This week in sports

NHL

The Detroit Red Wings played their first game after the death of owner Mike Ilitch against the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 15 at Joe Louis Arena. The Wings were looking for a win but came up short, losing 2-0 to the Blues. Ivan Barbashev and Jaden Schwartz scored the two goals, winning their fifth game in a row. This keeps the St. Louis Blues at third place in the Central Division, putting them in playoff positon, while the Red Wings are still left in last in the Eastern conference.

The Toronto Maple Leafs took a trip to the Nationwide Arena to play the Columbus Blue Jackets on Feb. 15. The Blue Jackets came out fast, scoring in the first five minutes of the first period. They added another to give them a 2-0 lead going into the second, where they would score two more, making the score 4-0. Nazem Kadri was able to slide a goal in late in the second and early in the third but the Blue Jackets sealed the fate of the Leafs adding a fifth and final goal. The Blue Jackets took the win 5-2 moving them up to third place in the Metropolitan Division, giving them a shot at the playoffs. As for the Leafs, they moved down to fourth putting them just out of reach of a playoff berth, but still in play for the second wild card spot.

NBA

The Toronto Raptors made a big trade Feb. 16, acquiring Serge Ibaka from the Orlando Magic while the Raptors sent over Terrence Ross with a first-round draft pick in 2017. Ibaka was drafted 24 in the first round in 2008 to the Seattle Supersonics, he’s a power forward which will be a key in the Raptors drive for the playoffs. At six-foot-ten-inches and averaging 15 ppg, he’s going to bring a new fight to the game for the Raptors.

The Toronto Raptors hosted the Charlotte Hornets on Feb. 15 at the Air Canada Centre. The Raptors came out scoring big in the first quarter leading 31-20 but the Hornets came back to bring it to 44-41 for the Raptors after the first half. The Hornets started where they left-off and scored 34 points while the Raptors barely managed 14, but they were able to swing the momentum the other way and win the game 90-85 after scoring 32 in the final quarter.

Spitfires

The Sarnia Sting were in town to play the Windsor Spitfires on Feb. 16 at the WFCU Centre. The Spitfires fought hard and managed to only allow the Sting to score three goals. The Spitfires were able to capitalize scoring six goals to win 6-3, giving them a win going into Mickey Renaud weekend, where they will face the Guelph Storm on Saturday Feb. 18 at the WFCU Centre in Windsor. Puck drop is at 7:05 p.m.

Lancers

The Windsor Lancers women’s basketball team played the McMaster Mauraders at the St. Denis Centre on Feb. 15. The Lancers fought a hard battle against the No. 2 ranked Mauraders. Their effort and power was rewarded with a close score of 74-73 for the Lancers.

The Windsor Lancers men’s basketball team played the McMaster Mauraders as well at the St. Denis Centre on Feb. 15 night. Both teams brought the fire to the court and the score showed when regular time was not enough. The teams tied up after four quarters at 80-80 bringing on overtime where the Lancers men’s team was able to take the lead and win 91-87.

PJHL Playoffs

The Integrity Amherstburg Admirals move on to the next round with a 4-2 series win over the Wheatley Omstead Sharks. The Essex 73’s also moved past the Mooretown Flags with a 4-1 record. The 73’s will now faceoff against the Admirals in the second round of PJHL playoffs. The winner will go to the finals for the Western conference bracket. Game one will be at the Essex Centre complex at 7 p.m. on Feb. 17 and game two will be Feb. 19 at the Libro Centre in Amherstburg at 7 p.m.