Hat Trick

It takes all kinds of players to make a well-rounded hockey team, and nowhere on the Flyers can a more striking contrast be found than the one between centers Pelle Eklund and Ron Sutter. Eklund, once named the athlete of the year in his native country of Sweden, performs ballet on the ice, pirouetting around defenders and jetting through openings like a Formula One race car. Sutter, on the other hand, prefers the slam-dance approach. He'll go through a defender rather than around him. His game is spelled D-E-F-E-N-S-E, and he hassles opposing forwards like an irritated terrier snapping at your heels.

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Jeff Carter scored three goals, Jonathan Quick stopped 24 shots and the Los Angeles Kings matched an NHL record with their seventh straight road playoff victory, beating the Phoenix Coyotes Tuesday night, 4-0, to take control of the Western Conference finals. Los Angeles dominated the opener and was even better in Game 2, withstanding Phoenix's initial push and string of penalties for a 2-0 series lead. "I've been working hard in practice to get my game where I wanted it," Carter said.

Now I understand why Fire Commissioner Hairston is always wearing a hat - it's to cover that enormous head and ego! It sickens me to think that he has betrayed his fellow firefighters in such a manner. He might be smug and laughing all the way to the bank, but I don't know how he can honestly look at himself in the mirror. He went from doing the job along side fellow firefighters to looking down his nose at them as if he were better. He has traded the selfless patch of courage worn by every firefighter and replaced it with a self-serving patch of deplorable distinction.

Jockey Carl Rafter crossed the finish line on Saluda Sam in the finale at Saturday's Radnor Hunt Races and couldn't help himself. He stood tall in the stirrups and launched his whip into the infield - a souvenir for a fan. Winning three steeplechase races in a day will do that to you. Based in Virginia, Rafter started by steering Meet At Eleven home in the $40,000 Radnor Hunt Cup timber stakes, the day's third race; added the $50,000 National...

Mark Cullen scored a hat trick to lead the Phantoms past the Springfield Falcons, 6-4, in an AHL game last night at the Wachovia Spectrum. Cullen added an assist. Boyd Kane had four assists, and Darren Reid, the third member of the line, had a goal and two assists as the Phantoms won their fourth home game in a row and kept pace with Bridgeport and Albany in the East Division playoff race. Frederik Cabana scored the game-winner at 6 minutes, 38 seconds of the third period.

The Phantoms wasted a hat trick by Eric Chouinard in a 4-3 loss to the Syracuse Crunch last night in the AHL. Chouinard scored twice in the first period, giving the Phantoms a 2-0 lead, and again in the second period to give the team a 3-2 lead. But Mark Hartigan scored a power-play goal midway through the final period (with A.J. Abel off for hooking) and the 3-3 tie stood up through the overtime. It took seven rounds of the shoot-out for the Crunch to prevail, but a miss by Tony Voce set up the winning goal by Syracuse's Joe Motzko.

It was the kind of day you could hang your hat on. At least that's how actor Robert Cristophe saw it as he tried to work out a physical-comedy routine with a bowler on Rittenhouse Square. Despite forecasts of doom and gloom, yesterday was rather nice, with a high of 74 - straw-hat weather, as they used to say.

Water-logged fields may have delayed Haddonfield's playoff opener by a day, but nothing could derail the Bulldogs' potent offense Wednesday, as Carolyn Clark reached 101 career goals in a 26-12 rout of Maple Shade in South Jersey Group 1 girls' lacrosse. Laurel Falana contributed six goals and two assists, Clark netted five goals and Taylor Ng scored five times for fifth-seeded Haddonfield, which advances to Friday's quarterfinal at No. 4 seed Bishop Eustace. Maple Shade, seeded 12th, received hat tricks from Kacie Booth, Samantha Reader, and Allie Vallen.

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Jeff Carter scored three goals, Jonathan Quick stopped 24 shots and the Los Angeles Kings matched an NHL record with their seventh straight road playoff victory, beating the Phoenix Coyotes Tuesday night, 4-0, to take control of the Western Conference finals. Los Angeles dominated the opener and was even better in Game 2, withstanding Phoenix's initial push and string of penalties for a 2-0 series lead. "I've been working hard in practice to get my game where I wanted it," Carter said.

