Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes was in New Orleans at the time of the New Year’s Eve vehicle attack. His girlfriend, Livvy Dunne, posted pictures in the hours before the tragedy.

Also, the Penguins are on the road to face the reigning Stanley Cup champions. A former Penguin had a huge night against the Colorado Avalanche. Robert Morris’ hockey team is taking on a ranked opponent.

And we look at the local college hoops weekend for Pitt, Duquesne and RMU.

All that in Friday’s “First Call.”

Skenes near New Orleans tragedy

As reported by the New York Post, Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes and prospect Bubba Chandler were in New Orleans on the night of the vehicle attack that left 15 people dead.

Skenes’ girlfriend, Livvy Dunne, shared photos of the couple on Bourbon Street on New Year’s Eve with Chandler and his girlfriend, Allie Enright.

Dunne recently graduated from Louisiana State. She is a gymnast at LSU. Skenes pitched for the Tigers before being selected by the Pirates with the No. 1 overall pick in 2023.

She added a broken heart emoji to her photos of a busy New Year’s scene sometime around the incident but didn’t provide any other details.

The FBI said the truck attacker, an Army veteran from Texas whom authorities identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Bahar Jabbar, acted in an “act of terrorism” when he drove the pickup into the crowd.

In addition to the dead, 30 others were injured, including a man from Canonsburg.

New Year, new result?

After losing on New Year’s Eve in Detroit, the Penguins are on the road for their first game of the 2025 calendar. They visit the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Friday night. It’s a 7 p.m. faceoff.

The Panthers have 48 points, which is second-best in the Atlantic Division. They lost 3-1 on Thursday to Carolina and have dropped three of four. The Penguins come in having split their past six games. They have 39 points, one point behind the Ottawa Senators for the last playoff spot.

The Pens beat Florida, 5-4, in overtime Dec. 3 thanks to a Bryan Rust game-winner.

Also, from NHL action Thursday, former Penguin Jason Zucker had a hat trick for Buffalo. It was the third of his career.

Hat Trick Challenge presented by @AstraZenecaUS pic.twitter.com/IJSA0P43Wu

— NHL (@NHL) January 3, 2025

However, the Sabres lost to the Colorado Avalanche, 6-5, in overtime thanks to a Devon Towes goal.

Warming up

After two weeks off, the Robert Morris men’s hockey team looks to stay hot in Tempe, Ariz. They are taking part in the Arizona State Desert Classic.

The Colonials, winners of three of their past four games, take on the host Sun Devils at 9 p.m. ASU is ranked 19th in the country. RMU will face either UMass or Cornell in the second game on Saturday.

After that, Derek Schooley’s team is at Holy Cross next week before finally returning home for a Tuesday night game against Canisius on Jan. 14.

As for the women’s team, they host Yale at Clearview Arena for a pair of games Friday night and Saturday afternoon. RMU got a regulation victory and a shootout win before the Christmas break against Long Island.

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How are the Dukes doing?

The Duquesne women’s basketball team dropped its second Atlantic 10 conference game to VCU on Thursday. It was a 65-63 decision. Megan McConnell had 24 points, five rebounds and five assists in the loss.

The men’s team is trying to win its fourth game in a row during its first road contest of the A-10 season. Dru Joyce III’s group won its conference debut at home over Rhode Island on Tuesday, 67-55. Now, they visit Davidson on Saturday.

The Wildcats dropped their A-10 opener 69-57 to George Mason. They were 10-3 before that and are 8-0 at home.

Meanwhile, Pitt hosts Stanford at 6:30 p.m. on the men’s side Saturday. The women are at Duke at noon Sunday.

Robert Morris’ men’s team fell to Detroit Mercy, 78-76, in overtime Thursday. They are at Oakland on Saturday at 3 p.m. The women’s team is at IU Indianapolis at 2 p.m. Saturday.

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