LOCAL SPORTS
Hockey: The X-Men dropped a 6-2 game to the U SPORTS No. 1 ranked UNB Reds Saturday night at the Keating Centre. Jeremiah Addison and Matt Graham scored for the X-Men. The X-Men are back in action on Friday, hosting the Acadia Axemen.
Hockey: The X-Women defeated the Dalhousie Tigers 6-3 in exhibition action Saturday afternoon. The X-Women had six different skaters score as they held leads of 2-1 after one and 5-1 after two periods. StFX resumes action on Wednesday night when they host Saint Mary’s in the first AUS regular season game of the new year at the Keating Centre.
Basketball: The X-Men scored 31 points in the fourth quarter to break open a close game and valuable four-point match, beating the UNB Reds 85-73 on Saturday. Justin Andrew scored a game-high 25 points to lead the X-Men and was named the Subway Player of the Game. Azaro Roker added a double-double for X, scoring 16 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. The X-Men, now 4-and-4, jump past UNB in the AUS standings. They return home for a Wednesday game against the DAL Tigers.
Basketball: On the women’s side, the UNB Reds used a balanced attack to beat the X-Women 73-61. Briar MacDonald of Antigonish led the X-Women with 15 points. The X-Women, now 1-and-7, host the DAL Tigers on Wednesday.
In Junior Hockey, the Antigonish Junior B Bulldogs defeated the Junior Miners 4-3. The Strait Pirates were also victorious, doubling Liverpool 6-3.
The Pictou County Weeks Crushers ended their road weekend with another loss, shutout 6-0 by the Amherst Ramblers. The Crushers are currently second in their division, tied with South Shore eight points behind the Ramblers.
The Weeks Major Midgets suffered a loss on the road, falling 6-4 to the South Shore Mustangs. The CB West Islanders fared better, outscoring Halifax 4-3. Both teams continue their road trips today: the Weeks team plays a rematch with the Mustangs at 1 pm, while the Islanders take on Steele Subaru in Dartmouth at 1:15.
In Major Bantam, the Novas defeated the Truro Bearcats 5-2. The Wearwell Bombers were dominated by Kings Mutual, losing 7-3. Today’s games for both teams are being rescheduled due to the weather.
The Cabot Highlanders defeated the Cape Breton Jets 5-1 in Port Hawkesbury.
NATIONAL SPORTS
For the first time in six years, the Canucks have won seven straight games. Vancouver extended its winning streak thanks to a late third-period goal from Tyler Myers to secure a 2-1 win over the New York Rangers. Jacob Markstrom, who was recently named to the N-H-L’s All-Star game, turned aside 35-of-36 shots in the victory.
Eric Staal poked home a rebound in overtime to give the host Minnesota Wild a 3-2 win over the Jets. Winnipeg was up 2-1 late in the third after a Blake Wheeler power-play goal, but couldn’t hold on and only came away with a single point. And Mike Smith made 35 saves as the Edmonton Oilers beat the Bruins 4-1 in Boston.
Michael Hutchinson made 33 saves as the Maple Leafs beat the Islanders 3-0 at Scotiabank Arena. Toronto’s won nine of its last 10. Also, Brandon Tanev scored in overtime to lift the Penguins past the Canadiens 3-2 at Bell Centre. And Tyler Johnson scored the winnner with a minute and a half remaining as the Lightning beat the Senators 5-3 at Canadian Tire Centre for their sixth straight win.
The Raptors are back in the win column. Fred VanVleet had 29 points and 11 assists, Kyle Lowry scored 26 points as Toronto beat the slumping Nets 121-102 in Brooklyn. Serge Ibaka finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds to hand the Nets their fifth loss in a row.
The Titans pulled off a 20-13 upset victory over the Patriots during wild card weekend in the N-F-L. Tom Brady had 209 yards passing and threw an interception that was returned for a T-D. In Houston, the Bills remain winless in the playoffs since 1995 after falling 22-19 in overtime against the Texans. Houston will now face the Kansas City Chiefs during next week’s divisional round, while Tennessee heads to Baltimore for a showdown against the Ravens.
Saturday’s Games
World Junior Hockey Championship at Ostrava, Czech Republic
Relegation
Kazakhstan 4 Germany 1
Semifinals
Russia 5 Sweden 4 OT
Canada 5 Finland 0
NFL – AFC Wild Card Playoffs
Houston 22 Buffalo 19 OT
Tennessee 20 New England 13
NHL
Edmonton 4 Boston 1
Buffalo 3 Florida 2
San Jose 3 Columbus 2
Minnesota 3 Winnipeg 2 OT
Vegas 5 St. Louis 4 OT
Pittsburgh 3 Montreal 2 OT
Colorado 5 New Jersey 2
Tampa Bay 5 Ottawa 3
Toronto 3 N.Y. Islanders 0
Arizona 6 Philadelphia 2
Vancouver 2 N.Y. Rangers 1
Nashville 4 Los Angeles 1
NBA
Memphis 140 L.A. Clippers 114
Toronto 121 Brooklyn 102
Utah 109 Orlando 96
Atlanta 116 Indiana 111
Oklahoma City 121 Cleveland 106
Boston 111 Chicago 104
Washington 128 Denver 114
Charlotte 123 Dallas 120 OT
Detroit 111 Golden State 104
Milwaukee 127 San Antonio 118
New Orleans 117 Sacramento 115
Sunday’s Games – All Times Eastern
World Junior Hockey Championship at Ostrava, Czech Republic
Relegation
Kazakhstan vs. Germany 5 a.m. (Best-of-three series tied 1-1)
Bronze
Sweden vs. Finland 9 a.m.
Final
Canada vs. Russia 1 p.m.
NFL – NFC Wild Card Playoffs
Minnesota at New Orleans 1:05 p.m.
Seattle at Philadelphia 4:40 p.m.
NHL
San Jose at Washington 12:30 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Carolina 5 p.m.
Florida at Pittsburgh 5 p.m.
Calgary at Minnesota 7 p.m.
Detroit at Chicago 7:30 p.m.
Nashville at Anaheim 10 p.m.
NBA
New York at L.A. Clippers 3:30 p.m.
Portland at Miami 6 p.m.
Minnesota at Cleveland 7:30 p.m.
Memphis at Phoenix 8 p.m.
Detroit at L.A. Lakers 10 p.m.