(As of 12:01AM)
PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS:
The Prince George Cougars play their 10th consecutive game on the road when they visit the (20-14-1-1) Tri-City Americans tonight.
It is the last of four meetings this season between the two teams. Tri-City won the first three.
Prince George has lost nine of its last 11 road games and 11 of 14 overall.
The 13-21-1-2 Cougars are four points behind the (15-19-2-1) Kamloops Blazers for the second and final wild-card spot. Both teams have played 37 games.
The Blazers are idle this evening.
Prince George is also one point ahead of the last place (12-20-4) Seattle Thunderbirds in the Western Conference.
The Thunderbirds play tonight in Saskatoon.
The Cougars also visit the (22-13-2-2) Spokane Chiefs Wednesday before hosting the (17-18-3-1) Kelowna Rockets Friday and Saturday to begin a six-game homestand.
The WHL trade deadline is Thursday afternoon at 2:00 (PT).
WHL:
Former PG Cougars assistant coach Roman Vopat has been dismissed as an assistant coach with the Kootenay Ice.
The decision came down after Vopat went on social media (Twitter) to criticize the job done by Team Canada head coach Tim Hunter at the world junior championship.
Ice acknowledges Vopat’s release . . . Two deals as deadline nears . . . Ex-Seattle assistant coach fired https://t.co/dz3dN5HWv2
— Gregg Drinnan (@gdrinnan) January 8, 2019
PRINCE GEORGE SPRUCE KINGS: (BCHL)
The Prince George Spruce Kings host the (11-25-4-1) Cowichan Valley Capitals on Friday.
The Capitals, the last place team in the Island Division, beat Prince George 5-2 Saturday in Duncan.
The 25-11-2-2 Spruce Kings are tied with the (27-11) Chilliwack Chiefs for first place in the Mainland Division although the Chiefs have two games in hand.
The Spruce Kings, with 18 regular season games remaining, visit Chilliwack Sunday afternoon.
NHL: (Five Monday games)
Calgary 4 Chicago 3
(The 27-13-4 Flames lead the Western Conference and are second in the overall standings behind Tampa Bay)
Minnesota 1 Montreal 0
Nashville 4 Toronto 0
St. Louis 3 Philadelphia 0
San Jose 3 LA 1
There are 11 Tuesday NHL games, but just three Canadian teams in action.
Edmonton visits San Jose, Winnipeg hosts Colorado and Montreal plays in Detroit.
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The 20-21-4 Vancouver Canucks entertain the Arizona Coyotes Thursday to begin a six-game homestand that will conclude their January schedule.
There is still no timetable for the return of super-rookie Elias Pettersson, who is dealing with an injured right knee (slight sprain in his MCL).
He is not expected to play against the Coyotes.
In 38 games, the 20-year-old Pettersson has 42 points, including 22 goals.
CAREY PRICE:
Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price will skip the January 26th All-Star game in San Jose in order to rest and recuperate during the break.
The 31-year-old from Anahim Lake has been dealing with a nagging injury although he made 24 saves in Monday’s 1-0 loss to Minnesota.
Price is the second high-profile player to miss the game.
Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin bowed out last week.
UNBC TIMBERWOLVES:
(Canada West basketball)
The UNBC Timberwolves are home this weekend against the Manitoba Bisons in Canada West basketball.
Games tip off Friday night at 6:00 and 8:00 and Saturday night at 5:00 and 7:00 at the Northern Sport Centre.
The Timberwolves are 8-4 in the women’s standings and 7-5 in the men’s division, good for seventh place out of 17 teams.
Manitoba is 5-7 (women) and 3-9 (men).
PETTIS:
Prince George motocross racer Jess Pettis placed 10th (Saturday) in the 250SX class at the AMA Western Regional Supercross in Anaheim.
There were 40 riders in the field, with 22 advancing to the main event.
The 21-year-old Pettis is 10th and top Canadian in the Championship Standings.
NCAA FOOTBALL:
The U.S. College National Championship game in Santa Clara, California.
No. 2 Clemson Tigers 44 No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide 16
Second championship in three years for Clemson.
The Tigers also made history, as it had been 121 years since a major college football team won 15 games. The 1897 Penn squad also finished a perfect 15-0.
NFL:
Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur is expected to be named head coach of the Green Bay Packers.
Prior to this season with the Titans, the 39-year-old LaFleur was the offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams.
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The NFL Conference semi-finals this weekend have Indianapolis at Kansas City (1:35 p.m.) and Dallas at the LA Rams (5:15 p.m.) on Saturday followed by the LA Chargers at New England (10:05 a.m.) and Philadelphia at New Orleans (1:40 p.m.) Sunday.
NBA:
The Toronto Raptors host the (12-27) Atlanta Hawks tonight.
The 30-12 Raptors lead the Eastern Conference by a half-a-game over the (28-11) Milwaukee Bucks.
Toronto will also entertain Brooklyn Friday before playing at Washington on Sunday.