And they needed every bit of scoring they could muster

DETROIT -- The way James Conner and Tyler Boyd played in their first post-season game, its no wonder Pittsburgh coach Paul Chryst is excited about next season. Custom NHL Jerseys . With a pair of freshmen leading the way -- and breaking some long-standing school records in the process -- the Panthers edged Bowling Green 30-27 on Thursday night in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. Conner rushed for 229 yards. Boyd caught eight passes for 173 yards and also scored on a punt return. "We obviously have some great young talent and thats why we are so confident about the future of this program," Chryst said. "We think were in great shape going forward." Conner broke a Pittsburgh bowl record for yards rushing held by Tony Dorsett, and Chris Blewitt kicked a tiebreaking field goal with 1:17 remaining. Conner even played a handful of snaps on the defensive line. Boyd gave Pitt (7-6) a boost with his versatility as well. One star the Panthers will have to replace is Aaron Donald, their All-American on the defensive line. Donald, a senior, helped thwart any last-ditch comeback with a sack deep in Bowling Green territory in the final minute. "They were without question the most physical team we faced all season," said Adam Scheier, Bowling Greens interim coach. "The offensive line was tough, the running back was obviously a bear to tackle and the whole defensive line was disruptive. We knew we had to keep Donald and their other guys out of our backfield, but we couldnt do it." Scheier took over after Wake Forest hired coach Dave Clawson away from the Falcons. Scheier coached the bowl, but now Dino Babers takes over. Dorsett rushed for 202 yards in Pitts win over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 1977. The schools receiving record for a bowl came the next season. In a Gator Bowl win over Clemson, Gordon Jones had 163 yards receiving. Both marks fell Thursday. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound Conner rushed for 165 yards in the second half, helping Pitt overcome the loss of quarterback Tom Savage, who didnt play after halftime because of a rib injury. Conner and the Panthers drove 51 yards in seven plays late in the fourth quarter to set up a 39-yard kick by Blewitt, who had missed from the same distance earlier. Then Conner was back on the field on defence, helping the Panthers protect the lead. "After the last game, coach told me they wanted to unleash me on both sides of the ball, so Ive been getting a lot of reps both ways," Conner said. "I was pretty tired by the end, but I wasnt going to tap out. They kept giving me the ball, so I just kept running." Chad Voytik relieved Savage and put Pitt ahead 27-20 with a 5-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, but the Falcons -- who upset Northern Illinois in Detroit in the Mid-American Conference title game earlier this month -- tied it on Matt Johnsons 15-yard strike to Ryan Burbrink with 4:42 to play. Boyds 54-yard punt return gave the Panthers a 17-3 lead in the second quarter. Bowling Green (10-4) rallied, tying it at 17 on a 94-yard kickoff return by BooBoo Gates to start the second half. Bowling Green appeared to catch a break on the kick return by Gates. A tussle behind the play drew a flag as Gates approached the goal line, but officials ruled that the touchdown stood, with offsetting penalties after the play. The Little Caesars Pizza Bowl faces an uncertain future now that the Detroit Lions have decided to get in the bowl business and will host a game next season. If this game vanishes from the bowl lineup, this was an entertaining finale. Conner put Pitt ahead 7-3 with a 15-yard scoring run near the end of the first quarter. Boyd nearly lost his balance trying to stay inbounds at the end of his punt return, but he was able to reach the end zone. "I knew I had to stay inbounds, because Im not in the goal-line package," Boyd said. "So if I stepped out, I wouldnt get a chance to score." The Falcons rallied thanks in part to an ill-timed loss of discipline by Donald, who picked up an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty with Bowling Green about to punt from its own territory. The Falcons ended up scoring on the drive when Alex Bayer took Johnsons short pass on fourth-and-1 and turned it into a 29-yard touchdown to make it 17-10. Savage completed eight passes in the first half. Seven of them went to Boyd, for 111 yards. Wholesale NHL Jerseys . Over the course of his career Glenn is 79-71-1 in 151 starts for a .526 career winning percentage. Since becoming a Stampeder, he has elevated his play and raised his stock around the league. NHL Jerseys Sale . Poti played in 824 regular NHL games with four teams in his career; the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, New York Islanders and the Washington Capitals. https://www.chinanhljerseys.us/ . 