LINDENHURST, N.Y. – David Porcelli will return to Group-A Racing to contest the Formula 4 United States Championship powered by Honda season.

After being out of a race car for three years, Porcelli joined Group-A last September for a one-off drive at New Jersey Motorsports Park event. Despite being out of a car for so long, Porcelli showed progress each session during the event.

Constantly working with team lead engineer Alain Clarinval and driver coach Jonathan Scarallo, the New Jersey native soaked everything in to improve. When the checkered flag waved at the end of the weekend Porcelli earned an eighth-place result.

“Since my stellar rookie performance in 2018 at NJMP with Group-A-Racing I have been working nonstop to get back into the car for round one at Road Atlanta,” said Porcelli. “I have raced on Road Atlanta more than any other track and I have multiple podiums and wins under my belt. Now that I have had some experience in the F4 U.S. car powered by Honda and working with Group-A-Racing I am very excited to see what we can do when we join the pace race from the start of the season. We have placed ourselves in a position to contend for the  Formula 4 United States championship. I truly believe that Group-A-Racing is the optimal fit for myself as a driver. All my hard work to get back on track over the past two years is finally paying off and I can’t wait to see what we can do together as a team.”

Porcelli continued to work hard with Group-A Racing team in the offseason, obtaining funding from new and returning sponsors to return to the team. Porcelli will drive the No. 93 Group-A Racing/Brain Forest Enhancement Training/New Life Independent Distributor/RaceCraft1/Turnkey/Stuffed Burger Ligier JS F4 car.

“Having David back with us puts a big smile on my face” said Group-A Racing manager Jonathan Scarallo. “Whenever a driver returns to your program it’s a big compliment to show the type of program we run. On top of that, I have known David and been working with him for years. It was already great to have a good result in a one-off last year, now to having him back for more events is incredibly rewarding. It’s come together a bit late with no pre-season testing for him, but we will all be working very hard together to catch up quickly.”

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. -- Former NHL star Ray Bourque has apologized for crossing a picket line to shop at a Massachusetts supermarket where workers are on strike.

Bourque, who played for the Boston Bruins and Colorado Avalanche, was caught on video exiting a North Andover Stop & Shop on Monday as a worker said "Shame on you."

Thousands of Stop & Shop workers at 240 stores in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island went on strike last week over what they say is an unfair contract proposal.

Bourque, a 22-year member of the NHL players' union, apologized on Twitter.

I support the employees of Stop & Shop and once my medical condition is resolved I plan on returning to stand in solidarity and will walk the picket line alongside the members of the union.

— Ray Bourque (@RayBourque77) April 15, 2019

Bourque, 58, retired from professional hockey in 2001. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2004.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

LAS VEGAS -- The NHL will hold its annual awards ceremony June 19 at Mandalay Bay Events Center.

The league announced the date and venue Tuesday before Game 4 of the first-round playoff series between the San Jose Sharks and the Vegas Golden Knights.

It marks the 11th year of a partnership between the NHL and Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which was extended for three years last April, and the 10th time the league will honor the best players and the top performances of the season in Las Vegas.

Last year, the event was held at The Joint, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino's 4,000-seat concert and entertainment venue. Mandalay Bay Events Center, a 12,000-seat arena at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, is the home arena for the WNBA's Las Vegas Aces.

"We're opening up the show to a bigger venue, more people, bigger set, bigger stage, and we're really looking forward to this year's show," NHL chief content officer Steve Mayer said. "The show has become, and grown over the years, more than just handing out awards. We're really interested in showing our fans how the NHL and our sport is so meaningful in all communities."

As each NHL team is eliminated from playoff contention -- either mathematically or by losing in the postseason -- we'll take a look at why its quest for the Stanley Cup fell short in 2018-19, along with three keys to its offseason, impact prospects for 2019-20 and a way-too-early prediction for what next season will hold.

