(As of 12:01AM)
PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS:
Prince George Cougars 3 Brandon Wheat Kings 2
17-year-old Ilijah Colina scored twice, including the game winner with 2:23 left in the third.
Jared Bethune tallied short-handed and added a pair of assists for the Cougars who trailed 2-1 after two.
Goalie Isaiah DiLaura made 28 saves for his second WHL victory as the Cats outshot the Wheat Kings 32-30.
It was the first time since 2007 that Prince George won in Brandon.
The (28-18-3-2) Wheat Kings suffered their ninth straight loss.
The (19-26-4-4 Cougars are 1-3-0-1 on their Prairie road trip which concludes tonight in Moose Jaw against the league-leading (39-9-1-2) Warriors.
Next home games for the Cougars will be played on February 9th and 10th against the Kamloops Blazers.
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE:
Vancouver 4 Calgary 2
Everett 3 Kelowna 2
Victoria 4 Medicine Hat 3 (OT)
Spokane 5 Kootenay 3
Tri-City 6 Portland 3
BC DIVISION STANDINGS:
Kelowna, 51 games = 32-15-3-1 (68 points)
Victoria, 53 games = 31-18-3-1 (66 points)
Vancouver, 51 games = 27-16-5-3 (62 points)
Kamloops, 51 games = 24-24-1-2 (51 points)
Prince George, 53 games = 19-26-4-4 (46 points)
WESTERN CONFERENCE WILD CARD:
Spokane, 51 games = 27-19-3-2 (59 points)
Seattle, 50 games = 26-18-4-2 (58 points)
Kamloops, 51 games = 24-24-1-2 (51 points)
Prince George, 53 games = 19-26-4-4 (46 points)
PRINCE GEORGE SPRUCE KINGS:
Prince George Spruce Kings 3 Chilliwack Chiefs 2
Spruce Kings raced out to a 3-0 lead in the second period before a season-high home crowd of 1,443.
The (26-15-4-4) Spruce Kings increase their lead in the Mainland Division to five points over Surrey and six over Langley with just nine games left.
Same teams play again tonight at the Rolling Mix Concrete Arena (RMCA).
BCHL:
MAINLAND DIVISION STANDINGS:
Prince George, 49 games = 26-15-4-4 (60 points)
Surrey, 49 games = 24-18-5-2 (55 points)
Langley, 49 games = 21-16-10-2 (54 points)
Chilliwack, 47 games = 22-20-2-3 (49 points)
Coquitlam, 49 games = 14-31-1-3 (32 points)
CARIBOO COUGARS:
The Cariboo Cougars have a pair of games in Richmond against the 16-12-1-1 Greater Vancouver Canadians tonight at 5 and Sunday morning at 10.
With 10 games left, the (23-5-2-0) Major Midget Cougars are in second place, one point behind the (23-4-2-1) Valley West Hawks.
Valley West is idle this weekend.
The Canadians are tied for 4th in the 11-team league alongside the Vancouver NW Giants and the Okanagan Rockets, although the Giants and Rockets have played two less games.
NHL:
Minnesota 5 Vegas 2
Pittsburgh 7 Washington 4
San Jose 3 Columbus 1
Detroit 4 Carolina 1
The 21-24-6 Vancouver Canucks entertain the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning tonight to conclude a five-game home-stand.
UNBC TIMBERWOLVES:
The UNBC Timberwolves have officially clinched a Canada West basketball playoff spot in both the men’s and women’s divisions.
The regular season ends tonight although the Timberwolves have the bye this weekend.
Currently, the men are 10th with a 10-10 record while the women are 11th at 9-11.
The top 12 advance to the post-season starting February 10th.
OLYMPICS:
Canada will be represented by 225 athletes and 87 coaches at the Pyeongchang Olympics which will open on Friday (Feb. 9).
The 122 men and 105 women make up Canada’s largest-ever delegation for a Winter Olympics.
Prince George will have two athletes competing: Meryeta O’Dine in Snowboardcross and Megan Tandy in Biathlon.
Two others from PG are alternates: Sarah Beaudry in Biathlon and Tiana Gairns in Ski Cross.
Jamie Macdonald of Fort St. James is one of 10-members of the Olympic short-track speed-skating team and will compete in the 500 metres and the women’s relay.
CANADIAN WOMEN’S CURLING CHAMPIONSHIP:
Wildcard (Kerri Einarson) will play Manitoba (Jennifer Jones) in the one-two Page Playoff game at the National Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Penticton.
The winner advances to Sunday’s final.
Nova Scotia meets Northern Ontario in the three-four game.
Wildcard, Manitoba and Nova Scotia all finished 9-2 in the Championship Pool followed by Northern Ontario at 8-3.
BC (Kesa Van Osch) ended up with a 4-7 record.
NBA:
Toronto Raptors 130 Portland Trail Blazers 105
The (35-16) Raptors are two games behind the (38-15) Eastern Conference leading Boston Celtics.
NFL:
The New England Patriots are four-and-a-half point favorites to beat the Philadelphia Eagles in Sunday’s 52nd Super Bowl.
The betting favorite has won 33 of the previous 51 Super Bowls.
Kickoff is 3:30PM (PT).
CFL:
Quarterback Ricky Ray will play another year with the Toronto Argonauts.
The 38-year-old, who guided the Argos to the Grey Cup last year, has signed a one-year contract.
He was eligible to become a free agent February 13th.