LOCAL SPORTS
AUS: In Basketball, the X-Men defeated Dalhousie 69-63 in the Tigers home opener at the Dalplex. St. FX swept a two-game set to open the season after their win Wednesday night. The X-Women also got their second straight win at Dal’s expense, winning 70-63.
The X-Men Hockey team kicked off their weekend with a thrilling 4-3 overtime win over the Saint Mary’s Huskies at the Keating Centre. Zack Trott scored the game winner 35 seconds into overtime, wristing home a low shot from the slot after getting a pass from second star Charlie Callaghan. Jacob Maillet, the Gabriel Pizza St. FX player of the game also assisted on the game winning goal, after scoring the tying goal in the third period. Tonight, the X-Men play host again, welcoming the Acadia Axemen at 7 pm. The X-Women hockey team is also at the Keating Centre, taking on Mount Allison at 3 pm.
The X-Men again play host to the Saint Mary’s Huskies at St. FX Stadium in the AUS Football Semi-finals. Kickoff is at 2 pm.
Junior B: The Pictou County Scotians travel to play the Brookfield Elks at 4 pm.
Maritime League: The Pictou County Weeks Crushers lost 4-1 to Campbellton. The Crushers stay in New Brunswick as they face off with Miramichi at 7 tonight.
U15: The Wearwell Bombers host the Rangers at the Wellness Centre at 2 pm, while the Novas are on the road versus the Bandits at 5.
U16 AAA: The Cabot Highlanders take on the Fundy Thunder at the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre at 6.
U18 Major: The CB West Islanders host the Macs at 6 pm in Port Hood, while the Weeks Majors are in Lunenburg to face off with the Mustangs at 7.
High School: The North Nova Gryphons lost 5-3 to the CEC Cougars. Tonight, the Gryphons take on Tatamagouche at 6, Northumberland faces CEC in Westville at 6:30, then it’s the Royals in East Hants against the Tigers at 7:30.
Maritime Major Female League: The Northern Subway Selects, currently tied for top spot with the Capitals, host the Western Wolves at 4 pm at the Hector Arena in Pictou.
Rural League: Pleasantdale 9 County Outlaws 4, St Croix 7 Heatherton 1
NATIONAL SPORTS
Blake Coleman scored twice as the Calgary Flames snapped a four-game losing streak with a 3-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils. The other came from Jonathan Huberdeau, who scored just 28 seconds after Coleman had broken a scoreless tie at 14:26 of the third period. Dan Vladar made 22 saves for his third career shutout.
Kirill Kaprizov had two goals and an assist, Filip Gustavsson made 28 saves and the Minnesota Wild beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-3. Joel Eriksson Ek, Matt Boldy and Brock Faber also scored for the Wild, who have won six of their last seven. Brayden Point, Jake Guentzel and Nick Paul scored for the Lightning, who snapped a four-game win streak.
The N-H-L-P-A will form an advisory committee to help hockey players better understand chronic traumatic encephalopathy and the damage that concussions can do to the brain. N-H-L-P-A president Marty Walsh said on Friday night that the C-T-E committee was unanimously approved at a union board meeting this summer. The former Boston mayor made the announcement after receiving an award at the annual gala for the Concussion Legacy Foundation.
Denver point guard Jamal Murray was placed in the concussion protocol after a third-quarter collision with Minnesota’s Julius Randle forced him out of Denver’s 119-116 loss. Murray of Kitchener, Ontario, was cutting the lane with Anthony Edwards guarding him when Randle backed up to chase Aaron Gordon and inadvertently banged his shoulder into Murray’s nose. Murray’s head jerked back into Edwards from the impact.
Hamilton’s Shai Gilgeous Alexander scored 30 points in 28 minutes and the Oklahoma City Thunder remained unbeaten with a 137-114 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Jalen Williams added 22 points for the Thunder and Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins each had 13 off the bench as Oklahoma City improved to 5-and-0.
Zion Williamson had 34 points and 10 assists, Brandon Ingram added 26 points and the New Orleans Pelicans snapped a three-game skid with a 125-118 victory over the Indiana Pacers. Jordan Hawkins scored 23 points for New Orleans and reserve Brandon Boston Junior added 14. Ben Sheppard hit six three-pointers and scored 20 points for Indiana.
Friday’s Scoreboard
NHL
N.Y. Rangers 2 Ottawa 1
Winnipeg 6 Columbus 2
Calgary 3 New Jersey 0
Florida 6 Dallas 4, at Helsinki
N.Y. Islanders 4 Buffalo 3
Minnesota 5 Tampa Bay 3
NBA
L.A. Lakers 131 Toronto 125
Boston 124 Charlotte 109
New York 128 Detroit 98
Cleveland 120 Orlando 109
Brooklyn 120 Chicago 112
Sacramento 123 Atlanta 115
New Orleans 125 Indiana 118
Minnesota 119 Denver 116
Oklahoma City 137 Portland 114
MLS Playoffs – Best-of-Three First Round
Charlotte 0 (3) Orlando 0 (1) (PK) (Series tied 1-1)
Los Angeles Galaxy 4 Colorado 1 (Los Angeles wins series 2-0)
Saturday’s Games (All times Eastern)
CFL Playoffs – Division Semifinals
Ottawa at Toronto, 3 p.m.
B.C. at Saskatchewan, 6:30 p.m.
NHL
Dallas vs. Florida at Helsinki, 11 a.m.
Boston at Philadelphia, 1 p.m.
Chicago at Los Angeles, 4 p.m.
Columbus at Washington, 5 p.m.
Montreal at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Seattle at Ottawa, 7 p.m.
Toronto at St. Louis, 7 p.m.
Buffalo at Detroit, 7 p.m.
Colorado at Nashville, 8 p.m.
Vancouver at San Jose, 10 p.m.
Utah at Vegas, 10 p.m.
NBA
Boston at Charlotte, 6 p.m.
Sacramento at Toronto, 7:30 p.m.
Memphis at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.
Cleveland at Milwaukee, 8 p.m.
Golden State at Houston, 8 p.m.
Minnesota at San Antonio, 8 p.m.
Washington vs Miami, 9:30 p.m., Mexico City
Portland at Phoenix, 10 p.m.
Utah at Denver, 10 p.m.
Oklahoma City at L.A. Clippers, 10:30 p.m.
MLS Playoffs – Best-of-Three First Round
Cincinnati at New York City FC, 5 p.m. (Cincinnati leads series 1-0)
Miami at Atlanta, 7 p.m. (Miami leads series 1-0)
Salt Lake at Minnesota, 9 p.m. (Minnesota leads series 1-0)