North Carolina

Devils, North Carolina Governor Don’t See Eye to Eye After Physical Hurricanes Tilt

Published

1 year ago

December 29, 2024

Devils, North Carolina Governor Don’t See Eye to Eye After Physical Hurricanes Tilt

Following a physical tilt between the New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes, an unlikely criticism was bestowed on the Devils.

MORE: Devils Takeaways: Questionable Officiating; Meier’s Major Lead to Devils Loss to Hurricanes

After the Devils routed in a 4-2 victory on Friday night, the division rivals met again on Saturday in a home-and-home situation.

Friday night’s tilt was a moderate victory for the Devils. However, Saturday’s tilt was when emotions ran high. In the third period, Timo Meier received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for a hit that was determining “kneeing” on ‘Canes forward Martin Necas.

Later, Devils forward Erik Haula laid a hit on Carolina defenseman Dmitry Orlov which prompted a scrum between the division rivals. After the referees settled the dispute, Orlov jumped Haula on his way to the bench and both players were assessed roughing minors.

Following the Hurricanes’ 5-2 victory which saw Carolina and New Jersey split the season series 2-2, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper took to social media to criticize the Devils.

“Glad our Canes are done with the NJDevils for the regular season,” Cooper wrote on X. “Great win tonight while surviving some vicious hits. Devils are too good for such dirty play.”

Despite Cooper’s feelings on the kind of game New Jersey played, the Devils felt the Hurricanes swayed the opinions of the referees, which prompted some questionable officiating.

“The guy laying on the ice plays three and a half minutes of the five-minute major,” Sheldon Keefe said of the Meier ejection. “That’s a tough one. A tough message for the players that if you take a big hit, laying down on the ice has its benefits.”

Devils forward Paul Cotter ended an 18-game goaless drought on Saturday when he opened the scoring in the second period. When asked his thoughts on the Necas hit, Cotter didn’t hold back.

“I think there was an injury there that might have been blown out of proportion there by the player and our team didn’t like it, so we maybe were a little extra physical, and they pushed back. It happens, Cotter explained.”

The Devils’ head coach was even more puzzled with the Haula/Orlov situation. Haula lowered his shoulder and hit Orlov which didn’t draw a penalty. The Hurricanes took exception which prompted a scrum, however, there were no penalties until Orlov re-engaged with Haula unexpectedly.

The altercation drew a decent amount of blood on Orlov, which he could have avoided by skating away.

“I also thought the Orlov, Haula [situation]… for that one to be two minutes each and for us to be on the power play after an official escorts their player off the ice, that’s a tough one,” Keefe continued.

The Devils and Hurricanes certainly re-engaged a rivalry on Saturday. It’s clear the two teams don’t like each other, which would certainly make for an entertaining postseason matchup, whether Gov. Cooper likes it or not.

For more Devils news, visit New Jersey Hockey Now, subscribe to our YouTube and like our Facebook page.

Follow us on 𝕏:

@NJDHockeyNow, @JamesNicholsNHL, @NickNatale10

And on Threads:

@JamesNicholsNHL

Source link

North Carolina

North Carolina father-to-be saved by quick-thinking pregnant wife after suffering sudden heart attack

Published

46 minutes ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

North Carolina father-to-be saved by quick-thinking pregnant wife after suffering sudden heart attack

A North Carolina man who unknowingly lived with a rare heart condition was saved by his pregnant wife after he suddenly went into cardiac arrest while lounging in bed.

Brandon Whitfield, 39, was already preparing for one drastic lifestyle change when his wife, Angela, became pregnant last spring.

Then, he suffered an unexpected heart attack when she was just nine weeks along.

“I was eating carrot cake in bed watching the hockey playoffs. And mid-conversation, I just started to slump over,” Brandon recounted to WSOC-TV.

Angela didn’t think anything of it for a few seconds, figuring Brandon might just be groggy or joking, but “jumped into action” when she realized “this was an emergency.”

Thankfully, Angela has worked as a physician assistant for more than a decade. She knew what to do instantly and, after calling 911, started to perform CPR on her prone husband.

Angela was shaken in the moments after, though, as she started to rationalize what she’d just had to do.

“You absolutely never ever think you are going to have to do CPR on your spouse,” she told the outlet.

“I thought I may be a widow,” she added.

Brandon was rushed to a nearby Novant Health medical center and, to his horror, diagnosed with a rare heart condition.

“Just because you’re young and you’re fit and you’re relatively healthy doesn’t mean that heart disease can’t happen to you,” Brandon told the outlet.

Brandon was quick to laud his wife with praise.

“It was nothing short of a miracle. Everything lined up for her to be there. It was not my time,” he said.

In the wake of his shocking diagnosis, Brandon had to adopt a Mediterranean diet and is trying to be “more mindful” about what he eats — which means no more carrot cake.

After his brush with death, the dad-to-be implored others who may be taking their lives for granted to make sure they don’t leave anything unsaid, just in case their final days are nearer than they think.

“If you can do something today, do it today. If you can tell your family you love them, do it,” he said.

