LOCAL SPORTS
Junior B: At the Arena, the Bulldogs trounced the Junior Miners 10-1, while in Port Hawkesbury, the Strait Pirates outscored Eskasoni 3-1. Tonight, the Pictou County Scotians travel to Membertou to play the Junior Miners beginning at 7:30.
Maritime League: Rhyah Stewart turned aside 19 of 23 shots for the West Kent Steamers, but it wasn’t enough as they fell 4-3 to Grand Falls. Tonight, the Pictou County Weeks Crushers face the Western Capitals in Summerside: puck drops at 7.
High School Boys: In Trenton on Friday night, the North Nova Gryphons shutout Tatamagouche 8-0. Tonight, the Royals are in Tatamagouche to tangle with the Mustangs at 6, then at 6:30 it’s North Nova against Northumberland in Westville.
The Northern Subway Selects are in Brampton, Ontario for the 2 Nations Cup. On Friday, the Selects went two for two, defeating Kentville 5-3, then shutting out Sault Ste. Marie 5-0. This morning, the ladies face the Clarington Flames beginning at 9:15 am.
The Antigonish Bulldogs Sledge Hockey team takes on Glace Bay at the Arena at 12:30 today. Admission is free.
U15: Local teams are on the road today. The Wearwell Bombers face the Bandits at 5, followed by the Novas versus the Wolverines at 5:30.
U18 Major: The Weeks Majors are in Amherst hosting the Kensington Wild at 4:15, then in Port Hood it’s the CB West Islanders versus the Wildcats at 7:15.
Rural League: Tonight at the Arena, the Heatherton Warriors play the Pleasantdale Panthers at 7, then it’s County Outlaws versus the St. Croix Angels at 8:30.
NATIONAL SPORTS
The Vancouver Canucks spotted the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets a 2-0 first-period lead, then stormed back to post a 5-2 win. Pius Suter scored twice for the Canucks, while Jake DeBrusk, Kiefer Sherwood and Brock Boeser added singles. Mathieu Olivier and Damon Severson scored for the Blue Jackets. Quinn Hughes added two assists for the Canucks. The Blue Jackets have lost three in a row.
Artemi Panarin scored twice and added an assist as the New York Rangers defeated the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2. Reilly Smith and Vincent Trocheck also scored for the Rangers. Trocheck also chipped in with two assists. Blake Lizotte and Philip Tomasino scored for the Penguins.
Connor McMichael’s goal at 9:51 of the third period snapped a 1-1 tie and lifted the visiting Washington Capitals to a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Nic Dowd and Aliaksei Protas, with an empty-netter, also scored for the Caps for won their eighth straight road game. John Tavares scored for the Maple Leafs, who had their three-game win streak halted.
Trae Young hit a 3-pointer with 7.4 seconds left in overtime and the Atlanta Hawks held on for their sixth straight victory, beating slumping Los Angeles 134-132. Young scored 31 points to offset a huge night by the Lakers’ Big Two. LeBron James scored 39 points and Anthony Davis had 38, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Los Angeles from taking its third straight loss and seventh defeat in nine games.
Jayson Tatum had 34 points and 10 rebounds, and the Boston Celtics held on to beat the visiting Bucks 111-105 in Khris Middleton’s season debut for Milwaukee. Jaylen Brown added 25 points as the Celtics made 17 3-pointers to earn their 10th victory in 11 games. Damian Lillard finished with 31 points for Milwaukee, which has lost two straight since winning a season-best seven in a row.
A person familiar with negotiations tells The Associated Press that right-hander Shane Bieber is returning to the Cleveland Guardians after making just two starts and undergoing Tommy John surgery last season. Bieber, the A-L Cy Young Award winner in 2020, had been expected to leave the A-L Central champions, but will be back after agreeing to a one-year, 14-million-dollar (US) contract that includes a 16-million-dollar option for 2026.
Friday’s Games
NHL
Washington 3 Toronto 1
Vancouver 5 Columbus 2
New Jersey 3 Seattle 2
N.Y. Rangers 4 Pittsburgh 2
Vegas 3 Dallas 2
Minnesota 5 Anaheim 1
PWHL
Montreal Victoire 2 Ottawa Charge 1
NBA
Philadelphia 102 Orlando 94
Atlanta 134 L.A. Lakers 132 (OT)
Boston 111 Milwaukee 105
Indiana 132 Chicago 123
Sacramento 140 San Antonio 113
Minnesota 107 Golden State 90
Utah 141 Portland 99
Saturday’s Games (All times Eastern)
NHL
Philadelphia at Boston, 1 p.m.
Utah at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Winnipeg at Chicago, 4 p.m.
Carolina at N.Y. Islanders, 5 p.m.
San Jose at Florida, 6 p.m.
Colorado at Detroit, 7 p.m.
Nashville at Ottawa, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Washington at Montreal, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Los Angeles, 8 p.m.
St. Louis at Edmonton, 10 p.m.
PWHL
Minnesota Frost at Toronto Sceptres, 2 p.m.
NBA
Cleveland at Charlotte, 1 p.m.
Denver at Washington, 7 p.m.
Oklahoma City at New Orleans, 7 p.m.
Dallas at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
Detroit at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Memphis at Boston, 8 p.m.
Phoenix at Miami, 8 p.m.