(As of 12:01AM)
PRINCE GEORGE SPRUCE KINGS:
(BCHL)
For the third consecutive Wednesday, the Prince George Spruce Kings have a home game.
The 21-8-1-2 Spruce Kings host the (11-10-6-3) Vernon Vipers tonight.
The Vipers are second last in the Interior Division (with 86 goals for and 86 goals against).
Prince George beat Trail (4-1) and Merritt (3-1) the previous two Wednesdays.
PG will also entertain Nanaimo Friday and Surrey December 14th and 15th on its seven-game homestand.
The Spruce Kings lead the Mainland Division by a point over the (22-9) Chilliwack Chiefs.
Chilliwack is also in action today, with a home game against Langley.
PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS:
(WHL)
The Prince George Cougars visit the (16-10-0-2) Portland Winterhawks Friday and Saturday.
It is the start of 11 straight road games for the Cougars, with eight of them in the U.S. Division.
The Winterhawks have scored the most goals in the Western Conference and second most in the WHL (behind the Prince Albert Raiders).
The Cougars next home games are against Kelowna January 11th to 12th.
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The 11-14-1-2 Cougars are fourth in the BC Division, a point behind the (13-10) Victoria Royals and the (12-15-2) Kelowna Rockets.
Prince George is sitting in the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot, one point ahead of the (11-11-1-1) Kamloops Blazers, who have four games in hand.
PG is also four points in front of the (9-13-3) Seattle Thunderbirds.
The Blazers and Rockets are on home ice this evening as Victoria visits Kamloops and Tri-City plays at Kelowna.
NHL: (Edmonton the only Canadian team idle Tuesday)
Minnesota 3 Vancouver 2
This is the 12th loss in the last 13 games for the Canucks.
Josh Leivo, acquired from the Maple Leafs, scored on his first-ever shot in a Vancouver uniform.
Minnesota tallied all three of its goals on the power play.
Vancouver has spent 325 minutes in the penalty box this season, more than any other team in the league.
The 11-16-3 Canucks are 0-3-1 on a five-game homestand that concludes Thursday against (19-8-1) Nashville.
Montreal 5 Ottawa 2
Winnipeg 3 NY Islanders 1
Calgary 9 Columbus 6
Toronto 4 Buffalo 3 (OT)
There are three Wednesday games in the NHL; Edmonton at St. Louis, Chicago at Anaheim, and Carolina at San Jose.
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Seattle, the NHL’s 32nd team, will begin play in 2021 in a renovated Key Arena.
The board of governors unanimously approved the expansion franchise at league meetings in Sea Island, Georgia.
Seattle’s ownership group will pay an expansion fee of $650 million (US), which is $150 million more than the amount the Vegas Golden Knights paid when they joined the league in 2016.
Seattle will play in the Pacific Division, meaning the Arizona Coyotes will move to the Central Division.
CARIBOO COUGARS:
(BCMML)
The 11 BC Major Midget League teams have completed 20 of their 40 regular season games.
The 13-4-3 Cariboo Cougars are in the second place, four points behind the (16-3-1) Fraser Valley Thunderbirds.
Cariboo will visit the (6-9-3-2) Valley West Giants Saturday night in Langley and Sunday morning in Delta.
The Giants hold down the eighth and final playoff spot.
CARIBOO COUGARS MINOR MIDGET:
The Cariboo Cougars minor midget team will host the (8-3-1) Fraser Valley Thunderbirds Friday night at 7:30, plus Saturday and Sunday morning at 11:15 at Kin 1.
The Cariboo 15-year-olds are 9-2-1 and in second place, two points behind the (10-1-1) Okanagan Rockets.
NBA:
The Toronto Raptors host the (17-8) Philadelphia 76’ers tonight.
The 20-5 Raptors have the best record in the NBA.
UNBC TIMBERWOLVES:
All teams in Canada West basketball have reached their semester break.
Regular season action will resume in the New Year.
The UNBC Timberwolves are 6-4 in both divisions.
The UNBC women are tied for seventh while the men are eighth out of 17 teams.
The Timberwolves host the Thompson Rivers University (TRU) Wolfpack of Kamloops January 4-5 at the Northern Sport Centre.
The TRU women are 3-7 while the TRU men have a 4-6 record.
PGYSA:
The Prince George Youth Soccer Association (PGYSA) will host the 2019 Boys Provincial ‘B’ Cup championships from July 4th to 7th.
The tournament will take place at Masich Place Stadium, Rotary Soccer Fields, and the PG Soccer Association Fields.
NFL:
The NFL regular season is 75% complete with each team having four games remaining.
Week 14 starts Thursday with (4-8) Jacksonville at (6-6) Tennessee.
CFL:
The BC Lions, The Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats top the list of CFL All-Stars with five each.
The Grey Cup champion Calgary Stampeders have three All-Stars, including QB Bo Levi Mitchell, the league’s Most Outstanding Player.
Meanwhile, Mitchell will work out this week with the Minnesota Vikings as he tries to earn a spot in the NFL.