(As of 12:01AM)
PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS:
The Prince George Cougars visit Josh Anderson and the Swift Current Broncos tonight; their third stop on a six-game Prairie road trip.
Just over three weeks ago (January 7th), the Cougars traded the 19-year-old defenceman to Swift Current for a first-round pick in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft and a first-round pick in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft.
The 35-12-3-1 Broncos have the second best record in the WHL.
The 18-24-4-4 Cougars are last in the Western Conference, 13 points out of a playoff spot.
Prince George will also visit Regina Wednesday, Brandon Friday, and Moose Jaw Saturday before home games February 9th and 10th against Kamloops.
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE:
BC DIVISION STANDINGS:
Kelowna, 49 games = 31-14-3-1 (66 points)
Victoria, 51 games = 30-17-3-1 (64 points)
Vancouver, 49 games = 25-16-5-3 (58 points)
Kamloops, 50 games = 23-24-1-2 (49 points)
Prince George, 50 games = 18-24-4-4 (44 points)
WESTERN CONFERENCE WILD CARD:
Tri-City, 48 games = 25-16-7-0 (57 points)
Spokane, 50 games = 26-19-3-2 (57 points)
Kamloops, 50 games = 23-24-1-2 (49 points)
Prince George, 50 games = 18-24-4-4 (44 points)
PRINCE GEORGE SPRUCE KINGS:
Forward Layne Sniher of the Calgary Buffaloes has committed to play the 2018-19 season with the Prince George Spruce Kings.
The 17-year-old is the fifth leading scorer in the Alberta Midget Hockey League with 37 points (13G, 24A) in 28 games.
The Spruce Kings start a five-game homestand when they entertain the Chilliwack Chiefs Friday and Saturday.
The 25-15-4-4 Spruce Kings lead the Mainland Division by three points over Surrey, four over Langley and by nine over Chilliwack.
BCHL:
The Powell River Kings have sacked head coach and general manager Kent Lewis.
Assistant coach Brock Sawyer has taken over as interim head coach.
Lewis spent 25 years with the team.
Powell River is second in the Island Division with a 23-15-4-5 record.
MAINLAND DIVISION STANDINGS:
Prince George, 48 games = 25-15-4-4 (58 points)
Surrey, 48 games = 24-17-5-2 (55 points)
Langley, 48 games = 21-15-10-2 (54 points)
Chilliwack, 46 games = 22-19-2-3 (49 points)
Coquitlam, 47 games = 13-30-1-3 (30 points)
CARIBOO COUGARS:
The Cariboo Cougars have 10 regular season games left, eight of them of the road.
The 23-5-2-0 Major Midget Cougars are in second place, just a point behind the 23-4-2-1 Valley West Hawks.
Cariboo will visit the Greater Vancouver Canadians Saturday at 5PM and Sunday at 10AM in Richmond.
NHL:
After a four-day All-Star break, NHL regular season action resumes tonight with a dozen games.
Edmonton and Toronto are the only Canadian teams idle.
The 19-24-6 Vancouver Canucks host the 27-18-3 Colorado Avalanche.
The Canucks are 13 points out of a playoff spot while the Avs are tied for a wild-card spot.
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Dallas defenceman Dan Hamhuis of Smithers will play his 1,000th regular season NHL game tonight when the Stars host the Los Angeles Kings.
The former PG Cougar has 15 points (1G, 14A) with a plus-five rating in 48 games this season.
The 35-year-old will be the 314th player to suit up in 1,000 games.
He becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, but told DallasStars.com “After this year, I feel confident that I still have good hockey left in me.” said Hamhuis.
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After clearing waivers, the Calgary Flames assigned 45-year-old Jaromir Jagr to HC Kladno of the Czech Republic league.
Jagr had just one goal and six assists in 22 games with the Flames in his 24th NHL season.
UNBC TIMBERWOLVES:
The Canada West basketball regular season will end this weekend but the UNBC Timberwolves will have the bye.
The UNBC men finished 10-10 while the Lady Timberwolves ended up 9-11.
It appears both teams will make the playoffs which will begin February 9th.
NBA:
In a major NBA trade, the LA Clippers sent All-Star forward Blake Griffin and two other players (Brice Johnson and Willie Reed) to the Detroit Pistons.
In return, the Clippers get three players (Avery Bradley, Tobias Harris and Boban Marjanovic) plus a 2018 protected first-round pick, and a 2019 second-round pick.
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The Toronto Raptors have four games in six days starting tonight when they host the 32-21 Minnesota Timberwolves.
The 33-15 Raptors are second in the Eastern Conference, 1 1/2 games behind the Boston Celtics.
CANADIAN WOMEN’S CURLING CHAMPIONSHIPS:
BC (Kesa Van Osch) is 2-2 in Pool B at the National Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Penticton.
Newfoundland-Labrador leads Pool B at 4-0 while Manitoba tops Pool A with a 4-0 record.
BC plays 2-2 Ontario this morning (9 o’clock) and 3-1 Alberta tonight at 7.
NFL:
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady says he’s reconsidering whether to continue a long-running weekly radio appearance after a host at the station called his five-year-old daughter “an annoying little pissant.”
The host, Alex Reimer, has been suspended indefinitely.
JUDO:
The Prince George Judo Club and the Hart Judo Academy combined for 11 medals; two gold, five silver, and four bronze at the Saskatchewan Open in Regina.
Gold
Fallon Jones, U14 -57 (PG)
Asher Young, U16 -46 (Hart)
Silver
Tami Goto, U18 -48 (PG)
Tami Goto Sr., -48 (PG)
Fallon Jones, U16 -57 (PG)
Sydney Edgson, U18 -63 (PG)
Lochlan Young, U18 -73 (Hart)
Bronze
Kimiko Kamstra, U18 -48 (Hart)
Gabe Paterson, U16 -50 (Hart)
Koen Heitman, U18 -66 (Hart)
Corbin Hilman, U14 -38 (Hart)