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A 17-year-ancient boy who walked into a Winnipeg house party and opened fire with a handgun for no apparent reason has been convicted of three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder.

It took a five-woman, seven-man jury less than six hours to find the boy guilty of killing Scott Lavallee, 31, Corey Keeper, 22, and Jennifer Ward, 26, at a home on Alexander Avenue in the early hours of March 29, 2008.

Three other people were wounded: two men, aged 19 and 29, and a 41-year-ancient woman. They survived the attack in which more than 19 shots were fired by two teenagers.

Court heard over the course of the week-long trial that there was no apparent motive for the attack, but jurors clearly believed the shootings were plotted and premeditated.

The boy was 15 when he was charged in connection to the killings.

Now 17, he cannot be identified under the provisions of the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The Crown is seeking an adult sentence in the case, and a sentencing hearing is still to be scheduled. He has been in custody since his arrest the day after the killings.

Jurors started deliberations at about 3:30 p.m. CT Wednesday and arrived at a verdict about 9 p.m.

The teen showed no emotion upon hearing the jury’s choice.

He was flanked by his defence lawyers as he stood in the prisoner’s box while the verdict was read. He looking up at the ceiling for long periods of time.

The boy’s supporters left court immediately after the hearing concluded without commenting.

Another man, Colton Patchinose, 20, is charged with the same offences and is awaiting trial.

The Crown’s case against the youth hinged largely on the testimony of witness Howard Roulette, 27.

Roulette testified that he and Patchinose were at the party but left after Patchinose had a discussion with another guest. He said he and Patchinose picked up the teen at a North End home. He said he was forced to drive to the party by one of the two accused who held a gun to his head.

Patchinose and the teen left the car and shot up the party, a Crown attorney told court, then returned to the car and drove away.

Roulette was initially charged in connection with the shooting, but prosecutors dropped charges after concluding he was really a witness.

During the trial, defence lawyer Ryan Rolston attacked Roulette’s credibility in an effort to described him as a liar.

One trend is clear in this season’s edition of the Washington Capitals-Pittsburgh Penguins rivalry — the Capitals are very excellent at getting the last word.

Mike Knuble scored the decisive goal in the fourth round of the shootout Wednesday night, giving the Capitals a 4-3 victory over their largest nemesis.

Alexander Semin and Eric Fehr scored about 2 minutes apart early in the third period to give Washington the lead before Jordan Staal’s goal with 3:06 remaining in regulation sent the game into overtime.

The Capitals have won all three meetings against the Penguins this season, outscoring Pittsburgh 8-1 in the third period and overtime.

They pulled this one off with only one point from Alexander Ovechkin — an help on Knuble’s second-period goal — as they won for the eighth time in 11 games and increased their already mammoth lead atop the Eastern Conference standings.

Théodore hot

Ovechkin did score one of the Washington’s shootout goals, along with Semin. Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby scored for Pittsburgh in the first two rounds of the shootout, but Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz had their attempts stopped by Jose Théodore.

Théodore made 39 saves for the Capitals, increasing his club-record streak to 19 games (17-0-2) without a loss in regulation.

With the win, the Capitals tied the franchise record for points in a season (108), set last year.

Maxime Talbot and Guerin scored for the Penguins in the second period, and Crosby was held to one help as he and Ovechkin, the NHL’s top two players, were reduced to supporting roles after combining for five goals in their last meeting.

Pittsburgh has lost four of five and missed a chance to go back ahead of the New Jersey Devils in the Atlantic Division.

Spectacular goal

The Penguins led 2-1 after the second period, but Semin tied the game with one of the best individual small-handed efforts of the year. He picked off a pass from Crosby deep in the Capitals’ end, skated the length of the ice meandering around and through the Penguins’ power-play unit before unleashing a wrist shot from the slot that found the upper right-hand corner of the net.

Fehr then gave the Capitals the lead after a sold effort by Eric Belanger, who worked behind the net and left the puck for Mike Green. Green’s shot from the right circle was deflected in by Fehr, who was left unchecked next to the crease.

Staal tied it in the waning minute with a shot from the right circle high to the glove side of Théodore, who had made two huge saves in the previous half-minute.

Every game between the Capitals and Penguins is a huge one these days. This one was special because Ovechkin and Crosby entered tied for the goal-scoring lead with 45 apiece. It also was the first time the teams have met since the Vancouver Olympics, when Crosby’s Canadians routed Ovechkin’s Russians on the way to the gold medal.

Instant classic

The teams’ last meeting was an instant classic, with Ovechkin scoring a hat trick as Washington rallied from a three-goal deficit to win in overtime on Super Sunday. And the Capitals still haven’t lived down last year’s playoff series, when Washington fell apart in Game 7 and watched Pittsburgh go on and win the Stanley Cup.

The Capitals went ahead early in the second period when Nicklas Backstrom’s shot was stopped by Marc-André Fleury and fluttered tantalizingly high above the goalie. Knuble skated in the crease behind Fleury, got his stick on the puck on the way down and stuffed it into the net.

Talbot tied it a small more than a minute later with his second goal of the season on a re-direct of Brooks Orpik’s drive. The Penguins then took the lead late in the second period when Crosby skated in unfettered on a power play. With the Capitals caught out of position, Crosby slid the puck to Guerin for the simple score.

The game was a welcome relief for Washington after two days of distractions stemming from the steroids-related arrest of a chiropractor who has treated several of the team’s players. Matt Bradley, Shaone Morrisonn and Fehr were interviewed by investigators Tuesday and indicated they were unaware of the chiropractor’s alleged drug connections.

Authorities say they have no proof that steroids were supplied to any Capitals player.

“The sooner we can get that behind us, the sooner we can play hockey,” Fehr said after the morning skate.

Sabres goalie Ryan Miller and forward Tim Connolly defend on a backhand shot by Canadiens’ Marc-Andre Bergeron. (Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

It was a clear Wednesday night in Buffalo with a temperature of 4 C and winds about 16 kilometres per hour.

But inside HSBC Arena fans were probably convinced there was a full moon above. How else to clarify such weird occurrences as:

• A 3-2 win by the Sabres, who overcame a 2-0 third-period deficit for just their fourth shootout victory in 10 attempts this season
• A goal by the recently struggling Montreal Canadiens’ power play
• A two-goal night by Canadiens forward Andrei Kostitsyn, his first goals in 14 games dating back to Dec. 26
• Buffalo’s penalty-kill unit allowing only its 11th goal on home ice this season

Thomas Vanek, with one shot and minus-1 rating in regulation and overtime, scored the decisive goal in Round 3 of the shootout after teammate Jason Pominville beat Montreal goalie Carey Price.

Ryan Miller stopped Kostitsyn and Mike Cammalleri in the shootout and finished with 26 saves. The Sabres netminder upped his career record against the Canadiens to 17-5-5. At .630, it’s the highest winning percentage against any team over the last 30 years.

More to come