LOCAL SPORTS
AUS: On Coach K Court, the Memorial Sea-Hawks used a strong first quarter and tight defense to earn a 71-61 win over the X-Women. Gabriel Pizza Player of the Game Abby Mercer had 16 points and six rebounds for the X-Women. A full 40-minute effort powered the X-Men to a dominant 98-69 win over the visiting Memorial Sea-Hawks on Coach K Court. The X-Men hit at least 23 points in each quarter, while collecting 47 rebounds. Gabriel Pizza Player of the Game Koat Thomas had 22 points and six rebounds for the X-Men. The teams play on Coach K Court again this afternoon: the women at 1 pm, the men at 3.
In Hockey, the X-Women, ranked fifth in the country, broke open a tight game with three goals in the final two minutes and went on to defeat the UPEI Panthers 4–0 at the STFX Keating Centre. With the win, The X-Women improve to 13-4-0 atop the AUS conference. They host the Moncton Blue Eagles at 7 tonight, while the X-Men play Acadia in Wolfville tonight at 7.
Junior B: The Bulldogs defeated the Strait Pirates 3-2 in Port Hawkesbury. Tonight, the Pictou County Scotians face off with the Junior Miners in Glace Bay at 8.
Rural League: Outlaws 7 St Croix 4, Heatherton 6 Pleasantdale 3
Ice Jam Tournament: (U15) The Wearwell Bombers outscored the Eastern Knights 4-3, while the Novas tied 1-1 with the Eastern Thunder. (U16)The Cabot Highlanders shut out the Valley Wildcats 3-0. (U18) The Weeks Majors edged out the Fredericton Caps 2-1, and the CB West Islanders dominated the Tri Pen Osprey 6-0. (U18 Female) CB Lynx lost 5-2 to the Calgary Fire. In action today, The Lynx face the Kraken at 8:30 am in Truro. The Islanders and Weeks Majors tangle in Bedford at 3 pm, followed by the Novas and Bombers at 3:15. Playoffs begin this evening in all divisions, with the championships on Sunday.
High School Girls Hockey: The Northumberland Nighthawks defeated North Nova 3-1 in Trenton.
Maritime League: Pictou County Weeks Crushers v West Kent Steamers at 7 pm.
Seniors League: Pictou County Pipers v Truro Bearcats & East Hants Penguins v Bulldogs @ Antigonish Arena – both games 7:30 pm.
As the IIHF U18 World Women’s Hockey tournament gets underway, Mike Kelloway – MP for Sydney-Glace Bay – announced on Friday that Ottawa is contributing a quarter-million dollars towards the tournament. The money will help the Cape Breton Regional Municipality and its co-host the Cape Breton Blizzards with activities such as venue preparation, event coordination, and marketing. This tournament is expected to attract thousands of visitors to Sydney & Membertou, driving substantial economic activity during the off-season.
The U18 Canadian Women’s team – including Kendal Doiron from Boylston – begin defence of its gold medal against Switzerland tonight at 8:30 before playing Hungary and Sweden on Monday & Tuesday, respectively, to close out the preliminary round. Games are being played in Sydney & Membertou.
NATIONAL SPORTS
An 11-game losing streak is finally over for the Winnipeg Jets. Mark Schiefele scored twice in a 5-1 win over Los Angeles. Elsewhere in the N-H-L, Utah beat St. Louis 4-2 and Washington topped Chicago 5-1. Ottawa defeated Vancouver 4-2 in the lone P-W-H-L game of the night.
It’s a milestone win for Canadian freestyle skier Mikael Kingsbury. He earned his 100th career World Cup title with a singles moguls victory in Quebec. Kingsbury is expected to be one of Canada’s top medal contenders at the Milan Cortina Games next month.
Injuries are becoming an issue for the Toronto Raptors. R-J Barrett left a 125-117 loss to Boston with a left ankle injury. Toronto played without regular starters Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl (PUR’-tul). Payton Pritchard had 28 points for the Celtics.
Kevin Durant is now seventh on the N-B-A’s career scoring list. He passed Wilt Chamberlain when he hit a three-pointer in the second half of Houston’s 111-105 loss to Portland. Chamberlain scored 31-thousand-419 points over his career.
There’s still no deal between the W-N-B-A and its players’ union. The two sides weren’t able to agree to a new collective bargaining agreement by last night’s deadline. Negotiations will continue with the current C-B-A still in effect. Key issues include salary structure and revenue sharing.
Friday’s Scoreboard
NHL
Winnipeg 5 Los Angeles 1
Washington 5 Chicago 1
Utah 4 St. Louis 2
PWHL
Ottawa 4 Vancouver 2
Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League
Charlottetown 5 Halifax 3
Newfoundland 5 Saint John 4
Chicoutimi 4 Baie-Comeau 1
Rimouski 4 Quebec 3 (OT)
Val-d’Or 6 Rouyn-Noranda 5 (OT)
Sherbrooke 4 Drummondville 3 (SO)
NBA
Boston 125 Toronto 117
New Orleans 128 Washington 107
Philadelphia 103 Orlando 91
L.A. Clippers 121 Brooklyn 105
Oklahoma City 117 Memphis 116
Atlanta 110 Denver 87
Phoenix 112 New York 107
Golden State 137 Sacramento 103
Portland 111 Houston 105
Milwaukee 105 L.A. Lakers 101
Saturday’s Games (All times Eastern)
NHL
N.Y. Rangers at Boston, 1 p.m.
Calgary at Pittsburgh, 3:30 p.m.
Columbus at Colorado, 4 p.m.
Dallas at San Jose, 4 p.m.
Florida at Ottawa, 7 p.m.
Vancouver at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Detroit at Montreal, 7 p.m.
Anaheim at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Seattle at Carolina, 7 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Chicago at Nashville, 8 p.m.
N.Y. Islanders at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Los Angeles at Edmonton, 10 p.m.
St. Louis at Vegas, 10 p.m.
Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League
Newfoundland at Moncton, 3 p.m.
Victoriaville at Chicoutimi, 4 p.m.
Cape Breton at Drummondville, 4 p.m.
Shawinigan at Val-d’Or, 4 p.m.
Quebec at Rimouski, 4 p.m.
Gatineau at Halifax, 6 p.m.
NFL Playoffs – Wild Card
L.A. Rams at Carolina, 4:30 p.m.
Green Bay at Chicago, 8 p.m.
NBA
Minnesota at Cleveland, 1 p.m.
Miami at Indiana, 7 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Detroit, 7:30 p.m.
San Antonio at Boston, 8 p.m.
Dallas at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Charlotte at Utah, 9:30 p.m.