(As of 12:01AM)
PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS:
(WHL)
The Prince George Cougars try to end a four-game road losing streak when they visit the Seattle Thunderbirds tonight.
The Cougars won the first two meetings against the Thunderbirds this season (4-1 and 2-0) November 2nd and 3rd at the CN Centre.
Prince George has been shutout three times this season, including twice in its last three road games.
The 11-16-1-2 Cougars are last in the BC Division, two points behind both (13-12-1) Victoria and (12-12-2-1) Kamloops and five back of second place (14-15-2) Kelowna.
Prince George is ninth out of 10 in the Western Conference, two points ahead of (10-14-3) Seattle, but the Thunderbirds have three games in hand.
The Cougars, who have lost six of their last seven, also visit Victoria on Friday and Vancouver on Sunday before heading into the Christmas break.
With 68 goals in 30 games, Prince George is the lowest scoring team in the Western Conference and second lowest in the WHL.
PRINCE GEORGE SPRUCE KINGS:
(BCHL)
Prince George Spruce Kings goaltender Logan Neaton has committed to NCAA University of Massachusetts-Lowell River Hawks for the 2019-20 season.
Neaton (19) has a 19-4-0-1 record and leads the BCHL in wins and goals-against average.
He is also second in save percentage.
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The PG Spruce Kings have added to their roster acquiring forward Spencer DenBeste (19) of Marquette, Michigan from Springfield of the North American Hockey League for future considerations.
DenBeste notched four goals and four assists in 24 games with Springfield this season.
He is committed to Lake Superior State University next season, where he’ll play alongside Spruce Kings forward Dustin Manz.
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The Spruce Kings are down one spot to #17 in this week’s CJHL national rankings.
They are still the top rated team in the BCHL.
The Spruce Kings, who are 4-1 on a seven-game homestand, entertain the Surrey Eagles Friday and Saturday in their final home games in 2018.
Friday night is the annual Drop the Gloves and Sock it to Em game, where fans are encouraged to bring warm winter clothing in bags to throw onto the ice when the Spruce Kings score their first goal.
The 23-8-1-2 Spruce Kings are one point ahead of the (24-10) Chilliwack Chiefs in the Mainland Division.
The (7-24-1-2) Eagles have the worst record in the league.
Prince George will close out the month at Langley on the 20th and at Surrey on the 21st.
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Canada West whipped Canada East 6-1 Monday for its second win in as many games at the World Junior ‘A’ Challenge in Bonnyville, Alberta.
PG Spruce Kings defenceman Layton Ahac is one of 22 players (14 from the BCHL) that is playing for Team Canada West that began the five-team tournament with a 2-1 victory (Sunday) over the USA in a shootout.
Ahac does not have a point in the two games.
Canada West will continue round-robin action against (2-0) Russia Wednesday night and the Czech Republic Thursday evening.
Semi-finals go on Saturday followed by the Medal games on Sunday.
NHL: (Four Monday games)
San Jose 5 New Jersey 2
Tampa Bay 6 NY Rangers 3
Detroit 3 LA 1
Pittsburgh 2 NY Islanders 1 (SO)
The Vancouver Canucks visit the (16-11-2) Columbus Blue Jackets tonight before wrapping up a three-game road trip Thursday in Nashville.
The 13-16-3 Canucks are sitting six points out of a wild-card spot.
There are 10 Tuesday games in the NHL with Calgary the only Canadian team idle.
Five of the six Canadian teams are on the road (Toronto at Carolina, Montreal at Minnesota, Ottawa at Nashville and Edmonton at Colorado) with just Winnipeg at home as the Jets entertain Chicago.
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The NHL first star of the week is Elias Pettersson of the Canucks with eight points in three games, including five against the Blues.
Pettersson leads all rookies with 30 points (15G, 15A) in 26 games; he’s also a plus 10.
Colin White of Ottawa is second among first-year players with 19 points, 11 behind Pettersson.
CARIBOO COUGARS:
(BCMML)
The top two teams in the BCMML will meet this weekend in Prince George.
The 15-4-3 Cariboo Cougars host the (18-3-1) Fraser Valley Thunderbirds Saturday afternoon at 4 and Sunday morning at 10:30 at Kin 1 in their final league games prior to the Christmas break.
Fraser Valley has a four-point lead over Cariboo after 22 games.
CARIBOO COUGARS MINOR MIDGET:
The Minor Midget Cariboo Cougars will host the (8-5-2) North Island Silvertips Friday night at 6:30 at the CN Centre, Saturday afternoon at 1 at Kin 1 and Sunday morning at 7:30 at Kin 1.
The Cariboo 15-year-olds are 9-4-1-1 and in third place, a point behind the (10-1-1) Okanagan Rockets and three points back of the first place (11-3-1) Thunderbirds.
North Island is in 4th place in the 10-team league, just two points behind Cariboo.
NFL: (final game in week 14)
Seattle Seahawks 21 Minnesota Vikings 7
The Seahawks are 8-5 with three games left.
The Vikings are 6-6-1 and holding down the last NFC wild-card spot.
BC LIONS:
Calgary Stampeders defensive coordinator DeVone Claybrooks has signed to be the BC Lions’ 26th Head Coach in team history.
In the last three seasons under Claybrooks, the Stampeders have given up the fewest points in the CFL.
SWIMMING:
Former Prince George Barracudas swimmer Haley Black competes for Team Canada this week (today to Sunday) at the FINA World Short Course Championships in Hangzhou, China.
Black graduated this year from Auburn University and currently trains at the Vancouver High-Performance Center.
UNBC TIMBERWOLVES:
The UNBC Timberwolves will have a new goalie on their team for the 2019 Canada West men’s soccer season.
17-year-old Grande Prairie native Alex Dorscheid has committed to the T-Wolves program.
He is currently living in Victoria, where he trains with the Pacific Soccer Institute.
Dorscheid plans to begin his studies in pursuit of a Bachelor of Commerce next year.
WORLD CUP BIATHLON:
Megan Tandy of Prince George is entered in the women’s Sprint on Thursday at the World Cup biathlon races in Austria.
The 30-year-old Tandy was the best of four Canadians in World Cup action Slovenia.
She was 62nd out of 102 in the women’s 15-kilometre individual race and 73rd in the 7.5-kilometre Sprint.
NBA:
The Toronto Raptors begin a four-game Western road trip tonight in LA against the (16-9) Clippers.
The 21-7 Raptors lead the Eastern Conference by 2 games over both Milwaukee and Philadelphia.
Toronto will also visit Golden State Wednesday, Portland Friday and Denver Sunday.