SPORTS SATURDAY, APRIL 11 , 2015 Broke India team turn to Twitter for support Fund for trip to Kuwait for tournament MUMBAI: While India’s money-spinning cricket league Ice hockey does not get even that. The team need and other expenses, the players are left to fend for them- lavishes million-dollar deals on players for just a few about two million rupees ($32,170) to travel to Kuwait for selves. IHAI officials used their personal credit cards to weeks of competition, the national ice hockey team have the International Ice Hockey Federation Challenge Cup of book tickets to Kuwait for the players. had to go begging on social media to fund their trip to Asia Division I from April 18-24. The Twitter campaign The national team, who have nine players currently Kuwait for an international tournament. with the hashtag ‘SupportIceHockey’ has seen more than serving in the army, started participating in international Players often have to buy their own equipment and half the amount raised in the last week. tournaments from 2009. They are practising on an ice rink look for their own sources to fund trips abroad, a situation Harjinder Singh, general secretary of IHAI, told Reuters that is one-third the size of the international standard. which prompted the Ice Hockey Association of India that the decision to turn to social media for funding was a Though there are a number of outdoor rinks in (IHAI) to start a campaign on Twitter seeking donations. reflection on ice hockey lowly status in India. Northern India, there is virtually no ice to skate on in the “It is so tough to push sports like ice hockey when “We wanted to create awareness about the sport and months of March and April. The country does have an cricket takes up all sponsor budgets. We have a national what we go through to participate in international cham- indoor rink that meets international standards but that team and are begging for money,” read a Tweet from the pionships,” he said in an interview. has been closed since it hosted the IIHF Challenge Cup of association last month. “People are not aware that India actually has an ice Asia in 2012. “We hosted the Asian championship hoping While the country’s cricket board generates riches hockey team. Winter sports have not got much accept- that it would encourage the sport in the country,” Singh through lucrative television deals and sponsorship, other ance in India, be it with the government or the corpo- said. “But since 2012 no tournament has happened there sports rely largely on government funds and rare corpo- rates.” While the international governing body of the and it’s lying shut since then. “There is no one who can rate handouts for support. sport provides India with coaches and bears their travel take it up as the cost of electric supply is huge.”— Reuters Flames grab playoff berth CALGARY: Jiri Hudler scored twice and the O’Reilly and Matt Duchene scored in the LIGHTNING 4, DEVILS 3 Hammond had 26 saves for his third shutout Calgary Flames clinched an NHL playoff berth for shootout, and Reto Berra stopped both Winnipeg Tyler Johnson scored his second goal, an over- as the Senators improved to 22-4-4 since Feb. 10. the first time in six years with a 3-1 win over Los shots. Berra finished with a season-high 41 saves, time power play effort. Johnson scored from along They have 97 points in the wild five-team race for Angeles on Thursday night that eliminated the then stymied Blake Wheeler and Andrew Ladd in the goal line 1:22 into the extra session. the final four playoff spots in the Eastern defending Stanley Cup champion Kings from post- the shootout. Nikita Nesterov and Steven Stamkos also Conference, and will make the postseason by season contention. Johnny Gaudreau also scored The Jets received help from Calgary to squeeze scored for the playoff-bound Lightning, who are winning in Philadelphia on Saturday. Hammond for the Flames and Jonas Hiller stopped 33 shots into the playoffs as a wild card when the Flames battling Montreal for the Atlantic Division title. has been the difference for Ottawa. The 27-year- for the win. Jonathan Quick had 22 saves in the beat Los Angeles. The last time the franchise made Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat had three assists old is 19-1-2 since taking over as the starting loss. The Flames will face the Vancouver Canucks the postseason was in 2006-07, when the team apiece. New Jersey, 1-6-3 over its last 10 games, goaltender on Feb. 8. This win over the in the first round of the playoffs. Calgary concludes was the Atlanta Thrashers. The Jets are making got two goals from Steve Bernier, while Patrik Elias Presidents’ Cup winners avenged his only loss. its