LOCAL SPORTS
The Antigonish Junior B Bulldogs took the first game of the league final, scoring three times in the second period to defeat the Capstone Colts 4-2. Game two is in Shearwater tonight at 7.
At the U16AAA Maritime Hockey Championship at the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre on Friday, PEI’s Western Rebels edged out the Eastern Dukes 4-3, the Moncton Thunderbirds shut out HC Voyageurs of Dartmouth 3-0, and the host Cabot Highlanders defeated the Western Rebels 2-1. Action begins this morning with the Thunderbirds & Dukes at 9 am, followed by the Voyageurs vs the Rebels at Noon, then the Highlanders face off with the Dukes at 3 pm.
In day two action of the Atlantic U18AAA Women’s Hockey Championship at the Pictou County Wellness Centre, the host Northern Subway Selects had two wins – a regulation win over the Eastern Ice Breakers of Newfoundland and Labrador, and a shootout victory in the evening over the Greenfoot Capitals. In other games, the Capitals defeated the Moncton Rockets 1-0, and the Down East Stars from PEI shut out the Rockets 3-0. This morning, the Stars face off with the Ice Breakers at 9, then it’s the Selects & Rockets at Noon followed by the Ice Breakers & Capitals at 3.
It’s Game 5 of the Rural League finals tonight, with both the Heatherton Warriors & the County Outlaws looking to break the series tie. Face off is at 7 at the Antigonish Arena.
NATIONAL SPORTS
Alex Ovechkin says he’s shaking and still can’t believe what he’s achieved. The Washington Capitals captain scored twice in a 5-3 home win over the Chicago Blackhawks to reach 894 career goals, tying an N-H-L record by Wayne Gretzky that was long thought untouchable. Gretzky was in attendance and will follow Ovechkin until he hits goal Number 895. The Capitals next play Sunday in New York against the Islanders.
Noah Dobson had a goal and an assist, and the New York Islanders beat the Minnesota Wild 3-1 to snap a six-game losing streak. The Islanders are looking to finish the season strong with seven games remaining. New York is five points behind Montreal for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Canada’s Brad Jacobs wrapped up round-robin play with an 8-3 win over American Korey Dropkin to finish with an 11-and-1 record at the men’s world curling championships. Jacobs and his Calgary-based team clinched the top seed and a direct bye to Saturday’s semifinal with an 8-2 rout over Austria earlier Friday.
Jade Rose scored her first goal for Canada’s women’s soccer team in a 3-0 exhibition victory over Argentina in Vancouver. Nichelle Prince and Julia Grosso also scored for the seventh-ranked Canadians. The victory punctuated Casey Stoney’s first game on home soil since being appointed head coach of the Canadian squad in mid-January. Canada and Argentina will meet again for another friendly in Langford, B-C, on Tuesday.
Canadian basketball star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 22 points to reach 20 for the 70th straight game, moving past Michael Jordan for the fourth-longest single-season streak in N-B-A history. Gilgeous-Alexander’s Oklahoma City Thunder ultimately lost 125-111 to the Houston Rockets. Jalen Green led the way with 34 points for Houston.
Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd led the UConn Huskies to a remarkably easy 85-51 victory over U-C-L-A despite an off night from superstar Paige Bueckers in the Final Four of the women’s N-C-double-A basketball tournament. The Huskies are one win away from their 12th national championship. They’ll play defending champion South Carolina in Sunday’s title game.
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen is set to start from the pole position in the Japanese Grand Prix after turning in the top time during the qualifier this weekend. Lando Norris of McLaren is slated to start alongside teammate Oscar Piastri on the second row with Charles Leclerc of Ferrari. Norris and Piastri have won the first two Formula One races of the season, but Verstappen is in good shape to win his fourth straight race in Japan.
