LOCAL SPORTS
The Love Me Fish & Lobster U15 Provincial Championships continue at the Antigonish Arena. In action yesterday, the host Novas had two losses, while the Wearwell Bombers had a win and a loss. The round robin wraps up this morning, as the Bedford Bandits play the Truro Bearcats at 8, followed by the Novas & the Gulls at 10, and the Bombers vs the Cougars at Noon. The semi-finals begin at 5, with the medal games on Sunday.
The South Shore Lumberjacks took a 2-1 lead in the Veterans Cup final series, defeating the Antigonish Junior B Bulldogs 2-1 last night in Lunenburg. Game 4 in Lunenberg begins at 3 pm.
At the Atlantic U18 Female Hockey Championships in Corner Brook, the Northern Subway Selects had their first defeat, a 1-0 shutout at the hands of the PEI Eastern Stars. The Selects take their 2-1 record into this morning’s match against the Western Flames from New Brunswick. Puck drops at 9:00 am.
NATIONAL SPORTS
Three more N-H-L teams are booking their playoff tickets. Edmonton secured a berth with a 6-2 win over Colorado. Evander Kane and Connor McDavid had two goals apiece for the Oilers. The idle Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning also clinched spots once early results were complete. Buffalo defeated Philadelphia 4-2, Carolina beat Washington 4-2 and the New York Rangers edged Detroit 4-3.
A shutout win for Canada at the women’s world hockey championship in Utica, New York. Natalie Spooner had two assists in a 3-0 victory over Switzerland. The host Americans beat Czechia 6-0 and Sweden dumped China 8-1. Canada has a day off before resuming action on Sunday against Czechia.
A tough break for Canada’s Aaliyah Edwards in the Women’s Final Four game between Iowa and Connecticut. She was called for an offensive foul while setting a screen in the dying seconds. Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes held on for a 71-69 win over Edwards – who’s from Kingston, Ontario – and the Huskies. South Carolina beat North Carolina State 78-59 in the other semifinal.
The Toronto Raptors’ 15-game losing streak is finally over. Gary Trent Junior scored 31 points as Toronto upset Milwaukee 117-111. R-J Barrett added 26 points for the Raptors. The Bucks have lost five of their last six games. Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo sat out with a hamstring injury.
Canada’s Brad Gushue will play either Italy or Germany in semifinal play at the world men’s curling championship. Gushue skipped the qualification round by earning a top-two seed. Scotland and the United States will play in the other qualification game with the winner meeting Sweden’s Niklas Edin.
The Toronto Blue Jays are back to the 500 mark after a 3-0 victory in New York. Ernie Clement homered for Toronto. The Blue Jays tacked on some late insurance runs by scoring on a pair of wild pitches. The Blue Jays have split their first eight games. Toronto is starting the year on a 10-game road trip while the finishing touches are put on the renovations at Rogers Centre.
Saturday’s Scores
NHL
Edmonton 6 Colorado 2
Buffalo 4 Philadelphia 2
Carolina 4 Washington 2
N.Y. Rangers 4 Detroit 3
Seattle 3 Anaheim 1
Arizona 7 Vegas 4
Women’s World Hockey Championship at Utica, N.Y.
Canada 3 Switzerland 0
Sweden 8 China 1
United States 6 Czechia 0
NBA
Toronto 117 Milwaukee 111
Indiana 126 Oklahoma City 112
Charlotte 124 Orlando 115
Portland 108 Washington 102
Boston 101 Sacramento 100
Memphis 108 Detroit 90
San Antonio 111 New Orleans 109
Miami 119 Houston 104
Chicago 108 New York 100
Dallas 108 Golden State 106
Phoenix 97 Minnesota 87
L.A. Clippers 131 Utah 102
NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Final Four at Cleveland
South Carolina 78 NC State 59
Iowa 71 UConn 69
MLB
American League
Toronto 3 N.Y. Yankees 0
Detroit 5 Oakland 4
Kansas City 2 Chicago White Sox 1
Texas 10 Houston 2
Milwaukee 6 Seattle 5
Boston 8 L.A. Angels 6
National League
Chicago Cubs 9 L.A. Dodgers 7
San Francisco 3 San Diego 2
Philadelphia 4 Washington 0
N.Y. Mets 3 Cincinnati 2
Atlanta 6 Arizona 5 10 innings
Interleague
Baltimore 5 Pittsburgh 2
Colorado 10 Tampa Bay 7
Saturday’s Schedule (All times Eastern)
NHL
Tampa Bay at Pittsburgh 1 p.m.
