(As of 12:01AM)
PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS: (WHL)
Prince George Cougars 2 Kelowna Rockets 1 (Shootout Friday)
The Cougars trailed 1-0 until Jackson Leppard scored on a power play midway through the third period.
? SCORES! ? Tie game! @jacksonleppard tips in the point-shot on the power-play! Assists: @Rhinehart16, @TomanMatej pic.twitter.com/Ihkp931Z7Q
— PG Cougars (@PGCougars) January 5, 2019
Prince George won the shootout 2-1 with Tyson Upper notching the shootout winner.
He had the shootout winner and now awarded the belt! Tyson Upper sealed the win tonight. #NorthernUprising #WHL pic.twitter.com/RvjvfQER1g
— PG Cougars (@PGCougars) January 5, 2019
Winning goaltender Taylor Gauthier made 26 saves with five of them in overtime.
? WHL Highlight of the Night ?
January 4, 20192019 #NHLDraft prospect @tgoats_35 of the @PGCougars#WHLHoN pic.twitter.com/AJeTzLGvQo
— The WHL (@TheWHL) January 5, 2019
Prince George outshot Kelowna 28-27 with each team scoring with the man advantage.
The Cougars visit 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 11 road games and 11 of 14 overall.
The 13-21-1-2 Cougars are two points behind the (14-18-2-1) Kamloops Blazers for the second and final wild-card spot.
The Blazers, who lost 4-1 Friday in Spokane, host Kelowna tonight and visit Everett on Sunday.
The Cougars host Kelowna January 11th and 12th to begin a six-game homestand.
PRINCE GEORGE SPRUCE KINGS: (BCHL)
Merritt Centennials 3 Prince George Spruce Kings 2 (Shootout Friday)
The Spruce Kings visit the (10-23-4-1) Cowichan Valley Capitals tonight and the (23-12-0-2) Victoria Grizzlies Sunday.
The 25-9-2-2 Spruce Kings are in first place in the Mainland Division and the BCHL by two points over the (26-11) Chilliwack Chiefs.
The Spruce Kings next home game will be against Cowichan on Friday.
COMMITTED: Max Coyle has committed to the University of Alabama-Huntsville for next season! @UAHChargers @max_maxcoyle
FULL RELEASE: https://t.co/hyPXolJy5a pic.twitter.com/Phur3eYybF— Spruce Kings (@SpruceKings) January 4, 2019
WORLD JUNIOR HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP:
(Semi-finals in Vancouver)
USA 2 Russia 1
Finland 6 Switzerland 1
The gold medal game tonight features the USA against Finland.
The bronze medal game this afternoon has Russia against Switzerland.
Canada finished sixth after a 2-1 loss to Finland in overtime in the quarterfinals.
NHL: (Only one Canadian team in action Friday)
Pittsburgh 4 Winnipeg 0
The 20-20-4 Vancouver Canucks are 3-2 on a six-game road trip that concludes tonight in Toronto.
Elias Pettersson suffered a right knee injury in the 2-0 loss in Montreal and there is no timetable for his return.
.@_EPettersson, visiting the @Sportsnet studio in Toronto, confirms he suffered a right knee injury in Montreal. He is awaiting an MRI and there’s still no timetable for his return.
“I’m walking fine. I feel better today than yesterday, so that’s good.” pic.twitter.com/zkKyJdacSZ
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) January 4, 2019
The Canucks will entertain Arizona Thursday to start a six-game homestand that will conclude their January schedule.
UNBC TIMBERWOLVES:
(Canada West women’s basketball)
UNBC Timberwolves 78 TRU Wolfpack (Kamloops) 55 (Friday)
A career high 18 points for @shakirova6alina in a 78-55 @UNBCWomensBball win over @GoTRUWolfPack earns Baby Shak the @MrMikesPG Player of the Game! pic.twitter.com/d0W5kyS8YA
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) January 5, 2019
(Canada West men’s basketball)
UNBC Timberwolves 90 TRU Wolfpack (Kamloops) 81 (Friday)
.@VovaPluzhnikov had 25 points, 6 rebounds & 5 assists, and JV Leamy had 24 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals, earning them @MrMikesPG Players of the Game in @UNBCBasketball‘s 90-81 win over @GoTRUWolfPack! pic.twitter.com/3WUNjPLaU6
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) January 5, 2019
The Timberwolves improve to 7-4 in both divisions.
The TRU women are 3-8 while the TRU men have a 4-7 record.
The same teams meet again tonight at the Northern Sport Centre starting with the women at 5:00 followed by the men at 7:00.
NBA:
The Toronto Raptors visit the Milwaukee Bucks tonight before they host the Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
The 28-12 Raptors are 1/2 game behind the (27-10) Bucks for top spot in the Eastern Conference.
Toronto is also one game in front of third place (26-12) Indiana.
NFL:
The NFL playoffs start this weekend.
Wildcard games today have Indy at Houston (1:35 PT) and Seattle at Dallas (5:15).
Sunday match-ups have LA Chargers at Baltimore (10:05 a.m.) and Philadelphia at Chicago (1:40).
The Texans, Cowboys and Ravens are all slightly favoured by less than a field goal 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.
What’s the best game of #WildCardWeekend? ? pic.twitter.com/kUN7tzmYKH
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) January 4, 2019
JUDO:
Four Prince George judo athletes will be in Montreal for the Judo Canada Elite 8 Championships, which take to the mat January 12th and 13th.
The participants are:
Asher Young, -50 (Hart Judo)
Koen Heitman, -66 (Hart Judo)
Lochlan Young, -73 (Hart Judo)
Tami Goto, -48 (PG Judo)
All four are ranked in the top eight of their U18 weight divisions in Canada.