Sports by Hartley Miller as of 12:05 a.m. Sunday, April 3rd
WHL:
The Prince George Cougars begin a four-game homestand when they entertain the B.C. Division-champion Kamloops Blazers this afternoon at 2:00.
The Cougars, who have dropped 12 of their last 15, are coming off Friday’s 9-2 loss to the Rockets in Kelowna.
The game stats and highlights are right here.
First minute and 31 seconds was pretty good.
📸 Steve Dunsmoor
— PG Cougars (@PGCougars) April 2, 2022
In the WHL Saturday, the Spokane Chiefs beat the Vancouver Giants 5-2, and Kelowna shutout the Victoria Royals 5-0.
The (22-37-2-1) Cougars are tied with the (21-37-4-1) Chiefs for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, just three points behind the (22-36-5-1) Royals and the (23-34-4-0) Giants.
Vancouver has seven games remaining, P.G. has six left, Spokane has five remaining, and Victoria has four left.
The Chiefs play the Giants again tonight (4:00) in Langley.
The WHL standings are right here.
The PG Cougars regular season schedule is right here.
Cat Scan podcast:
CAT SCAN: @Hartley_Miller sits down with @PGCougars Director of Business Iain Scott in this week’s episode | https://t.co/wrOINDu6An #cityofPG #princegeorge #NorthernUprising pic.twitter.com/SELMwM4HyE
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) March 31, 2022
Columns:
Wiesblatt’s season over . . . Warriors snap Ice’s hot streak . . . Dureau fills hat for Winterhawks https://t.co/UZok9ew4JJ
— Gregg Drinnan (@gdrinnan) April 3, 2022
HART ATTACK: @Hartley_Miller talks about the @PGCougars playoff chances in his #AprilFoolsDay version of the column | https://t.co/k8htajny5g #cityofpg #PrinceGeorge #northernbc pic.twitter.com/RlTmuNnG9r
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) April 1, 2022
BCHL:
Prince George Spruce Kings 4 Cranbrook Bucks 1 (Saturday)
The Spruce Kings scored twice in each of the last two periods in front of 1,233 fans in Prince George.
The game stats are right here.
Two goals from Kolton Cousins, and a late third period tally from Luc Laylin highlighted a Game 2 victory for the Spruce Kings, defeating the Cranbrook Bucks 4-1!
📸 Chuck Chin
📝https://t.co/2CrUYcU3zS#GetInTheMix • #BCHLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/WAcDjchlHA
— Prince George Spruce Kings (@SpruceKings) April 3, 2022
The Spruce Kings lead the best-of-seven first-round series 2-0 with Games three and four in Cranbrook on Monday and Tuesday.
The if needed games would be played on Thursday in P.G., Saturday in Cranbrook, and Monday, April 11th in Prince George.
Prince George Spruce Kings 4 Cranbrook Bucks 1 (Friday)
Aaron Trotter made 26 saves and lost his shutout bid with just 25 seconds left in the game before 1,168 fans at the RMCA.
The game stats are right here.
Four goals from four different goal scorers, and a terrific effort in the pipes from Aaron Trotter, triumphed the Spruce Kings to Game 1 victory over the Cranbrook Bucks at the RMCA!
📝https://t.co/njpMV7rZKr#GetInTheMix • #BCHLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/uSgVPctScO
— Prince George Spruce Kings (@SpruceKings) April 2, 2022
The Spruce Kings playoff schedule is right here.
The BCHL final regular-season standings are right here.
NHL: (9 Saturday games with 4 Canadian teams in action)
St. Louis 6 Calgary 4
LA 3 Winnipeg 2
Toronto 6 Philadelphia 3
Montreal 5 Tampa Bay 4 (SO)
Saturday’s nine-game slate featured the @mnwild, @StLouisBlues and @DallasStars each pick up crucial wins for positioning in the Central Division standings.#NHLStats: https://t.co/mI20hxdBxO pic.twitter.com/eVNdttatc3
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 3, 2022
The (32-28-9) Vancouver Canucks are eight points out of a playoff spot with 13 games remaining, eight at home, and five on the road.
The Canucks will host the Vegas Golden Knights tonight (4 p.m.).
The Golden Knights are one point out of a playoff position.
Vancouver is 24-12-6 since Bruce Boudreau took over as coach.
World men’s curling championship–(in Las Vegas)
Canada (Brad Gushue) 6 Czech Republic 4 (Saturday afternoon)
Canada 8 Norway 7 (Saturday night)
2-0 Canada will play the Netherlands this afternoon at 2:00 and Switzerland tonight at 7:00.
13 countries are represented with the top six teams to advance to the playoffs.
Results, schedule, and standings are right here.
NBA:
The (45-32) Toronto Raptors, with five games left, are 5th in the NBA Eastern Conference, 1/2 a game ahead of the Chicago Bulls.
The Raptors host the Conference-leading Miami Heat tonight (4:00 p.m. PT).
The Raptors’ schedule is right here.
The NBA standings are right here.
Soccer:
The draw is out for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The Canadian men’s soccer team will play Belgium to open the tournament.
Canada is part of a group that also includes Croatia and Morocco.
The #FIFAWorldCup groups are set 🤩
We can’t wait! 🏆#FinalDraw pic.twitter.com/uaDfdIvbaZ
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) April 1, 2022
The World Cup kicks off on Nov. 21st and runs until Dec. 8th in Qatar.
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