regular season Saturday at Winnipeg. Los their first playoff appearance since relocating to had the other Devils goal. Scott Gomez and Adam Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored into an empty net Angeles won two of the last three Stanley Cups, Winnipeg for the 2011-12 season. Ondrej Pavelec Henrique both had two assists. with 1:39 to play. Henrik Lundqvist made 24 but struggled this season to keep pace in the had another brilliant night, stopping 21 shots saves. His four-game winning streak and the Pacific Division. through overtime. But O’Reilly beat him with a CANADIENS 4, RED WINGS 3 Rangers’ five-game run ended. backhanded shot and Duchene followed with Lars Eller scored 1:21 into overtime to lift the PANTHERS 4, BRUINS 2 another. Colorado did not make the playoffs this Canadiens, giving Carey Price a team record with HURRICANES 3, FLYERS 1 Roberto Luongo earned his 401st career win season. his 43rd win of the season. Andrei Markov, Jeff Brent Bellemore and Ryan Murphy each and Jaromir Jagr got his 1,800th career point, help- Petry and Tomas Plekanec also scored for Montreal scored a goal to lead Carolina. Jordan Staal added ing the Panthers beat Boston, damaging the WILD 4, PREDATORS 2 (49-22-10), which played its final home game. The an empty-netter for the Hurricanes, who snapped Bruins’ playoff hopes. The Bruins have lost two Jason Pominville scored with 2:03 remaining in Canadiens play their final regular-season game a five-game road losing streak while taking their straight after winning their previous five games. regulation for Minnesota. Jason Zucker scored Saturday night in Toronto and lead Tampa Bay by fourth victory in five games against Philadelphia They trail Ottawa by two points and Pittsburgh by twice and Marco Scandella had the other goal for two points in the Atlantic Division. this season. Sean Couturier scored for the Flyers, one for the eighth and final spot in the Eastern Minnesota, which extended its franchise-record Tomas Tatar, Pavel Datsyuk and Darren Helm while Jakub Voracek went without a point for Conference playoffs. The Bruins have the tie-break- road winning streak to 12 games. Filip Forsberg scored in regulation for the Red Wings (42-25-14), Philadelphia. Voracek entered Thursday fourth in er over the Senators and finish Saturday at Tampa and Seth Jones had the goals for Nashville, loser of who reached the postseason for a 24th consecu- the league with 81 points, two behind the NHL- Bay. Detroit and the New York Islanders clinched the last five games. When St. Louis beat Chicago, it tive season despite the defeat. Detroit qualified by leading trio of John Tavares, Jamie Benn and playoff berths when Boston lost. meant the Predators can’t win the Central Division, earning a point while Boston lost to Florida. Eller Sidney Crosby. The game pitted a pair of teams Jonathan Huberdeau scored the go-ahead which belongs to the Blues. scored on a shot from the left side that dribbled not headed for the postseason. goal, while Jimmy Hayes, Brad Boyes and Goaltender Darcy Kuemper saw his first action through goalie Jimmy Howard. Aleksander Barkov also scored for the Panthers. in the NHL since Jan. 20. After starting 39 consecu- CANUCKS 5, COYOTES 0 Luongo stopped 34 shots and is tied with Chris tive games, Devan Dubnyk finally got a rest SENATORS 3, RANGERS 0 Yannick Weber scored twice and Eddie Lack Osgood for 10th in career wins. Jagr had two Thursday. Having a playoff spot clinched, the Wild Clarke MacArthur and Kyle Turris scored in a made 28 saves for his second shutout of the sea- assists. The first gave him 1,799 career points and also did not dress their top three goal scorers: Zach 1:04 span late in the second period and the son. Daniel Sedin, Ronalds Kenins and Dan moved him past Ron Francis for sole possession of Parise, Nino Niederreiter, and Thomas Vanek. Senators’ continued their dazzling playoff push Hamhuis had the other goals for Vancouver, which fourth place. Jagr’s second assist gave him 1,800 Kuemper made 32 saves. behind goaltender Andrew Hammond. clinched a Western Conference playoff spot two points and he tied Adam Oates for sixth in assists nights earlier. Alexander Edler added three assists, with 1,079. while Henrik Sedin chipped in with two for the Canucks, who missed the postseason in 2013-14 BLUES 2, BLACKHAWKS 1 for the first time in six years. They have rebounded Paul Stastny scored the winner, Dmitrij Jaskin under rookie head coach Willie Desjardins. broke a 16-game scoreless string, and Jake Allen Depending on what Calgary does in its finale made 21 saves as the Blues won the Central Saturday against Winnipeg, the Canucks still might Division.