COLLEGES

Josh Nadeau scored two goals as the University of Maine men’s hockey team beat Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 6-3 on Friday night at Alfond Arena in Orono.

Nadeau scored in the first and second periods for Maine (2-0). Harrison Scott, Donavan Villeneuve-Houle and Ben Poisson also scored for the Black Bears. Thomas Freel had three assists and Victor Ostman had 16 saves.

Jake Gagnon scored twice and Lucas Matta once for RPI (0-2). Carson Cherepak made 45 saves.

HOCKEY

ECHL: Ethan Keppen scored twice and Reid Stefanson had three assists to lead the Maine Mariners to a 4-2 win over the Worcester Railers in an ECHL preseason game at Norway Savings Bank Arena in Auburn.

Wyllum Devenus and Jimmy Lambert also scored for the Mariners. Maine goalie Shane Starrett made 34 saves.

The teams play again Saturday night in Massachusetts. Maine opens its regular season next Friday at Trois-Rivieres, then hosts Trois-Rivieres on Saturday night at Cross Insurance Arena.

OLYMPICS

PARIS GAMES: Russian athletes can be directly invited to next year’s Paris Games despite the suspension of their country’s Olympic committee, the IOC said.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach commented on the issue a day after the Russian Olympic Committee was suspended for violating the territorial integrity of its Ukrainian counterpart by unilaterally adding sports councils in four occupied regions as members.

Isolating the ROC, which now is blocked from getting millions of dollars in IOC revenue, won’t affect the process of evaluating individual Russian athletes for neutral status to help them qualify for and compete at the Paris Olympics.

“These will be direct invitations which we will manage with international federations and, if needed, then with the respective national federations,” Bach said at a news conference.

Bach reiterated the current IOC position that “we do not punish or sanction athletes for the acts of their officials or government.”

BASKETBALL

NBA: Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges turned himself in on Friday after an arrest warrant was issued for an alleged protection order violation stemming from a domestic violence case last year.

Bridges turned himself in early in the morning in Lincoln County, a suburb of Charlotte. He was accompanied by his attorney, according to Larry Seagle, the public information officer for the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.

Bridges appeared before a district court judge and was released on $1,000 bond.

SOCCER

EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS: Kylian Mbappé and Cristiano Ronaldo both scored twice to help France and Portugal secure their spots at next year’s European Championship with a perfect record in qualifying, with Belgium also clinching a berth in Germany.

Mbappé’s two goals – including a long-range strike for the second – helped France secure a 2-1 win over the Netherlands in Amsterdam for a perfect sixth win in Group B.

Ronaldo’s double improved his record tally of international goals to 125 in 202 appearances and led Portugal to a 3-2 win over Slovakia.

Romelu Lukaku scored again and Dodi Lukebakio added two more for Belgium, which had to hang on with 10 men to beat Austria 3-2 in Vienna and secure advancement from Group F.

TENNIS

SHANGHAI MASTERS: Learning from his loss to the same opponent last month, seventh-ranked Andrey Rublev got his revenge and eased to a 6-2, 6-3 win over Ugo Humbert in the quarterfinals in Shanghai.

The Russian player advances to his sixth Masters semifinal appearance where he’ll play Grigor Dimitrov.

Dimitrov, who beat second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz in the fourth round, defeated Nicolas Jarry 7-6 (2), 6-4.

KOREAN OPEN: Jessica Pegula advanced to the semifinals in Seoul by beating Claire Liu 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.

The fourth-ranked American, looking to win her fourth title of the season, will next play Yanina Wickmayer. She beat Polina Kudermetova 6-3, 6-1.

Another American, Emina Bektas, also advanced to the semifinals. Bektas defeated Kimberly Birrell 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

AUTO RACING

IMSA TOURING CAR CLASS: Robert Wickens, paralyzed from the waist down in an IndyCar crash five years ago, won a racing championship in the IMSA Touring Car Class finale of the Michelin Pilot Challenge in Braselton, Georgia.

All Wickens needed was an eighth-place finish to earn the title, and he and co-driver Harry Gottsacker were fourth in the Fox Factory 120 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta on Friday. It was the fifth straight class championship for Byran Herta Autosports.

Wickens, hurt in a crash at Pocono in 2018, uses a hand control system for a paralyzed driver.