LOCAL SPORTS
AUS: At the AUS Basketball Championships at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, the X-Women lost their semi-final 71-61 to the first place Saint Mary’s Huskies. Both Shannon Neita (10 points, 10 rebounds) and Krissy Cooper (10 points, 11 rebounds) put in double-double efforts for the X-Women. Ekaterina Karchevskaya scored a team-high 15 points and Katie Upham netted 12. Meanwhile, the first place X-Men continued their winning ways, defeating the Memorial Sea-Hawks 86-70 in their semifinal match. Dondre Reddick received the nod as the player of the game, finishing the afternoon with 21 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Bennett Grumbach scored a team-high 26 points for X, while Gatluak James had a double-double game with 11 points and 10 rebounds. The AUS Men’s final between the X-Men and the Dalhousie Tigers will be at 4 pm this afternoon.
In Hockey, the Moncton Aigles Bleus took a commanding 2-0 lead in their best of five semi-final series with the X-Men, following a 5-2 victory on home ice last night. The series now shifts to Antigonish for Game 3 on Tuesday night. Game 4, if necessary, will be in Antigonish on Wednesday, with Game 5 planned for Moncton on March 1st.
The X-Women took home six medals at the AUS track & field championship hosted at the Universite de Moncton. The medal tally included five individual medals including three silver and two bronze, along with a silver medal for the 4x800m relay team. With 45 points, the X-Women came fourth overall in the team standings. Caroline Ash was a double medalist for X as she picked up the silver medal in the 1000m race on Friday, then followed up with another silver on Saturday in 1500m. In the 3000m, St. FX boasted two medalists as Allie Sandluck earned silver and teammate Eileen Benoit claimed bronze. Sandluck’s time also qualified her for the U SPORTS national championship being held March 7-9 at the University of Manitoba. Brynn Herbert earned the bronze medal in the 600m race. The X-Women 4x800m relay team consisting of Caden Lee, Hannah McIntyre, Brynn Hebert and Caroline Ash took silver in that event.
Also at that event, the X-Men took home three medals and finished fifth overall in the team standings. Jack O’Connell was the bronze medalist in the 3000m race. Silver medals were given to the 4x800m relay team consisting of Liam Patterson, Liam McCullagh, Jack Wierzbicki and Jack O’Connell, as well as the 4x400m relay crew of Tyler Baker, Jack O’Connell, Liam McCullagh and Jack Wierzbicki.
Maritime League: The Pictou County Weeks Crushers got the road win 6-3 over the Amherst Ramblers.
U15: The Novas are on the road this afternoon to play the Halifax Wolverines. Game time is 3 o’clock.
U18: The schedule gets back on track after yesterday’s games were cancelled because of the weather. This morning, the Weeks Majors are at the Halifax Forum to take on the Macs at 11:30, while the CB West Islanders play the Wolfpack in Cole Harbour this afternoon at 3:40.
High School: The Northumberland Nighthawks are back in Westville today, a game down against CEC in the best of 3 final series. Game two is set for 3:30.
NATIONAL SPORTS
Skip Rachel Homan and her Ottawa-based foursome are one win away from a Canadian women’s national curling championship. Homan, who has won 10 straight games in Calgary this week, defeated Manitoba veteran Jennifer Jones 6-4 in 11 ends on Saturday night. Homan plays the winner of today’s all-Manitoba semifinal between Jones and Kate Cameron in tonight’s final.
Noah Hanifin scored twice, Jonathan Huberdeau and Connor Zary each chipped in with two assists and the Calgary Flames scorched the visiting Edmonton Oilers 6-3. Nazem Kadri, Martin Pospisil, Dryden Hunt and Blake Coleman also scored for the Flames, who won their third straight. Zach Hyman scored twice and Mattias Janmark added a single for the Oilers, who dropped their third in a row.
Birthday boy Tyler Bertuzzi’s third goal of the game, a power-play marker at 17:09 of the third period, snapped a 3-3 tie and lifted the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche. Mitchell Marner scored the other goal for the Leafs, who won their seventh straight game. Artturi Lehkonen, Mikko Rantanen, and Andrew Cogliano scored for the Avalanche.
Brock Boeser’s second goal of the game, scored at 1:32 of overtime, lifted the Vancouver Canucks to a 3-2 victory over the visiting Boston Bruins in a battle of the N-H-L’s top two teams. Filip Hronek also scored and J-T-Miller had three assists for the Canucks, who snapped a four-game losing streak. Jesper Boqvist and Danton Heinen scored for the Bruins.
Jaylen Brown scored 30 points, Kristaps Porzingis had 22 and the N-B-A-leading Boston Celtics easily handled the New York Knicks 116-102 for their eighth consecutive victory. Jayson Tatum had 19 points and Derrick White added 13 for the Celtics, who have won 10 of their last 11. Jalen Brunson had 34 points for the Knicks, who were swept by Boston in their four-game season series.
C-F Montreal opened its Major League Soccer regular season on Saturday, playing to a scoreless draw with Orlando S-C at Inter-and-Company Stadium. Montreal had five shots on target compared to Orland City’s four, but the hosts dominated ball possession with 60 per cent and had nine corners compared to the visitors’ one. Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois recorded his 12th career clean sheet.
Saturday’s Scoreboard
NHL
Vancouver 3 Boston 2 (OT)
Toronto 4 Colorado 3
Ottawa 4 Vegas 3 (SO)
New Jersey 4 Montreal 3
Calgary 6 Edmonton 3
Detroit 6 St. Louis 1
Tampa Bay 4 N.Y. Islanders 2
N.Y. Rangers 2 Philadelphia 1
Florida 3 Washington 2 (OT)
Dallas 2 Carolina 1
Minnesota 5 Seattle 2
Nashville 4 San Jose 2
Los Angeles 3 Anaheim 2 (SO)
PWHL
Montreal 6 Ottawa 3
NBA
Orlando 112 Detroit 109
Boston 116 New York 102
Minnesota 101 Brooklyn 86
MLS
CF Montreal 0 Orlando City 0
Columbus 1 Atlanta 0
Los Angeles FC 2 Seattle 1
Charlotte FC 1 New York City FC 0
D.C. United 3 New England 1
Chicago 2 Philadelphia 2
Minnesota 2 Austin FC 1
FC Dallas 2 San Jose 1
Sporting Kansas City 1 Houston 1
Real Salt Lake 1 St Louis City 1
Portland 4 Colorado 1
Sunday’s Schedule (All times Eastern)
NHL
Tampa Bay at New Jersey, 1 p.m.
Philadelphia at Pittsburgh, 3:30 p.m.
Arizona at Winnipeg, 6 p.m.
Carolina at Buffalo, 6 p.m.
Detroit at Chicago, 6 p.m.
N.Y. Rangers at Columbus, 6 p.m.
Nashville at Anaheim, 8 p.m.
PWHL
Boston at Minnesota, 3 p.m.
NBA
Milwaukee at Philadelphia, 1 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Phoenix, 3:30 p.m.
Dallas at Indiana, 5 p.m.
Cleveland at Washington, 6 p.m.
Chicago at New Orleans, 7 p.m.
Denver at Golden State, 7 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Houston, 7 p.m.
Orlando at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
San Antonio at Utah, 8 p.m.
Charlotte at Portland, 9 p.m.
Sacramento at L.A. Clippers, 9:30 p.m.
MLS
Toronto FC at Cincinnati, 2:30 p.m.
New York at Nashville, 5 p.m.
Miami at LA Galaxy, 8:30 p.m.