(As of 12:01AM)
PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS: (WHL)
Prince George Cougars 1 Tri-City Americans 0
Taylor Gauthier earned his second shutout of the season as Tri-City outshot P.G. 36-29.
The 17-year-old Gauthier has allowed just four goals in his last four games and six in his last five.
He has improved his save-percentage to .904 and his GAA to 3.08.
A 36-save shutout from 2019 #NHLDraft prospect @tgoats_35 led Tuesday’s performances around the WHL.
WHL TONIGHT ? | https://t.co/HrIRuBxYtV pic.twitter.com/38FlVBsMWm
— The WHL (@TheWHL) January 9, 2019
Ethan Browne scored the only goal (his first since November 23rd) and it came with just over four minutes left in the second period before 2,566 fans in Kennewick, Washington.
The Cougars have won back-to-back games for the first time since November 14th.
Prince George is 3-2 in its last five, but 3-7 on a stretch of 11 consecutive road games that will end tonight in Spokane against the (22-13-2-2) Chiefs.
The 14-21-1-2 Cougars are two points behind the (15-19-2-1) Kamloops Blazers for the second and final wild-card spot with Kamloops holding one game in hand.
Prince George is also three points ahead of the last place (12-21-4) Seattle Thunderbirds in the Western Conference. (Seattle lost 4-3 Tuesday in Saskatoon)
The Cougars host 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).
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The PG Cougars have signed 2003-born forward Blake Eastman to a WHL Standard Player Agreement.
The Cougars selected Eastman in the second-round, 44th overall, in the 2018 WHL Bantam Draft.
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: (Canadian teams went 2-1 on Tuesday)
San Jose 7 Edmonton 2
Winnipeg 7 Colorado 4
Montreal 3 Detroit 2
There are three Wednesday night NHL games; Colorado at Calgary, Ottawa at Anaheim, and Nashville at Chicago.
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The Vancouver Canucks have placed Elias Pettersson on injured reserve.
He is expected to miss a week or two with a minor MCL sprain.
The 20-year-old Pettersson has 42 points, including 22 goals in 38 games.
The 20-21-4 Vancouver Canucks entertain the (18-21-3) Arizona Coyotes Thursday to begin a six-game homestand that will conclude their January schedule.
The Canucks are just a point back of Anaheim and Minnesota for the final wild-card playoff spot.
HALL OF FAME:
The Prince George Sports Hall of Fame will induct three more individuals on March 30th (at the Hart Community Hall) bringing its total to 78 members.
The Inductees for the years 2016, 2017, and 2018 are:
Athlete
Cliff Hucul = Auto Racing
Elisha Williams = Wheelchair Basketball
Coach/Builder
Brian Martinson = Track and Field
UNBC TIMBERWOLVES:
(Canada West basketball)
The UNBC Timberwolves host the Manitoba Bisons this weekend 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).
TIMBERWOLF TOP TEN! The @UNBCWomensBball team improved to 8-4 with a sweep of the @GoTRUWolfPack this weekend, and here is your chance to check out ten of the best @UNBC plays! pic.twitter.com/yQ4Y7BeGvU
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) January 8, 2019
TIMBERWOLF TOP TEN! Check out ten of the best plays from an amazing weekend series between @UNBCBasketball and @GoTRUWolfPack! A great crowd at @NorthernSport was treated to two classic games, and were the first to see @UNBC‘s new black alternate jerseys! Check it out! pic.twitter.com/8AWu5C1wKy
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) January 7, 2019
NFL:
Bruce Arians is ending his retirement after signing a four-year contract to become the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Arians, 66, served as the Arizona Cardinals head coach from 2013 through 2017.
He compiled a 50-32-1 record (playoffs included), the best in Cardinals franchise history.
Former New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles will join Arians in Tampa as defensive coordinator.
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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.) on Sunday.
NBA:
Toronto Raptors 104 Atlanta Hawks 101
The 31-12 Raptors lead the Eastern Conference by one game over the (28-11) Milwaukee Bucks.
Toronto will host (20-22) Brooklyn Friday before playing at Washington on Sunday.
JUDO:
Four Prince George judo athletes will be in Montreal for the Judo Canada Elite 8 Championships Saturday and Sunday.
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.
PETTIS:
Prince George motocross racer Jess Pettis placed 10th out of 40 riders in the 250SX class at the AMA Western Regional Supercross in Anaheim.
The 21-year-old Pettis is also 10th in the Championship Standings.