What went wrong

The regular season ended, that's what went wrong. The Tampa Bay Lightning tied the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings for the most regular-season wins in NHL history, with 62. They led the NHL in goals per game (3.89, the highest since 1996), in power-play proficiency (28.2 percent) and on the penalty kill (85.0, tied with two other teams). They were an absolute juggernaut, winning 30 of their games by three or more goals and losing two games in a row in regulation only once, in early November, when Andrei Vasilevskiy was injured.

Until they lost the first two games of their first-round playoff series to the Columbus Blue Jackets, of course.

How the Jackets eliminated the Lightning, the abridged version: with a neutral zone-clogging defensive system, with uncharacteristically effective playoff goaltending from Sergei Bobrovsky, with offensive contributions from their star players while the Lightning's were silent, and by winning the special-teams battle, mostly by staying out of the penalty box. They were not the extreme underdog they were portrayed to have been -- winning seven of eight games down the stretch, finishing with the 13th-best record in the NHL -- and simply outplayed the Presidents' Trophy winners.

Ajax Amsterdam followed up their elimination of Real Madrid by producing a spell-binding display of inventive, passing football to win 2-1 away to Juventus on Tuesday and end the Serie A team's dreams of winning the Champions League.

Ajax's 19-year-old captain Matthijs de Ligt headed the winner from the corner in the 67th minute of the quarterfinal second leg as the Dutch side came from behind to clinch a 3-2 aggregate win and reach the last four for the first time since 1996-97.

Cristiano Ronaldo, aiming for a fourth successive Champions League title after winning the last three with Real Madrid, put Juventus ahead in the 28th minute with a typically emphatic header, his sixth goal of the competition.

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But Donny van de Beek levelled six minutes later before the visitors swept Juventus aside in the second half with wave after wave of attacks as they earned a semifinal against Manchester City or Tottenham Hotspur.

"Can we can go on to win the competition? Well, we are in the semifinals now. And we have eliminated two of the favourites in the last two rounds. The next games will be very difficult, but so were these ones. So who knows?," said De Ligt.

Frenkie de Jong added: "We dominated after the break and were well worth our victory. In fact, we probably should have won by more."

Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana gave his team an early scare when his clearance was charged down by Emre Can but the rebound flew wide.

Ajax settled well after that but, despite not playing well, Juventus went ahead when Ronaldo got away from the defenders to score the 126th Champions League goal of his career.

There was a long delay for the VAR review, the referee eventually going to the pitchside monitor with the ball back on the centre circle ready for the re-start, before the goal was confirmed.

Ajax kept their cool and took six minutes to level, helped by a somewhat lucky break.

Hakim Ziyech's long-range shot hit a defender and fell perfectly for Van de Beek who, unmarked and onside, slotted the ball calmly past Wojciech Szczesny, and then had to wait for another long VAR check before the goal was confirmed.

Ajax took complete control in the second half and their geometric passing repeatedly opened up the Juventus defence, which sorely missed injured veteran Giorgio Chiellini.

Szczesny made one-handed save from Ziyech after Juventus were opened up again and then turned Van de Beek's curling shot over for a corner.

Juventus were rocking but, ironically, Ajax's winner came from an old-fashioned header as De Ligt out-jumped two defenders to score.

Ajax had chances for further goals and Ronaldo's frustration boiled over in stoppage time when he was booked for a lunging tackle from behind near the centre circle.

BARCELONA, Spain -- Ernesto Valverde says Lionel Messi is unstoppable when he's at his best after the Argentine fired Barcelona into the semifinals of the Champions League for the first time in four years.

Messi scored twice in Barca's 3-0 win over Manchester United at Camp Nou on Wednesday to take his tally for the season to 45 in all competitions.

He almost completed a hat trick with an opportunistic bicycle kick in the second half and gave United's defenders a headache all night.

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"Leo always appears in the important games," Valverde said in his postgame news conference. "Not just to finish off the moves, but all over the pitch.

"He's involved in all our play. He gets the goals, but he also takes on responsibility in attack. When he's playing like that, he's unstoppable."

Messi, who hadn't scored in his last 12 European quarterfinal appearances, was proud of his team's performance but warned his teammates they will have to improve in the semifinal against either Liverpool or Porto.