Source link

North Carolina

How to buy tickets for Duke basketball vs NC State in ACC contest

Published

13 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

How to buy tickets for Duke basketball vs NC State in ACC contest

It’s Duke basketball against N.C. State at the Lenovo Center on Monday, March 2.

The top-ranked Blue Devils (27-2, 15-1 ACC) and head coach Jon Scheyer are set to take on the Wolfpack (19-10, 10-6) and first year head coach Will Wade at 7 p.m. on ESPN in Raleigh.

Duke is coming off its sixth-straight win, a 77-51 rout over Virginia at Cameron Indoor Stadium. N.C. State, which has lost four of its last five, is coming off a 96-90 road loss in overtime to Notre Dame. The Blue Devils sit atop conference standings while the Wolfpack rank sixth in the league.

The Blue Devils own the all-time series against the Wolfpack 83-52 and sit at 27-27 on the road at the Lenovo Center. Duke has won six out of its last four contests against N.C. State.

Here’s how to buy tickets for Duke basketball vs. N.C. State:

Duke basketball tickets vs NC State

Duke has established a ticket waitlist program for men’s basketball games. Fans can register for the waitlist at GoDuke.com. Those on the waiting list may have the opportunity to purchase tickets, when and if tickets become available. Iron Dukes members have the first opportunity to purchase available tickets.

As for the secondary market, ticket prices for Duke’s game vs. N.C. State start at $72 on StubHub and go upwards of $712. On VividSeats, tickets range from $62-$1,156 while ranging from $63-$432 on Ticketmaster.

To see a full list of ticket prices, visit StubHub.

What time is Duke vs NC State?

Date: Monday, March 2

Time: 7 p.m. ET

The Duke basketball game vs. N.C. State game tips off at 7 p.m. ET from the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Where to watch Duke vs NC State

TV Channel: ESPN

Stream: Fubo

The Duke vs. N.C. State game will air on ESPN and can be streamed on Fubo, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.

Anna Snyder covers Duke for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at asnyder@usatodayco.com or follow her @annaesnydr on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Source link

North Carolina

4 Best Quotes Into North Carolina-Virginia Tech Matchup

Published

2 days ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

4 Best Quotes Into North Carolina-Virginia Tech Matchup

The North Carolina Tar Heels host the Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday night at the Dean E. Smith Center in a monumental game for head coach Hubert Davis and his team. Here are quotes from this week that carry weight into this contest.

Seth Trimble’s Aggressive Mindset

Feb 23, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Seth Trimble (7) dribbles as Louisville Cardinals guard Kobe Rodgers (11) defends in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

“The thing that I loved about him was he was thinking attack. He wasn’t coming off looking to pass,” Davis said. “One of the things that I’ve told him is when you come off a ball screen, you’re 100% thinking score, and then let the defense dictate whether you make a pass or you go to the basket. And Seth’s ability to be able to get downhill, he was able to score, draw fouls, just a huge difference maker for us.”

“And I feel like now that Caleb [Wilson] has been out, he’s definitely been more of the go-to guy, and he’s had a lot more opportunities,” Henri Veesaar said. “I feel like he flipped a switch in the second half of Syracuse and that kind of just carried over, because he started being more aggressive, getting downhill, and that carried over into the next game.”

“The coaches have been on me,” Trimble said. “I know I said it; I’ve said this over and over again, but they’ve been on me just to go and just finish, you know, coming off the ball screen, go, look to score, you know, don’t look to pass. Don’t look to make a play. Go to score. And then things are going to happen from that. And then I’m going to be able to kick out, going to be able to hit Henri [Veesaar].”

Defensive Fortitude

Feb 23, 2026; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Ryan Conwell (3) shoots as North Carolina Tar Heels center Henri Veesaar (13) and forward Zayden High (1) defend in the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

“We were ready – just being ready on the defensive end and making them score over us,” Veesaar said. “I feel like on the defensive end most of the time, most of the games, we control the way we play, and as long as we don’t make any [mistakes]…today we were talking, communicating the whole game. So that was really good.”

“It was a huge point to try and slow down Mikel [Brown Jr.] and [Ryan] Conwell,” Trimble said. “They’re two incredible guards, two of the best guards in the ACC. So, if you can shut them down, you can put yourself in a good position to win. Now, we didn’t necessarily shut them down, obviously, but efficiency wise, they didn’t have the best game, and it made it difficult. So, I think we did a good job.”

“[With] so many gifted guys that can score in many different areas, one of the things that we wanted to do is just make every catch, make every move, make every shot difficult,” Davis continued. “And I just felt like throughout the game, they got worn down and tired. And I think that’s why a lot of their threes hit front rim or air ball, because of the fatigue.”

To keep up with North Carolina’s fast-paced news, click right HERE! Please make sure you follow us today on our Facebook page when you click right HERE!

Never again miss one major story related to your beloved Tar Heels when you sign up for our 100% FREE newsletter that comes straight to your email with the latest news. SIGN UP HERE NOW

Source link