Australia and New Zealand honor their war dead with dawn services on Anzac Day

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of people gathered across Australia and New Zealand for dawn services and street marches Thursday to commemorate their war dead on Anzac Day.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon attended a dawn service in his country’s largest city, Auckland, while Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saw the sun rise at a World War II memorial in the wilds of Australia’s nearest neighbor, Papua New Guinea.

April 25 is the date in 1915 when the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps landed on the beaches of Gallipoli, in northwest Turkey, in an ill-fated campaign that was the soldiers’ first combat of World War I.

Albanese trekked to the memorial in the town of Isurava over two days with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape. Isurava was the site of a major battle where United States and Australian troops fought the Japanese in August 1942.

“Those who enlisted for the Second World War grew up in an Australia scarred by the memory of the first,” Nine Network reported Albanese telling the gathering.

“Anzac Day has never asked us to exalt in the glories of war. Anzac Day asks us to stand against the erosion of time and to hold on to their names,” Albanese added.

Marape called for “peace to prevail in all circumstances."

Albanese has used his trip to underscore enduring security ties between the two countries that deepened in December, when he and Marape signed a wide-ranging security agreement.

The signing was delayed by six months after a security pact between Papua New Guinea and the United States sparked riots in the South Pacific nation over concerns that the country’s sovereignty was being undermined.

Marape said in December that his government’s security agreements with the U.S. and Australia did not mean he was siding with those allies in their strategic competition with China.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Papua New Guinea over the weekend to discuss with Marape building closer relations.

In New Zealand, Luxon told the crowd that the country had its military personnel to thank for their freedom and democracy.

“It’s a sacred day for all New Zealanders. It’s a chance for us all to stop, to reflect, to remember, to commemorate great Kiwi service men and women in the past and present who have gone to stand up for our values,” the Stuff news website reported Luxon saying.

A late morning commemorative service planned for the New Zealand capital of Wellington was canceled due to strong winds.

The government said the decision to cancel the event planned at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park was made for the health and safety of veterans, visitors and guests, The New Zealand Herald reported. A smaller event was held indoors.

Australian police assured the public Thursday that there was no extremist threat to Anzac Day services and marches in Sydney, after seven teenagers accused of following a violent extremist ideology were arrested in police raids across southwest Sydney on Wednesday.

Extremists have plotted mass-casualty attacks on past Anzac Days, but police have intervened before plans were executed.

Sydney residents turned out in large numbers for Thursday's events.

Later, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and New Zealand counterpart Winston Peters represented their governments at a dawn service at Gallipoli's Anzac Cove in Turkey, where hundreds had camped overnight.

“From the distant Pacific Ocean we arrive with humility. Upon your land, our footprints are joined forever. The fallen warriors of our people and your people rest together within your ancestral soil,” Peters told the gathering.

"We meet here to commemorate the ground around us as the final resting place of far too many of our young men: Turkish, British, Australian and New Zealand men," Peters said.

Roger Kerr, from New Zealand, told the state-run news agency Anadolu that there was a bond with Turkey. “Even though they fought each other, both sides were respectful. I think this continues 100 years later,” he said.

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Associated Press writer Andrew Wilks in Istanbul contributed to this report.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, right, lays a wreath at the Anzac Day dawn service at the Auckland War Memorial Museum in Auckland, New Zealand, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (Hayden Woodward /NZ Herald via AP)

An Anzac Day dawn service is held at the Auckland War Memorial Museum in Auckland, New Zealand, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (Hayden Woodward /NZ Herald via AP)

Veterans march during a Anzac Day parade at Hobsonville near Auckland, New Zealand, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (Dean Purcell/NZ Herald via AP)

A young girl holds a photo as she marches during the Anzac Day parade in central the business district of Sydney, Australia, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

A girl holds a photo as she marches during the Anzac Day parade in central the business district of Sydney, Australia, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Navy personnel march during the Anzac Day parade in central the business district of Sydney, Australia, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

A member of the crowd films the Anzac Day parade in central the business district of Sydney, Australia, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

A young girl marches during the Anzac Day parade in central the business district of Sydney, Australia, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Crowds react as they watch the Anzac Day parade in the central business district of Sydney, Australia, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Veterans wait to march in the Anzac Day parade in the central business district of Sydney, Australia, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Crowds attend the Anzac Day dawn service at Coogee Beach in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

A veteran waves to the crowd during the Anzac Day parade in central the business district of Sydney, Australia, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

A veteran is helped as he marches during the Anzac Day parade in central the business district of Sydney, Australia, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

A young girl reacts during an Anzac Day dawn service at Coogee Beach in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Crowds gather during an Anzac Day dawn service at Coogee Beach in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Australian naval personnel stand near a cenotaph during an Anzac Day dawn service at Coogee Beach in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Soldiers salute during an Anzac Day dawn service at Coogee Beach in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

A veteran reacts during an Anzac Day dawn service at Coogee Beach in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Soldiers salute after laying a wreath during an Anzac Day dawn service at Coogee Beach in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

A military cadet watches events during an Anzac Day dawn service at Coogee Beach in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Crowds gather for the Anzac Day dawn service at Coogee Beach in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Crowds gather for the Anzac Day dawn service at Coogee Beach in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Military cadets react during an Anzac Day dawn service at Coogee Beach in Sydney, Australia, Thursday, April 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

Surf boats perform during the Anzac Day dawn service at Elephant Rock in Currumbin on the Gold Coast, Australia, Thursday April 25, 2024. (Jono Searle/AAP Image/via AP)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Beginning with Tyler Seguin on a breakaway, the shots came in waves at Vegas goalie Adin Hill.

