National Sports

MONTREAL — Sean Bérubé said he thought it was a joke when he was first asked to help assemble a team of Ukrainian preteen refugees, displaced by war and spread out across Europe, to play in a renowned Quebec City hockey tournament.

MONTREAL — The Montreal Alouettes have re-signed American linebacker Tyrice Beverette. The 27-year-old made 55 defensive tackles and 21 special teams tackles with Montreal last season.

Coach Bob Bradley says Toronto FC is "close to finalizing" a new No. 1 goalkeeper, with free agent Sean Johnson the club's expected target.

OTTAWA — Ballou Tabla, who helped Atletico Ottawa to the Canadian Premier League final last season, is joining Turkey's Manisa FK.

Mathew Barzal paused before beginning his answer. He then took a few more seconds to collect his thoughts. "Tough question," Barzal responded when asked about the New York Islanders' offensive struggles. "It's hard to explain.

LANGLEY, B.C. — Connor Bedard knows a thing or two about playing in big games.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Tommy Paul reached his first Grand Slam semifinal and ended the surprising run of Ben Shelton by winning their all-American matchup at the Australian Open 7-6 (6), 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 on Wednesday.

VANCOUVER — After a week of disruptions and distractions, the Vancouver Canucks were finally able to concentrate on playing hockey and managed to reward new head coach Rick Tocchet with a win in his first game behind the bench.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tanner Jeannot scored early in the third period and Juuse Saros made 32 saves to lead the Nashville Predators to a 2-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday night.

MONTREAL — Even after 19 seasons in the National Hockey League, scoring a game-winning goal at the Bell Centre is still special for Patrice Bergeron.