SATURDAY EYE-OPENER

A big night for Vancouver’s Shawn Matthias on Friday. He scored his first career hat trick as the Canucks beat the Boston Bruins 5-2. He wasn’t the only one to record a milestone. Goaltender Ryan Miller made 21 saves for the win in his 600th NHL game. Radim Vrbata and Jannik Hansen also scored for Vancouver.

San Jose’s three-game losing streak is over thanks to Joe Pavelski. He scored three times as the Sharks doubled the Arizona Coyotes 4-2. It was the third time in his career that he reached the 30-goal mark. Meanwhile, Antti Niemi stopped 32 shots in net.

Positives and negatives for the Dallas Stars. They blanked the Florida Panthers 2-0, but lost three players to injuries. Team points leader Tyler Seguin left the game in the third period with a lower-body injury. He had to be helped off the ice after being checked in the lower leg in the third period. Patrick Eaves and Ales Hemsky were also hurt. Kari Lehtonen, however, made 37 saves for the shutout.

The impressive rookie season continues for Vaughn, Ontario’s Andrew Wiggins. The Minnesota Timberwolves forward dropped 22 points, good enough for MVP honours at the Rising Stars Challenge during the NBA All-Star weekend. The World team won the game against the United States 121-112.

Sarah Koltun of the Yukon is out at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Her rink is the first to be eliminated after losing 11-10 to Kerry Galusha of the Northwest Territories in the qualification round. It’s the first year that the qualifier round is being used at the tournament. The winner of the qualification final will advance to the 12-team main draw which gets underway in Moose Jaw on Saturday.

Two golfers share the lead at the midway point of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Matt Jones and Brandt Snedeker are tied at 12-under par.

(The Canadian Press)