Hartley’s Sports Shorts; Thursday, September 17th

Sports by Hartley Thursday, September 17th, 2026  as of 12:05 a.m.

WHL:

The Prince George Cougars open their season with a home doubleheader this weekend.

The Cougars entertain the Penticton Vees Friday night at 7:00 and Saturday night at 6:00.

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The WHL announced three rule changes on Wednesday for the upcoming season.

1. Coaches will be able to challenge for possible offside goals, with unsuccessful challenges resulting in penalties.

2. In addition, referees shall review major and match penalties, excluding fighting majors, to confirm the penalty assessed, downgrade the penalty to a lower category, or rescind the major or match penalty altogether.

3. The “no return” three-on-three overtime, which was tested in the preseason, will be continued throughout the regular season.

This means a team in possession and control of the puck in the attacking zone during the overtime period may not retreat back into the neutral zone.

WHL announces three rule changes ahead of opening weekend https://t.co/VJbu35RQVK

— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) September 16, 2026

The PG Cougars regular season schedule is here.

The WHL regular season schedule is here.

The WHL standings are here.

Cat Scan podcast:

Hartley’s Cat Scan with Mark Lamb – September 16th, 2026 https://t.co/0p3g7PwCmH

— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) September 16, 2026

The Prince George Spruce Kings start their season when they visit the Powell River Kings in a doubleheader Friday night at 7:00 and Saturday night at 7:00.

The Spruce Kings home opener will be on Friday, September 25th at 7 p.m. against the West Kelowna Warriors.

The Spruce Kings regular season schedule is here.

The BCHL regular season schedule is here.

The BCHL standings are here.

MLB: 

Toronto Blue Jays  5  Detroit Tigers  1

The Box Score is here.

The (76-77) Blue Jays, with nine games left, visit the Texas Rangers in a key three-game series starting Friday night (5:05 PT).

Toronto is 1.5 games behind the (77-75) Chicago White Sox in the race for the final wild-card spot in the American League.

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First baseman Jared Young of Prince George went 1-for-3 with a walk for the New York Mets in their Wednesday 7-1 loss to Baltimore.

The 31-year-old Young has a .268 batting average (82-for-306) with nine homers and 39 RBI’s in 102 games this year with New York.

The (69-83) Mets, with 10 games remaining, host the Philadelphia Phillies in a 4-game series starting tonight (Thursday 4:15 PT).

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The Toronto Blue Jays second-half schedule and results are here.

The New York Mets second-half schedule and results are here.

The MLB standings are here.

The MLB wild-card standings are here.

Canada West Soccer:

The UNBC Timberwolves are on the road in Canada West Soccer.

The Timberwolves visit the Fraser Valley Cascades Friday night (5:30 for the women and 7:45 for the men) and the Trinity Western Spartans Saturday night (5:00 for the women and 7:15 for the men).

The UNBC women are 0-4 on the season while the UNBC men have three ties and a loss after four games.

The Canada West women’s soccer schedule is here.

The Canada West men’s soccer schedule is here.

The Canada West women’s soccer standings are here.

The Canada West men’s soccer standings are here.

BC Football Conference: 

The (2-5) Prince George Kodiaks host the (6-2) Okanagan Sun Saturday night at 6:00 at Masich Place Stadium.

The Kodiaks, who are 5th in the 7-team league, have just three games left in their season.

BCFC Standings:

Langley Rams  8-0
Okanagan Sun  6-2
Westshore Rebels  5-2
VI Raiders  4-4
PG Kodiaks  2-5
Valley Huskers  1-6
Kamloops Broncos  0-7

The BCFC home page and schedule can be found here.

NFL: 

Week 2 of the NFL season begins tonight (Thursday 5:15 PT) with Detroit at Buffalo.

Both the Lions and Bills won their opening game.

The NFL regular season schedule is here.

The NFL regular season standings are here.

CFL: 

Week 16 of the CFL season begins Friday night (4:30 PT) with Montreal at Hamilton.

The B.C. Lions, with five regular season games left, are off this week.

The (7-6) Lions play their next game on Friday, September 25th at 7:30 p.m. when they host the (8-5) Saskatchewan Roughriders.

Standings:

The CFL schedule and results are here.