland High School.
Fort Cherry battled back from a 2-1 deficit to win, 25-23, 23-25, 24-26, 25-22, 15-12.
The match ended on a rare rotation violation against Geibel, giving Fort Cherry the match point in the fifth game.
Fort Cherry advances to the semifinals against top-seeded and Section 3-A rival Bishop Canevin, which advanced with a 3-0 victory over South Side Beaver. The semifinals will be played Thursday at a site and time to be determined. Bishop Canevin defeated Fort Cherry twice during the regular season.
Geibel and Fort Cherry battled through two evenly played games before Fort Cherry forged a six-point lead early in the third game. The Rangers still led 20-17 before Geibel battled back and won the game to take a 2-1 lead and put the Rangers on the brink of elimination. Fort Cherry, however, rebounded and played with the lead for much of the remainder of the game.
In the NHL
Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews, the NHL’s second-leading goal-scorer this season, is expected to miss at least four weeks because of an injured left shoulder.
The 21-year-old center was placed on injured reserve Monday but will not need surgery. He was injured early in the second period Saturday during Toronto’s 3-2 victory over Winnipeg.
“It’s part of the game,” he said. “I’m going to work as hard as I can to get back as soon as possible.”
Based on a minimum four-week timeline, Matthews will miss at least 13 games, with his earliest possible return Nov. 26, when Boston plays at Toronto.
Defenseman Jacob Trouba delivered a clean shoulder-to-shoulder check as Matthews tried to cut in front of the net. Matthews skated to the bench, favoring his left side before heading to the locker room.
- The NHL has suspended Ottawa Senators defenseman Mark Borowiecki for three games without pay for an illegal check to the head of Vegas Golden Knights forward Cody Eakin.
The hit happened early of the first period of the Senators-Golden Knights game Sunday in Las Vegas. Borowiecki was whistled for a major penalty for charging, as well as a game misconduct.
- Sean Monahan and Elias Lindholm scored in a 55-second span of the third period to lead the Calgary Flames to a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night.
Lindholm and Monahan each added an assist as Calgary snapped a three-game losing streak. Michael Frolik added an empty-net goal to seal it. Mike Smith made 24 saves.
Nazem Kadri, playing his 500th NHL game, scored for Toronto. Frederik Andersen stopped 31 shots.
In the NBA
Ben Simmons had 21 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists and the Philadelphia 76ers flashed a little of last year’s playoff form in a 113-92 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday night.
Without a major roster addition, the Sixers had played little like a team that won 52 games and a playoff round a year ago. Simmons and Joel Embiid have been solid and are making early cases for All-Star berths. But Philly’s distinguished duo had little help and the Sixers had won their last two games by one and two points, respectively, and needed this win just to move above .500 (4-3).
- Tim Hardaway Jr. had 25 points and eight assists, and the New York Knicks rolled to their second win of the season, beating the Brooklyn Nets, 115-96.
Frank Ntilikina added 16 points and Enes Kanter had 15 points and 15 rebounds off the bench for the Knicks, who had dropped five straight since beating Atlanta in their season opener.
They ended their skid emphatically, outscoring the Nets 59-41 over the middle two quarters and leading by as many as 25 points.