LOCAL SPORTS
Junior B: The Antigonish Bulldogs shut down the Eskasoni Eagles 6-0 at the Arena, and in Port Hawkesbury the Strait Pirates fell 2-1 in overtime to the Scotians.
U15: The Wearwell Bombers face the Wildcats in the Valley at 3 pm, then the Novas host the Rangers at the Arena at 5.
U16 AAA: The Cabot Highlanders face off with the Wildcats at the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre at 6.
U18 Major: The Weeks Majors are in the Valley playing the Wildcats at 7:30, while the CB West Islanders are in Dartmouth playing Steele Subaru at 7:45.
High School Boys: The North Nova Gryphons were shut out 3-0 by the Hants East Tigers on Friday. Tonight, the Royals are on the road to face Tatamagouche at 6, while Northumberland travels to East Hants to play the Tigers at 7:30.
Maritime Major Female League: The Northern Subway Selects resume their season at the Hector Arena against the Western Flames. Puck drops at 4.
Rural League: Tonight at the Antigonish Arena, Pleasantdale takes on St. Croix at 7, followed by Heatherton vs the Outlaws at 8:30.
The SAERC Saints Girls Basketball team is hosting the 4th annual Tricia Little Memorial Basketball Tournament through Sunday. The event is a tribute for former coach Tricia Little, who was the driving force behind the team for four years.
NATIONAL SPORTS
Veteran Nick Foligno scored twice as the Chicago Blackhawks snapped a five-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory over the visiting Montreal Canadiens. Tyler Bertuzzi and Patrick Maroon also scored for the hosts. Cole Caufield, with his 20th, and Emil Heineman scored for the Canadiens, who had their three-game win streak halted.
Brandon Saad scored a natural hat trick and Jordan Binnington made 20 saves to post the shutout as the St. Louis Blues beat the visiting Ottawa Senators 4-0. Brayden Schenn also scored for the Blues, who have won four of their past five. The Senators have lost four of their past five.
Leon Draisaitl scored with 95 seconds left in the third period to snap a 2-2 tie and lift the Edmonton Oilers to a 3-2 victory over the visiting Anaheim Ducks. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Darnell Nurse also scored for the Oilers, who have won two in a row and 10 of their last 13. Brett Leason and Jackson LaCombe scored for the Ducks.
Steven Stamkos, Gustav Nyquist and Colton Sissons scored and Juuse Saros made 27 saves for his fourth shutout of the season as the visiting Nashville Predators snapped a three-game losing streak with a 3-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks. Stamkos’ goal was the 567th of his career and moved him past Patrick Marleau and into sole possession of 24th place on the league’s all-time goals list.
Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder rallied in the fourth quarter to win their 14th straight game by beating the New York Knicks 117-107. Aaron Wiggins scored 15 of his 19 points in the final quarter when the Thunder outscored the Knicks 37-19. Mikal Bridges scored 24 points for New York, which had its nine-game winning streak halted.
Teams from across Canada are battling for supremacy at the 2025 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Trials being held in Liverpool. The semi-final is scheduled for 10 am, with the finals at 2 pm. The winning team today will represent Canada at the 2025 World Mixed Doubles Championship from April 26th to May 3rd in Fredericton. That event also will decide most of the countries that will compete at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, and if Canada qualifies for the Games, it will be the Trials winner in Liverpool who will wear the Maple Leaf in Italy.
The New York Jets interviewed former Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel for their head coaching vacancy on Friday. Vrabel is the second known coaching candidate to meet with the Jets, who spoke to former Washington and Carolina coach Ron Rivera on Thursday. The 49-year-old Vrabel served in a consultant role with Cleveland this season, but his N-F-L contract expired earlier this week.
Friday’s Scoreboard
NHL
Edmonton 3 Anaheim 2
Chicago 4 Montreal 2
St. Louis 4 Ottawa 0
Nashville 3 Vancouver 0
Florida 3 Pittsburgh 2 (SO)
NBA
Orlando 106 Toronto 97
Oklahoma City 117 New York 107
Detroit 98 Charlotte 94
Boston 109 Houston 86
New Orleans 132 Washington 117
Cleveland 134 Dallas 122
San Antonio 113 Denver 110
Sacramento 138 Memphis 133
L.A. Lakers 119 Atlanta 102
Saturday’s Games (All times Eastern)
NHL
N.Y. Rangers at Washington, 12 p.m.
New Jersey at San Jose, 4 p.m.
Boston at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Detroit at Winnipeg, 7 p.m.
Montreal at Colorado, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Carolina, 7 p.m.
St. Louis at Columbus, 7 p.m.
Utah at Dallas, 8 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Los Angeles, 9 p.m.
Edmonton at Seattle, 10 p.m.
Nashville at Calgary, 10 p.m.
Buffalo at Vegas, 10 p.m.
World Junior Hockey Championship Semifinals
Sweden vs. Finland, 3:30 p.m.
United States vs. Czechia, 7:30 p.m.
PWHL
New York at Minnesota, 2 p.m.
NFL
Cleveland at Baltimore, 4:30 p.m.
Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, 8 p.m.
NBA
Philadelphia at Brooklyn, 6 p.m.
Minnesota at Detroit, 7 p.m.
Phoenix at Indiana, 7 p.m.
Denver at San Antonio, 8 p.m.
New York at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Portland at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Utah at Miami, 8 p.m.
Memphis at Golden State, 8:30 p.m.
Atlanta at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.