(As of 12:01AM)
PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS:
Tri-City Americans 6 Prince George Cougars 1
Americans scored five unanswered goals in the first period.
Starting goalie Isaiah DiLaura was pulled after he allowed five goals on just 14 shots.
It was the 13th consecutive game that the Cougars failed to score the first goal.
19-year-old defenceman Juuso Välimäki notched a hat trick.
Ryan Schoettler ruined Warm Beck’s shutout bid with a goal late in the second period.
The (20-33-4-4) Cougars, who have lost 14 of their last 17, host the BC Division leading Kelowna Rockets on Tuesday and Wednesday.
They also entertain the Victoria Royals on Friday and Saturday.
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Spokane Chiefs 9 Prince George Cougars 2 (Friday)
17-year-old defenceman Ty Smith was a plus seven with seven points (two goals and five assists).
Spokane swept the four game season series, outscoring Prince George 24-7.
WESTERN HOCKEY LEAGUE:
Kelowna 6 Kamloops 5
Portland 3 Victoria 2
Everett 2 Seattle 1
Spokane 5 Kootenay 3
BC DIVISION STANDINGS:
Kelowna, 62 games = 38-18-4-2 (82 points)
Victoria, 63 games = 35-23-3-2 (75 points)
Vancouver, 60 games = 31-21-5-3 (70 points)
Kamloops, 63 games = 27-31-1-4 (59 points)
Prince George, 61 games = 20-33-4-4 (48 points)
WESTERN CONFERENCE WILD CARD:
Tri-City, 61 games = 32-21-7-1 (72 points)
Seattle, 61 games = 28-24-7-2 (65 points)
Kamloops, 63 games = 27-31-1-4 (59 points)
Prince George, 61 games = 20-33-4-4 (48 points)
PRINCE GEORGE SPRUCE KINGS:
Prince George Spruce Kings 2 Chilliwack Chiefs 0
Bradley Cooper with the shutout as the Chiefs outshot the Spruce Kings 30-20.
The same two teams will meet in the opening round of the playoffs.
PG had seven wins (including four in February) and a tie in eight games against Chilliwack.
The Spruce Kings visit Langley today to conclude the regular season.
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Prince George Spruce Kings 2 Chilliwack Chiefs 1 (Friday)
Dustin Manz snapped a 1-1 tie with 3:57 left in the third period.
Evan DeBrouwer 30 saves as Chilliwack outshot Prince George 31-20.
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The (32-17-4-4) Spruce Kings start the best of seven first round playoff series at home on Friday and Saturday against Chilliwack.
Fans 19 and over who purchase tickets for both Games 1 and 2 at the Spruce Kings office Monday to Friday, 12PM to 4PM will be entered into a draw for a Mega 50/50 Lottery Ticket as part of the Spruce Kings Show Home.
Ticket Prices for the entire playoffs will be $15 for Adults, and $12 for Students/Seniors.
Fans who purchase both Game One and Two tickets however, will get the package for $20.
BCHL:
MAINLAND DIVISION STANDINGS:
Prince George, 57 games = 32-17-4-4 (72 points)
Langley, 57 games = 25-19-10-3 (63 points)
Surrey, 57 games = 26-22-7-2 (61 points)
Chilliwack, 58 games = 26-26-3-3 (58 points)
Coquitlam, 58 games = 15-38-1-4 (35 points)
CARIBOO COUGARS:
(UPDATE AT 2PM SUNDAY) CARIBOO WON 6-5 IN OT SUNDAY
CARIBOO IS 29-6-3, TWO POINTS AHEAD OF VALLEY WEST.
THE HAWKS LOST 6-3 SUNDAY TO VANCOUVER NE CHIEFS
Cariboo Cougars 5 Vancouver NW Giants 1
Same teams meet again today at 9AM in Burnaby.
The (28-6-3-0) Cougars, with three regular season games remaining, conclude on March 10th (3PM) and 11th (10AM) in Kelowna against the Rockets.
Cariboo is tied for first place in the BCMML alongside the (28-4-2-1) Valley West Hawks, but the Hawks have two games in hand.
NHL:
Philadelphia 5 Ottawa 3
Brandon Manning of Prince George was first star.
The Flyers defenceman scored on a dump in from near centre ice and added two assists.
Toronto 4 Boston 3
Winnipeg 5 Dallas 3
Edmonton 4 Los Angeles 3
Calgary 5 Colorado 1
Tampa 4 Montreal 3 (SO)
The (23-31-7) Vancouver Canucks visit the Arizona Coyotes tonight and the Colorado Avalanche Monday before returning home to entertain the New York Rangers on Wednesday.
The NHL trade deadline is Monday at noon (PT).
OLYMPICS:
The Olympic Athlete of Russia scored late in the third period and again in overtime to beat Germany 4-3 in the Olympic men’s hockey gold medal game.
Canada took bronze following a 6-4 victory over the Czech Republic.
Canadian athletes finished with a record 29 medals (11 gold, eight silver and 10 bronze), breaking the previous mark of 26 set in Vancouver in 2010.
The 11 gold was three shy of the Canadian record of 14 established eight years ago.
Short track speed skater Kim Boutin was Canada’s flag-bearer for the closing ceremony.
The 23-year-old Boutin captured three medals, a silver and two bronze in her first Olympics.