He stopped Seguin at point blank, saved Joe Pavelski's rebound and then stopped Seguin again.

This was the Hill of last year's Stanley Cup championship run, and because of him the Golden Knights kept alive their hopes of repeating by beating the Dallas Stars 2-0 on Friday night to force a Game 7.

“You need to make big saves at big times in big games,” Hill said. “That's how you win playoff games. I think our team learned that last year, and any team that's won, their goalies had to catch fire at times.”

The deciding game in the first-round series is Sunday in Dallas.

Hill stopped 23 shots for first shutout since having two in three games in early November. Noah Hanifin broke a scoreless tie at 9:54 of the third period and Mark Stone scored an empty-netter from 176 feet away with 18.9 seconds left to seal the victory.

This was the second winning goal this series for Hanifin, who was a trade-deadline acquisition from Calgary.

“Ever since I got traded here, I was super excited about the opportunity coming to a team with guys that have won,” Hanifin said. “It's a great culture here and I'm fortunate to be a part of it. I feel good about my game and I'm trying to contribute whichever way I can.”

This was a classic goalie duel, with Hill looking like the player who went 11-4 with a .932 save percentage and 2.17 goals goals allowed per game in last year's playoffs. But Hill had been up and down late in this season, and Logan Thompson got the starting job in the series' first four games.

The Knights turned to Hill for Game 5 in their 3-2 loss and then again for this one.

“At the end of the year, Adin was feeling pretty good about this game,” Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “You could see it in practice. It was just pucks were finding their way in. ... He should have confidence. He just pitched a shutout and made some really high-end saves.”

On the other side, Jake Oettinger made 28 saves and entered the game without giving up a goal in this series in the third period or overtime. Hanifin's goal ended Oettinger's streak at 60 saves.

“I would've like to have shut it down tonight, but now that we're in this position, that's why we played so well during the regular season to get Game 7 at home if it comes to that,” Oettinger said. “The ball's in our court. We're on home ice, and now it's on us to take care of business.”

There are numbers that favor either side going into Game 7.

Vegas took a 2-0 lead in this series, and the Knights are 4-0 when holding such an advantage. The Stars have never overcome such a deficit in the nine previous tries since moving to Dallas. NHL teams overall are 351-55 when given that early lead.

But no team has been able to solve Stars coach Pete DeBoer in a seventh game. He is 7-0.

“There's nothing better than Game 7s,” DeBoer said. “That's what you grew up dreaming about playing and the second-best thing is coaching in them.”

This game had electricity from the beginning, both teams missing major scoring opportunities with the tension building as the game progressed. The Golden Knights added some star touches with recording artist Shania Twain cranking the horn before the game and James Holzhauer of Jeopardy fame doing it before the third.

The Golden Knights, as expected given the circumstances, came out flying, living in the Stars' offensive zone early on. Dallas didn't get its first shot on goal until 7:45 into the game, but the Knights failed to cash in on several chances, including a point-blank opportunity by Nicolas Roy and a shot from Keegan Kolesar that went off the post to keep the game scoreless in the first period.

The game remained that way through the second period, but it wasn't for a lack of action. In addition to Hill's three spectacular saves during that one sequence, he later received an assist from Stone, who cleared the puck from the goal line. Logan Stankoven missed an open net for the Stars, and Vegas' Jonathan Marchessault had a shot from the left circle that William Karlsson tipped that caused the crowd to believe the puck went into the net.

Hanifin finally broke through, with his unassisted wrister from the right circle.

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Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill (33) blocks a shot by Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin (91) during the second period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, May 3, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) blocks a shot attempt by the Vegas Golden Knights during the first period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, May 3, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) blocks a shot by the Vegas Golden Knights during the second period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, May 3, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Dallas Stars left wing Jason Robertson (21) and Vegas Golden Knights right wing Keegan Kolesar (55) vie for the puck during the first period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, May 3, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen (4) attempts a shot on Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill (33) during the second period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, May 3, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Dallas Stars defenseman Esa Lindell (23) knocks down Vegas Golden Knights left wing William Carrier (28) during the second period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, May 3, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) celebrates after scoring against the Dallas Stars during the third period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, May 3, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Vegas Golden Knights celebrate after a goal by Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) during the third period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, May 3, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Vegas Golden Knights celebrate after a goal by Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) during the third period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, May 3, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin, left, celebrates after scoring against the Dallas Stars during the third period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, May 3, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone, right, celebrates after scoring against the Dallas Stars during the third period in Game 6 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, May 3, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)