Florida at Boston 3:30 p.m.
Winnipeg at Minnesota 4 p.m.
Dallas at Chicago 4:30 p.m.
St. Louis at San Jose 6 p.m.
Toronto at Montreal 7 p.m.
New Jersey at Ottawa 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at Columbus 7 p.m.
Nashville at N.Y. Islanders 7:30 p.m.
Edmonton at Calgary 10 p.m.
Vancouver at Los Angeles 10 p.m.
Women’s World Hockey Championship at Utica N.Y.
Japan vs. Germany 3 p.m.
United States vs. Finland 7 p.m.
NBA
Cleveland at L.A. Lakers 3:30 p.m.
Detroit at Brooklyn 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at Memphis 8 p.m.
Atlanta at Denver 9 p.m.
NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Final Four at Phoenix
No. 11 NC State vs. No. 1 Purdue 6:09 p.m.
No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 1 UConn 8:49 p.m.
MLB
American League
Oakland (Blackburn 0-0) at Detroit (Maeda 0-0) 1:10 p.m.
Cleveland (Carrasco 0-0) at Minnesota (Ryan 0-0) 2:10 p.m.
Toronto (Gausman 0-0) at N.Y. Yankees (Schmidt 0-0) 7:05 p.m.
Houston (France 0-0) at Texas (Gray 0-0) 7:05 p.m.
Chicago White Sox (Flexen 0-1) at Kansas City (Wacha 0-0) 7:10 p.m.
Boston (Whitlock 1-0) at L.A. Angels (Detmers 1-0) 9:38 p.m.
National League
Miami (Rogers 0-0) at St. Louis (Matz 0-0) 2:15 p.m.
L.A. Dodgers (Yamamoto 0-1) at Chicago Cubs (Wicks 0-0) 4:05 p.m.
Philadelphia (Suárez 0-0) at Washington (Irvin 0-0) 4:05 p.m.
N.Y. Mets (Severino 0-1) at Cincinnati (Martinez 0-0) 4:10 p.m.
Arizona (Pfaadt 1-0) at Atlanta (Fried 0-0) 7:20 p.m.
San Diego (King 1-0) at San Francisco (Winn 0-1) 9:05 p.m.
Interleague
Baltimore (Wells 0-1) at Pittsburgh (Falter 0-0) 4:05 p.m.
Seattle (Miller 0-1) at Milwaukee (Hall 0-0) 7:10 p.m.
Tampa Bay (Alexander 0-0) at Colorado (Feltner 0-1) 8:10 p.m.
MLS
Toronto FC at Vancouver 7:30 p.m.
New York at Cincinnati 7:30 p.m.
D.C. United at Columbus 7:30 p.m.
Colorado at Miami 7:30 p.m.
Atlanta at New York City FC 7:30 p.m.
Charlotte FC at New England 7:30 p.m.
LA Galaxy at Los Angeles FC 7:45 p.m.
San Jose at Austin FC 8:30 p.m.
Houston at Chicago 8:30 p.m.
Real Salt Lake at Minnesota 8:30 p.m.
Philadelphia at Nashville 8:30 p.m.
FC Dallas at St Louis City 8:30 p.m.
CF Montréal at Seattle 10:30 p.m.