(As of 12:01 AM)
WHL:
Prince George Cougars 5 Portland Winterhawks 2 (Saturday)
The Cougars ended a club-record 13-game home losing streak (that stretched eight weeks) before a season-high crowd of 3,806 at CN Centre on Mega-Jackpot night.
(The 50-50 reached nearly 40-grand)
Prince George exploded with four goals in the third period, two of them by Josh Maser, who hit the 30-goal plateau with an empty netter.
Connor Bowie tallied the winner against his former team with 7:35 left in the third.
.@CBowie09 scores against his old team @WHLWinterhawks in a 5-2 win for @PGCougars in @TheWHL on Saturday #CityofPG #sports #TheWHL pic.twitter.com/I3WkKmNY0F
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) March 10, 2019
Taylor Gauthier made 37 saves as P.G. outshot Portland 49-39 in a game that was tied 0-0 after one and 1-1 after two.
.@PGCougars snap 13 game home losing skid at @CNCentre, dump @WHLWinterhawks 5-2 on Saturday @mypgnow spoke with Austin Crossley postgame @TheWHL #sports #TheWHL #CityofPG pic.twitter.com/fN09LVi98u
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) March 10, 2019
The 18-40-5-3 Cougars ended a six-game losing skid with just their second victory in the last 25 games.
Prince George is 2-10-1-1 since general manager Mark Lamb took over as interim head coach.
The Cougars are 19th out of 22 teams in the WHL, five points ahead of Regina.
The standings are right here.
The Cougars will conclude with a home and home against the Blazers; Friday in Kamloops and Saturday in Prince George.
The Blazers are four points out of a playoff spot with four games left.
Portland Winterhawks 3 Prince George Cougars 2 (Friday)
The Winterhawks erased a 2-0 deficit by scoring three power play goals, two of them in the third period.
Joachim Blichfeld tallied the winner, his league high 53rd goal, with 5:09 remaining before 3,391 fans at CN Centre.
SC 1 SAS 6
REG 1 MJ 6
BDN 2 MH 4
CGY 4 LET 7
KTN 4 RD 8
KAM 2 KEL 1
POR 2 PG 5
EVT 1 SEA 2
VIC 1 SPO 6
VAN 4 TC 3 (OT)— The WHL (@TheWHL) March 10, 2019
LISTEN: @Hartley_Miller‘s Cat Scan – March 7th, 2019…. featuring longtime @PGCougars Equipment Manager Chico Dhanjal
| https://t.co/T56PIMnBgD #cityofpg #Sports pic.twitter.com/s9ihCwtmXD— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) March 8, 2019
(All of the PG Cougars Cat Scan Podcasts can be found right here)
JUSTIN ALMEIDA:
Former Prince George and Cariboo Cougar sniper Justin Almeida of Kitimat has signed a three-year deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team that selected him in the fifth-round of the 2018 NHL draft.
Almeida, who turned 20 last month, has 100 points, including a WHL-leading 70 assists in 60 games.
The Penguins have signed forward Justin Almeida to a three-year, entry-level contract.
The contract will begin when Almeida turns pro next season in 2019.20.
Details: https://t.co/yKVJ3Q40Eq pic.twitter.com/Cl7jwenHdR
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 9, 2019
BCHL: (Mainland Division semi-finals)
The Langley Rivermen visit the Chilliwack Chiefs tonight (Sunday) at 7:00 in the 7th and deciding game of their BCHL first round series.
The Rivermen led at one point three games to none over the first place Chiefs.
Chilliwack beat Langley 3-2 in overtime in game six on Friday.
The winner will face the Prince George Spruce Kings in the Mainland Division final.
The Spruce Kings eliminated the Coquitlam Express in five games, after P.G. clinched the series on Thursday with a 4-2 victory before 1,220 fans at the RMCA.
The Spruce Kings have won 11 straight on home ice and 16 of their last 18 games overall.
Tickets for Round 2 will go on sale Monday.
Coquitlam-Prince George results: (Spruce Kings home games in bold)
Game 1 – Friday March 1st – Coquitlam @ Prince George – SK WON 3-1
Game 2 – Saturday March 2nd – Coquitlam @ Prince George – SK WON 3-2 (OT)
Game 3 – Monday March 4th – Prince George @ Coquitlam – SK WON 5-2
Game 4 – Tuesday March 5th – Prince George @ Coquitlam – EXPRESS WON 3-0
Game 5 – Thursday March 7th – Coquitlam @ Prince George – SK WON 4-2
The BCHL playoff brackets are right here.
Only one game tonight in the Chevrolet #BCHLPlayoffs but it was a big one. The @PentictonVees stay alive with a huge win to force a Game 6 on Monday night. Check out our recap of tonight’s game.https://t.co/pesH5JQH8y pic.twitter.com/hpr1VVtrHr
— BC Hockey League (@GoBCHL) March 10, 2019
BC MAJOR MIDGET LEAGUE: (in North Vancouver)
UPDATE AT 2:00
Cariboo Cougars 5 Vancouver North West Hawks 2 (Sunday)
Cariboo Cougars 4 Vancouver North West Hawks 0 (Saturday)
The 27-8-5 Cougars finished in second place in the 11-team league, just one point back of the (29-9-1-1) Fraser Valley Thunderbirds.
