PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS:
Seattle Thunderbirds 5 Prince George Cougars 2
The Thunderbirds scored in the final minute of the first to take a 2-1 lead, and then tallied twice, 34 seconds apart in the middle period to take control of the game.
Seattle goalie Dorrin Luding of Prince George made 28 saves as Seattle outshot the Cats 34-30 before 2,474 fans at the CN Centre.
Joel Lakusta assisted on the PG goals from Max Kryski and Jackson Leppard.
The Thunderbirds have won all three meetings against the Cougars this season (5-1 and 5-3 were the previous scores).
Seattle is 15-6 in its last 21 regular season games in Prince George.
The same teams meet again tonight in PG.
The 17-21-4-3 Cougars are fourth in the BC Division and ninth in the Western Conference, two points ahead of the Kamloops Blazers and six behind the Spokane Chiefs.
The Chiefs hold down the final wild card playoff spot, a point behind Seattle.
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The PG Cougars have called up 16-year-old forward Edge Lambert who has 26 points (13 goals) in 28 games this season with Grande Prairie Storm Midget AAA.
The Cougars selected Lambert in the seventh round (143rd overall) of the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft.
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE:
Lethbridge 4 Kamloops 2
Brad Morrison of Prince George scored his 100th career goal and assisted on two others for Lethbridge, who will play tonight in Kelowna before coming to P.G. for games Friday and Saturday.
BC DIVISION STANDINGS:
Kelowna, 43 games = 27-13-2-1 (57 points)
Vancouver, 45 games = 25-14-4-2 (56 points)
Victoria, 45 games = 25-16-3-1 (54 points)
Prince George, 45 games = 17-21-4-3 (41 points)
Kamloops, 44 games = 18-23-1-2 (39 points)
WESTERN CONFERENCE WILD CARD:
Seattle, 43 games = 21-16-4-2 (48 points)
Spokane, 44 games = 22-19-1-2 (47 points)
Prince George, 45 games = 17-21-4-3 (41 points)
Kamloops, 44 games = 18-23-1-2 (39 points)
PRINCE GEORGE SPRUCE KINGS:
The Prince George Spruce Kings host the 26-9-2-3 Penticton Vees on Thursday, the start of three home games in four days.
They also entertain the 29-10-1-4 Vernon Vipers Friday and the 21-13-4-4 Powell River Kings on Sunday.
The 21-13-4-4 Spruce Kings are in a three-way tie for first in the Mainland Division alongside Langley and Surrey, although Prince George has a game in hand on both teams.
BCHL:
MAINLAND DIVISION STANDINGS:
Prince George, 42 games = 21-13-4-4 (50 points)
Langley, 43 games = 19-12-10-2 (50 points)
Surrey, 43 games = 22-15-4-2 (50 points)
Chilliwack, 42 games = 20-17-2-3 (45 points)
Coquitlam, 41 games = 10-27-1-3 (24 points)
CARIBOO COUGARS:
The Cariboo Cougars play the 10-11-1-3 Vancouver NE Chiefs in Fort St. James, Saturday at 5PM and Sunday at 10AM.
The 19-5-2 Cougars are in second place with 14 regular season games remaining, four points behind the 21-3-2 Valley West Hawks and two ahead of the 18-6-1-1 Fraser Valley Thunderbirds.
NHL:
St. Louis 2 Toronto 1 (OT)
San Jose 3 Arizona 2 (SO)
Nashville 1 Vegas 0
Dallas 4 Detroit 2
New Jersey 4 NY Islanders 1
NY Rangers 5 Philadelphia 1
The 18-21-6 Vancouver Canucks visit the Edmonton Oilers Saturday and the Winnipeg Jets Sunday to wrap up a stretch of seven consecutive games on the road.
The Canucks sit 11 points out of a playoff spot.
OLYMPICS:
Megan Tandy and Sarah Beaudry of Prince George are among 10 athletes named by Biathlon Canada to compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics next month in South Korea.
This will be third Olympics for the 29-year-old Tandy and first for the 23-year-old Beaudry.
20-year-old snowboard cross specialist Meryeta O’Dine of Prince George will also participate in the Olympics.
UNBC TIMBERWOLVES:
The UNBC Timberwolves visit the Victoria Vikes Friday and Saturday in Canada West basketball before concluding the regular season January 26th and 27th at home against Fraser Valley.
The Lady Timberwolves are 8-8 and in ninth place out of 17 teams.
The UNBC men are 11th with a 7-9 record.
The top 12 qualify for the playoffs.
NBA:
The 29-13 Toronto Raptors are back in action tonight when they host the 22-20 Detroit Pistons.
The Raptors are 2nd in the Eastern Conference, 3 1/2 games behind Boston and 3 1/2 ahead of Cleveland.
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Basketball Hall of Famer Jo Jo White has died at age 71.
White was a two-time NBA champion with the Boston Celtics and an Olympic gold medallist.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN:
Canadian Denis Shapovalov is out at the Australian Open.
The 18-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont. lost in five sets (6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7, 5-7) to Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a match that took three hours and 37 minutes.
On the women’s side, Canadian Eugenie Bouchard will play her second round match against top seeded Simona Halep.
NFL:
The New England Patriots and the Minnesota Vikings are favored in the NFL Conference championship games on Sunday.
The Patriots are a nine-point pick against the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars (12:05PM) in the AFC, while the Vikings are three-point favourites on the road against the Philadelphia Eagles (3:40PM) in the NFC.