Brendan’s Sports Shorts; Friday, January 3rd

WHL:

The Prince George Cougars host he Seattle Thunderbirds tonight (7pm) and Saturday (6pm) from CN Centre.

PG (21-9-3-2) is four points up on the Victoria Royals (18-11-3-4) for the BC Division lead.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Jersey Auction is LIVE!

Bid on your favourite Cougar at https://t.co/OyvxICEO3X! pic.twitter.com/Kbyf5GoeCK

— Prince George Cougars (@PGCougars) January 3, 2025

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BCHL:

The Prince George Spruce Kings (10-15-3-1) are in the Lower Mainland for a pair of road games tonight (Friday) and tomorrow (Saturday) against the Chilliwack Chiefs (19-7-3-0) and Surrey Eagles (16-11-3-0).

PG is tied with the Nanaimo Clippers for the final playoff spot in the BCHL’s Coastal Conference.

Tic-tac-toe! ⭕️❌⭕️

The Spruce Kings whip the puck around on the power play and it eventually gets buried by Brogan McNeil to open the scoring in Prince George.

🎙️ @KCAndo23 | @SpruceKings #BCHL pic.twitter.com/ajt9faugON

— BCHL (@BCHockeyLeague) December 29, 2024

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World Juniors:

Medal Round

Czechia 4  Canada 3

Edmonton Oil Kings forward Adam Jecho scored the game-winner on the power-play with 40 seconds remaining.

In the other quarter-finals, Sweden edged Latvia 3-2, the United States made short work out of Switzerland skating to a 7-2 victory while Finland outlasted Slovakia 5-3.

Saturday will see Czechia battle the United States in one semi-final while the Swedes and the Fins renew their Scandinavian rivalry in the other.

McBride’s Tanner Molendyk of the Saskatoon Blades is on Team Canada.

Game over. Our run comes to an end in the nation’s capital. 🇨🇦🇨🇿

Match fini. Notre parcours dans la capitale nationale prend fin. 🇨🇦🇨🇿

📊 https://t.co/wx4CEdnnDR
📊 https://t.co/LfAzKnth12#WorldJuniors | #MondialJunior

Presented by/Une présentation de: @UpperDeckSports pic.twitter.com/x8l65Q04E2

— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) January 3, 2025

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College Football Playoff

Quarter-finals

Notre Dame 23 Georgia 10 – Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

The Fighting Irish will play Penn State in the Capital One Orange Bowl semi-final on Thursday (9th) while Ohio State tackles Texas in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on January 10th.

HERE COME THE IRISH #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/WWVbexHgQD

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) January 3, 2025

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NHL

Canadian Round-Up

Vancouver Canucks 4 Seattle Kraken 3 (Shootout)

Utah Hockey Club 5  Calgary Flames 3

Toronto Maple Leafs 2 New York Islanders 1

Dallas Stars 4 Ottawa Senators 2

Anaheim Ducks 4 Winnipeg Jets 3 (OT)

There are three Canadian teams in action tonight (Friday). The Montreal Canadians (17-17-3) visit the Windy City to play Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks (12-24-2).

Elsewhere, the Anaheim Ducks (16-17-4) head to the City of Champions to play the Edmonton Oilers (22-12-3) while the Vancouver Canucks (18-11-8) host the Nashville Predators (11-20-7).

“It’s a good challenge. That’s why you prepare all day… it’s a huge win for the guys.”

🗣️ Kevin Lankinen comments on coming into tonight’s game and securing the win in the shootout. #Canucks | @theprovince pic.twitter.com/iRyAr3yWU8

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) January 3, 2025

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NBA:

The Toronto Raptors (8-26) are back on home court welcoming the Orlando Magic (20-15).

Orlando sits 4th in the Eastern Conference while the Raptors are 13th out of 15 teams.

Second-year hotshot Paolo Banchero is averaging 29 points per game for the Magic.