LOCAL SPORTS
Thanks to a strong second quarter, the X-Men handed Acadia a 96-59 loss Friday night on Coach K Court. After trailing by three points after the first quarter, the X-Men outpaced the Axemen 24-8 in the second to go up 44-31 at halftime and they never looked back. The X-Men are back in action again tonight as they travel to Sydney for an 8:00 pm game against the Cape Breton Capers.
Acadia defeated the X-Women 71-55 Friday night on Coach K Court. The X-Women are also in Sydney to play the Capers at 6 tonight.
In University hockey, the St. Thomas University Tommies suffered a 3-0 loss in their #ThinkPink game against the X-Women at the Grant Harvey Centre Friday night. The X-Women now take over the AUS lead in the standings thanks to their current nine-game win streak. The X-Women will stay in Fredericton to face the UNB Reds tonight.
The X-Men Hockey team host UPEI at the Keating Centre tonight. Puck drops at 7.
The Dr JH Gillis Senior Girls Basketball Team won both of their round robin games on Friday in the Ian Spencer Memorial Basketball Tournament. In their first game they beat Sackville High 65-60. Player of the Game was Sydney Anthony and Emily MacDonald won the Hustle Award. Against Parkview they came out on top with a 54-47 win. Player of the game was Bree MacPherson and Hustle Award went to Iris Leuschner. The girls will be playing today at 5pm vs 1st place in Pool B at the Dr JH Gillis Regional High gymnasium.
In the Major Midget League, the CB West Islanders were defeated 6-1 by Kensington PEI. Tonight the Islanders face the Weeks Major Midgets at the Wellness Centre tonight at 7.
The Cabot Highlanders picked up a win and a loss on Friday at a tournament in Membertou: 3-1 over the Voyageurs, followed by a 4-0 shutout at the hands of the Basin Armada. The Highlanders take on the Kings this morning at 10:15.
In Junior Hockey, the Antigonish Bulldogs triumphed 6-1 over Liverpool at the Antigonish Arena. Meanwhile, the Strait Pirates fell 6-4 to the Junior Miners. Tonight, the Pictou County Scotians are in Membertou playing the Junior Miners. Game time is 7:30.
In Major Bantam, the Wearwell Bombers host the Gulls this afternoon at 4:30 at the Wellness Centre, while the Novas are in Berwick to play Kings Mutual at 5.
The Pictou County Weeks Crushers travel to Amherst for a 7pm contest against the Ramblers.
In the NS Female Midget AAA League, the Northern Subway Selects are at the Hector Arena in Pictou to host the Panthers. Game time 2 pm.
In High School Hockey, the Dr. J.H. Gillis Royals face off with Northumberland in Westville tonight at 6:30.
NATIONAL SPORTS
Leon Draisaitl scored twice and the Edmonton Oilers improved to 7-1-2 in their last 10 games by dumping the St. Louis Blues, 4-2. David Perron and Robert Thomas provided the goals for St. Louis, which has lost four of its last five.
Patrice Bergeron and Jake DeBrusk each scored power-play goals as the Boston Bruins dealt the Winnipeg Jets their fifth consecutive loss, 2-1. David Pastrnak contributed a pair of assists and Tuukka Rask stopped 37 shots in his first action since suffering a concussion on January 14.
Alex Ovechkin scored his 694th and 695th career goals to move ahead of Mark Messier for eighth on the N-H-L all-time goal list as the Washington Capitals beat the Ottawa Senators 5-3. TJ Oshie, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Carl Hagelin also scored for Washington.
Pascal Siakam hit his first five shots and scored 13 of his 30 points in the first quarter of the Toronto Raptors’ 10th consecutive victory, 105-92 at Detroit. Serge Ibaka had 21 points for Toronto, which led by 16 in the first half and carried a 19-point advantage into the final period. The win sends Raptors coach Nick Nurse and his staff to the upcoming All-Star game in Chicago.
The Los Angeles Lakers finally took the court for the first time since Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash that also took the lives of his 13-year-old daughter and seven others on Sunday. Red roses adorned the courtside seats where Kobe and Gianna Bryant sat at the last Lakers game they attended. Usher sang “Amazing Grace,” Boyz II Men provided the national anthem and cellist Ben Hong from the Los Angeles Philharmonic performed while video of Bryant talking about his life and career played.
Friday’s Games
NHL
Pittsburgh 4 Philadelphia 3 (OT)
N.Y. Rangers 4 Detroit 2
Washington 5 Ottawa 3
Vegas 4 Carolina 3
Boston 2 Winnipeg 1
Edmonton 4 St. Louis 2
Tampa Bay 4 Anaheim 3
NBA
Toronto 105 Detroit 92
Brooklyn 133 Chicago 118
Houston 128 Dallas 121
New Orleans 139 Memphis 111
Denver 127 Milwaukee 115
Oklahoma City 111 Phoenix 107
Portland 127 L.A. Lakers 119
Saturday’s Games – All Times Eastern
NHL
Columbus at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Vancouver at N.Y. Islanders, 1 p.m.
Florida at Montreal, 2 p.m.
Colorado at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Dallas at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
N.Y. Rangers at Detroit, 7 p.m.
Ottawa at Toronto, 7 p.m.
St. Louis at Winnipeg, 7 p.m.
Boston at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Chicago at Arizona, 8 p.m.
Vegas at Nashville, 8 p.m.
Edmonton at Calgary, 10 p.m.
Anaheim at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.
Tampa Bay at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.
NBA
Minnesota at L.A. Clippers, 3:30 p.m.
Miami at Orlando, 7 p.m.
New York at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Brooklyn at Washington, 8 p.m.
Golden State at Cleveland, 8 p.m.
Atlanta at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at Boston, 8:30 p.m.
Charlotte at San Antonio, 9 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Sacramento, 10 p.m.
Utah at Portland, 10:30 p.m.