Hartley’s Sports Shorts; Friday, April 12th

Sports by Hartley Friday, April 12th as of 12:05 a.m.

(All times listed are PDT)

WHL:

The Prince George Cougars end a 9-day layoff when they host the Kelowna Rockets this weekend in their WHL Western Conference semifinal series.

The Cougars and Rockets are meeting in the playoffs for the first time in 13 years.

Standing room only tickets are available for the first two games which will be played tonight (Friday) at 7:00 and Saturday night at 6:00.

The Cougars, who have won 13 in a row, went 6-1-0-1 in eight regular season meetings against the Rockets, though six of the games were decided by a single goal and three required overtime or a shootout.

The series will shift to Kelowna for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The @Kelowna_Rockets and @PGCougars led the entire Western Conference in goals for during Round One of the #WHLPlayoffs.

We expect their second-round series to be nothing short of a high-scoring affair too!#FeedingtheFuture

— The WHL (@TheWHL) April 10, 2024

The other WHL Conference semis also start this evening with Everett at Portland, Red Deer at Saskatoon and Swift Current at Moose Jaw.

SERIES SCHEDULE

*-If necessary

The WHL standings are here.

The PG Cougars’ playoff results are here.

The PG Cougars’ regular-season results are here.

Cat Scan podcast:

On the @PGCougars Cat Scan #podcast, coach/GM Mark Lamb discusses the team’s business-like approach to the sweep of Spokane; the lack of #WHL upsets in round one, the challenges presented by the @Kelowna_Rockets; the 9-day layoff, traditional 2-2-1-1-1 format & more. #hockey https://t.co/24ND0P3L5k

— Hartley Miller (@Hartley_Miller) April 9, 2024

NHL: (10 Thursday games with Vancouver and Edmonton the only Canadian teams idle)

New Jersey  6  Toronto  5
In a losing cause Leafs sniper Auston Matthews scored twice, his league-leading 67th and 68th goals of the season.

Winnipeg  3  Dallas  0
LA  4  Calgary  1
Ottawa  3  Tampa  2  (SO)
NY Islanders  3  Montreal  2  (OT)

Sidney Crosby moved into the NHL’s top 10 for points, hit 1,000 assists and helped boost the @penguins back into the second Eastern Conference Wild Card position, marking the fifth time in the past seven days that spot has changed hands.#NHLStats: https://t.co/BKMC6n8xtV pic.twitter.com/c1TIMYDVaZ

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 12, 2024

The (48-22-9) Vancouver Canucks visit the (48-24-5) Edmonton Oilers Saturday night at 7:00.

The Canucks lead the Pacific-Division by four points over the Oilers.

Vancouver has three games left and Edmonton has five to play.

The Oilers host Arizona tonight in one of five Friday games in the NHL.

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.

Golf:

Bryson DeChambeau shot a 7-under-65 to take the lead entering the second day of the Masters.

Scottie Scheffler is a stroke behind at 6-under-66.

Top Canadian Corey Conners is five off the pace at 2-under-70.

Tiger Woods is 8 off the pace at 1-over-73.

The Masters leaderboard is here.

MLB:

The (6-7) Toronto Blue Jays continue a 9-game homestand tonight (Friday 4:07) against the (3-10) Colorado Rockies.

The Blue Jays schedule is here.

The MLB schedule is here.

The MLB standings are here.

NBA:

The (25-55) Toronto Raptors conclude their season with a doubleheader on the road in Miami against the (44-36) Heat tonight (Friday 5:00) and Sunday (10:00 AM).

The Raptors’ schedule and results are here.

The NBA schedule is here.

The NBA standings are here.