Cherokee's Michelle Gonzales reached 100 career goals while leading the 13th-seeded Chiefs to a 14-13 upset at No. 4 seed Eastern on Monday, in a South Jersey Group 4 opening-round match of the NJSIAA girls' lacrosse tournament. Gonzales had a game-high five goals and Lauren Thomas contributed a hat trick to a balanced attack, as Cherokee avenged a pair of regular-season losses to the Vikings. Austyn Cuneo and Danielle LaRocca had four goals apiece for Eastern, which outscored Cherokee, 32-13, in dominating their two Olympic Conference American Division meetings.

Kelsey Dominik of Kingsway and New Egypt's Alison Martino pitched perfect, but abbreviated, games to highlight Monday's South Jersey softball action. Dominik (17-3) struck out nine in notching her first perfecto as the host Dragons needed just five innings to scorch Delsea, 14-0, in a Tri-County Conference clash. Martino (14-2) retired a dozen batters on strikes over six innings, as the host Warriors dismissed Burlington County League rival Maple Shade, 10-0. Olympic.

Bridgette Allessandrini raced home on a two-out wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning, giving host Hammonton a 1-0 victory over Absegami on Friday in Cape-Atlantic League softball. Kimmy Hellyer went the distance for the win, shutting out the Braves on six hits. Kelly Lupton took the loss even though she gave up only two hits and two walks and struck out 11. In other Cape-Atlantic action: One day after pitching her third perfect game of the season, Brittany Scott tossed her fourth no-hitter in Buena's 5-0 home win over Middle Township.

Bridgette Allessandrini raced home on a two-out wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning, giving host Hammonton a 1-0 victory over Absegami on Friday in Cape-Atlantic League softball. Kimmy Hellyer went the distance for the win, shutting out the Braves on six hits. Kelly Lupton took the loss even though she gave up only two hits and two walks and struck out 11. In other Cape-Atlantic action: One day after pitching her third perfect game of the season, Brittany Scott tossed her fourth no-hitter in Buena's 5-0 home win over Middle Township.

Brittany Scott struck out six in pitching a perfect game, and her sacrifice fly drove in a run in the third inning, carrying Buena to a 2-0 victory at Sacred Heart on Thursday in Cape-Atlantic League softball. Kaitlyn Cooper added a solo home run in the fifth for the first-place Chiefs (13-0 overall, 10-0 conference), who opened a two-game lead over Sacred Heart (14-3, 8-2) in the National Conference Division I standings. In other Cape-Atlantic action: Karisma Pantaleon and Nicole Chillari combined for five RBIs, and Jenna Montana shut down Cape May Tech on six hits in pitching host Bridgeton to a 9-0 win. Brittany Robertson went 3 for 4 with two RBIs and a pair of runs scored, and Tori Sittineri tossed a three-hit shutout as Middle Township pummeled Pleasantville, 23-0, in three innings.

Barcelona's Lionel Messi broke the European club scoring record with a hat trick on Wednesday that increased his season total to 68 goals. Messi got his ninth hat trick of the season in Barcelona's 4-1 win over Malaga, breaking the mark of 67 goals that Gerd Mueller scored for Bayern Munich in 1972-73. But Real Madrid clinched its 32d Spanish league title and first in four years with a 3-0 win at Athletic Bilbao. Madrid (30-2-4) has 94 points and a seven-point lead over Barcelona (27-3-6)

Defenseman Nick Grossmann, returning to the lineup after missing two games because of a concussion, was effective in a somewhat reduced role in the Flyers' 4-3 overtime win Sunday over New Jersey. Grossmann had two hits and two blocked shots, and was plus-1 in 16 minutes, 26 seconds. He had averaged 20:50 per game in the first round. After not playing for 11 days, Grossmann shook off the rust early in the opener of Sunday's conference semifinal. "I felt good. It was nice to get back out there," Grossmann said after taking part in the team's optional skate Monday in Voorhees.

Senior midfielder Megan Tiernan's second-half hat trick helped Washington Township, ranked third in The Inquirer's South Jersey girls' lacrosse Top 10, rally for a 10-8 home win over No. 7 Eastern on Monday in an Olympic Conference match. Tiernan finished with three goals and one assist, and Laura Breen also had a hat trick for the Minutemaids. Eastern's Alexa Rubino led all scorers with four goals. In another Olympic match, Krista LaMaina (4 goals, 1 assist) and Ellie O'Neill (3 goals, 2 assists)