(As of 12:01AM)
PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS:
The Prince George Cougars six-game Prairie trip begins tonight in Prince Albert against Kody McDonald and the (18-20-7-2) Raiders.
McDonald was the Cougars leading scorer at the time they traded him three weeks ago to the Raiders for Rhett Rhinehart, Austin Crossley and a first-round WHL Bantam Draft pick this year.
The Cougars also play at Saskatoon Saturday, Swift Current Tuesday, Regina Wednesday, Brandon (Friday, February 2nd), and Moose Jaw (Saturday, February 3rd).
Next home games for Prince George will be against Kamloops February 9th and 10th.
The 18-23-4-3 Cougars are 10 points behind the Tri-City Americans for the final wild-card playoff spot.
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE:
BC DIVISION STANDINGS:
Kelowna, 47 games = 30-14-2-1 (63 points)
Victoria, 48 games = 27-17-3-1 (58 points)
Vancouver, 48 games = 25-16-4-3 (57 points)
Kamloops, 47 games = 21-23-1-2 (45 points)
Prince George, 48 games = 18-23-4-3 (43 points)
WESTERN CONFERENCE WILD CARD:
Spokane, 48 games = 26-19-1-2 (55 points)
Tri-City, 46 games = 23-16-7-0 (53 points)
Kamloops, 47 games = 21-23-1-2 (45 points)
Prince George, 48 games = 18-23-4-3 (43 points)
PRINCE GEORGE SPRUCE KINGS:
The Prince George Spruce Kings have 12 of their remaining 13 regular season games against teams in their own division, including three on the road this weekend.
The 23-14-4-4 Spruce Kings play tonight in Langley, Saturday in Coquitlam, and Sunday in Chilliwack.
Prince George is tied with Surrey for first in the Mainland Division, two points in front of Langley.
BCHL:
MAINLAND DIVISION STANDINGS:
Prince George, 45 games = 23-14-4-4 (54 points)
Surrey, 46 games = 24-16-4-2 (54 points)
Langley, 46 games = 20-14-10-2 (52 points)
Chilliwack, 44 games = 21-18-2-3 (47 points)
Coquitlam, 46 games = 13-29-1-3 (30 points)
CARIBOO COUGARS:
The Cariboo Cougars visit the (3-22-3) South Island Royals today and Saturday afternoon.
The 21-5-2 Major Midget Cougars are four points back of the (23-4-2) Valley West Hawks in the race for first place in the BCMML.
Valley West beat the Vancouver NW Giants 6-4 Thursday by scoring four goals in the third period to erase a 4-2 deficit.
NHL:
Buffalo 4 Vancouver 0
The Canucks are 19-24-6 as of the break, including 8-13-3 in Vancouver, second last in the Western Conference and 13 points out of a playoff spot.
Edmonton 4 Calgary 3 (SO)
Anaheim 4 Winnipeg 3 (SO)
Toronto 4 Dallas 1
Carolina 6 Montreal 5
Boston 3 Ottawa 2
These were the final games ahead of the All-Star break.
TIM HORTONS BRIER:
The City of Prince George will be making an official bid to host the 2020 Tim Hortons Brier.
Other cities that expressed interest in hosting the national men’s curling championship in two years are St. Catharines, Kingston, and Moncton.
The winner will be announced in the fall of this year.
2018 WINTER OLYMPICS:
Meryeta O’Dine of Prince George is one of 13 athletes (five from BC) named by the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Canada Snowboard to compete at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.
The 20-year-old will participate in Snowboardcross February 15th and 16th.
Jan Wengelin of Smithers was named Head Coach of the Canadian Parallel Giant Slalom team that will have its competition at the Games February 10th to 12th.
UNBC TIMBERWOLVES:
The UNBC Timberwolves close out their Canada West basketball regular season with home games against the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades (UFV).
Tip off at the Northern Sport Centre will go tonight, 6PM and 8PM and Saturday night at 5PM and 7PM.
The Timberwolves are in 10th place with an 8-10 record in both the men’s and women’s divisions.
The top 12 make the playoffs.
The Cascades are is 5-11 (men) and 6-10 (women).
JUDO:
Thirteen athletes from the Prince George Judo Club and the Hart Judo Academy will compete at the Saskatchewan Open (Saturday-Sunday) in Regina.
They are …
- Corbin Hillman, Prince George Judo Club
- Fallon Jones, Prince George Judo Club
- Sydney Edgson, Prince George Judo Club
- Tami Goto, Prince George Judo Club
- Taylor Schaus, Prince George Judo Club
- Ioan Frizzel, Hart Judo
- Koen Heitman, Hart Judo
- Isaac Kamstra, Hart Judo
- Gabe Patterson, Hart Judo
- Asher Young, Hart Judo
- Lochlan Young, Hart Judo
- Kimi Kamstra, Hart Judo
- Maxwell Young, Hart Judo
AUSTRALIAN OPEN:
Top-seed Simona Halep will play number-two Caroline Wozniacki in the women’s final at the Australian Open.
The winner will earn a first Grand Slam title and the number-one ranking in the world.
The men’s final will feature number-six Marin Cilic of Croatia against 36-year-old Roger Federer, a 19-time major champion.
The defending champion advanced when Hyeon Chung retired in the second set.
Federer was leading 6-1, 5-2 when Chung, 21, quit because of blisters on his left foot.
XFL:
Plans have been announced by WWE chairman Vince McMahon for the return of the XFL in 2020.
The XFL will feature eight teams, (still to be determined), 40-man active rosters and a 10-week regular-season starting after the Super Bowl.
The playoffs will consist of two semi-finals and a championship game.
In its first attempt, the XFL lasted just one season, folding in 2001.
The league does not yet have a TV partner.
NBA:
The Toronto Raptors host the Utah Jazz tonight.
The 32-14 Raptors are second in the Eastern Conference, one-and-a-half games behind the 35-14 Boston Celtics.
The Celtics are back in action Saturday at Golden State.