Sports

Games 1 and 2 of the Prince George Cougars opening round quarter-final playoff series with the Victoria Royals certainly lived up to the hype. Sixteen members of the Prince George Cougars made their WHL playoff debuts last weekend. They competed hard against the veteran-laden Royals and went nose-to-nose with a team with over 300 combined games of WHL playoff experience. Despite being down 2-0 in the series, the Cougars are coming home confident knowing that WHL playoff hockey is back in...

There’s one group of young girls in Prince George who don’t mind being called “Brats”. They’re the members of the Rated PG Roller Brats roller derby team, and they’re taking to the track at the Roll-a-Dome on Saturday for their next match. Nicole Kingsmith, known as Haute Mess when she’s on the track with the Rated PG Roller Girls (who are also on the track Saturday), is the co-ordinator for the Roller Brats program. “We’ve got about 18 girls now,” said before a recent Monday afternoon...

For Alyssa Connell, it may have bee the longest measurement of her curling career – in two senses. Connell and the rest of her team had to wait a few minutes for a measurement after the sixth end of the Ladies Bonspiel final Sunday at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club against the Julia Shaddick foursome. “We were measuring to see whose rock was closest at the edge of the 12-foot,” Connell said, “and the end of the measuring stick was going to hit the one rock and...

Bill Fisher picked up the grand slam of Kelly Cups on Sunday – but he’s still chasing one of his teammates. “This was my fourth Kelly Cup,” Fisher said after downing Scott Sherba 6-3 in the final. “It’s the fifth for Rick Fewster, who was playing third for me this weekend, though.” For both second Lyle Hensrud, who was picked up as a fill-in at second, and lead Wayne Colliss, it was their second time to hoist the big trophy. “We were expecting a...

The Prince George Cougars can head home knowing that they’ve played two strong games against the Victoria Royals. But with that said, the Cougars are heading home down 2-0 in their first round series. Saturday night in Victoria, the Cougars trailed 2-0, 3-1, and 4-3 and yet with five minutes remaining in the third period the game was tied 4-4. But for a second straight night, 20-year-old Brandon Magee was the difference maker. He broke open the 4-4 tie with his second of the game at 15:47...

For Chantal Pazdzierski-Litke, this week has been a little crazy. “We’ve got the ice show coming up, so I’m working on my part in that,” says Pazdzierski-Litke of To the Tune of Sport, which takes to the ice tonight (Friday) at 6 p.m. at the Coliseum. “I’m also coaching some of the junior skaters in the show, and we’ve got a test day on Saturday.” Pazdzierski-Litke can’t count how many years she’s been skating, and added coaching to her list about three years ago. “It was a one-day...

By the time the Prince George Spruce Kings hold their Prospects Camp on April 10, there may be a new head coach watching. Dave Dupas resigned from the position on March 20 after four and a half years, and general manager Mike Hawes says there was immediate interest. “The world has gotten smaller because of technology,” Hawes said, “and the hockey world is even smaller. Within a couple of hours of the announcement, I was getting calls and texts from people interested in the position.” Dupas...

Kelsey Roberts kept turning around Sunday afternoon to look at the game clock in Kin 2. “I was hoping the time would go quicker,” said the goalie for the Northern Cougars, as they faced the Fraser Valley Phantoms in the deciding game in the Female Midget AAA provincial championship series.. The last time she turned around, there were 3.6 seconds showing, and she had just come back to the net from a timeout. The other numbers on the scoreboard were just as important: Home 1 Visitor 0. “We...

The day after the Northern Exposure tournament ended, Pandamonia is still feeling the effects. “I’m tired and sore,” says Pandamonia (also known as Amanda Vliegenthart), a member of the Rated PG Northstars. “It was a very emotional weekend.” The Northstars hosted the seven-team tournament at the Roll-a-Dome and came in third, losing the A final to Kamloops and then being eliminated by Saskatoon. “It was good to get through to the A final,” Pandamonia says, “because it gave us that one game...