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HomeSportsHart AttackHARTLEY’S HART ATTACK – (SECOND-HALF PUSH) DECEMBER 27TH, 2019 EDITION 764

HARTLEY’S HART ATTACK – (SECOND-HALF PUSH) DECEMBER 27TH, 2019 EDITION 764

With the Christmas break coming to an end here is a look at where the Prince George Cougars, PG Spruce Kings, Cariboo Cougars, Vancouver Canucks and the UNBC Timberwolves basketball teams are at as they get ready for the unofficial second half of their season.

PG Cougars:

After 32 of 68 games, the PG Cougars have a record of 8-20-1-3 although they have won their last two.

In each of their eight wins, the Cougars goalie (Taylor Gauthier or Tyler Brennan) has been named one of the three stars.

The 18-year-old Gauthier went into the break playing his best since joining the team in 2017.

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Of their 36 games left, the Cougars play 16 at home and 20 on the road.

P.G. is 7 points behind Seattle and 8 back of Tri-City with the Americans holding down the last wild-card spot.

With the Cougars a longshot to make the playoffs, chances are they will be sellers by the January 10th WHL trade deadline.

The PG Cougars schedule/results right here.

The WHL standings are right here.

 

PG Spruce Kings:

The defending BCHL champions are a shell of the team that captured the 2018-19 Fred Page Cup title.

Like the Cougars, they are last in their division (Mainland) but have won their last two.

The Spruce Kings are three points behind (14-17-2-4) Surrey (Eagles are 4th in the Mainland Division) and six back of (17-17-1-1-1) Langley.

With a record of 13-21-2-3, the Spruce Kings have just 19 games remaining, eight at home and 11 on the road.

Because 16 of the 17 teams make the playoffs, the Spruce Kings are a lock to get in sitting 10 points ahead of West Kelowna as the Warriors are last in the overall standings.

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The Spruce Kings have the capability to produce a first-round upset, just like Cowichan did last season as the 16th seeded Capitals beat the top-seeded Penticton Vees in round one.

The BCHL standings are right here.

The Spruce Kings 2019-20 schedule/results right here.

 

Cariboo Cougars:

The (17-5-1-1) Cariboo Cougars are tied for 3rd place in the 11-team BCMML.

They are three points behind second, six back of first and two ahead of 5th.

There is a whopping 13-point difference between 5th and 6th.

Cariboo has 16 regular-season games left: four in Kelowna, two in Burnaby, two in Fort St. James and their last eight in Prince George.

With five competitive teams at the top, the defending champion Cougars are in the mix to repeat.

This week they are competing at the Mac’s AAA Midget Hockey Tournament in Calgary.

They won their opener 7-2 over the Airdrie CFR Bisons.

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Cariboo will continue the round-robin against the Moose Jaw Warriors (tonight at 7:00 PT).

They will also play the Calgary Royals (Saturday, 7 p.m. PT) and St. Albert Nektar Raiders (Sunday, 7 p.m. PT).

The top team in each of the five pools will advance to the playoffs, as will the three clubs with the next-best records.

The Major Midget League schedule/results/standings right here.

 

Vancouver Canucks:

Are the Vancouver Canucks for real?

They have won exactly half of their 38 games going 19-15-4.

The Canucks are riding a 3-game win streak.

Vancouver is just a point out of a playoff spot in the tight Western Conference.

Of their 44 games remaining, 22 are home and 22 are on the road.

I am not sure I am willing to bet on the Canucks to make the post-season for the first time in 5 years but they should be in the hunt until the final week.

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The NHL schedule is right here.

The Canucks schedule is right here.

The NHL standings are right here.

The NHL scoring leaders are right here.

 

UNBC Timberwolves: (Women’s Basketball)

The UNBC women are 3-5 and tied for 11th out of 17 in the Canada West standings.

They are on the bubble as far as playoffs go with the top 12 to qualify.

The women Timberwolves have a dozen games remaining with half of them on home court.

The Canada West women’s basketball schedule is right here.

The Canada West women’s basketball standings are right here.


UNBC Timberwolves:
(Men’s Basketball)

With a 4-4 record, the UNBC men are 8th out of 17 Canada West teams.

They are in a good position to make the playoffs where the top 12 teams in the standings advance.

Like the women, the UNBC men have 12 regular-season games left with half of them at home.

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The Canada West men’s basketball schedule is right here.

The Canada West men’s basketball standings are right here.

#

Of the six aforementioned teams, the Cariboo Cougars are a guarantee for the playoffs, the PG Spruce Kings will likely make it because just about everything does in the BCHL.

The PG Cougars would need a lengthy win streak to get out of the hole they have dug themselves in to order to reach the playoffs.

The Vancouver Canucks and the UNBC basketball teams may not know until their last weekend whether they will see the post-season.

Thanks to their superb run in the spring, the Spruce Kings are a runaway choice as the top Prince George sports team in 2019.

Who will get that honour in 2020?

That wide-open race is about to begin.

#

This is season two of Hartley’s Cat Scan, a weekly podcast show that primarily features the Prince George Cougars.

My guest on the 15th Cat Scan in year two is former PG Cougars forward Evan Fuller.

Evan discusses his singing career after performing O’Canada during the Cougars 25th anniversary celebrations last season. He also reflects on the 2007 playoff run and his billet family.

 

FROM THE QUOTE RACK:  

Seattle recorded its darkest day in history last week with the short days and dense cloud cover. The previous darkest day losing Super Bowl XLIX by not handing the ball to Marshawn Lynch.

*Comedy writer Jim Barach http://jokesbyjim.blogspot.ca/

Looks like you can take Kirk Cousins out of the Washington Redskins, but you can’t take the Washington Redskins out of Kirk Cousins.

*Comedy writer Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com

Despite horrendous play recently, including a game in which they were so bad that they were booed off of the field by their own angry frustrated fans, the Raiders are still alive and mathematically in the hunt for the playoffs, inspiring some to ask, ‘What are these guys still doing here? ‘They’ve become pro football’s version of John Belushi’s ‘The Thing That Wouldn’t Leave.’

*Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California

Three Utah State football players — including starting QB Jordan Love — were cleared to play in the Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl despite being charged with marijuana possession. Which was only fair. The game, after all, was played on grass.

*Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times http://www.seattletimes.com/author/dwight-perry/


IN CASE YOU MISS
ED IT:

North Pole police have finally cleared Santa’s head elf of charges of careless use of a firearm. Authorities admit mistakes were made after finding a cartridge in a pear tree.

*Canadian comedy writer RJ Currie www.Sportsdeke.com

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Hartley Miller is the news and sports supervisor and morning news anchor for 94.3 the GOAT and Country 97.
He also is the 94.3 radio colour commentator for P.G. Cougars home games.
His column appears Fridays on myprincegeorgenow.com.
Send along a quote, note, or anecdote to [email protected]

 

 

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