Gonzaga opens WCC play early

College basketball: WCC men’s basketball gets an early start this season, with pre-Christmas conference matchups for the first time in league history.

Gonzaga, conference champions 14 of the last 15 years, opens up at home against Pepperdine, projected by many as a top three contender, on Dec. 21, followed by Loyola Marymount two days later. After a short holiday break, the Zags’ first road trip will be to the Bay Area to face Santa Clara on Dec. 31 and San Francisco on Jan. 2.

The Zags will play five of their first seven conference games at home, three with students on semester break. The WCC television schedule will be released at a later date.

GU’s matchups against Brigham Young, which shared second place with Saint Mary’s last year, fall on Jan. 14 at the McCarthey Athletic Center and the regular-season finale Feb. 27 in Provo. The Zags and Gaels tangle Jan. 21 in Moraga and Feb. 20 in Spokane.

Jim Meehan

Chiefs prepare to open camp

Junior hockey: The Spokane Chiefs will open a four-day fall camp on Aug. 27 at the Spokane Arena and cap it with the annual Red-White Game on Aug. 30 at 1 p.m.

As per annual tradition, the camp consists of three teams named after former players. Team Johnson (blue) is named after Spokane native, former Chief and current Tampa Bay Lightning forward Tyler Johnson. Team Sawyer (white) is named after former Chief and NHL forward Kevin Sawyer. Team Cowen (red) is named after former Chief and current Ottawa Senators defenseman Jared Cowen.

The three teams will play twice each day. On Aug. 27 and 28, the games will be at 11:30 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. On Aug. 29, games will be at 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. All ice sessions are open to the public.