SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY, JANUARY 2
Western Hockey League:
Spokane Chiefs at Portland Winterhawks—9 p.m.
(The Saskatoon Blades return to action tomorrow when they host the Brandon Wheat Kings. Game time is 7 p.m. at SaskTel Centre. CJWW’s broadcast begins at 6:45 p.m. and the play-by-play at 7 p.m. The Blades have 20 wins, 11 losses, 4 extra time losses for 44 points…tied for 1st place in the Eastern Conference. Brandon has 17 wins, 11 losses, 5 extra time losses for 39 points…tied for 5th place in the East.
The Prince Albert Raiders return to action tomorrow when they visit the Moose Jaw Warriors. P-A has 18 wins, 12 losses, 3 extra time losses for 39 points…tied for 5th place in the Eastern Conference. The Raiders’ next home game is Saturday against Brandon. First face-off is 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre.)
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I-I-H-F World Under-20 Hockey Championship–4 quarter-final games in Ottawa:
Canada vs Czechia—6:30 p.m.
(Canada finished preliminary round play with 2 wins, 1 loss and 1 extra time loss for 7 points…good for 3rd place in Pool A. Czechia had 3 wins, 1 loss, 0 extra time losses for 9 points…good for 2nd place in Pool A. Among Canada’s players are defenceman Caden Price plus forwards Brayden Yager and Berkly Catton…all of Saskatoon, forward Tanner Howe of Prince Albert and Saskatoon Blades’ defenceman Tanner Molendyk.)
Sweden vs Latvia—11 a.m.
United States vs Switzerland—1:30 p.m.
Finland vs Slovakia—4 p.m.
Relegation game: Germany vs Kazakhstan–10 a.m.
(Germany’s roster includes Saskatoon Blades’ left winger David Lewandowski. The tournament winds up on Sunday.)
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National Hockey League—12 games:
Toronto Maple Leafs at New York Islanders—6:30 p.m.
Ottawa Senators at Dallas Stars—7 p.m.
Anaheim Ducks at Winnipeg Jets—7 p.m.
Utah Hockey Club at Calgary Flames—8 p.m.
Vancouver Canucks at Seattle Kraken—9 p.m.
Minnesota Wild at Washington Capitals—6 p.m.
Carolina Hurricanes at Florida Panthers—6 p.m.
Detroit Red Wings at Columbus Blue Jackets—6 p.m.
Boston Bruins at New York Rangers—6 p.m.
Buffalo Sabres at Colorado Avalanche—8 p.m.
Philadelphia Flyers at Vegas Golden Knights—9 p.m.
Tampa Bay Lightning at San Jose Sharks—9:30 p.m.
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Professional Women’s Hockey League:
Boston Fleet at Minnesota Frost—6:30 p.m.
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The 2025 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Trials continue today and run through Saturday in Liverpool, Nova Scotia. Sixteen female and male couples are split into two pools of eight duos each for preliminary round-robin play with the top three teams from each pool advancing to the six-team playoffs before determining the winner who will represent Canada at the 2025 World Mixed Doubles Championship in late April through early May. Among the 16 pairs are Kirk Muyres of Humboldt and partner Laura Walker of Edmonton, Nancy Martin of Wakaw and Steve Laycock of Saskatoon plus Rylan Kleiter of Saskatoon and partner Brittany Trann of Calgary. Muyres and Walker have 4 wins, 2 losses…tied for 3rd place in Pool A. Kleiter and Trann have 5 wins, 1 loss…tied for 1st place in Pool A. Martin and Laycock have 1 win, 5 losses…tied for 7th place in Pool A. On their schedules today…
11 a.m.: Trann/Kleiter vs Papley/Van Amsterdam, Edmonton
Walker/Muyres vs Martin/Laycock
(The first draw of playoffs goes at 4 p.m.)
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The National Lacrosse League is idle until Saturday when Week 6 of the season stats and ends with 3 games. The Saskatchewan Rush are off until Saturday, January 11th when they host the Las Vegas Desert Dogs. Game time is 7 p.m. at SaskTel Centre. Saskatchewan has 3 wins, 1 loss…tied for 3rd place. Las Vegas has 0 wins, 4 losses…tied for 13th place.
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National Basketball Association–6 games:
The Toronto Raptors return to action tomorrow when they host the Orlando Magic at 6:30 p.m. in Toronto.
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