United were the better side in the first 15 minutes and hit the crossbar through Marcus Rashford before Messi's 16th-minute opener.

"This is a spectacular win, this shows who we are," Messi told Movistar. "We were a bit cold and nervous in the first five minutes. We cannot come out like this in any Champions League game. We said that from the start.

"We have the experience from [losing to] Roma last season, you can't make life hard for yourself because one mistake and you're knocked out. We have to be aware of that.

"But after that, we managed to take control and played spectacular football."

Philippe Coutinho scored the third goal in the second half to keep Barca on track for an historic third Treble in the last 11 years.

The former Liverpool playmaker's celebration saw him cup his ear in front of the Barca supporters following criticism received for his performances this season.

"I honestly didn't see it," Valverde said when asked about Coutinho's celebration. "I don't know if it meant anything. He would have to explain it to me. What stays with me is the great goal he scored."

Asked if he feels the supporters and media have been unfair with the Brazil international, he added: "There are huge demands at this club. We always have to win and play well. There's a huge media focus and we're all subject to criticism.

"There's also an expectation that we always play brilliantly and Coutinho always scores and it cannot always be like that. We're all human and we have to deal with the world we're in."

Barca will face either Liverpool or Porto in the last four. The English side have a 2-0 lead going into the second leg in Portugal on Wednesday.

The Catalans also have a nine-point lead in La Liga and are in the final of the Copa del Rey as they pursue the Treble, which they previously won in 2009 and 2015.

BARCELONA, Spain -- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has admitted he faces a rebuilding job at Manchester United that may take years after a humbling Champions League exit to Barcelona.

United were out-classed by the Spanish giants, who eased to a 3-0 win at Camp Nou thanks to two goals from Lionel Messi.

It stretches their wait for the Champions League semifinal to eight years and Solskjaer says he has work to do to get his team back to that level.

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"We know there's work to be done," said Solskjaer.

"I've said all along this isn't going to change overnight and the next few years are going to be massive to get to the level of Barcelona.

"We're on with the job and we've spoken to the players about it as well.

"We need to create an environment of top, world-class attitude every single day. We've got a lot of good players to work with but as I have said, we have a rebuilding job. It started with coaches, players and of course one or two additions in the summer."

Looking to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first leg, United started well against Barcelona and could have taken the lead after just 24 seconds when Marcus Rashford hit the bar.

But any hope was extinguished when Messi scored twice in four minutes in the first half -- the second squirming under David De Gea's body and into the net.

"That's unfortunate with goalkeepers, when you make an error it can get highlighted and that'll be remembered," said Solskjaer.

"He made some fantastic saves and his contribution to the team is good but sometimes that happens in football."

Both Rashford and Scott McTominay had early chances as United started on the front foot but after Messi scored with Barcelona's first two shots on target the tie was all but over.

Philippe Coutinho added a stunning third in the second half, curling a shot beyond De Gea from 25 yards.

"We did well to get here and the quality of their finishing was absolutely outstanding," said Solskjaer.

"We started well in the first five minutes and we felt we've got something here and then in four minutes they scored two goals.

"The attitude was right but we were fighting against a good team.

"Messi is an exceptional talent. Him and Cristiano [Ronaldo] have been the best players in the world for the last decade and he showed why we think that and why this team have won so many Champions Leagues.

"If you give him space and time around the goal he'll create and score goals. He's a fantastic player."

TURIN, Italy -- It turns out Cristiano Ronaldo is not enough. The Portuguese scored in both legs of Juventus' Champions League quarterfinal against Ajax. He put the Bianconeri in front at the Allianz Stadium on Tuesday. They wouldn't even be here without his face-saving hat trick against Atletico Madrid in the round of 16. The 34-year-old kept up his side of the bargain. Ultimately, though, Juventus came up short.

