LOCAL SPORTS
AUS: The X-Men Football team treated a capacity Homecoming crowd to a tight 20-10 come from behind win over the Acadia Axemen at STFX Stadium. The win clinches a playoff spot for the X-Men, who picked up their fourth win of the season and second in a row. X-Men running back Malcolm Bussey – the Gabriel Pizza Player of the Game – rushed for a touchdown and an impressive 182 yards, while linebacker Owen Watrych continued his strong season with nine tackles, including six solos, and one tackle for a loss. Morgan Rae also had two sacks for the blue and white.
The X-Men Hockey squad opened their season on a winning note, skating to a 6-2 road win over the UPEI Panthers. Six different X-Men found the back of the net as they held leads of 2-1 after the first period and 5-1 after the second, despite being outshot 31-29 in the game. They’re back in action tonight in Fredericton to take on UNB.
In pre-season Basketball, the X-Men opened their play at the REDS Invitational in Fredericton with a 77-71 loss to Carleton. The team plays Manitoba today, and the host REDS on Sunday. Meanwhile at the Helen Campbell Tournament, also in Fredericton, the X-Women opened with a close 59-58 loss to Ottawa. The women play Lethbridge today, and UNB on Sunday.
The X-Women and CBU Capers played a hard fought game in women’s soccer action that ended in a 1-1 tie at Ness Timmons Field. Bryn Canning scored the lone X-Women goal unassisted off a free kick. On the men’s side, the #3 ranked X-Men had their six game winning streak snapped with a 1-0 loss to the Capers. The teams are back in action on home turf tomorrow to face Acadia, beginning with the women at 1pm.
Homecoming weekend continues with back-to-back matches for the X-Women Rugby team – first, it’s Acadia at 2, followed by Dalhousie at 4. Meanwhile in New Brunswick, the Cross Country teams are taking part in the Moncton Invitational.
Junior B: The Strait Pirates outshot the Junior Miners 38-36 in a 7-4 victory in Port Hawkesbury.
It’s the 7th annual Helping the Helpers softball tournament this weekend at the Lower South River ball fields., with a dozen teams from across the province squaring off. Organizer Sheena Skinner says it’s one of the major fundraisers for the Helping the Helpers Awareness and Education Day for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder on October 25. The teams are mainly made up of first responders. First game starts at 8 am.
U15: The Wearwell Bombers host the Halifax Wolverines in a pre-season match at the Wellness Centre this morning at 11.
U16 AAA: The Cabot Highlanders are in PEI to face off with the Western Rebels at 7 pm.
U18 Major: The CB West Islanders host Cole Harbour at 6 pm in Port Hood, while the Weeks Majors travel to the Valley to face the Wildcats at 7.
Maritime Major Girls U18 League: The top-ranked Northern Selects travel to Fredericton to play the Western Flames at 4.
NATIONAL SPORTS
Kevin Gausman says he’s “fired up” to face the visiting New York Yankees tonight. Gausman has been named Toronto’s starter for Game 1 of the Blue Jays’ best-of-five American League Division Series against the Bronx Bombers. The Yankees, who are coming off a Wild Card Series win over the archrival Boston Red Sox, will send Luis Gil to the mound.
The league-leading Saskatchewan Roughriders ended a two-game losing skid with a 20-13 victory over the host Ottawa Redblacks, who were officially eliminated from the post-season picture. Riders quarterback Trevor Harris completed 27 of 33 passes for 341 yards and one touchdown against the 4-and-11 Redblacks.
Tanner Pearson scored the winner in the seventh round of a shootout as the visiting Winnipeg Jets erased a 4-2 third-period deficit to tip the Calgary Flames 5-4 in N-H-L pre-season action. Haydn Fleury, Gustav Nyquist, Alex Iafallo and Parker Ford also scored for the Jets. Nazem Kadri scored twice for the Flames, while Matvei Gridin and Joel Hanley netted singles.
Conor Garland scored 90 seconds into overtime and the Vancouver Canucks defeated the visiting Edmonton Oilers 3-2. Jonathan Lekkerimaki scored twice for the Canucks, while Kasperi Kapanen and Leon Draisaitl scored for the Oilers. Both teams had 27 shots on goal.
A’ja Wilson and Dana Evans each scored 21 points, and the Las Vegas Aces beat the visiting Phoenix Mercury 89-86 in Game 1 of the W-N-B-A Finals. Evans led an Aces bench that outscored the Mercury’s reserves 41-16. Kahleah Cooper scored 21 points for the fourth-seeded Mercury, 19 in the first half. Game 2 is Sunday in Las Vegas.
Austin Reaves scored 20 points and Bronny James added eight while the Los Angeles Lakers lost their N-B-A pre-season opener 103-81 to the Phoenix Suns with LeBron James and Luka Doncic sitting out. Both superstars watched from courtside while the rest of the Lakers lost to the new-look Suns, who jumped to a 27-point lead in the third quarter.
Friday’s Scoreboard
CFL
Saskatchewan 20 Ottawa 13
NHL Pre-Season
Vancouver 3 Edmonton 2 (OT)
Winnipeg 5 Calgary 4 (SO)
Pittsburgh 5 Buffalo 4 (OT)
Minnesota 3 Chicago 2
San Jose 4 Vegas 1
WNBA Finals (Best-of-seven)
Las Vegas 89 Phoenix 86 (Las Vegas leads series 1-0)
NBA Pre-Season
Phoenix 103 L.A. Lakers 81
Saturday’s Games (All times Eastern)
MLB Playoffs – Best-of-Five Division Series
American League New York (Gil 4-1) at Toronto (Gausman 10-11), 4:08 p.m. (Start of series)
Cleveland (Melton 3-2) at Seattle (Kirby 10-8), 8:38 p.m. (Start of series)
National League
Chicago (Boyd 14-8) at Milwaukee (Peralta 17-6), 2:08 p.m. (Start of series)
Los Angeles (Ohtani 1-1) at Philadelphia (Sanchez 13-5), 6:38 p.m. (Start of series)
CFL
Hamilton at Toronto, 3 p.m.
Calgary at B.C., 7 p.m.
MLS
Nashville at CF Montréal, 2:30 p.m.
Charlotte FC at D.C. United, 2:30 p.m.
LA Galaxy at FC Dallas, 4:30 p.m.
New England at Miami, 7:30 p.m.
Cincinnati at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Columbus at Orlando City, 7:30 p.m.
New York City FC at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.
Toronto FC at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
St Louis City at Austin FC, 8:30 p.m.
San Diego FC at Houston, 8:30 p.m.
Sporting Kansas City at Minnesota, 8:30 p.m.
Colorado at Real Salt Lake, 9:30 p.m.
Portland at Seattle, 10:30 p.m.
Northern Super League
Toronto at Calgary, 4 p.m.
Canadian Premier League
York United (Toronto) at Wanderers (Halifax), 2 p.m.
Vancouver at Forge (Hamilton), 4:30 p.m.
NHL Pre-Season
New Jersey at Philadelphia, 12:30 p.m.
N.Y. Rangers at Boston, 2 p.m.
Anaheim at Los Angeles, 4 p.m.
Carolina at Nashville, 4 p.m.
Colorado at Dallas, 6 p.m.
Ottawa at Montreal, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Detroit, 7 p.m.
Columbus at Washington, 7 p.m.
St. Louis at Chicago, 7 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Florida, 7 p.m.
San Jose at Utah, 8 p.m.
NBA Pre-Season
Philadelphia vs New York, 11 a.m., Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Orlando at Miami, 8 p.m.
Minnesota at Denver, 9 p.m.