(As of 12:01AM)
WORLD JUNIOR HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP:
(Quarter-finals)
Finland 2 Canada 1
Finland scored with 46 seconds left in the third and at 5:30 of OT to eliminate Canada in Vancouver.
The Canadians officially finished sixth.
Switzerland 2 Sweden 0
USA 3 Czech Republic 1
Russia 8 Slovakia 3
The World Jr. semi-finals on Friday have Finland against Switzerland (5 p.m.) and the USA vs. Russia (1 p.m.)
RECAP | @miketendy was spectacular in a 32-save performance and @IanMitch15 scored, but ?? saw its run end with an OT loss to ?? in the QFs.
?? | https://t.co/7hNhxd74eb#WorldJuniors #REPRESENT pic.twitter.com/99sZUckKDV
— #WorldJuniors (@HC_WJC) January 3, 2019
NHL: (Canadian teams went 3-0-1 on Wednesday)
Vancouver 4 Ottawa 3 (OT)
Elias Pettersson completed a hat trick by scoring his 22nd goal at 1:38 of overtime.
.@_EPettersson shoots and scores ✖️ 3️⃣. ?@BudweiserCanada Highlights | https://t.co/4HpzJ2F5AX pic.twitter.com/WSBqMjOVS7
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) January 3, 2019
The 20-19-4 Canucks are 3-1 on a six-game road trip that continues tonight in Montreal and concludes Saturday in Toronto.
Vancouver’s next home game will be on Thursday, January 10th against Arizona.
#Canucks have acquired Mike McKenna (@MikeMcKenna56), Tom Pyatt & 2019 6th round draft pick from the Senators, in exchange for Anders Nilsson & Darren Archibald. https://t.co/12mOFoG2x9
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) January 2, 2019
Edmonton 3 Arizona 1
The Oilers are 1-1 since acquiring defenceman Brandon Manning of Prince George from the Chicago Blackhawks.
Manning had 13:43 of ice time and did not pick up a point in the win against the Coyotes.
Calgary 5 Detroit 3
The 25-12-4 Flames are first in the Western Conference.
PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS:
The Prince George Cougars visit the (17-17-3) Kelowna Rockets Friday in their only weekend game.
The Cougars also play at Tri-City Tuesday and Spokane Wednesday to complete a stretch of 11 consecutive games on the road.
Prince George has lost nine of its last 10 road games and 11 of 13 overall.
The 12-21-1-2 Cougars are four points behind (14-17-2-1) Kamloops for the second and final wild-card spot.
Prince George is also a point ahead of last-place (11-19-4) Seattle in the Western Conference.
The Cougars host Kelowna January 11th and 12th to begin a six-game homestand.
Armstrong has 23 points (11-12-23) in 23 games with @edgeschool. Armstrong will wear number 22. | #NorthernUprising #WHL
— PG Cougars (@PGCougars) January 2, 2019
PRINCE GEORGE SPRUCE KINGS:
The Prince George Spruce Kings play seven of their first eight games in January on the road, with three of them this weekend.
The Spruce Kings visit (23-13-1-1) Merritt on Friday, (10-23-4-1) Cowichan Valley on Saturday and (22-12-0-2) Victoria on Sunday.
The 25-9-1-2 Spruce Kings are in first place in the Mainland Division and the BCHL by just one point over the (26-11) Chilliwack Chiefs.
The Spruce Kings next home game will take place on January 11th when they entertain Cowichan.
CARIBOO COUGARS:
After posting a 2-1-1 record at the Mac’s international midget hockey tournament in Calgary, the Prince George-based Cariboo Cougars are enjoying a break.
The 16-5-3 Major Midget Cougars are in second place in the BCMML, five points behind the (19-3-1-1) Fraser Valley Thunderbirds.
Cariboo will play its next league game January 19th in Fort St. James against the third-place (14-5-3-2) Vancouver NE Chiefs.
NBA:
The Toronto Raptors visit the San Antonio Spurs tonight in their first match-up since the Kawhi Leonard-DeMar DeRozan trade.
The 28-11 Raptors are half-a-game ahead of the (26-10) Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference and 2 games in front of the (25-12) Indiana Pacers.
The Raptors visit Milwaukee on Saturday and host Indiana on Sunday.
UNBC TIMBERWOLVES:
The UNBC Timberwolves host the Thompson Rivers University (TRU) Wolfpack of Kamloops Friday and Saturday in Canada West basketball at the Northern Sport Centre.
The women tip-off at 6 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m Saturday with the men to follow two hours later.
The Timberwolves are 6-4 in both divisions.
The UNBC women are tied for seventh while the men are eighth out of 17 teams.
The TRU women are 3-7 while the TRU men have a 4-6 record.
NFL:
The NFL playoffs begin this weekend.
Wildcard games have Indy at Houston (1:35 PT) and Seattle at Dallas (5:15) on Saturday plus LA Chargers at Baltimore (10:05 a.m.) and Philadelphia at Chicago (1:40) on Sunday.
The Texans, Cowboys and Ravens are all slightly favoured by 2 1/2 points or less while the Bears are 6-point favourites.
New Orleans and LA Rams in the NFC and K.C. and New England in the AFC have first-round byes.