Sports by Hartley Thursday, March 28th as of 12:05 a.m.
(All times listed are PDT)
WHL:
WHL playoff fever has hit Prince George with the first-place Cougars to host the 8th-place Spokane Chiefs on the long weekend.
As of this morning (Thursday), less than 800 tickets remain for the Friday 7 pm opener and about 1,200 are available for Game Two Saturday night at 6:00.
Get ready to paint the town white as we kick off the opening round of the playoffs in our WHITE JERSEYS! ⚪️⚪️⚪️
Don’t forget to bring your white gear to EVERY playoff game this post-season! Plus, you can own a limited edition white playoff shirt by purchasing or winning one! pic.twitter.com/eFKqSwGNIE
— xy – Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) March 27, 2024
The Cougars, who have won nine straight (with a 19-game point streak) are 1st in the final CHL Top 10 rankings of the season.
The final #CHLTop10 rankings of 2023-24❕ pic.twitter.com/rkWqUSLco8
— Canadian Hockey League (@CHLHockey) March 26, 2024
In the 2-3-2 format, Games 3 and 4 will go in Spokane on April 2nd and 3rd with the if needed games set for April 5th in Spokane, April 8th in Prince George and Wednesday, April 10th in P.G.
Playoff fever highly contagious in Prince George https://t.co/dbH7nepRH4 | #CityOfPG #PrinceGeorge
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) March 27, 2024
The WHL standings are here.
The PG Cougars’ regular-season results are here.
| Game | Date | Away | Home | Time |
| 1 | Friday, March 29 | Spokane | Prince George | 7:00 p.m. PST |
| 2 | Saturday, March 30 | Spokane | Prince George | 6:00 p.m. PST |
| 3 | Tuesday, April 2 | Prince George | Spokane | 7:05 p.m. PST |
| 4 | Wednesday, April 3 | Prince George | Spokane | 6:35 p.m. PST |
| 5* | Friday, April 5 | Prince George | Spokane | 7:05 p.m. PST |
| 6* | Monday, April 8 | Spokane | Prince George | 7:00 p.m. PST |
| 7* | Wednesday, April 10 | Spokane | Prince George | 7:00 p.m. PST |
*- If necessary
#WHL Did you know? The winner of Game #1 claimed 11 of 15 series (73.3%) last playoffs, Blades had two 0-2 comebacks, lowest since 2018 when only 8 series where taken by the Game #1 winner.
Since going to 15 series in 2002, Game #1 was determined winner 209 or 300 times (69.7%)— Geoffrey Brandow (@GeoffreyBrandow) March 28, 2024
Cat Scan podcast:
This week on the @PGCougars Cat Scan #podcast, coach/G.M. Mark Lamb discusses the Cougars’ first-place finish, team records, battling Spokane in round 1, goaltending choice, 2-3-2 playoff format, pressure on being favourites, playing in front of a full house and more. https://t.co/tZ0q7m0dNm
— Hartley Miller (@Hartley_Miller) March 26, 2024
BCHL:
The (15-34-3) Prince George Spruce Kings conclude their BCHL regular season this weekend on the road.
They visit the (32-19-1) Vernon Vipers on Friday and the Merritt Centennials on Saturday.
#
The Spruce Kings are big underdogs against the first-place Penticton Vees in the first round of the BCHL Interior Division playoffs.
The best-of-seven series will open in Penticton on April 5th and 6th before shifting to Prince George for Games 3 and 4 on April 9th and 10th.
The if needed games are set for April 12th in Penticton, April 14th in Prince George and April 16th in Penticton.
The BCHL standings are here.
The Spruce Kings’ regular-season results are here.
NHL: (2 Wednesday games)
Ottawa 6 Buffalo 2
Tampa Bay 3 Boston 1
The (45-19-8) Vancouver Canucks, with 10 games left in their regular season, host the (45-19-9) Dallas Stars tonight at 7:00.
It is one of 14 Thursday games in the NHL with all Canadian teams in action.
The Stars, who have won five straight, lead the Central Division with 99 points, one more than the Pacific Division-leading Canucks.
The NHL regular season schedule and results are here.
The Vancouver Canucks regular season schedule and results are here.
The NHL standings are here.
The NHL wild-card standings are here.
The NHL scoring leaders are here.
MLB:
PG’s Jared Young sent to Triple-A by St. Louis Cardinals
| https://t.co/M3mkrLIYc2 #cityofpg #PrinceGeorge #northernbc #sports pic.twitter.com/q6L7bFE80d— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) March 28, 2024
It is opening day for the Toronto Blue Jays and most Major League teams.
The Jays start on the road this afternoon against the Rays in Tampa Bay (Thursday 1:10).
The Blue Jays schedule is here.
The MLB schedule is here.
The MLB standings are here.
NBA:
New York Knicks 145 Toronto Raptors 101
The (23-50) Raptors are officially eliminated from playoff contention after their 12th consecutive loss.
The Raptors’ schedule and results are here.
The NBA schedule is here.
The NBA standings are here.