Stat Corner: Clutch Hitting

Joel Kiviranta did not score his first regular-season hat trick because he had family in the stands at Ball Arena. He does not have five goals in three games against the Seattle Kraken because he plays better against them. Those are fun anecdotes, but also correlation without causation. There are tangible reasons why Kiviranta has become a regular and a key depth play for the Colorado Avalanche since arriving for the team’s training camp last season on a player-tryout contract.

The Avalanche needs a break after a grueling five-week stretch of travel, but the club is also finally starting to pile up points. Joel Kiviranta had a natural hat trick to set new career-highs in goals and points, while Mackenzie Blackwood made 17 saves on Sunday night to help the Avs defeat the Seattle Kraken, 5-2, at Ball Arena. Kiviranta scored the club’s final three goals, including two into the empty net. “I was looking, thinking about (passing to) Mikko (Rantanen) there, but a hat trick is a hat trick,” Kiviranta said.

Every Nuggets comeback needs a stroke of inspiration, and this one fittingly occurred without Nikola Jokic on the floor. With 9:18 remaining in a game Denver trailed 100-90, Julian Strawther was barreled over away from the ball while Jamal Murray buried a corner 3-pointer. A flagrant foul. A free throw for Strawther.

Colorado cornerback DJ McKinney smiles after returning and interception for a touchdown against Oklahoma State on Nov. 29, 2024, at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo. (Cliff Grassmick/Staff Photographer) Watching Travis Hunter win a plethora of awards last week, including the Heisman Trophy, has made an impact on his Colorado teammates. Head coach Deion Sanders had Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders stand in front of the team earlier this week, talked about the awards both of them won and pointed out that some of them could be next. Cornerback DJ McKinney is taking the inspiration from Hunter and the message from Coach Prime to heart. “Man, it was amazing, just seeing him walk into the after party with the Heisman Trophy,” said McKinney, who was one of several Buffs who made the trip to New York City to support Hunter when he won the Heisman on Dec.

The top freshman in the American Athletic Conference this season is coming to Boulder. On Sunday, former Tulsa receiver Joseph Williams announced that he has verbally committed to Colorado and head coach Deion Sanders as a transfer. Williams had previously committed to Utah, but flipped to the Buffaloes instead. A true freshman at Tulsa this season, Williams caught 30 passes for 588 yards and five touchdowns.

Sean Payton’s been telling his team all season that they’d eventually be playing in bigger games. Those games are here and so far the results are mixed. The Broncos started slow but dominated late to beat Indianapolis and get to the doorstep of the playoffs. Then they did the opposite and squandered a dominant start against the Los Angeles Chargers in their first chance to clinch a spot. Each game showed how small the margin is this time of year. If Colts running back Jonathan Taylor doesn’t drop the ball at the goal line in the second half of Week 15, Indianapolis goes up 20-7 and perhaps wins that game. The key sequence from a momentum standpoint in the Broncos’ 34-27 loss to the Chargers?