National Sports

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man. — A tiebreaker is needed to determine the final playoff spot at the mixed doubles Olympic curling trials.

Thursday's Games World Junior Hockey Championship At Buffalo N.Y. Semifinals Canada 7 Czech Republic 2 Sweden 4 U.S.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Canada's returnees at the world junior hockey championship have been waiting 12 months for a shot at redemption, and on Friday night they'll get it.

Calgary coach Glen Gulutzan held a players meeting Thursday morning, asking his team to not panic when they fall behind in games. On Thursday night, they got a chance to practise what he preached and they passed the test with flying colours.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Drake Batherson has flown under the radar for most of his hockey career. He wasn't invited to Canada's Summer Showcase this year, a camp where the junior national team's roster begins to take shape.

EDMONTON — It took a shootout for the Edmonton Oilers to bust out of their slump. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored the shootout winner as the Oilers snapped a four-game losing skid with a 2-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday.

MONTREAL — It had been more than a month since Max Pacioretty scored a goal and, when he finally got one, it was in the midst of a goaltending duel.

MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens have sent goaltender Al Montoya to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a conditional fourth-round pick in 2018.

SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of — The rival Koreas will sit down for their first formal talks in more than two years next week to find ways to co-operate on the Winter Olympics in the South and to improve their abysmal ties, Seoul officials said Friday.

TORONTO — Nazem Kadri was an assist short of a bizarre Gordie Howe hat trick Thursday night in a 3-2 Leafs shootout win over the San Jose Sharks that saw the Toronto centre rip out part of Joe Thornton's mountain-man beard in a fight.