15-23, the Ottawa Senators will by hoping to avoid going five straight games without a victory for the first time since a 0-3-2 drought from Oct.COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Evgeni Malkin and the Pittsburgh Penguins finally flexed their offensive muscles. And they needed every bit of scoring they could muster. Malkin had a hat trick and the Penguins almost blew a four-goal lead before holding off the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 on Monday night to clinch their first-round playoff series in six games. "Its more important that we win the game and (end) the series," Malkin said of the 10th time hes scored three times in a game in his career. "Going into the second round now, you feel so much better when you have confidence. I hope in the next round I can score more." Pittsburgh awaits the winner of the New York-Philadelphia series, with the Rangers leading 3-2 going into Tuesday nights Game 6. Its a good thing for the Penguins that Malkin -- scoreless in his past nine playoff games including the first five in the series -- finally found the net. The Blue Jackets, closer to making tee times than thinking about a Game 7, scored three times in a 4:52 span in the third period to turn up the pressure on the Penguins, an overwhelming favourite before the series got under way. "Were a proud group in here," forward Brandon Dubinsky said. "We didnt want to get embarrassed on home ice. If it was going to be our last game of the season, we didnt want to have any quit. We didnt have any quit in this locker room all season. We just kept pushing and pushing." Brandon Sutter also scored before leaving with an injury and Matt Niskanen had two assists as the Penguins became the first team in the series to score first and win -- but barely. Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves and made a couple of big stops after the game turned into a squeaker. "It was a good test," he said of the wild last few minutes. Coach Dan Bylsma said the toe-to-toe matchup heralded a new level of contentious play between the teams. "Weve got a rivalry going here with the Jackets," he said. "They gave us everything we could handle and it was a nice series for them. That was an extremely tough first-round opponent." Fedor Tyutin, Artem Anisimov and Nick Foligno scored for Columbuus, Folignos redirect of a Tyutin shot cut the gap to a goal with 4:47 left. NHL Jerseys China. A crowd of 19,189 stood and roared the rest of the way as the Blue Jackets piled up scoring chances. The Penguins were hard pressed to fight off the aggressive Blue Jackets after goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who also had 24 saves, was pulled for an extra attacker with under 2 minutes left. Matt Calvert was wide with a potential tying shot with 3:30 left. Dubinskys shot with 35 seconds left was deflected by Fleury. Columbus had overcome a 3-0 deficit at home in Game 4, scoring on a Fleury gaffe in the final seconds of regulation before Foligno won it in the overtime. "After we got the third goal, anything could happen," coach Todd Richards said. "We had done it the last time we played in the building. My thought was it was going to happen." Up until the last few minutes, it was Malkins game. He hadnt scored in the first 332:52 of the series, then scored three times in a span of 26:11. "I could see it coming in the morning skate," teammate James Neal said. "His shot was going into the back of the net." The Blue Jackets, one of the NHLs youngest teams, looked hopeless until Tyutins shot from the right dot ended Fleurys shutout streak at 97:26 -- since the Blue Jackets took a 1-0 lead in the first period of Game 5. But then Anisimov scored from the left point with 6:06 remaining to make it 4-2 and Foligno redirected a Tyutin shot to cut the lead to 4-3. "That was a big win," said Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby, who went goal-less in the series. "Obviously we didnt want to make it as close as we did. But we found a way to win." Notes: The Penguins improved to 8-4 in Game 6s when up 3-2 in the playoffs. ... Columbus was without veteran forward (and Pittsburgh native) R.J. Umberger (shoulder). ... For the second game in a row, the Penguins didnt have D Brooks Orpik, sidelined with an undisclosed injury. ... Sutter was limping as he went to the dressing room in the second period. He did not return. Joe Vitale went knee-to-knee with a Blue Jacket early in the third and was in pain as he left the ice. ' ' '