LOCAL SPORTS
Maritime Junior: The Crushers hit a bump on the road in New Brunswick, getting trounced 9-3 in Miramichi by the Timberwolves.
NS Junior: The Antigonish Bulldogs got the win 3-1 over the Junior Miners in Membertou.
U18: The CB West Islanders defeated the Wildcats 5-3, and the Weeks Majors beat the Wolfpack 4-1. The Islanders and Wildcats play again in Port Hood, and the Majors tangle with Cole Harbor for a rematch at the Wellness Centre. Both games begin at 1.
U15: The Wear Well Bombers blanked the Valley Wildcats 3-0, and the Novas won 3-2 over the Storm in a shootout. Today, the Bombers host the Cougars at 11 am at the Wellness Centre, while the Novas host the Truro Bearcats at the Keating Centre at 12:30.
U16 AAA: The Cabot Highlanders lost 6-2 to the Buccaneers. The teams face off again at the PH Civic Centre at 12:30.
Maritime Major Female: The league-leading Subway Selects shut out the Western Capitals 2-0 at the Hector Arena. Today the Selects host the Western Flames at Noon in Pictou.
Some of Canada’s most promising N-H-L hopefuls are gathered in New Brunswick this weekend. They’re attending selection camp ahead of the World Junior Hockey Championship, which will take place in Eastern Canada later this month. Canada’s under-20 squad includes Shane Wright, who’s currently on loan from the N-H-L’s Seattle Kraken for the tournament, as well as up-and-comer Connor Bedard who’s widely expected to be a top pick at next year’s league draft. The World Juniors will be played in Moncton and Halifax and will get underway on December 26th.
NATIONAL SPORTS
Filip Gustavsson stopped 35 shots for his first N-H-L shutout as the Minnesota Wild beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-0 to snap a two-game skid. Matt Boldy, Connor Dewar and Sam Steel scored for the Wild. Spencer Martin had 30 saves for the Canucks, who snapped a three-game win streak while getting shut out for the first time this season.
Sidney Crosby scored two goals, defenceman Kris Letang returned 12 days after the second stroke of his career and the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Buffalo Sabres 3-1. Rickard Rakell also scored to help the Penguins win their fifth straight and improve to 12-2-and-2 in their last 16 games.
Nikola Jokic had 31 points, 14 assists and 12 rebounds for his 80th career triple-double, and the Denver Nuggets held off the depleted Utah Jazz 115-110. Canadian Jamal Murray added 30 points for the Nuggets. Making his second start of the season, Toronto native Nickeil Alexander-Walker had a season-high 27 points for the Jazz
Klay Thompson scored 34 points, Stephen Curry added 32 with six three-pointers, and Golden State beat the Boston Celtics 123-107 in a rematch of last season’s N-B-A Finals. Jordan Poole had 20 points starting in place of injured Canadian Andrew Wiggins. Jaylen Brown had 31 points and nine rebounds, while Jayson Tatum scored 18 points for Boston, which had won eight of nine and three straight.
Damian Lillard had 36 points and eight assists, Anfernee Simons added 31 points and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 124-118. Portland overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half to beat Minnesota in the opener of a two-game set. They will meet again in Portland on Monday night.
DeMar DeRozan had 28 points and nine rebounds and the Chicago Bulls took advantage of N-B-A scoring leader Luka Doncic’s absence to rout the Dallas Mavericks 144-115. Doncic sat out with a strained right quadriceps. Nikola Vucevic added 20 points and eight rebounds to help Chicago win its second straight game.
Saturday’s Scoreboard
World Cup Quarterfinals
Morocco 1 Portugal 0
France 2 England 1
NHL
Ottawa 3 Nashville 2
Dallas 3 Detroit 2 (OT)
Tampa Bay 4 Florida 1
Pittsburgh 3 Buffalo 1
Toronto 5 Calgary 4 (OT)
Los Angeles 4 Montreal 2
Carolina 3 N.Y. Islanders 0
Minnesota 3 Vancouver 0
NBA
San Antonio 115 Miami 111
Brooklyn 136 Indiana 133
L.A. Clippers 114 Washington 107
Cleveland 110 Oklahoma City 102
Chicago 144 Dallas 115
Golden State 123 Boston 107
Denver 115 Utah 110
Portland 124 Minnesota 118
Sunday’s Games (All Times Eastern)
NHL
Colorado at St. Louis, 3 p.m.
Los Angeles at Columbus, 6 p.m.
Seattle at Florida, 6 p.m.
Philadelphia at Arizona, 7 p.m.
Washington at Winnipeg, 7 p.m.
Boston at Vegas, 8 p.m.
NBA
Phoenix at New Orleans, 3:30 p.m.
Charlotte at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Detroit, 6 p.m.
Sacramento at New York, 6 p.m.
Toronto at Orlando, 6 p.m.
Chicago at Atlanta, 6:30 p.m.
Milwaukee at Houston, 7 p.m.
NFL
Baltimore at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.
Cleveland at Cincinnati, 1 p.m.
Houston at Dallas, 1 p.m.
Jacksonville at Tennessee, 1 p.m.
Minnesota at Detroit, 1 p.m.
N.Y. Jets at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Philadelphia at N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m.
Kansas City at Denver, 4:05 p.m.
Carolina at Seattle, 4:25 p.m.
Tampa Bay at San Francisco, 4:25 p.m.
Miami at L.A. Chargers, 8:20 p.m.