LOCAL SPORTS
University Sport:
In hockey, the X-Women dominated in Sackville with a 5-0 shutout of the Mount Allison Mounties. The X-Women saw Lea MacLeod and Maggy Burbidge back in the lineup after their gold-medal performance with Team Canada at the FISU World University Games. The team scored five goals in the first period, which was all they needed, as Amaya Giraudier turned aside all 25 shots she faced. St. FX will host UNB tomorrow afternoon for the battle of the top two AUS teams.
Meanwhile, at the Keating Centre, the UNB Reds dropped the X-Men 3-1 in front of a crowd of over 1,000 fans. The X-Men are back on the ice tonight, when they host the Moncton Aigles Bleus at 7.
St. FX Cross Country teams are at UNB Saint John competing in the Athletics NB Open this weekend.
NS Junior: Two shootout wins for local teams on Friday night, as the Bulldogs defeated the Membertou Junior Miners 4-3 at the Arena, and the Strait Pirates got past the Blues 5-4 in Springhill. Tonight, the Pictou County Scotians will face the Miners in Membertou at 7:30.
Maritime Junior: The Pictou County Weeks Crushers crushed the Wildcats 5-1 at the Wellness Centre. Tonight, the Crushers face off with the Bearcats at 7 pm in Truro.
U15: The Novas came up short on the road, with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Hurricanes. Tonight, it’s the Bombers hosting Truro at the Wellness Centre at 5:30, followed by the Novas visiting the Gulls at 6:45.
U16 AAA: The Cabot Highlanders are on the road to tangle with the Voyageurs. Game time 6:30.
U18: The Weeks Majors are in the Valley taking on the Wildcats. Puck drops at 7.
High School Hockey: The Northumberland Nighthawks host CEC at 6:30 in Westville.
Maritime Major Female League: The Northern Subway Selects are in Bedford to play the Penguins. Game time 5:30.
Rural League: At the Antigonish Arena, the St. Croix Angels face the Pleasantdale Panthers at 7, then the Heatherton Warriors take on the County Outlaws at 8:30.
The Tankard and Scotties Championships continue at the Bluenose Curling Club in New Glasgow, as teams battle to represent Nova Scotia. Last night on the men’s side, Team MacLeod defeated Team Gibson 8-1, Team Thompson beat Team Everist 10-3, Team Colter got by Team Sullivan 9-8, and Team Burgess lost 8-3 to Team Manuel. Play begins at 8 am with the women’s teams on the ice, and games throughout the day. Details can be found at nscurl.com.
NATIONAL SPORTS
Elias Pettersson scored twice and the Vancouver Canucks downed the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-2 to head into the N-H-L all-star break on a winning note. Quinn Hughes, Ilya Mikheyev and Dakota Joshua all scored. Bo Horvat had a career-high four assists.
Tyler Toffoli, Elias Lindholm and Blake Coleman all scored and added two assists as the Calgary Flames topped Seattle 5-2. Calgary rebounded impressively after getting surprisingly routed at home the day before to lowly Chicago. The Flames topped the Kraken for the second straight time in Seattle, took two of three in the season series.
Brady Tkachuk had a pair of goals as the Ottawa Senators dropped the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-2. Claude Giroux, Thomas Chabot, Drake Batherson and Derick Brassard also scored for Ottawa. William Nylander and Joey Anderson scored for Toronto. Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews will be out at least three weeks with a sprained knee.
Steph Curry had 35 points and 11 assists, and the Golden State Warriors beat the Toronto Raptors 129-117. Golden State pulled away with a 31-point fourth quarter, securing a sweep in the season series. Klay Thompson added 29 points, knocking down six three-pointers. Fred VanVleet had 28 points and 10 assists for the Raptors.
Aryna Sabalenka figures she’ll feel some jitters when she steps out on court to face Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open final. It’s Sabalenka’s first title match in singles at a Grand Slam tournament. Rybakina is familiar with this stage: She won Wimbledon a little more than six months ago.
Jon Rahm charged up the leaderboard on his favourite course with a 6-under 66 at Torrey Pines to pull within two shots of leader Sam Ryder after the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open. Ranked Number 3 in the world, Rahm is one round away from his third win in as many starts and taking over at Number 1 for the first time since March 20.
Friday’s Games
NHL
N.Y. Islanders 2 Detroit 0
N.Y. Rangers 4 Vegas 1
Carolina 5 San Jose 4 (OT)
Los Angeles 4 Florida 3
Ottawa 6 Toronto 2
New Jersey 3 Dallas 2 (OT)
Vancouver 5 Columbus 2
Calgary 5 Seattle 2
NBA
Milwaukee 141 Indiana 131
Minnesota 111 Memphis 100
Oklahoma City 112 Cleveland 100
Miami 110 Orlando 105
Golden State 129 Toronto 117
Saturday’s Games (All Times Eastern)
NHL
St. Louis at Colorado, 3 p.m.
Boston at Florida, 6 p.m.
Montreal at Ottawa, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at Winnipeg, 7 p.m.
Los Angeles at Tampa Bay, 7 p.m.
San Jose at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Vegas at N.Y. Islanders, 7:30 p.m.
Buffalo at Minnesota, 9 p.m.
Chicago at Edmonton, 10 p.m.
Columbus at Seattle, 10 p.m.
Arizona at Anaheim, 10:30 p.m.
NBA
Denver at Philadelphia, 3 p.m.
New York at Brooklyn, 5:30 p.m.
Chicago at Orlando, 7 p.m.
Houston at Detroit, 7 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Atlanta, 7:30 p.m.
Phoenix at San Antonio, 8 p.m.
Sacramento at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Washington at New Orleans, 8 p.m.
L.A. Lakers at Boston, 8:30 p.m.
Dallas at Utah, 9 p.m.
Toronto at Portland, 10 p.m.