The Major Midget Cougars, riding a six-game win streak, host the 7th place (18-16-4-2) Greater Vancouver Canadians in the best of three quarter-finals.
The league schedule and standings are right here.
BC MINOR MIDGET LEAGUE: (in Abbotsford)
UPDATE AT 3:00
Fraser Valley Thunderbirds 4 Cariboo Cougars Minor Midget Cougars 1 (Sunday)
The Thunderbirds won the best of three semi-final series 2-1.
Fraser Valley Thunderbirds 3 Cariboo Cougars Minor Midget Cougars 2 (dbl ot Sat)
Cariboo Minor Midget Cougars 5 Fraser Valley Thunderbirds 4 (OT Fri)
NHL:
Vegas Golden Knights 6 Vancouver Canucks 2
COL 3 – BUF 0
SJS 3 – STL 2 OT
BOS 3 – OTT 2
TBL 3 – DET 2
PHI 5 – NYI 2
NYR 4 – NJD 2
CBJ 4 – PIT 1
TOR 3 – EDM 2
CAR 5 – NSH 3
CHI 2 – DAL 1
ARI 4 – LAK 2
VGK 6 – VAN 2Via @Discover: https://t.co/aA8dnIoQtR pic.twitter.com/vo06JA9t8x
— NHL (@NHL) March 10, 2019
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PROVINCIALS:
The Duchess Park Condors won the bronze medal at the B.C. 3A boys high school basketball championship in Langley.
Duchess Park, ranked 4th entering the 16-team tournament, whipped A.R. MacNeill 75-54 in the 3rd/4th place game.
The Condors lost 62-61 to North Delta in the semi-finals.
North Delta went on to win gold by edging #2 Vernon 46-44 in the final.
Soren Erricson of Duchess Park was named to the first all-star team.
Schedule and results can be found right here.
With that, the 2019 BC 3A High School Boys Basketball Tournament is wrapped up. See the full draw here and visit https://t.co/tw3OzJdKjf for the full recap. pic.twitter.com/HbBMEK7ux0
— BC 3A Boys Basketball (@BC3ABoysBBall) March 10, 2019
Final: @NDHuskies defeats Duchess Park, sinking a game-winning three with seconds left. They’ll play @VernonSecondary in tomorrow’s 3A Final pic.twitter.com/xGi5bxBtFx
— BC 3A Boys Basketball (@BC3ABoysBBall) March 9, 2019
#
The D.P. Todd Trojans finished 7th at the provincial 2A boys basketball championship in Langley.
D.P. Todd outscored Westsyde 68-59 in the 7th/8th place game on Saturday.
The Trojans, who were seeded second, had an overall 2-2 record.
Schedule and results can be found right here.
#
The Cedars Christian Eagles placed 8th (one spot below their ranking) at the B.C. 1A boys basketball championship in Langley.
Vernon Christian beat Cedars 70-53 in the 7th/8th place game.
Northside Christian of Vanderhoof ended up 9th and McBride 14th in the 16-team tournament.
Schedule and results can be found right here.
#
Nechako Valley of Vanderhoof finished 4th and Bulkley Valley Christian of Smithers 6th at the B.C. girls 1A basketball championship in Chilliwack.
Kelowna Christian beat Nechako Valley 68-45 in the bronze medal game.
Nechako Valley lost 69-44 to host Unity Christian in the semi-finals.
Bulkley Valley Christian of Smithers fell 55-51 to St. Andrew’s Regional in the game for 5th/6th in the 16 team tournament.
Schedule and results can be found right here.
CURLING:
Alberta (Kevin Koe) whipped Northern Ontario (Brad Jacobs) 9-4 in the one-two Page Playoff game at the Tim Hortons Brier in Brandon.
Wild Card (Brendan Bottcher) knocked out Canada (Brad Gushue) 7-2 in the three-four game.
One victory away from glory! @Curling_Alberta‘s @TeamKevinKoe stretches win streak to 12 with playoff victory over Northern Ontario to advance to @TimHortons #Brier2019 final! Our story: https://t.co/LV9ReyLdf3 #curling pic.twitter.com/D3MSt0JGlm
— Curling Canada (@CurlingCanada) March 10, 2019
UPDATE AT 2:00
Wild Card won the semi-final 5-4 over Northern Ontario today to advance to the gold medal game against Alberta tonight at 5:00 (PDT).
Alberta finished a perfect 11-0 in the Championship Pool.
Jim Cotter of B.C. ended up eighth at 4-7.
The Championship Pool standings are right here.
RINGETTE:
Prince George is hosting the Ringette BC provincial A and B championships at the Kin Centre.
A total of 38 teams, including six from P.G., have been competing in seven divisions.
Medal games will be played today.
Division winners in some of the age groups will advance to the Western Canadian
Championships March 27-30 in St. Albert, Alberta.
NBA:
The Toronto Raptors visit the (31-34) Miami Heat this afternoon and the (16-50) Cleveland Cavaliers Monday night.
The (47-19) Raptors are second in the NBA Eastern Conference, 3 games behind the (50-16) Milwaukee Bucks.
The standings are right here.
NFL:
The Pittsburgh Steelers have agreed to trade disgruntled wide receiver Antonio Brown to the Oakland Raiders in return for a third-and fifth-round draft pick.
Brown will receive a new three-year deal worth up to $54 million, with $30 million guaranteed.