Sports by Hartley Monday, Feb. 26th as of 12:05 a.m.
(All times listed below are PST)
Canada West men’s basketball:
(Bronze Medal Game in Winnipeg)
UNBC Timberwolves 94 Calgary Dinos 80
UNBC Graduating senior Chris Ross hooped 25 points including 7-for-13 shooting from three-point range.
A career high seven threes.
A team-high 25 points.
A Canada West Bronze Medal.What a way to end a remarkable career with the green and gold.
Here’s Chris Ross. pic.twitter.com/CGm0WO80ho
— UNBC Timberwolves (@UNBCATHLETICS) February 26, 2024
The Timberwolves led 55-40 at the half and 71-68 after three to capture bronze in the 12-team tournament for their first-ever Canada West medal.
From 15th in a preseason coaches poll to CANADA WEST BRONZE MEDALISTS! pic.twitter.com/K5u9lOXqKt
— UNBC Timberwolves (@UNBCATHLETICS) February 26, 2024
UNBC was ranked 12th, yet finished 3rd with an overall 3-1 record.
The Timberwolves lost to the top-ranked Victoria Vikes 80-68 in the semifinal.
UNBC won its first two games, 86-76 over the UBC Thunderbirds and 84-78 over the host Manitoba Bisons.
Victoria completed a 3-peat, winning its third straight Canada West title, outscoring the Winnipeg Wesmen 96-91 in the final.
Former UNBC coach Mike Raimbault coaches Winnipeg.
MBB: UNBC Timberwolves Earn First Ever Canada West Medal After a 94-80 Bronze Medal Win Over Calgary.
Recap 📎: https://t.co/TuR3FONsIS
📸: Zachary Peters pic.twitter.com/pvQnZpu6wb
— UNBC Timberwolves (@UNBCATHLETICS) February 26, 2024
The full playoff results are here.
WHL:
Prince George Cougars 6 Kelowna Rockets 5 (Shootout-Saturday)
The Cougars, riding a 9-game point streak, have clinched first place in the B.C. Division for just the second time (the other was in 2016-17).
Zac Funk notched his 8th hat trick of the season to set the PG Cougars record for most goals in a season with 56, surpassing Quinn Hancock’s total of 54 set in 1997-98.
Riley Heidt notched a goal and three assists to take over the WHL scoring lead with 101 points, one more than Jagger Firkus of Moose Jaw and two more than Funk.
The game summary and highlights are here.
The (40-15-0-3) Cougars, with 10 regular season games left, are in the 1st place in the Western Conference, two points ahead of the (39-14-2-1) Portland Winterhawks and three in front of the (38-18-2-2) Everett Silvertips.
Prince George will begin its March schedule with a home doubleheader Friday and Saturday against the (24-27-4-1)Spokane Chiefs.
The Chiefs are holding the 8th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
A wild night at Prospera Place results in our 40th win of the season and the second BC Division Crown in franchise history!
Recap and reaction from Associate Coach Jim Playfair 👇https://t.co/eIjBi3rznG
— x – Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) February 25, 2024
Prince George Cougars 5 Kamloops Blazers 1 (Friday)
The game summary and highlights are here.
Three straight wins, and points in eight straight! All smiles after a 5-1 win over the Blazers!
Recap and reaction from Associate Coach Jim Playfair👇https://t.co/NIsm8ylQRK
— x – Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) February 24, 2024
The WHL standings are here.
The PG Cougars regular-season schedule is here.
The WHL leading scorers can be found here.
BCHL:
Prince George Spruce Kings 4 Vernon Vipers 2 (Saturday)
The Spruce Kings ended a six-game losing streak before 1,275 hometown fans.
The game summary is here.
Vernon Vipers 5 Prince George Spruce Kings 3 (Friday)
The game summary is here.
The Spruce Kings and Vipers meet again Friday in Vernon.
Prince George, with just 10 regular season games left, will also visit Merritt on Saturday.
The (14-27-3) Spruce Kings are last in the 8-team Interior Division, nine points behind the (18-22-3-1) Merritt Centennials and the (19-25-2) Cranbrook Bucks.
The BCHL standings are here.
The Spruce Kings’ regular-season schedule and results are here.
BC Elite Hockey League: (in Abbotsford)
Fraser Valley Thunderbirds 6 U18 Cariboo Cougars 0 (Sunday)
Fraser Valley Thunderbirds 8 U18 Cariboo Cougars 6 (Saturday)
The (26-8-2) U18 Cougars finished the regular season 3rd in the 9-team league, six points behind the (28-4-2-2) Vancouver North East Chiefs and seven points back of the (30-5-1) Thunderbirds.
The BCEHL AAA standings in Male U15, U17 and U18 plus Female U18 are here.
The U18 BCEHL schedule and results are here.
The Female U18 schedule and results are here.
NHL: (7 Sunday games with 1 Canadian team in action)
Winnipeg 4 Arizona 3 (OT)
Kyle Connor scored his second goal of the game at 33 seconds of overtime.
Sunday, Feb. 25:
The day the NHL got its first 100-point scorer of 2023-24 and the night we watched Patrick Kane score the overtime winner in his return to Chicago. #NHLStats: https://t.co/V3npp39RHP pic.twitter.com/pUTiwzu4jv
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 26, 2024
There are 4 Monday NHL games, two involving Canadian teams: Edmonton hosts LA and Ottawa is at Washington.
The Vancouver Canucks host the (26-21-8) Pittsburgh Penguins Tuesday night at 7:00.
The (38-18-6) Canucks are coming off of Saturday’s 3-2 overtime victory over Boston which snapped a 4-game losing streak.
The NHL regular season schedule and results are here.
The Vancouver Canucks regular season schedule and results are here.
The NHL standings are here.
The NHL wild-card standings are here.
The NHL scoring leaders are here.
Curling:
2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts (in Calgary)
(Gold Medal Game)
Ontario (Rachel Homan) 5 Manitoba (Jennifer Jones) 4
It is the 4th national championship for Homan and the first in seven years. Homan’s team will represent Canada at the world championship in Sydney, Nova Scotia in March.
It was the last Scotties for the 49-year-old Jones, who has announced her retirement. Jones leaves with six Canadian women’s curling titles. Earlier in the day, she beat Kate Cameron 12-7 in an all-Manitoba semifinal.
The Playoff results are here.
The round-robin results can be found here.
The Pool A standings are here.
The Pool B standings are here.
NBA:
The (21-36) Toronto Raptors visit the Indiana Pacers tonight (Monday 4:00).
The Raptors’ schedule and results are here.
The NBA schedule is here.
The NBA standings are here.
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
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