LOCAL SPORTS
AUS: A last second field goal from Tyson Heather capped off a dramatic 26-24 win for the X-Men over the visiting Bishop’s Gaiters at STFX Stadium in AUS semi-final football action. STFX quarterback and AUS Boston Pizza player of the game Silas Fagnan was on fire, throwing for 324 yards with 26 completions and two touchdowns. Malcolm Bussey picked up 91 yards on the ground and a major for STFX, and Heather kicked two field goals, including the game winner after STFX fell behind in the fourth quarter. The Saint Mary’s Huskies shutout the Acadia Axemen 37-0 in the other semifinal, earning the right to host next weekend’s Loney Bowl championship. Kick-off is set for 2 pm Saturday, November 8th at Huskies Stadium.
Basketball: The X-Women extended their perfect start to the season, fending off a fourth-quarter comeback to edge the Dalhousie Tigers 68–66 at the Dalplex. Freshman Mikaela James sank the game winning shot with three seconds to play to secure their fourth straight win. Forward Lauren Neeve turned in another efficient performance with 16 points, eight rebounds, and two assists, hitting 4-of-5 from the floor and going 6-of-9 at the line. James also scored 16 points with a pair of threes and three assists, while Shannon Neita recorded a double-double of 11 points and 10 boards. The X-Men also remain perfect after an 83–74 victory over the Tigers, improving to 4–0. Fifth-year guard Tariq Armstrong poured in a team-high 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting while adding five assists. Owen Frayne had a strong all-around performance with 17 points and seven assists, while forward Phoenyx Wyse dominated the glass with 17 points and 17 rebounds for a massive double-double.
Hockey: Freshman forward Laci Boyd scored the eventual game-winner early in the third period as the X-Women edged the St. Thomas Tommies 2–1 in a tight matchup at the Grant-Harvey Centre. With the win, StFX improved to 6–3–0 on the season, while St. Thomas slips to 5–4–0. At the Keating Centre, the UPEI Panthers picked up their fourth straight win with a 7-0 rout of the X-Men. The X-Men continue to struggle with injuries and several players out of the line-up, as they dressed 16 skaters in the game.
Today at St. FX Stadium, it’s the Maritime Women’s University Field Lacrosse Championship, beginning with SMU vs Dalhouse at 10 am, followed by the X-Women versus Acadia at 11:30. The consolation game will be played at 2, followed by the championship at 4.
The Dr. J.H. Gillis Senior Girls Volleyball team captured Gold at the Delray Invitational Tournament. The Royals defeated host Dalbrae 2-1 in the semi final, then won 2-0 over Sydney Academy in the final.
Junior B: Two games featuring local teams: The Pictou County Scotians host the Lumberjacks in Trenton at 6 pm, followed by the Strait Pirates vs the Bulldogs at the Arena at 7:30.
Seniors League: The Antigonish Bulldogs defeated the Shoreline Pipers 4-1 in Pictou.
U15: The Novas were 3-2 winners over the Wildcats at home, while the Wearwell Bombers fell 7-3 to the Whalers in Dartmouth. This morning begins with the Bombers hosting Harbour Rage at 11 at the Wellness Centre, followed by the Novas vs the Wolverines at 11:30 at the Arena.
U18 Major: The Weeks Majors defeated the Wildcats 7-4, while the CB West Islanders were shut out 3-0 by Steele Subaru. In action today, the Majors host the Islanders at the Wellness Centre – puck drops at 11 am.
Rural League: Last night at the Arena, Pleasantdale defeated St. Croix 4-3 in a shootout in Game 1. In Game 2, Heatherton blanked the Outlaws 2-0.
NATIONAL SPORTS
The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 in Game 7 to successfully defend their World Series title on Saturday night at Rogers Centre. Will Smith’s solo home run in the 11th inning off reliever Shane Bieber was the difference. With runners on the corners in the bottom half of the frame, Alejandro Kirk grounded into a double-play to end the game.
The Montreal Alouettes and B-C Lions punched their tickets to next week’s C-F-L divisional finals with semifinal victories. In the East Division semifinal, the Alouettes knocked off the visiting Winnipeg Blue Bombers 42-33, while the Lions won the West Division semifinal with a 33-30 victory over the visiting Calgary Stampeders.
