LOCAL SPORTS
AUS: In Basketball, the visiting X-Women upset the UNB REDS 76-72. Ekaterina Karchevskaya scored 28 points to lead the X-Women. The X-Women are now 7-10 and are in sixth place. It was an even closer win for the X-Men as a couple of last second free throws, one of which found the net, got them the win 67-66 over the REDS. Dondre Reddick was top scorer for the X-Men with 21 points. The four teams meet again this afternoon in Fredericton: the Women tip off at 2, followed by the Men at 4.
X-Men goalie Joseph Raaymakers stopped 31 shots, leading the team to a 4-2 win over the Saint Mary’s Huskies in Halifax. The team is currently third in the AUS standings, and will finish the regular season tonight on home ice against Acadia beginning at 7. On the women’s side, the Huskies earned a hard fought 5-4 comeback win over the X-Women at the Keating Centre. Prior to the opening face-off, the X-Women coaches honoured graduating seniors Olivia Sutton, McKiya Mazur, Maggie Johnston, Chloe Oleksiuk and Maggy Burbidge. The X-Women will finish their regular season on Tuesday when they visit the UNB Reds.
The X-Women have their work cut out for them at the AUS Playdowns at the Montague Curling Club on PEI. The X-Women are currently 0-4, with two games left to play: against UNB at 9 am and Saint Mary’s at 2 pm. The X-Men have a record of 1-3: they’ll advance to the playoffs if UPEI loses both their matches today.
NS Junior: The Strait Pirates doubled the Eskasoni Eagles at home 4-2.
U15: The Novas play host to the Truro Bearcats at the Antigonish Arena at 5 today, then the Wearwell Bombers take on the Rangers in East Hants at 5:30.
U16 AAA: The Cabot Highlanders are in Moncton to face off with the Thunderbirds. Game time is 7:15 tonight.
U18: At the Pictou County Wellness Centre, it’s the Weeks Majors vs the CB West Islanders. Puck drops at 6.
High School: It’s the first game in the Best of 3 playoff series between the Northumberland Nighthawks and the Hants East Tigers. Game time in Westville is 6:30 pm.
Maritime Major Female League: The Northern Subway Selects are playing a pair of make-up games against the Greenfoot Capitals that were stormed out last weekend, beginning in Bedford this afternoon at 3.
Rural League: It’s Game 3 in the semi-finals tonight at the Antigonish Arena. At 7 it’s Pleasantdale vs St. Croix – Pleasantdale leads the best of seven series 2-0. At 8:30, Heatherton looks to take a 3-0 lead in their series against the Outlaws.
NATIONAL SPORTS
Evander Kane had his second hat trick this season and the eighth of his career as the Edmonton Oilers got back to their winning ways, rallying for a 5-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. Kane had a pair of second-period goals and finished off the hat trick with an empty-netter in the dying minutes of the third. Connor McDavid had three assists to extend his point streak to five games.
The New York Rangers won their fourth straight game with a 4-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Mika Zibanejad scored in overtime to secure the win. Nick Foligno, Jason Dickinson and Alex Vlasic scored for Chicago in its sixth consecutive loss.
The Rivalry Series between the U-S and Canadian women’s hockey teams is going down to a deciding game this weekend. Goals from Natalie Spooner, Emily Clark and Sarah Nurse in the third period on Friday gave Canada the win to even the series. The U-S won the first three games of the series before Canada responded.
The Pittsburgh Penguins honoured former netminder Marc-Andre Fleury for his career milestones and N-H-L history he’s achieved. He’s played over a thousand games and is second place on the N-H-L goaltender list for wins. He began his career with Pittsburgh and spent 13 seasons with the Penguins and now plays with the Minnesota Wild.
Fred VanVleet made his return to Toronto as his Houston Rockets fell 107-104 to the Raptors. VanVleet started his career with the Raptors and won the N-B-A championship with the team in 2019. He agreed to a lucrative three-year $128 million deal (US) with the Rockets in July but wasn’t able to play on Friday due to an injury.
Jayson Tatum scored 35 points and sparked a third-quarter rally to help the NBA-leading Boston Celtics get their 40th win of the season, 133-129 over the Washington Wizards on Friday night. The Celtics reached 40 victories the fastest in a season since the 2008-09 squad did it in 49 games. The Wizards led by as many as eight in the third quarter and closed within four points in the final minute, but Boston was able to close it out.
Dozens of Indigenous activists are travelling to Las Vegas to gather outside the Super Bowl this Sunday and demand the Kansas City Chiefs change their name and ditch their logo and game-time rituals. Rhonda LeValdo, founder of a group called “Not In Our Honor” is leading the charge and calling for the changes. The Chiefs have been the focus of the Acoma Pueblo journalist and the decades-long activism against the use of Native American imagery and references in sports. She says the pain fueling her activism is rooted in her ancestors’ oppression and the lingering effects on her community.
Friday’s Scoreboard
NHL
Edmonton 5 Anaheim 3
Minnesota 3 Pittsburgh 2
N.Y. Rangers 4 Chicago 3
NBA
Toronto 107 Houston 104
Atlanta 127 Philadelphia 121
Boston 133 Washington 129
Milwaukee 120 Charlotte 84
Denver 135 Sacramento 106
L.A. Lakers 139 New Orleans 122
Saturday’s Games
NHL
Calgary at N.Y. Islanders, 1 p.m.
Dallas at Montreal, 1 p.m.
Vancouver at Detroit, 1 p.m.
St. Louis at Buffalo, 1 p.m.
Washington at Boston, 3:30 p.m.
Colorado at Florida, 6 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Winnipeg, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Ottawa, 7 p.m.
New Jersey at Carolina, 7 p.m.
Seattle at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Columbus, 7 p.m.
Arizona at Nashville, 8 p.m.
Edmonton at Los Angeles, 10 p.m.
NBA
Oklahoma City at Dallas, 3 p.m.
Detroit at L.A. Clippers, 3:30 p.m.
San Antonio at Brooklyn, 6 p.m.
Chicago at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Memphis at Charlotte, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at Washington, 7 p.m.
Cleveland at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
Houston at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
Indiana at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Phoenix at Golden State, 8:30 p.m.
New Orleans at Portland, 10 p.m.