What Ajax have achieved is stunning. As Erik ten Hag noted on the eve of the game, "it's already a big deal to still be in Europe after winter." Ajax had not reached the competition's knockout stages in 13 years. They began the campaign in the second qualifying round. When Ajax played Sturm Graz at the end of July, they couldn't have imagined they would be the first Eredivisie side to reach the Champions League semifinals since PSV in 2005. The game has become so economically stratified since then.

Consider the wealth gap. The €112 million Juventus spent on acquiring Ronaldo is €20m more than Ajax's annual revenues. The team's wage bill is €4m short of what the five-time Ballon d'Or winner makes before tax.

But sometimes ideas trump investment. Ajax deserved to win in Amsterdam a week ago and outplayed Juventus in the second half Tuesday for a 2-1 win and 3-2 aggregate edge. They remain unbeaten on the road in Europe despite going to Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and now Juventus. The feat of coming back from behind in the backyard of a team who are about to become the first in Europe's top five leagues to win the title for eight straight years is jaw-dropping.

Not least because Ajax did not look themselves in the first half. Six fouls in the first 15 minutes stopped either team getting into a rhythm. Frenkie De Jong's influence was initially more limited than it had been in the first leg, perhaps because of the muscle injury he sustained at the weekend, and the early loss of Noussair Mazraoui to injury meant Ajax were without either of their first-choice full-backs with Nicolas Tagliafico also missing the game through suspension.

Ronaldo's goal came just as Ajax were beginning to build some pressure, too. Teams of lesser character would have resigned themselves to their fate, thinking this is just the way it is. Ronaldo has scored 65 goals in 78 knockout games. He has won this trophy four times in the past five years. This is what Madrid were missing when Ajax dumped the holders out of the competition last month.

But Ten Hag's players never let any doubt creep into their minds. That in itself is astonishing. Ajax are the youngest side in the competition. Legs are supposed to tremble under this kind of pressure. But this team didn't waver an inch. Before kickoff, Juventus' vice president Pavel Nedved was asked what stood out to him about their opponents in Amsterdam. "I was surprised by the composure with which they play," he said.

That composure came to the fore again Tuesday. Ajax got back level within six minutes of going behind. A deflected Hakim Ziyech shot found its way to Donny van de Beek, who didn't look up to check whether he was onside or not, focusing solely on beating Wojciech Szczesny. The flag stayed down, as it should in today's VAR era, correctly too because Federico Bernardeschi, late to step up, played the Dutchman onside.

A different Ajax emerged after the interval, the one we've become accustomed to over the course of this season. It was as if they'd overcome whatever had been inhibiting them in the first half. It was as if they realised there was nothing to be afraid of.

They proceeded to cut Juventus to shreds. Were it not for Szczesny, the Old Lady's man of the match, the defeat would have been heavier. The Poland international needed a strong left hand to repel a Ziyech shot and then tipped a Van der Beek curler over the bar with his right. Like Ronaldo, he cannot be blamed for Juventus' elimination.

In the moments before Matthijs de Ligt's towering header, it looked as if Ajax might be found guilty of attempting to walk it in. Dusan Tadic and Ziyech both passed when they had ample time to shoot, letting Juventus' defenders off the hook. But their 19-year-old captain -- just let that sink in for a moment -- ensured Ajax left with no regrets, emulating Gerrie Muhren, who scored the decisive goal in the Dutch side's last win over Juventus 45 years ago.

And so the dream lives on. Ajax are in the semis for the first time since 1997.

This wasn't supposed to happen. The best team they'd had in years was picked apart two seasons ago. Just the Europa League final in Stockholm felt like a fairy tale in the modern game. No one thought Ajax would be back and do even better. Davinson Sanchez and Davy Klaassen left for the Premier League. Last summer, Justin Kluivert decided it was time for him to go to Serie A.

The rest made a pact to stay together one more year, curious to see what might happen if they realised their potential. It's fair to say they have exceeded all expectations. In the next round Ajax will play Spurs -- a team consisting of alumni like Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Sanchez and Christian Eriksen -- or Manchester City, whose coach Pep Guardiola learned everything he knows under Johan Cruyff.

Whatever happens, we can safely Ajax will win. It is the triumph of their idea.