Ralph Priso scored the tying goal in the third minute of stoppage time and Belal Halbouni scored the decisive goal in a penalty-kick shootout to help the Vancouver Whitecaps beat F-C Dallas to sweep the best-of-three first-round series in the Major League Soccer Cup playoffs. Vancouver, the number two seed in the Western Conference, will play either third-seeded Los Angeles F-C or number six seed Austin in the one-game conference semifinals.
Evan Bouchard scored at 2:43 of overtime to lift the Edmonton Oilers to a 3-2 victory over the visiting Chicago Blackhawks. Leon Draisaitl and Jack Roslovic also scored for the Oilers. Tyler Bertuzzi and Andre Burakovsky scored for the Hawks.
Dawson Mercer scored twice as the visiting New Jersey Devils defeated the Los Angeles Kings 4-1. Nico Hischier and Brian Halonen also scored for the Devils, who snapped a two-game losing skid. Andrei Kuzmenko replied for the Kings, who have lost two in a row.
Kevin Durant scored 26 points in three quarters, Amen Thompson added 17 points and nine rebounds, and the visiting Houston Rockets beat the Boston Celtics 128-101. Alperen Sengun added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Rockets, who won their third straight. Baylor Scheierman had 17 points for the Celtics, who had their three-game win streak halted.
Saturday’s Scoreboard
World Series
Los Angeles Dodgers 5 Toronto 4 (11 innings) (Los Angeles Dodgers win series 4-3)
CFL Playoffs
East Division semifinal: Montreal 42 Winnipeg 33
West Division semifinal: B.C. 33 Calgary 30
NHL
Edmonton 3 Chicago 2 (OT)
Winnipeg 5 Pittsburgh 2
Nashville 4 Calgary 2
Montreal 4 Ottawa 3 (OT)
Toronto 5 Philadelphia 2
Minnesota 5 Vancouver 2
Boston 2 Carolina 1
San Jose 3 Colorado 2 (OT)
Florida 4 Dallas 3 (SO)
Columbus 3 St. Louis 2
Buffalo 4 Washington 3 (SO)
New Jersey 4 Los Angeles 1
N.Y. Rangers 3 Seattle 2 (OT)
NBA
Sacramento 135 Milwaukee 133
Minnesota 122 Charlotte 105
Orlando 125 Washington 94
Indiana 114 Golden State 109
Houston 128 Boston 101
Detroit 122 Dallas 110
MLS Playoffs Best-of-Three First Round
Vancouver 1 Dallas 1 (Vancouver wins 4-2 on penalties; win series 2-0)
Charlotte 0 New York City 0 (Charlotte wins 7-6 on penalties; series tied 1-1)
Philadelphia 3 Chicago 0 (Philadelphia wins series 2-0)
Nashville 2 Miami 1 (Series tied 1-1)
Portland 2 San Diego 2 (Portland wins 3-2 on penalties; series tied 1-1)
Northern Super League Playoffs – Two-Leg Semifinal
Toronto 2 Montreal 0 (Toronto leads two-leg semifinal 2-0)
Sunday’s Games (All times Eastern)
NHL
Tampa Bay at Utah, 3:30 p.m.
Columbus at N.Y. Islanders, 5 p.m.
Calgary at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Detroit at San Jose, 8 p.m.
New Jersey at Anaheim, 8 p.m.
NBA
New Orleans at Oklahoma City, 3:30 p.m.
Atlanta at Cleveland, 6 p.m.
Memphis at Toronto, 6 p.m.
Philadelphia at Brooklyn, 6 p.m.
Utah at Charlotte, 6 p.m.
Chicago at New York, 7 p.m.
San Antonio at Phoenix, 8 p.m.
Miami at L.A. Lakers, 9:30 p.m.
MLS Playoffs Best-of-Three First Round
Cincinnati at Columbus, 6:30 p.m. (Cincinnati leads series 1-0)
Los Angeles FC at Austin, 8:30 p.m. (LAFC leads series 1-0)
NFL
Atlanta at New England, 1 p.m.
Carolina at Green Bay, 1 p.m.
Chicago at Cincinnati, 1 p.m.
Denver at Houston, 1 p.m.
Indianapolis at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.
L.A. Chargers at Tennessee, 1 p.m.
Minnesota at Detroit, 1 p.m.
San Francisco at N.Y. Giants, 1 p.m.
Jacksonville at Las Vegas, 4:05 p.m.
New Orleans at L.A. Rams, 4:05 p.m.
Kansas City at Buffalo, 4:25 p.m.
Seattle at Washington, 8:20 p.m.