News1130 Sports weekend round-up

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – There’s plenty of action for the local sports fan this weekend.

CFL

The wait is finally over. The BC Lions will try to cap a thrilling season with a victory over the East Division Champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers Sunday in the 99th Grey Cup game. Winnipeg enter the game as huge underdogs but beat the Lions twice this year, though both games were played at their temporary Empire Field home. The Lions have not lost since moving back to the newly-renovated BC Place.  

The Blue Bombers feature former BC Lions quarterback Buck Pierce, who played five seasons in Vancouver before he was cut due to injury problems. The Lions will be coming off a successful CFL Awards Night as quarterback Travis Lulay captured the Gibsons Finest Most Outstanding Player Award while kicker Paul McCallum took home the Outstanding Special Teams Player of the Year.

Game time Sunday is 3:30 p.m.

UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL

The Canadian Interuniversity Sport football title will be handed out tonight in Vancouver. Laval meets McMaster in the Vanier Cup Final at BC Place. Kickoff is 6 p.m.

NHL

The Vancouver Canucks three-game road trip resumes tonight when they visit the Phoenix Coyotes.

The Canucks began the trip with a 3-0 shutout of the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night and will continue to start Cory Schneider in goal. The Canucks’ backup goalie will be making his fourth-straight start while Roberto Luongo continues to recover from an upper-body injury suffered in the Canucks victory over the New York Islanders two weeks ago.

Luongo has been named tomorrow’s starter for the Canucks’ road game at San Jose. Defenseman Aaron Rome will miss tonight’s game with a hand injury while defenseman Keith Ballard returns from back spasms.   Kevin Bieksa is a game-time decision.  The veteran blueliner suffered a hip flexor injury late in the win over Colorado this week.  Game time is 6 p.m.

AHL

The Abbotsford Heat have returned from a successful American Hockey League road trip in top spot in the AHL’s Western Conference.

The Heat took 12 of a possible 14 points on their two week journey through Texas and Oklahoma, ending it with a 1-0 shootout victory over the Houston Aeros on Sunday. The win puts Abbotsford two points up on Oklahoma City and Houston.

The Heat host the San Antonio Rampage, the top affiliate of the Florida Panthers in a pair of weekend games beginning tonight (7 p.m.) at the Abbotsford Sports and Entertainment Centre.

You can catch all the action on Abbotsford’s Country 107.1.

WHL

The Vancouver Giants continue their prairie road trip tonight when they visit the Prince Albert Raiders.

The Giants will try to bounce back from a 4-1 loss to the visiting Kootenay Ice on Sunday.  The loss snapped Vancouver’s winning streak at six games, but they remain in first place in the BC Division.

Vancouver has won just four of 11 road games this season. The only meeting between the two teams last year was a 5-3 Raiders’ victory at the Coliseum on October 13th.

Game time is 6 p.m. The Giants will continue the road trip at the Saskatoon Blades tomorrow night.

BCHL

The eight-game BC Hockey League schedule tonight includes two games locally. Coquitlam is home to Langley while Penticton is at Chilliwack. Both games start at 7 p.m.

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