Hartley’s Sports Shorts; Tuesday, April 2nd

Sports by Hartley Tuesday, April 2nd as of 12:05 a.m.

(All times listed are PDT)

WHL:

The scene has shifted to Spokane for the Prince George Cougars best-of-seven first-round playoff series against the Chiefs.

Game 3 will be played tonight (Tuesday) at 7:05 followed by Game 4 Wednesday night at 6:35.

The Cougars lead the series 2-0 after taking the first two games by scores of 6-1 and 7-4 to extend their winning streak to 11 games.

P.G. winger Terik Parascak is the WHL’s Rookie of the Week for the sixth time.

He notched a hat trick in the opener and followed that up with an empty net goal the next night against the Chiefs.

The 17-year-old Parascak has also been named the WHL’s Rookie of the Month for March, racking up 24 points, including 13 goals in 12 games.

The Super Rookie strikes again!

For the third time this season, Terik Parascak is the WHL’s Rookie of the Month!@PGCougars | #NHLDraft

— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 1, 2024

Prince George Cougars  7  Spokane Chiefs  4  (Saturday)

The Cougars scored five goals in the second period, three of them in a 1:13 span in building up a 6-0 lead after 40 minutes before 5,678 hometown fans.

15 of the 18 P.G. skaters picked up at least one point.

The game summary and highlights are here.

15 different Cougars found the scoresheet tonight in a 7-4 win over the Spokane Chiefs to take a 2-0 series lead!

Recap and reaction from GM & HC Mark Lamb and Riley Heidt 👇https://t.co/TAS56KA1GA

— xy – Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) March 31, 2024

Prince George Cougars  6  Spokane Chiefs  1  (Friday)

Terik Parascak and Ondrej Becher notched three points each as the Cougars built up period leads of 3-1 and 5-1 in front of 5,692 fans in Prince George.

The game summary and highlights are here.

What a night, what an atmosphere, and what a win to begin the WHL Playoffs!

Recap and reaction from GM & HC Mark Lamb and Terik Parascak 👇https://t.co/qhMMaBb237#PGWhiteOut • #ForTheNorth • #WHLPlayoffs

— xy – Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) March 30, 2024

The WHL standings are here.

The PG Cougars’ regular-season results are here.

*- If necessary

Cat Scan podcast:

CAT SCAN: @Hartley_Miller sat down with @PGCougars alum and @TexasStars forward Chase Wheatcroft to get you ready for Round 1 of @TheWHL Playoffs against @spokanechiefs | https://t.co/8imHZ6uzXY #cityofpg #PrinceGeorge #northernbc #sports pic.twitter.com/zqaHDINvIk

— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) March 28, 2024

BCHL:

Merritt Centennials  4  Prince George Spruce Kings  1  (Saturday)

The game summary is here.

Prince George Spruce Kings  6  Vernon Vipers  5  (OT-Friday)

The game summary is here.

The Spruce Kings finished their regular season last in the Interior Division with a record of 16-35-3.

They meet the first-place Penticton Vees in the opening round of the playoffs with the first two games in Penticton on Friday and Saturday.

The series will shift to Prince George for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday, April 9th and Wednesday, April 10th.

The if needed games are set for April 12th in Penticton, April 14th in Prince George and April 16th in Penticton.

BIG NEWS! We are thrilled to welcome the Merritt Centennials as the 21st member of the #KIJHL. Our Board of Governors has unanimously approved the Centennials as an expansion franchise for the 2024-25 season.
Details: https://t.co/itZUbGYnVn pic.twitter.com/P6Ri2blpPB

— Kootenay International Junior ‘A’ Hockey League (@KIJHL) March 31, 2024

The BCHL standings are here.

The Spruce Kings’ regular-season results are here.

NHL: (8 Monday games with 3 Canadian teams in action)

St. Louis  3  Edmonton  2  (OT)

Winnipeg  4  LA  3

Toronto  6  Florida  4
(Auston Matthews scored his NHL-leading 61st and 62nd goals of the season for the Leafs)

An eight-game Monday saw Auston Matthews score twice to continue his push for the NHL’s first 70-goal season in more than 30 years.#NHLStats: https://t.co/YgtJKRLLW6 pic.twitter.com/HTSXiCvr6m

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 2, 2024

The (46-20-8) Vancouver Canucks visit the (41-25-8) Vegas Golden Knights this evening at 7:00.

It is one of 8 Tuesday games in the NHL.

The Canucks, with eight games to go, lead the Pacific Division (by five points over Edmonton) and have clinched a playoff spot.

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.

MLB:

Houston Astros  10  Toronto Blue Jays  0

Astros righthander Ronel Blanco pitched the first no-hitter of the season.

He threw 105 pitches, posting seven strikeouts while allowing two walks.

It’s the eighth time in franchise history that the Blue Jays have been no-hit.

The game summary is here.

The (2-3) Jays visit the (1-4) Astros again tonight (Tuesday) and Wednesday in Houston with a 5:10 start time.

The Blue Jays schedule is here.

The MLB schedule is here.

The MLB standings are here.

Curling:

Canada’s Team Brad Gushue from St. John’s, N.L., is 5-1 at the 2024 World Men’s Curling Championship in Switzerland.

Gushue’s only loss came on Monday, 7-6 in an extra end to the top-ranked team in the world from Italy.

Canada beat New Zealand 7-4 and the USA 8-2 today (Tuesday).

After the round-robin wraps up Friday, the third through sixth-ranked teams compete in playoff qualification games (3 vs. 6; 4 vs. 5), with the winners advancing to the semifinals. The semifinal winners play in the gold-medal game, and the losers play for the bronze.

Results and standings can be found here.

NBA:

The (23-51) Toronto Raptors, riding a 13-game losing streak, host the (42-33) LA Lakers tonight (Tuesday 4:00).

The Raptors have just eight games left in their season.

The Raptors’ schedule and results are here.

The NBA schedule is here.

The NBA standings are here.