(As of 12:01AM) WEEKEND WRAP
PRINCE GEORGE SPRUCE KINGS: (BCHL)
Victoria Grizzlies 3 Prince George Spruce Kings 0 (Sunday)
Kurtis Chapman made 37 saves for the shutout as P.G. outshot Victoria 37-29.
The Spruce Kings picked up just one out of a possible six points on their weekend road trip.
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 host (11-25-4-1) Cowichan on Friday.
Cowichan Valley Capitals 5 Prince George Spruce Kings 2 (Saturday)
Ben Poisson scored both goals for the Spruce Kings.
Merritt Centennials 3 Prince George Spruce Kings 2 (Shootout Friday)
COMMITTED: Max Coyle has committed to the University of Alabama-Huntsville for next season! @UAHChargers @max_maxcoyle
FULL RELEASE: https://t.co/hyPXolJy5a pic.twitter.com/Phur3eYybF— Spruce Kings (@SpruceKings) January 4, 2019
PRINCE GEORGE COUGARS:
Prince George Cougars 2 Kelowna Rockets 1 (Shootout Friday)
Highlights from tonight’s 2-1 win. | #NorthernUprising #WHL
— PG Cougars (@PGCougars) January 5, 2019
Prince George won the shootout 2-1 with Tyson Upper notching the shootout winner.
Winning goaltender Taylor Gauthier made 26 saves with five of them in overtime.
? WHL Highlight of the Night ?
January 4, 20192019 #NHLDraft prospect @tgoats_35 of the @PGCougars#WHLHoN pic.twitter.com/AJeTzLGvQo
— The WHL (@TheWHL) January 5, 2019
The Cougars visit the (20-14-1-1) Tri-City Americans Tuesday and the (22-13-2-2) Spokane Chiefs Wednesday to complete a stretch of 11 consecutive games on the road.
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 lost 5-1 Sunday night in Everett.
Prince George is also one point ahead of the last place (12-20-4) Seattle Thunderbirds in the Western Conference.
The Thunderbirds beat Regina 6-3 on Sunday.
The Cougars host the (17-18-3-1) Kelowna Rockets Friday and Saturday to begin a six-game homestand.
NHL: (Canadian teams went 2-1 on Sunday)
Edmonton 4 Anaheim 0
Winnipeg 5 Dallas 1
Carolina 5 Ottawa 4
The 20-21-4 Vancouver Canucks finished 3-3 on a six-game road trip after Saturday’s 5-0 loss in Toronto.
Elias Pettersson did not play because of an injured right knee (slight sprain in his MCL).
In 38 games, the 20-year-old rookie has 42 points, including 22 goals.
The Canucks will entertain Arizona Thursday to start a six-game homestand that will conclude their January schedule.
There are five Monday games in the NHL with three of them involving Canadian teams: Nashville at Toronto, Minnesota at Montreal and Calgary at Chicago.
The other two match-ups have St. Louis at Philadelphia and LA at San Jose.
WORLD JUNIOR HOCKEY CHAMPIONSHIP:
(Gold medal game Saturday in Vancouver)
Finland 3 USA 2
The victory gives Finland gold in three of the last six years (2014, 2016, 2019).
(Bronze medal game)
Russia 5 Switzerland 2
Canada finished sixth after a 2-1 loss to Finland in overtime in the quarterfinals.
UNBC TIMBERWOLVES:
(Canada West women’s basketball)
UNBC Timberwolves 79 TRU Wolfpack (Kamloops) 49 (Saturday)
VICTORY! @UNBCWomensBball improves to 8-4 with a 79-47 win over the @GoTRUWolfPack! @shakirova6alina improves on last night’s career high with 19 points, @VLouka13 has 19 & 10, @landry_madi goes for 15 & 5, and Maria Mongomo has 13 & 10! pic.twitter.com/gLnjyF80Ko
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) January 6, 2019
A career-high 7 assists earns @EmilyHolmes15 the @MrMikesPG Player of the Game, as she helped the @UNBCWomensBball team to a 79-49 win over @GoTRUWolfPack! @UNBC now sits 8-4 on the season! pic.twitter.com/PI9B4eDf7U
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) January 6, 2019
UNBC Timberwolves 78 TRU Wolfpack (Kamloops) 55 (Friday)
A career high 18 points for @shakirova6alina in a 78-55 @UNBCWomensBball win over @GoTRUWolfPack earns Baby Shak the @MrMikesPG Player of the Game! pic.twitter.com/d0W5kyS8YA
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) January 5, 2019
(Canada West men’s basketball)
TRU Wolfpack (Kamloops) 82 UNBC Timberwolves 78 (OT Saturday)
A 20 point, 13 rebound, 6 assist, 3 steal performance makes JV Leamy our @MrMikesPG Player of the Game in a tough 82-78 @UNBCBasketball overtime loss to @GoTRUWolfPack. An incredible crowd at the @NorthernSport! TWolves now 7-5 on the season. pic.twitter.com/YeM9RAdEjp
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) January 6, 2019
UNBC Timberwolves 90 TRU Wolfpack (Kamloops) 81 (Friday)
.@VovaPluzhnikov had 25 points, 6 rebounds & 5 assists, and JV Leamy had 24 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals, earning them @MrMikesPG Players of the Game in @UNBCBasketball‘s 90-81 win over @GoTRUWolfPack! pic.twitter.com/3WUNjPLaU6
— UNBC Athletics (@UNBCATHLETICS) January 5, 2019
Both UNBC basketball teams are in 7th place out of 17 teams, although the UNBC women are 8-4 while the men have a 7-5 record with eight regular season games left.
The Timberwolves host the Manitoba Bisons Friday and Saturday.
Manitoba is 5-7 (women) and 3-9 (men).
PETTIS:
PG 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.
NFL: (Wildcard weekend) Visitors won three of the four games
Philadelphia 16 Chicago 15 (Sunday)
LA Chargers 23 Baltimore 17 (Sunday)
Dallas 24 Seattle 22 (Saturday)
Indianapolis 21 Houston 7 (Saturday)
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.
Every touchdown from Wild Card Weekend! ? #NFLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/NExtkX6Ffz
— NFL (@NFL) January 7, 2019
NCAA FOOTBALL:
The U.S. College Football Playoff National Championship game will be played tonight in Santa Clara, California between No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide and No. 2 Clemson Tigers. Both teams are 14-0.
The Crimson Tide are playing in their fourth straight title game and seventh over the past 10 seasons.
Alabama is 5-1 in its past six appearances — the lone loss coming to Clemson.
Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban is looking for his record-setting seventh national title.
NBA:
Toronto 121 Indiana 105
The 30-12 Raptors lead the Eastern Conference by a game over the (27-11) Milwaukee Bucks.
The Raptors host (12-27) Atlanta Tuesday and Brooklyn Friday before playing at Washington on Sunday.