CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. – It’s another one of those weekends when both the hockey Charlottetown Islanders and the UPEI Hockey Panthers are on the road and basketball gets all the attention.
Let’s take a closer look.
The Island Storm concludes a two-game National Basketball League of Canada opening weekend here Sunday at 2 p.m. when they meet the Saint John Riptide at Eastlink Centre. The team plays Cape Breton tonight after Friday’s game was postponed due to inclement weather.
The Storm has a number of high-profile newcomers, including Sampson Carter, who played briefly with Memphis of the NBA; Robbie Robinson, a standout in the highly regarded Drew League in Los Angeles; Russell Byrd, the former captain of the Michigan State Spartans; and Jarrell Tate, a flashy Drew League guard; to go along with returnees like sharp-shooting guard Tyler Scott and rugged forwards Brad States and Tirrell Baines, who is back after playing last year with Moncton.
The Storm is quick with a talented group of athletes but they do not have a big man and that could hurt when they face a team like Joe Salerno’s Moncton Magic, who have a seven-foot power forward and another physical player at six-foot-11 in ex-Storm regular Nick Evans. The Storm is confident Carl Hall can handle that department, but he will not be available for the next few weeks.
There is no love lost between Moncton and the Storm and when they first meet in a home and away on Dec. 28 and 31, I doubt either will be in a peaceful mood. I believe this is the most talented group the Storm has ever had, but you can make your own judgement tonight and tomorrow. See you at the game.
University
The UPEI men basketball squad is off to a great start, 3-1 after four games, having swept Memorial here and split at Acadia in Wolfville, N.S. They conclude their two-game homestand against Saint Mary’s (SMU) tonight at 8 p.m. while the women’s Panthers play Saint Mary’s again tonight at 6 p.m.
If you look at common opponents Saint Mary’s dumped Acadia by four and 13 in Halifax while SMU edged Memorial by eight in Newfoundland, suggesting the games here will be close and the outcomes might tell us if the Panthers are a playoff-bound club or not.
Hockey
The touring Russian juniors split two-game series with the WHL and the OHL before winning both from the Quebec squad.
Islanders head coach Jim Hulton went with Charlottetown goaltender Matthew Welsh in Tuesday’s game and he couldn’t be faulted on any of the five goals as the Russians capitalized on their great in-close chances.
On the NHL front, the Las Vegas Golden Knights rebounded with an impressive 5-0 Wednesday win over L.A. Kings, so I wouldn’t worry about Las Vegas as they are within six points of the division lead heading into weekend play. When they get healthy, and when top defenceman Nate Schmidt returns to form after serving his suspension, the Knights will be just as good as last year and stand a great chance of winning the Pacific Division.
As for attributing the Las Vegas slow start to the idea teams are more prepared to play the Knights, that’s pure nonsense. The Golden Knights are a fast-skating, hard fore-checking club, blessed with top goaltending and great coaching in Gerard (Turk) Gallant and company. Take it from the Prophet, they’ll represent the Pacific Division come playoff time.
Harness racing
Live harness racing continues today and Sunday at 12:30 at Red Shores at the Charlottetown Driving Park.
The 13-dash card today has the open mares at $2,350 and it’s a tough field with the likes of Prettyndangerous, Dustylanemissmolly, Collective Wisdom and five others. On Sunday, Sock It Away leaves from Post 2 in the $2,650 top class in the five-horse field and the Reg MacPherson-owned pacer looks like tons the best.
The driving title at Mohawk and London is still up for grabs with six weeks to go.
At Mohawk, Louis Philippe Roy has 139 wins, followed by Bob Mcclure and Trev Henry at 135, Sylvan Filion at 132, Doug McNair at 123, James MacDonald 121 and Jody Jamieson at 119. At Western Fair, Scott Coulter at 111 wins holds a nine-race edge over Robert Shepherd, who has bagged 102.
Local trotters Freddie and Osprey Impact were off the board in Thursday starts in separate $8,500 trot events at Plainridge. At Western Fair earlier this week, Adkins Hanover was a close second in 1:56:3 in the $8,500 overnight pace while at Flamboro, Sodwana Bay took the $10,500 preferred in 1:55:3 for co-owners Wayne MacRae and Blaine MacPherson. At Yonkers, Mark MacDonald is on holidays, so not racing this week while McWicked goes tonight in the $20,000 preferred handicap at the Meadowlands.
Pigskin picks
It’s a big football weekend on both sides of the border. The CFL semifinals see Hamilton at Ottawa in the East final while Saskatchewan visits Calgary in the West. Ex-Colonel Gray and UPEI standout Billy Fisher likes the Tiger-Cats, so we’ll jump on that wagon and stay with the Cats for the duration.
The NFL heads into Week 11 and it started Thursday night when Seattle Seahawks dumped Green Bay 27-24. Packers backer and Red Shores at the Charlottetown Driving Park handicapper Les MacIsaac is not a happy camper as the loss may have ended Green Bay’s playoff hopes.
Let’s take a look at Sunday games.
Carolina Panthers (6-3) at Detroit Lions (3-6) – A good Panthers club meets a poor Detroit club. I wouldn’t bet the Lions with confederate money. The Lions have no defence and have no interest in playing D, an easy Carolina win.
Dallas Cowboys (4-5) at Atlanta Falcons (4-5) – The loser is just about out of the playoffs, and last week the Cowboys rose to the occasion and Atlanta faltered. The Cowboys have momentum, have finally decided to throw on first downs and their D is solid. The Cowboys haven’t won back-to-back games since last December, but still I Look for a Cowboys upset.
Houston Texans (6-3) at Washington Redskins (6-3) – The Skins lost three of their starting five offensive linemen two weeks ago, yet still won 16-3 against Tampa Bay last week. This is a gritty, tough club, with a smart QB in Alex Smith and a big runner in Adrian Peterson. Houston is coming of a bye week, is much healthier than the Skins and haven’t lost since September. I see a Houston upset.
Minnesota Vikings (5-3-1) at Chicago Bears (6-3) – In the last 16 starts at Soldier Field, the home Bears are 13-3 against the Vikings, the three losses by three points. A close game, but the Bears are healthy, hot and home, I’ll take Chicago by a field goal.
Fred MacDonald's column appears every Saturday in The Guardian. He can be reached at [email protected].
