National Sports

OTTAWA — Despite their best efforts, the Ottawa Senators came up short against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday.

SARASOTA, Fla. — Starter Zach Thompson allowed five hits and four earned runs over three innings as the Baltimore Orioles defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 7-4 on Thursday night. The 29-year-old right-hander registered three strikeouts with no walks.

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Carter Verhaeghe scored twice in Florida's franchise-record, seven-goal first period and the Panthers beat the Montreal Canadiens 9-5 on Thursday night.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Canada's Maggie Mac Neil captured the women's 50-yard freestyle event in record fashion Thursday night at the NCAA swimming championship. Mac Neil, of London, Ont., won the event in an NCAA-record time of 20.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Tosan Evbuomwan and Princeton used a late-game run to earn the school's first NCAA Tournament win in 25 years, topping No. 2 seed Arizona 59-55 on Thursday.

TORONTO — The Canadian men reconvene next week for the first time since Qatar as coach John Herdman starts the road to the 2026 World Cup.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — JP Pegues made a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining, and No. 13 seed Furman completed a rally from a 12-point second-half deficit to hand fourth-seeded Virginia another first-round NCAA Tournament loss, 68-67 on Thursday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Jalen Wilson had 20 points and seven rebounds for No.

VANCOUVER — Heidi El Tabakh knows her Canadian squad will be in tough when they face Belgium at a Billie Jean King Cup qualifier next month. The Canadian captain believes, however, that her team has the edge in one crucial area — grit.

Sitting atop the Western Conference after three straight wins, expansion St. Louis City SC has been the story of the young MLS season so far.