LOCAL SPORTS
University Sport: In Hockey, the Saint Mary’s Huskies won their third straight, a 4-3 defeat of the X-Men in Halifax. The X-Men have 17 points on the season so far, good for fifth place in the AUS standings heading into the holiday break.
U15: The Novas host The Rangers at the Antigonish Arena at 5, and the WearWell Bombers are in Cole Harbour to play the New Scotland Storm at 7.
U16 AAA: The Cabot Highlanders are in Truro to take on the Thunder at 6.
U18: The Pictou County Weeks Majors doubled Steele Subaru 4-2 at the Pictou County Wellness Centre.
NS Junior: Will Fitzsimmons and Zachary Lorette both had hat tricks as the Bulldogs walloped Cumberland County 12-2 at the Antigonish Arena. In Port Hawkesbury, the Strait Pirates outscored the Pictou County Scotians 5-2.
Maritime Hockey League: The Pictou County Weeks Crushers play tonight at 7 at home against the Valley Wildcats.
High School Hockey: Tonight, the CEC Cougars host the North Nova Gryphons at 6:30.
NATIONAL SPORTS
Brady Tkachuk scored the tying goal for Ottawa in the final minute of regulation and then won it with a backhander with 17.4 seconds remaining in overtime as the Senators beat the New York Rangers 3-2. Tim Stutzle also scored for the Senators, who rebounded from a 3-1 loss at home to the Rangers on Wednesday and won for third time in four games.
Former Winnipeg forward Patrik Laine scored twice, Johnny Gaudreau had three assists and Columbus beat the Jets 4-1. Laine was back in action after missing the past seven games with an ankle injury. He played his second game in Winnipeg since the Jets traded him to Columbus in January of 2021.
Kyrie Irving scored 27 points and the Brooklyn Nets built a huge lead before beating the Toronto Raptors 114-105. Pascal Siakam scored 24 points and O-G. Anunoby added 21 for the Raptors, who trailed by 36 points midway through the second quarter. The Raptors are back in Toronto to host Orlando tonight.
Dillon Brooks of Mississauga, Ontario had 17 points to help Memphis beat Philadelphia 117-109, the Grizzlies’ third win in four games. Memphis won despite an excellent night from Sixers all-star centre Joel Embiid, who had 35 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
Jacob deGrom is headed to the free-spending Texas Rangers, who believe the health risk is worth the potential reward in trying to end a six-year run of losing. The two-time Cy Young Award winner agreed to a $185 million, five-year contract today, leaving the New York Mets after nine seasons _ the past two shortened substantially by injuries.
Canada’s Summer McIntosh continues to make swimming history. The 16-year-old from Toronto recorded the fourth fastest 400-metre individual medley time in history to win at the U-S Open. McIntosh’s time of four minutes 28.61 seconds lowered her own world junior and Canadian records in the event.
Friday’s Scoreboard
World Cup – Group Stage
South Korea 2 Portugal 1
Uruguay 2 Ghana 0
Switzerland 3 Serbia 2
Cameroon 1 Brazil 0
NHL
Ottawa 3 N.Y. Rangers 2 (OT)
Columbus 4 Winnipeg 1
Nashville 4 N.Y. Islanders 1
NBA
Brooklyn 114 Toronto 105
Charlotte 117 Washington 116
Atlanta 117 Denver 109
L.A. Lakers 133 Milwaukee 129
Miami 120 Boston 116
Cleveland 107 Orlando 96
New Orleans 117 San Antonio 99
Memphis 117 Philadelphia 109
Houston 122 Phoenix 121
Utah 127 Indiana 111
Golden State 119 Chicago 111
Saturday’s Games (All Times Eastern)
World Cup – Round of 16 at Al Rayyan, Qatar
Netherlands vs. United States, 10 a.m.
Argentina vs. Australia, 2 p.m.
NHL
Anaheim at Minnesota, 2 p.m.
Montreal at Edmonton, 7 p.m.
San Jose at Ottawa, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Tampa Bay, 7 p.m.
Colorado at Boston, 7 p.m.
New Jersey at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
St. Louis at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Vegas at Detroit, 7 p.m.
Chicago at N.Y. Rangers, 7:30 p.m.
Arizona at Vancouver, 10 p.m.
Washington at Calgary, 10 p.m.
Florida at Seattle, 10 p.m.
Carolina at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.
NBA
Dallas at New York, 12:30 p.m.
Sacramento at L.A. Clippers, 4 p.m.
Milwaukee at Charlotte, 6 p.m.
Orlando at Toronto, 8 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Houston at Golden State, 8:30 p.m.
Portland at Utah, 9 p.m.