Sports by Hartley Friday, March 31st as of 12:05 a.m.
WHL:
It’s playoff time.
The Prince Cougars are starting the post-season on home ice for the first time in six years.
The Cougars entertain the Tri-City Americans tonight (Friday) and Saturday to begin their best-of-seven first-round series.
Well over 3,000 tickets have been sold for each of those games.
The (37-24-6-1) Cougars ended the regular season fourth in the Western Conference and on an 11-game point streak (8-0-2-1).
The (34-26-5-3) Americans finished fifth and are riding a 7-game point streak (6-0-0-1).
Playoff fever spreading as @PGCougars prepare to host Americanshttps://t.co/PZmSy6YWiS | #CityOfPG #PrinceGeorge pic.twitter.com/QfMbPYybri
— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) March 30, 2023
The PG Cougars have announced their 2022-23 season award winners.
It comes as no surprise that sniper Chase Wheatcroft has been named the team’s Dan Hamhuis Most Valuable Player.
Wheatcroft finished second in WHL scoring racking up 107 points, including 47 goals.
The 20-year-old Wheatcroft also captured the Michael Fogolin Players Choice Award, the Chris Mason 3-Star Selection Award as well as the Troy Bourke Offensive Player of the Year Award.
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The playoff schedule for the Cougars can be found here.
The WHL standings can be found here.
2023 WHL PLAYOFFS – SERIES H SCHEDULE
| Game | Date | Away | Home | Time | |
| 1 | March 31, 2023 | Tri-City | Prince George | 7:00 p.m. PT | |
| 2 | April 1, 2023 | Tri-City | Prince George | 6:00 p.m. PT | |
| 3 | April 4, 2023 | Prince George | Tri-City | 7:05 p.m. PT | |
| 4 | April 5, 2023 | Prince George | Tri-City | 7:05 p.m. PT | |
| 5 | April 7, 2023 | Prince George | Tri-City | 7:05 p.m. PT | * |
| 6 | April 9, 2023 | Tri-City | Prince George | 6:00 p.m. PT | * |
| 7 | April 11, 2023 | Tri-City | Prince George | 7:00 p.m. PT | * |
* – if necessary
Catscan Podcast:
An in-depth look at the @PGCougars @TCAmericans 1st-round #WHL matchup in this week’s Cat Scan #podcast. Cougars coach & GM Mark Lamb discusses peaking at the right time, similarities between Swift Current & PG rebuild, PG offensive prowess, goalie matchup, 2-3-2 format & more. https://t.co/9wLYevuiOG
— Hartley Miller (@Hartley_Miller) March 28, 2023
Column:
Suspensions over, four Warriors ready to go . . . OHL teams shooting darts on social media . . . Pitch clock a home run for MLB https://t.co/YLDSXFWmyt
— Gregg Drinnan (@gdrinnan) March 31, 2023
BCHL:
The (27-20-6-1) Prince George Spruce Kings are in Salmon Arm to battle the (27-20-4-3) Silverbacks tonight and Saturday in the first two games of their best-of-seven first-round series.
Games 3 and 4 shift to Prince George on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Spruce Kings finished 5th in the 9-team BCHL Interior Division although they had the same amount of points as the 4th-place Silverbacks, just one behind the 3rd-place West Kelowna Warriors.
Apr. 1 Prince George – Salmon Arm – Shaw Centre 6:00 pm PDT
Apr. 4 Salmon Arm – Prince George – Kopar Memorial Arena 7:00 pm PDT
Apr. 5 Salmon Arm – Prince George – Kopar Memorial Arena 7:00 pm PDT
Apr. 7 Prince George – Salmon Arm – Shaw Centre 6:00 pm PDT (If needed)
Apr. 9 Salmon Arm – Prince George – Kopar Memorial Arena 2:00 pm PDT (If needed)
Apr. 11 Prince George – Salmon Arm – Shaw Centre 6:00 pm PDT (If needed)
NHL: (11 Thursday games with 3 Canadian teams in action)
Edmonton 2 LA 0
Connor McDavid scored the 300th career goal on a shorthanded breakaway. McDavid becomes the third-fastest active player to hit the mark, doing so in 563 games. Only Alex Ovechkin (473 games) and Steven Stamkos (550 games) scored 300 in less time.
Ottawa 5 Philadelphia 4 (OT)
Florida 5 Montreal 2
An action-packed 11-game night saw the @NHLBruins clinch the Presidents’ Trophy, the @GoldenKnights earn a playoff berth and Connor McDavid become the third-fastest active player to score 300 goals.#NHLStats: https://t.co/86n5y7jA5G pic.twitter.com/iEFwLM8sFa
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 31, 2023
The (34-34-6) Vancouver Canucks, who have just eight games remaining, start a 5-game homestand tonight at 7:00 against the (34-26-15) Calgary Flames.
The Flames are just two points behind the Winnipeg Jets for the final Western Conference wild-card playoff spot.
The Jets entertain the Detroit Red Wings this evening.
The Canucks regular season schedule/results are right here.
Major League Baseball:
(Regular season opener)
Toronto Blue Jays 10 St. Louis Cardinals 9
The same teams play again Saturday and Sunday (11:15 AM PT on both days) in St. Louis.
The Blue Jays 2023 schedule can be found right here.
NBA:
The (38-38) Toronto Raptors begin a 5-game road trip tonight (4:00 PT) against the (50-26) 76ers in Philadelphia.
The Raptors, with just six games left, are 9th in the Eastern Conference.
The Toronto Raptors schedule can be found right here.
NBA results can be found right here.
The NBA standings can be found right here.
Curling:
The World Men’s Curling Championship begins this weekend in Ottawa.
5-time Brier champion Brad Gushue and his team from St. John’s, NFLD. will represent Canada.
They will try to capture Canada’s first world men’s gold medal since Team Gushue prevailed in 2017 in Edmonton.
Canada will play Switzerland (11 AM PT) and Italy (4 PM) on Saturday and then go against
New Zealand (11 AM) and Norway (4 PM) on Sunday.
13 teams compete in the round-robin which runs through to Friday, April 7th,
The top two teams from the round-robin advance to the semifinals on April 8 (4 PM PT).
The third-place team plays number six while four meets five on April 8th (11 AM PT) to see who advances to the semis.
The semifinal winners will play for gold on April 9 at 1 PM (PT) with the semifinal losers battling for bronze on April 9 (8 AM).
Results, standings and schedule can be found here.
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
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