UPDATE at 8AM
The Prince George Cougars fired head Coach Richard Matvichuk after the 4-3 overtime loss to the Vancouver Giants.
General Manager Mark Lamb will take over behind the bench for the rest of the season.
Development Coach Nick Drazenovic has been promoted to an Assistant Coach and will join Lamb and Associate Coach Steve O’Rourke behind the team’s bench..
The Cougars, who have lost 11 straight, visit Kelowna Friday and Vancouver Sunday.
(As of 12:01 AM)
WHL: (PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS)
Vancouver Giants 4 Prince George Cougars 3 (OT)
Bowen Byram (21) scored 57 seconds into overtime to give the Giants the doubleheader sweep at CN Centre.
It was Byram’s WHL leading third overtime winner this season.
The Cougars trailed 3-0 until they scored a pair of power play goals late in the second from Vladislav Mikhalchuk (20) and Josh Maser (20) .
Reid Perepeluk (1) tied the game for Prince George midway through the third.
.@PGCougars forward Reid Perepeluk talks about his 1st goal of the season after 4-3 OT loss to the @WHLGiants #CityofPG #Sports #WHL pic.twitter.com/QWOJPhYkt6
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) February 7, 2019
The 16-30-4-2 Cougars are last in the Western Conference, seven points behind the (20-25-4-1) Kamloops Blazers and eight back of the (20-25-5-1) Seattle Thunderbirds.
The Thunderbirds hold down the final wild-card playoff spot.
Prince George is also nine points back of the (21-26-4-1) Kelowna Rockets, who are third in the B.C. Division.
The Cougars visit the Rockets on Friday.
MJ 1 SAS 6
MH 6 KTN 3
REG 3 CGY 4
VAN 4 PG 3 (OT)
SPO 5 KEL 4
SEA 3 VIC 5— The WHL (@TheWHL) February 7, 2019
The Giants exploded with three goals in the second period, the last two of which came 36 seconds apart.
Justin Sourdif notched the winner and Bowen Byram added the insurance goal before 2,043 fans.
Highlights from Tuesday’s game.
? https://t.co/KtcGsk7rcm pic.twitter.com/LUUVWBeLoM
— PG Cougars (@PGCougars) February 6, 2019
(All of the PG Cougars Cat Scan Podcasts can be found right here)
NHL: (Two games Wednesday)
Toronto 5 Ottawa 4
NY Rangers 4 Boston 3 (SO)
The Vancouver Canucks are 1-2 on a four-game road trip that concludes tonight in Chicago.
The (24-24-6) Canucks hold the final Western Conference wild-card spot, but they are just a point ahead of St. Louis, two in front of Colorado and three up on four teams (Arizona, Edmonton, Chicago and Anaheim).
There are 14 Thursday NHL games with Toronto the only Canadian team idle.
Winnipeg is at Montreal, Edmonton faces off in Minnesota, Calgary hosts San Jose and Ottawa entertains Anaheim.
Former Canucks captain Andre Boudrias has passed away in Whistler. He was 75. Boudrias played 12 seasons in the NHL, half of them with the Canucks in the 1970s.
BCHL: (PG SPRUCE KINGS)
The Prince George Spruce Kings play three road games this weekend against division opponents.
They visit Coquitlam Friday, Langley Saturday and Surrey Sunday.
The 32-12-1-5 Spruce Kings are second in the Mainland Division, seven points behind the (38-12-1) Chilliwack Chiefs. (The Chiefs beat Vernon 3-2 Wednesday night)
Prince George and Chilliwack both have eight regular season games left, including three against each other.
Spruce Kings remaining schedule: (8 games)
Feb. 8 Prince George at Coquitlam
Feb. 9 Prince George at Langley
Feb. 10 Prince George at Surrey
Feb. 14 West Kelowna at Prince George
Feb. 17 Prince George at Chilliwack
Feb. 18 Prince George at Surrey
Feb. 22 Chilliwack at Prince George
Feb. 23 Chilliwack at Prince George
BCMML: (CARIBOO COUGARS)
The Cariboo Cougars host the (20-9-1-2) Okanagan Rockets Saturday at 4:00 p.m. and Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at Kin 1.
The 19-6-5 Major Midget Cougars are tied with Okanagan for third place in the 11-team league, three points behind both the (22-6-1-1) Fraser Valley Thunderbirds and the (20-6-4-2) Vancouver NE Chiefs.
BCMML: (CARIBOO COUGARS MINOR MIDGET)
The Cariboo Minor Midget Cougars are home this weekend against the (11-14-1-1) Valley West Minor Midget Giants Friday night at 7, Saturday night at 7:30 and Sunday morning at 7:30 at Kin 1.
The Cariboo 15-year-olds are 11-10-1-5 and in a three-way tie for 4th place in the 10-team league.
CANADA WEST BASKETBALL: (UNBC TIMBERWOLVES)
It’s playoff time for the UNBC Timberwolves in Canada West basketball.
The UNBC men visit the Fraser Valley Cascades (6th place) tonight with the loser out and the winner to advance to the quarter-finals.
Fraser Valley won both regular season meetings, 81-62 and 85-79 in November.
The @UNBCBasketball team will play a single-elimination playoff game against the @UFVCascades on Thursday night in Abbotsford! Check out what coach Todd Jordan had to say, and read a full preview here: https://t.co/VjDYirMBM1 pic.twitter.com/Ii9Pw0AjhY
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) February 6, 2019
The UNBC women play at the Trinity Western Spartans (8th place) Friday night with winner to move on to the quarters.
The Lady Timberwolves won the two regular season games against the Spartans in November 78-77 and 83-54.
UNBC finished the regular season 11-9 in the women’s standings (9th place out of 17 teams) and 9-11 in the men’s division (11th place).
WBB Preview: @UNBCWomensBball visits the @TWUSpartans on Friday, in a single-game elimination @CanadaWest playoff matchup! Hear from @shakirova6alina about the game, and read a full preview here: https://t.co/i474U1KI03 pic.twitter.com/Zttk9kI6Xd
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) February 6, 2019
#
UNBC’s Vasiliki Louka is the Canada West women’s first star of the week after posting a pair of double-doubles against the Lethbridge Pronghorns.
The 5th year forward from Athens, Greece hooped a combined 36 points and 31 rebounds in the two games, a 77-71 loss and a 79-76 victory.
Louka finished the regular season with 253 rebounds, good for top spot in Canada West and all of U SPORTS.
NBA:
The NBA trade deadline is noon today (P.T.).
The Toronto Raptors tip off tonight in Atlanta against the (18-35) Hawks
The 39-16 Raptors are second in the Eastern Conference, two games behind the (40-13) Milwaukee Bucks.
CURLING:
Prince George has been selected to host the 2020 World Women’s Curling Championship.
The prestigious competition will be held next year at CN Centre from March 14th to 22nd.
It will be the first time the City of Prince George has hosted a World Curling Federation event.
A world-class curling event is coming to #PrinceGeorge in #2020 @CurlingCanada | https://t.co/BS0uhUFS54 #CityofPG pic.twitter.com/tKcYzRatcS
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) February 6, 2019
PG ICEMAN:
The 32nd Prince George Iceman will be held on Sunday.
Individuals and teams compete in running, skiing, skating and swimming.
More info by contacting [email protected] or call Jim Van Bakel @ 778 349 4233.