SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29
Western Hockey League:
Calgary Hitmen at Red Deer Rebels—8 p.m.
(The Saskatoon Blades return to action tomorrow when they visit the Winnipeg ICE. CJWW’s broadcast starts at 5:45 p.m. with the play-by-play at 6 p.m. The Bridge City Bunch have 25 wins, 5 losses, 0 extra time losses for 50 points…tied for 2nd place in the Eastern Conference. Winnipeg has 26 wins, 5 losses, 0 extra time losses for 52 points…good for 1st place in the East. The Blue and Gold’s next home game is Tuesday against Calgary. Game time is 7 p.m. at SaskTel Centre.)
The Prince Albert Raiders are off until tomorrow when they host the Regina Pats. Game time is 7 p.m. at the Art Hauser Centre. P-A has 11 wins, 20 losses, 2 extra time losses for 24 points…good for 11th place in the Eastern Conference. Regina has 17 wins, 16 losses, 2 extra time losses for 36 points…good for 7th place.)
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The World Junior Hockey Championship continues today and runs through Thursday, January 5th in Halifax and Moncton. Ten teams are taking part, split into two pools of five teams each for preliminary round-robin play, followed by a straight knockout playoff round. On today’s two-game schedule…..
Canada vs Austria–5:30 p.m. at Halifax
(Canada has 1 win, 1 loss for 3 points…good for 3rd place in Group A. Austria has 0 wins, 2 losses for 0 points…tied for 4th place in Group A.)
Finland vs Latvia—10 a.m. at Moncton
Czechia vs Sweden—12:30 p.m. at Halifax
Switzerland vs United States—3 p.m. at Moncton
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The Circle K Classic Male Under-18 Triple-A Hockey Tournament, formerly known as the Mac’s Midget Tournament, continues today and runs through Sunday in Calgary. There are 32 teams from across Canada, the United States and Europe taking part, split into eight groups of four teams each for round-robin play. Straight knockout playoffs are held after that. Among the 32 teams taking part are four from the Saskatchewan Male Under-18 Triple-A Hockey League…the Saskatoon Blazers, Saskatoon Contacts, Swift Current Legionnaires and Regina Pat-Canadians. The Contacts have 1 win, 1 loss for 3 points…tied for 2nd place in Pool 3. Swift Current has 0 wins, 2 losses for 0 points…good for 4th place in Pool 5. Regina has 1 win, 1 loss for 0 points…good for 3rd place in Pool 6. The Blazers have 1 win, 1 loss for 3 points…good for 2nd place in Pool 7. On their schedules today…..
Saskatoon Contacts vs Edge School, Calgary—11 a.m.
Saskatoon Blazers vs Calgary Northstars—4:30 p.m.
Swift Current Legionnaires vs RINK Kelowna—7:45 p.m.
Regina Pat-Canadians vs South Kent School, Connecticutt—7:45 p.m.
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National Hockey League–11 games:
Ottawa Senators at Washington Capitals—6 p.m.
Montreal Canadiens at Florida Panthers—6 p.m.
Vancouver Canucks at Winnipeg Jets—7 p.m.
Toronto Maple Leafs at Arizona Coyotes—8 p.m.
New York Rangers at Tampa Bay Lightning—6 p.m.
Detroit Red Wings at Buffalo Sabres—6 p.m.
Columbus Blue Jackets at New York Islanders—6:30 p.m.
Dallas Stars at Minnesota Wild—7 p.m.
Chicago Blackhawks at St. Louis Blues—7 p.m.
Los Angeles Kings at Colorado Avalanche—8 p.m.
Philadelphia Flyers at San Jose Sharks—9:30 p.m.
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National Football League—Week 17 starts:
Dallas Cowboys at Tennessee Titans—7:15 p.m.
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National Basketball Association–6 games, including:
Toronto Raptors vs Memphis Grizzlies–6:30 p.m. at Toronto.
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The National Lacrosse League returns to action tomorrow when Week 5 starts with 2 games. The Saskatchewan Rush are idle until Saturday when they host Panther City. First faceoff is 8 p.m. at SaskTel Centre. Saskatchewan has 1 win, 1 loss…tied for 4th place in the West Division.
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