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Here’s a list of Canada’s medal winners.
GOLD: (11)
- John Morris and Kaitlyn Lawes in mixed doubles curling
- Freestyle skier Mikael Kingsbury in men’s moguls
- Team figure skating
- Long-track speedskater Ted-Jan Bloemen in the men’s 10,000 metres
- Short-track speedskater Samuel Girard in men’s 1000 metres
- Justin Kripps and Alexander Kopacz in the two-man Bobsleigh
- Freestyle skier Cassie Sharpe in the women’s ski halfpipe
- Figure skaters Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir in the ice dance
- Freestyle skier Brady Leman in men’s ski cross
- Freestyle skier Kelsey Serwa in women’s ski cross
- Snowboarder Sebastien Toutant in men’s big air
SILVER:(8)
- Snowboarder Laurie Blouin in the women’s slopestyle
- Freestyle skier Justine Dufour-Lapointe in the women’s moguls
- Long-track speedskater Ted-Jan Bloemen in the men’s 5,000 metres
- Snowboarder Max Parrot in the men’s slopestyle
- Luge relay team
- Women’s hockey team
- Short-track speedskater Kim Boutin in women’s 1,000 metres
- Freestyle skier Brittany Phelan in women’s ski cross
BRONZE:(10)
- Snowboarder Mark McMorris in the men’s slopestyle
- Short-track speedskater Kim Boutin in women’s 500 metres
- Short-track speedskater Kim Boutin in women’s 1,500 metres
- Alex Gough in women’s singles luge
- Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford in pairs figure skating
- Freestyle skier Alex Beaulieu-Marchand in men’s slopestyle
- Kaillie Humphries and Phylicia George in women’s bobsleigh
- Short-track speedskating team in the men’s 5,000-metre relay
- Kaetlyn Osmond in women’s figure skating
- Men’s hockey team
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Northern BC girls had ups and downs in their events in the Olympics.
Sarah Beaudry of Prince George was part of the Canadian women’s 4x6km Biathlon Relay team that placed 10th out of 18 on Thursday.
The 23-year-old Beaudry finished 29th out of 87 athletes in the women’s Biathlon 15-km individual race on February 15th.
Megan Tandy of PG, part of the Biathlon team, competed in one race and finished 57th out of 87 in the 7.5-km Sprint on February 10th.
Jamie Macdonald of Fort St. James was one of five members of the Canadian women’s short track 3000m relay team that was disqualified after a massive collision during the finals of the event.
The 23-year-old Macdonald did not race in the final but did compete in Heat One on February 10th where Canada placed second to qualify for the final.
Macdonald participated in one individual race which ended with a crash on February 10th in the women’s 500 metres preliminary.
A minor concussion suffered in training prevented Meryeta O’Dine of Prince George from competing in the women’s snowboard cross on February 15th.
BC WINTER GAMES:
Today is the final day of the 29th BC Winter Games in Kamloops.
Cariboo-North East athletes are sixth out of eight regions (following competition Saturday) with 17 medals; six gold, six silver and five bronze.
More than 1,200 athletes, aged nine to 17, are competing in 19 different sports.
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL:
The DP Todd Trojans dominated the five-team North Central zone double-A boys basketball championship in Burns Lake to qualify for the Provincials March 7th to 10th in Langley.
The Trojans crushed the Dawson Creek Penguins 92-51 in the final.
Lakes District of Burns Lake finished third.
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The host Duchess Park Condors took top honors in the four-team North Central zone triple-A boys basketball championship.
The Condors, ranked sixth in BC, advance to the Provincials next month in Langley.
CANADA WEST BASKETBALL:
The season and university career is over for Cedars Christian grad Kayla Gordon of the Trinity Western University Spartans.
The hometown Saskatchewan Huskies whipped TWU 72-48 (Saturday) to win the best of three Canada West women’s basketball semi-final series 2-1.
Gordon, playing in her fifth and final season, hooped nine points and added six rebounds in the loss.
Earlier, Gordon, a third-team all-star, scored 17 points with 13 boards in a 67-60 Friday victory.
The Huskies took the opener 75-62 Thursday with Gordon, the Spartans all-time leading scorer, netting eight points and six boards.
In the other semi, the Regina Cougars beat the Calgary Dinos 61-58 (Thursday) and 66-60 (Friday) to sweep the series 2-0.
On the men’s side in Canada West basketball, the Calgary Dinos beat the UBC Thunderbirds 98-71 (Thursday) and 87-84 (Friday) to take the semi-final series two straight.
The top-ranked Alberta Golden Bears outscored the Lethbridge Pronghorns 109-66 (Friday) and 103-91 (Saturday) to win the series 2-0.
The Alberta men beat the UNBC Timberwolves 98-64 and 80-41 in the quarter-finals in Edmonton.
SPECIAL OLYMPICS:
The Otway Nordic Centre is the site for the Special Olympics BC-Prince George Regional Qualifier today from
10-3.
Top athletes from the meet will be in line to advance to the 2019 Special Olympics BC Provincial Winter Games in Vernon.
NBA:
The Toronto Raptors host the Detroit Pistons on Monday.
The (41-17) Raptors lead the Eastern Conference by half-a-game over the (42-19) Boston Celtics.