SPORTS DIGEST || Poland-Canfield game pre-sale starts Monday

Poland-Canfield game pre-sale starts Monday

POLAND

Poland High will begin selling tickets to its boys’ basketball game against Canfield starting Monday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Due to an anticipated sellout, only the AAC league pass will be accepted at the door, which will open at 5 p.m.

With questions, contact the athletic office at 330-757-7021.

Reporting prep results

The Vindicator encourages coaches and statisticians to report winter prep results by email (sports@vindy.com) or fax (330-747-6712).

Phone calls (330-747-1478) are also acceptable but emails and faxes are strongly preferred.

NHL labor talks appear to be on upswing

NEW YORK

A rollercoaster week in the NHL owners’ lockout was back on the upswing Saturday with the resumption of face-to-face negotiations.

After meeting separately in the morning with both sides, federal mediator Scot Beckenbaugh brought them together for a small-group meeting at the Manhattan hotel the union is using as its base of operations. That meeting began at approximately 12:45 p.m. and was still ongoing.

That fueled optimism that a deal might be done as soon as today, but also the admonition that there was still a lot of work to do and things could easily unravel with a wrong step.

US wins gold at junior ice hockey worlds

UFA, Russia

The United States won the junior ice hockey championships on Saturday after Rocco Grimaldi scored twice and Vince Trocheck added an empty-net goal to clinch a 3-1 win over Sweden in the final.

Filip Sandberg put defending champion Sweden ahead on power play early in the second period, but Grimaldi then scored twice in a three-minute span to swing the game in the Americans’ favor.

He powered from behind the net to score an equalizer from a narrow angle, and then redirected Jacob Trouba’s slap shot from the blue line midway through second period.

Hard Not to Like wins at Gulfstream Park

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla.

Hard Not to Like returned from an eight-month layoff to beat Channel Lady a half-length Saturday in the $100,000 Marshua’s River turf stakes for fillies and mares at Gulfstream Park.

Racing for the first time since sustaining a knee chip in May in the Kentucky Oaks, Hard Not to Like ran 11/16 miles in 1:41.70 and paid $17.60, $7.60 and $4.

American Packwood breaks leg in FA Cup

LEEDS, England

American soccer defender Will Packwood broke his left leg Saturday while playing for English club Birmingham in the FA Cup and will miss the rest of the season.

The 19-year-old Packwood was stretchered off at Leeds after landing awkwardly on the leg following a collision with Luciano Becchio during the 1-1 draw in the third round.

Birmingham manager Lee Clark says the “early diagnosis is a break to both the fibula and tibia ... his young teammates and friends were distraught on the pitch, in tears.”

Clark offered to give Packwood “as much care and support as possible”, and hopes to have him back “fit and strong for next season.”

Tyler Farrar to ride in Tour Down Under

ADELAIDE, Australia

American cyclist Tyler Farrar will race in the Tour Down Under, first cycling event of the 2013 ProTour.

Farrar hasn’t raced since sustaining a concussion in a fall in September in the Tour of Britain. The sprinter had a strong season, winning stages in the U.S. Pro Cycling Challenge, the Tour of Utah and the Giro d’Italia.

Farrar was confirmed as a member of the Garmin Sharp team for the six-stage road race, based around Adelaide in South Australia and starting Jan. 20.

Vindicator staff/wire reports