LOCAL SPORTS
AUS: In Wolfville, the X-Men defeated Acadia 91-79 at Stu Aberdeen Court. DJ Jackson led the way with 20 points, while Jeff Ngandu had a double-double, tallying 16 points and 13 rebounds alongside three blocks. The X-Women were also victorious, defeating Acadia 68-56. Shannon Neita had 15 rebounds for St. FX, including eight on the offensive glass. Lauren Neeve led the scoring for the X-Women with 17 points. Teams resume play in the new year.
Junior B: The Bulldogs dominated in Membertou, outscoring the Junior Miners 9-1. Tonight in Trenton, the Scotians host the Strait Pirates at 6.
Maritime League: The Pictou County Weeks Crushers fell in overtime 4-3 against Edmundston. The Crushers’ road trip continues with a stop in Grand Falls against the Rapids this afternoon at 3.
U15: The Wearwell Bombers got the win 5-2 over the Whalers at the Wellness Centre, while the Novas fell 2-1 to the Cole Harbour Rage at the Arena. Today, the Bombers host the Gulls at 11 am at the Wellness Centre, while the Novas are in Truro at 1 pm versus the Bearcats.
U16 AAA: The Cabot Highlanders lost 2-1 to the Armada. The teams meet again at the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre at 12:30.
U18 Major: The Weeks Majors were edged out 3-2 by Steele Subaru, and the CB West Islanders were defeated 1-0 by the Hunters. The Islanders & Hunters meet again in Cole Harbour at 11:15 this morning.
High School Boys: In Westville, the Northumberland Nighthawks trounced Dalbrae Academy 8-1. Today, Dalbrae hosts Tatamagouche in Port Hood at 4.
Maritime Major Female League: It’s a tight race in the standings as the Northern Subway Selects lost 5-4 to the Greenfoot Capitals. The Capitals are now within a point of the second-place Selects, who are two points behind the Stars. The Selects take on the Lindsay Surge at Noon today at the Hector Arena in Pictou.
Rural League: St Croix 4 Pleasantdale 1 Outlaws 5 Heatherton 3
NATIONAL SPORTS
Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews contributed a pair of assists to Toronto’s 5-3 win over the host Tampa Bay Lightning in his first game back in the lineup. Matthews sat out nine games with an undisclosed upper-body injury. Mitch Marner’s two assists made him the fourth Maple Leaf to record 30 points in each of his first nine seasons alongside Dave Keon, Mats Sundin and Borje Salming.
The Edmonton Oilers win their second road game in as many days with a 4-1 decision over the host Colorado Avalanche. Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner made 27 saves. Edmonton’s victory follows an overtime win over the Utah Hockey Club. Elsewhere in the N-H-L, the Ottawa Senators fell 5-2 to the Los Angeles Kings, the Calgary Flames were doused 6-2 by the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Montreal Canadiens fell lost 4-3 to the New York Rangers.
The Professional Women’s Hockey League launched its second season with the Montreal Victoire and Toronto Sceptres victorious in their openers. Marie-Philip Poulin scored the shootout winner for Montreal in a 4-3 win over the Ottawa Charge. The Sceptres defeated the Boston Fleet 3-1 minus last season’s league M-V-P Natalie Spooner. She’s still recovering from a knee injury in last season’s playoffs.
Former N-F-L quarterback Andrew Luck returns to Stanford in hopes of turning around a struggling college football program that he once helped become a national power. Luck’s been named the general manager of a team that just finished its fourth straight three and nine season. Luck played seven seasons for the Indianapolis Colts and retired in 2019 at age 29.
A fight broke out at midfield in a U-S college football game after Michigan stunned Ohio State 13-10. Wolverines players attempted to plant their flag on the O-S-U logo and were confronted by the Buckeyes. Police used pepper spray to break up the players. Michigan won the game on a 21-yard field goal with 45 seconds left, which ended the Buckeyes’ hopes of returning to the Big Ten title game.
Saturday’s Scoreboard
NHL
N.Y. Rangers 4 Montreal 3
Pittsburgh 6 Calgary 2
Los Angeles 5 Ottawa 2
Toronto 5 Tampa Bay 3
Edmonton 4 Colorado 1
Florida 6 Carolina 0
Philadelphia 3 St. Louis 2 (OT)
Washington 6 New Jersey 5
N.Y. Islanders 3 Buffalo 0
Minnesota 3 Nashville 2 (OT)
San Jose 4 Seattle 2
Utah 6 Vegas 0
PWHL
Toronto 3 Boston 1
Montreal 4 Ottawa 3 (SO)
NBA
Atlanta 107 Charlotte 104
Philadelphia 111 Detroit 96
Milwaukee 124 Washington 114
Phoenix 113 Golden State 105
Dallas 106 Utah 94
Sunday’s Games (All Times Eastern)
NHL
Vancouver at Detroit, 12:30 p.m.
Columbus at Chicago, 3 p.m.
Montreal at Boston, 3 p.m.
Winnipeg at Dallas, 4:30 p.m.
Ottawa at Anaheim, 8 p.m.
PWHL
New York at Minnesota, 6 p.m.
NBA
Indiana at Memphis, 3:30 p.m.
Orlando at Brooklyn, 3:30 p.m.
Boston at Cleveland, 6 p.m.
Miami at Toronto, 6 p.m.
New Orleans at New York, 6 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Houston, 7 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Utah, 8 p.m.
Dallas at Portland, 9 p.m.
San Antonio at Sacramento, 9 p.m.
Denver at L.A. Clippers, 10 p.m.
NFL
Arizona at Minnesota, 1 p.m.
Houston at Jacksonville, 1 p.m.
Indianapolis at New England, 1 p.m.
L.A. Chargers at Atlanta, 1 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati, 1 p.m.
Seattle at N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m.
Tennessee at Washington, 1 p.m.
L.A. Rams at New Orleans, 4:05 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Carolina, 4:05 p.m.
Philadelphia at Baltimore, 4:25 p.m.
San Francisco at Buffalo, 8:20 p.m.