Friday’s Scoreboard
NHL
Detroit 5 Carolina 3
Washington 5 Chicago 3
N.Y. Islanders 3 Minnesota 1
MLB
Interleague
N.Y. Mets 5 Toronto 0
Boston 13 St. Louis 9
Athletics 6 Colorado 3 (11 innings)
N.Y. Yankees 9 Pittsburgh 4
San Francisco 10 Seattle 9 (11 innings)
American League
Detroit 7 Chicago White Sox 4
Texas 5 Tampa Bay 2
Kansas City 8 Baltimore 2
Cleveland 8 L.A. Angels 6
National League
Chicago Cubs 3 San Diego 1
Philadelphia 3 L.A. Dodgers 2
Arizona 6 Washington 4
Atlanta 10 Miami 0
Milwaukee 3 Cincinnati 2
NBA
Detroit 117 Toronto 105
Sacramento 125 Charlotte 102
Indiana 140 Utah 112
Boston 123 Phoenix 103
Cleveland 114 San Antonio 113
Chicago 118 Portland 113
Houston 125 Oklahoma City 111
Golden State 118 Denver 104
L.A. Clippers 114 Dallas 91
L.A. Lakers 124 New Orleans 108
NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Final Four at Tampa, Fla.
South Carolina 74 Texas 57
UConn 85 UCLA 51
Saturday’s Games (All times Eastern)
NHL
N.Y. Rangers at New Jersey, 12:30 p.m.
Florida at Ottawa, 2 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Dallas, 3 p.m.
Anaheim at Vancouver, 4 p.m.
Edmonton at Los Angeles, 4 p.m.
Columbus at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at Montreal, 7 p.m.
Winnipeg at Utah, 7 p.m.
Carolina at Boston, 7 p.m.
Colorado at St. Louis, 7 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Vegas at Calgary, 10 p.m.
Seattle at San Jose, 10 p.m.
MLB
Interleague
N.Y. Yankees (Stroman 0-0) at Pittsburgh (Falter 0-0), 4:05 p.m.
St. Louis (Pallante 1-0) at Boston (Fitts 0-1), 4:10 p.m.
Toronto (Bassitt 1-0) at N.Y. Mets (Canning 0-1), 7:10 p.m.
Athletics (Sears 0-1) at Colorado (Márquez 0-0), 8:10 p.m.
Seattle (Miller 0-1) at San Francisco (Ray 1-0), 9:05 p.m.
American League
Chicago White Sox (Martin 0-0) at Detroit (Olson 0-1), 1:10 p.m.
Houston (Arrighetti 1-0) at Minnesota (Ober 0-1), 2:10 p.m.
Baltimore (Sugano 0-1) at Kansas City (Wacha 0-1), 4:10 p.m.
Tampa Bay (Bradley 1-0) at Texas (deGrom 0-0), 7:05 p.m.
Cleveland (Bibee 1-0) at L.A. Angels (Kochanowicz 0-0), 9:38 p.m.
National League
San Diego (Pivetta 1-0) at Chicago Cubs (Boyd 0-0), 2:20 p.m.
Arizona (Rodriguez 0-0) at Washington (Parker 1-0), 4:05 p.m.
L.A. Dodgers (Sasaki 0-0) at Philadelphia (Nola 0-1), 4:05 p.m.
Cincinnati (Singer 1-0) at Milwaukee (Rodríguez 0-1), 7:10 p.m.
Miami (Quantrill 0-1) at Atlanta (Smith-Shawver 0-1), 7:15 p.m.
NBA
New York at Atlanta, 3 p.m.
Memphis at Detroit, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Milwaukee at Miami, 8 p.m.
Dallas at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.
NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Final Four at San Antonio, Texas
Florida vs. Auburn, 6:09 p.m.
Houston vs. Duke, 8:49 p.m.
MLS
Nashville at Charlotte FC, 2:30 p.m.
LA Galaxy at Real Salt Lake, 4:30 p.m.
CF Montréal at Columbus, 7:30 p.m.
FC Dallas at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
New England at Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m.
Chicago at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Orlando City at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.
Portland at Austin FC, 7:45 p.m.
Los Angeles FC at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
St Louis City at Sporting Kansas City, 8:30 p.m.
Colorado at Vancouver, 9:30 p.m.
Seattle at San Diego FC, 10:30 p.m.