LOCAL SPORTS
In Basketball, the X-Men are off to the AUS championship after defeating the UNB Reds 84-77 in last night’s semifinal. A strong second quarter saw the X-Men build up a 46-34 lead which they were able to maintain throughout the second half en route to the win. Subway player of the game Avan Nava scored 20 points for the X-Men, as did fellow AUS all-star Azaro Roker. The X-Men will now face the top seeded Dalhousie Tigers for the AUS title – game time is 4pm at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax.
In Junior B playoff action, the Antigonish Bulldogs are even with the Junior Eagles after a 7-4 loss in Eskasoni. Game 3 will be at the Antigonish Arena on Tuesday. In other series, the Strait Pirates clobbered the Junior Miners 6-1, and hold a 2-1 series lead. Game 4 will be in Port Hawkesbury on Friday.
In the MHL, the Pictou County Weeks Crushers fell 4-2 to Edmundston. The Crushers continue their road trip with a 3pm match in Grand Falls.
The Weeks Major Midgets got the first win in their series with South Shore, outscoring the Mustangs 4-1. Game 2 is at 7 pm tonight in Lunenburg.
The local teams both got wins to begin the Major Bantam playoffs: The Novas got by the Dartmouth Whalers 2-1, while the Wearwell Bombers doubled ACCEL Physio 4-2.
At the Division 2 Girls High School Provincial Championships in Mabou, Dr. J. H. Gillis advanced to the final with a 2-0 win over Hants East. Goals by Madison Beson and Marinn Kennedy. Maddie Fraser recorded the shut-out. The Royals will play Dalbrae in the final, which has been rescheduled to Monday at 5 pm due to the weather.
The Northern Female Midget AAA Subway Selects are moving to the next round of the playoffs, following a sweep of the Penguins. The Selects shut the Penguins out on Saturday 7-0. Their next opponents will be either the Panthers or the Station Six Fire – the deciding game of their series is at 10:15 this morning.
The Cabot Highlanders lost 3-1 in Port Hawkesbury to the Basin Armada. The teams face each other again at 12:30 today at the Civic Centre.
NATIONAL SPORTS
Leon Draisaitl scored twice and added as the Edmonton Oilers beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-2. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins put away the tiebreaker late in the third period and assisted on both of Draisaitl’s goals as the Oilers snapped a two-game skid. Draisaitl surpassed 100 points on the season with his performance.
The Maple Leafs picked up their third straight win as Martin Marincin’s first goal of the season broke a 2-2 deadlock 18 seconds into the third period of a 4-2 decision over the Vancouver Canucks. Auston Matthews scored his 45th goal of the season and Frederik Andersen turned back 25 shots to help Toronto solidify its hold on third place in the Atlantic Division.
Tomas Tatar’s third assist of the game was a setup of Jeff Petry’s overtime goal that pushed the Montreal Canadiens past Carolina 4-3. Artem Anisimov scored twice on 10 shots in regulation before scoring the shootout winner in the Ottawa Senators’ 4-3 win over Detroit. And the Calgary Flames dropped a 4-3 decision to the Lightning in Tampa Bay.
Saturday’s Games
NHL
Boston 4 N.Y. Islanders 0
Los Angeles 2 New Jersey 1 (OT)
Tampa Bay 4 Calgary 3
Chicago 3 Florida 2 (SO)
Colorado 3 Nashville 2
Toronto 4 Vancouver 2
Ottawa 4 Detroit 3 (SO)
Montreal 4 Carolina 3 (OT)
Arizona 5 Buffalo 2
St. Louis 4 Dallas 3 (SO)
Edmonton 3 Winnipeg 2
San Jose 5 Pittsburgh 0
NBA
New York 125 Chicago 115
Atlanta 129 Portland 117
Miami 116 Brooklyn 113
Indiana 113 Cleveland 104
Memphis 105 L.A. Lakers 88
San Antonio 114 Orlando 113
Houston 111 Boston 110 (OT)
Golden State 115 Phoenix 99
MLS
Colorado 2 D.C. 1
Montreal 2 New England 1
L.A. Galaxy 1 Houston 1
Toronto 2 San Jose 2
Salt Lake 0 Orlando 0
Dallas 2 Philadelphia 0
Atlanta 2 Nashville 1
Kansas City 3 Vancouver 1
Sunday’s Games – All times Eastern
NHL
Philadelphia at N.Y. Rangers, 12 p.m.
Calgary at Florida, 4 p.m.
Vancouver at Columbus, 7 p.m.
New Jersey at Anaheim, 8 p.m.
Washington at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Los Angeles at Vegas, 10:30 p.m.
NBA
Milwaukee at Charlotte, 1 p.m.
Dallas at Minnesota, 3:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at L.A. Clippers, 3:30 p.m.
Detroit at Sacramento, 6 p.m.
Toronto at Denver, 6 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
Washington at Golden State, 8:30 p.m.
MLS
New York City FC at Columbus, 12:30 p.m.
Cincinnati at New York, 1 p.m.
Chicago at Seattle, 3 p.m.
Miami at Los Angeles FC, 5:30 p.m.
Minnesota at Portland, 7:30 p.m.