DENVER (AP) — The Colorado Avalanche added former Seattle head coach Dave Hakstol to their staff Tuesday as an assistant to boost a power-play unit that struggled in the postseason.

Hakstol joins an Avalanche staff under coach Jared Bednar that includes Nolan Pratt, goaltending coach Jussi Parkkila and assistant/video coach Brett Heimlich.

The 56-year-old Hakstol will direct a power play that features Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar but scuffled against Dallas in the first round of the playoffs. The team was 3 of 22 on the man advantage in a series that went seven games.

Colorado also allowed seven goals in the Stars series while short-handed. After the season, the team parted ways with assistant coach Ray Bennett, who was in charge of the power play.

Hakstol served as the first head coach in Kraken history and was in charge from 2021-24. His team made the postseason in 2023 and eliminated the Avalanche in the first round of a series that went seven games. He finished 107-112-27 with Seattle.

“Dave brings a wealth of knowledge and experience behind the bench and will be a great fit on Jared’s staff,” Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said in a statement. “He has an extensive coaching background with a lot of success and will be a valuable addition to our team.”

Hakstol also was the head coach in Philadelphia for parts of four seasons and went 134-101-42.

Before the NHL, Hakstol spent 11 seasons as the head coach at the University of North Dakota, leading the team to seven Frozen Four appearances.

In international competitions, he won a pair of silver medals as an assistant coach with Team Canada at the IIHF World Championship in 2017 and 2019. The 2017 squad featured MacKinnon and the 2019 team had Avalanche goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood.

“This is a proud organization with a lot of talented players,” Hakstol said. “I look forward to being a part of this special group and can’t wait to get to work and help the team in any way that I can.”

Bello strikes out 10 in complete-game effort as Red Sox beat Rockies 10-2 for 5th straight win

BOSTON (AP) — Brayan Bello struck out a season-high 10 in the first nine-inning complete game of his career, Trevor Story hit a three-run homer and the Boston Red Sox beat the Colorado Rockies 10-2 on Tuesday night for their fifth straight win.

Bello (5-3), who had seven strikeouts after one trip through the Colorado lineup, gave up five hits and one walk. He threw a rain-shortened, six-inning complete game on Sept. 25, 2022, a 2-0 loss to the Yankees.

Ceddanne Rafaela hit a two-run double during a four-run rally in the sixth, followed by a six-run outbreak in the seventh when Story homered and Jarren Duran added a solo shot. Boston had 10 or more hits for the sixth straight game.

Hunter Goodman ended the shutout bid with a two-run homer in the ninth inning, but Bello struck out Ryan McMahon for the final out.

Goodman’s infield single on a hard grounder that handcuffed third baseman Nate Eaton in the fourth was Colorado’s only hit until Brenton Doyle blooped a single to left in the eighth.

The Rockies tied last year’s Chicago White Sox as the only teams to lose 71 games before the All-Star break.

Kyle Freeland (1-10) pitched five shutout innings before running into trouble in the sixth when Story singled to shallow right to dive in Romy Gonzalez with the game’s first run. Freeland allowed three runs on four hits in 5 2/3 innings. He also struck out six and walked two.

Key moment

After Story’s single to right in the sixth, Rafaela lined a two-out double down the line in left to put Boston up 3-0 during a four-run rally.

Key stat

Colorado third baseman McMahon played in his 1,000th career game, making him the ninth player to reach the milestone with the Rockies.

Up next

Rockies RHP Antonio Senzatela (3-12, 6.57 ERA) faces Red Sox RHP Lucas Giolito (5-1, 3.66) on Wednesday night.

Grand Canyon University's move to the Mountain West has been accelerated. Lopes to compete this fall

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — Grand Canyon University announced Tuesday its move to the Mountain West Conference will begin immediately.

The school in Phoenix was initially scheduled to transition from the Western Athletic Conference to its new league on July 1, 2026. The Mountain West offered an earlier transition, however, allowing the school to compete for conference championships this fall.

"The addition of Grand Canyon for the 2025-26 academic year is a significant win for the student-athletes at GCU and in the Mountain West,” conference commissioner Gloria Nevarez said in a statement.

Grand Canyon will be one of 14 schools competing in the conference next season. The accelerated transition comes after five Mountain West schools announced they intend to depart the conference and join the Pac-12 in 2026. Those schools are Utah State, Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Colorado State.

“Grand Canyon brings elite recruiting, a passionate fanbase, and state-of-the-art facilities, elevating the Mountain West’s competitiveness and national profile," Nevarez said. "In a time when the student-athlete experience is of utmost importance, we felt it was in the best interest to allow them to compete for conference championships and the NCAA postseason immediately.”

Seventeen varsity teams will compete in the Mountain West, including men's and women's basketball which have been in the national spotlight in recent years during the NCAA Tournament. Grand Canyon's historically successful men's volleyball team was cut in April.

“GCU is excited for this opportunity for our student-athletes, the Havocs and our fanbase,” GCU athletic director Jamie Boggs said. “After winning 76 conference championships, this opportunity best positions GCU to be nationally competitive, and we are excited about the vision and future of the Mountain West."