LOCAL SPORTS
In the final home game before the Christmas break, the No. 5 ranked X-Men avenged a big loss earlier in the season, beating the UPEI Panthers 8-3 at the Keating Centre Friday night.
Today
- X-Men Football @ Western, 12:00 pm EST in London, Ont. – U SPORTS Mitchell Bowl, national semifinal
- X-Women Hockey vs St. Thomas, 3:00 pm at STFX Keating Centre
- X-Women Basketball vs UPEI, 6:00 pm at STFX Saputo Centre
- X-Men Basketball vs UPEI, 8:00 pm at STFX Saputo Centre
Maritime League: The Pictou County Weeks Crushers defeated South Shore 3-2 on Friday night. The Crushers’ road trip continues as they visit the Yarmouth Mariners tonight at 7:30.
NS Junior: The Antigonish Bulldogs remain atop the standings after doubling the Penguins 4-2. The Pictou County Scotians shut out the Cumberland County Blues 5-0, while the Strait Pirates won at home, 6-3 over the Valley Maple Leafs.
NS Under 18: The CB West Islanders are home to the Subaru Steele tonight at 6; the Weeks Majors are in Halifax to take on the Macs at 7.
NS Under 16: The Cabot Highlanders are in East Hants to take on the Kings at 5.
NS Under 15: The Novas play the Rangers at the Antigonish Arena, while the Wear Well Bombers host the Gulls at the Wellness Centre. Both games start at 5.
NS Female AAA: The Northern Subway Selects play at the Hector Arena in Pictou at 4 against Halifax Western Capitals in the first of a home-and-home weekend series.
NATIONAL SPORTS
John Tavares and William Nylander each had a goal and assist and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the San Jose Sharks 4-1. The Leafs won for the eighth time in nine games. They’re 11-and-2 in November and have outscored their past three opponents 13-3. The victory moved Toronto into a tie with Florida for first place in the Atlantic Division.
A rough night for Canada’s other four N-H-L teams in action. The Ottawa Senators lost their fourth in a row, a 4-0 decision in Anaheim. The Montreal Canadiens were beaten 4-1 in Buffalo. The Habs have won just twice in their last 10 games. The misery continues for the Vancouver Canucks, who lost their third straight, beaten 4-2 by Columbus. And the Winnipeg Jets were thrashed 7-1 in Minnesota.
Brad Gushue locked up the top seed and a bye to Sunday’s final of the Olympic curling trials with a 6-4 win over Mike McEwen. Second seed Brad Jacobs defeated Tanner Horgan 12-5 and Kevin Koe secured the other playoff spot with a 9-3 rout of John Epping. In the women’s draw, Kerri Einarson’s loss set up a three-team tiebreaker. She’ll play Casey Scheidegger today. The winner of that game plays Krista McCarville in the afternoon.
Fred VanVleet had 26 points but it wasn’t enough to push the Toronto Raptors past Indiana. Domantas Sabonis had 23 points and 18 rebounds as the Pacers beat Toronto 114-97. The game was the last of Toronto’s six-game road trip that saw them win just twice. The Raptors are back home to host the Boston Celtics on Sunday.
The Warriors are a league-best 17-and-2 after Stephen Curry had 32 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in a 118-103 verdict over the Trail Blazers. Canadian Andrew Wiggins scored 25 points and Golden State ended Damian Lillard’s string of nine straight game with at least 20 points.
The New York Knicks weren’t able to end the Phoenix Suns’ winning streak. Devin Booker scored 32 points and the Suns ran their streak to 15 games by blasting the Knicks, 118-97. Booker was 14 for 27 from the field, making four three-pointers to help Phoenix beat New York for the seventh straight time.
Friday’s Games
NHL
N.Y. Rangers 5 Boston 1
Carolina 6 Philadelphia 3
Chicago 3 St. Louis 2 (OT)
Minnesota 7 Winnipeg 1
Anaheim 4 Ottawa 0
Washington 4 Florida 3
Nashville 4 New Jersey 2
Buffalo 4 Montreal 1
Tampa Bay 3 Seattle 0
Columbus 4 Vancouver 2
Dallas 3 Colorado 1
Pittsburgh 1 N.Y. Islanders 0
Toronto 4 San Jose 1
NBA
L.A. Clippers 107 Detroit 96
Chicago 123 Orlando 88
Charlotte 133 Minnesota 115
Phoenix 118 New York 97
Atlanta 132 Memphis 100
Indiana 114 Toronto 97
Washington 101 Oklahoma City 99
San Antonio 96 Boston 88
Milwaukee 120 Denver 109
New Orleans 98 Utah 97
Golden State 118 Portland 103
Sacramento 141 L.A. Lakers 137 (3OT)
Saturday’s Games (All Times Eastern)
NHL
Seattle at Florida, 6 p.m.
Buffalo at Detroit, 7 p.m.
Edmonton at Vegas, 7 p.m.
Montreal at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Ottawa at Los Angeles, 7 p.m.
Columbus at St. Louis, 8 p.m.
Dallas at Arizona, 8 p.m.
Nashville at Colorado, 9 p.m.
Winnipeg at Calgary, 10 p.m.
NBA
Minnesota at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.
New York at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
Phoenix at Brooklyn, 7:30 p.m.
Charlotte at Houston, 8 p.m.
Miami at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Orlando at Cleveland, 8 p.m.
Washington at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
New Orleans at Utah, 9 p.m.