Junior Hockey

VICTORIA — Keaton Verhoeff scored the winner at 4:16 of overtime to give the Royals a 5-4 win over the Americans in Western Hockey League play on Friday night. It was his second goal of the night.

LONDON, Ont. — Evan Van Gorp scored a hat trick to lead the London Knights to a 6-3 win over the Sarnia Sting in Ontario Hockey League action on Friday night. Caleb Mitchell, Kaeden Johnston and Logan Hawery had the other goals for London.

SHAWINIGAN, Que. — Vince Elie had a hat trick to lead the Shawinigan Cataractes to a 7-3 win over the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League play Friday night.

The Canadian Hockey League is looking to capitalize on the sport’s cross-border rivalry by having its top draft-eligible prospects face USA Hockey’s National Development team in an annual two-game series starting in November.

Braxton Whitehead said Friday he has verbally committed to Arizona State, making him the first member of a Canadian Hockey League team to attempt to play the sport at the Division I U.S.

CHICAGO (AP) — Wrigley Field will host two college hockey doubleheaders in January after the NHL's Winter Classic is played there, the Big Ten and Chicago Cubs announced Thursday.

BUFFALO, N.Y.

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — Mike Sertich, the longtime University of Minnesota Duluth hockey coach who led the Bulldogs to the 1984 NCAA title game, died Thursday after a fight with pancreatic cancer. He was 77.

QUEBEC CITY, Que. — Two former Quebec junior hockey players have been released as they appeal their prison sentences for sexually assaulting a minor at a hotel in June 2021 during a celebration of a Victoriaville Tigres championship win.

CALGARY — Hockey Canada is trying out a series of changes in the western provinces in an attempt to streamline the development of junior players.