Latest Sports
Tyson Zimmer is on the move.
The Russell native who was drafted by the Brandon Wheat Kings 6th overall in 2019 has been traded to the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
Tyson played 82 games with Brandon over two seasons and scored 12 goals while adding 13 assists. He could make his 'Canes debut as early as Friday against Medicine Hat.
- Details
- Contributed by Darnell Duff
Ray Baker has spent the past seven years on the board of directors for Curl Manitoba. The first three were spent as a director and chair of the board development committee before being elected vice-president for two years. Then for the past two years, Baker was on the top of Curl Manitoba as their president.
Baker says working with Curl Manitoba was a great opportunity.
"I had a great time on the board, I met a lot of great people and I learned a lot," said Baker. "It's always nice to surround yourself with people that know what they're doing."
Ray's time with Curl Manitoba has now come to an end but as that chapter closes, another very exciting chapter has begun. Just a week after his presidency reign at Curl Manitoba ended, Ray was appointed to the board of governors for Curling Canada. Ray's four-year team has now begun.
"It's very exciting news, I'm looking forward to getting into the whole board side of things," said Baker. "Curling is a complicating business now, it's a pretty big operation and I'm excited to be a part of it with Curling Canada."
Ray will bring a lot of practical knowledge to the position having been a small business owner for 35 years and he has been front and centre in the curling scene for decades. Curling Canada opened their season of champions last week with the Pointsbet Invitational which was won by Team Reid Carruthers on the men's side and Team Jennifer Jones on the women's side. A full list of Curling Canada events can be seen here.
Baker is also still an elite competitor out on the ice and recently skipped Team Manitoba to a national championship at the Canada Senior Games in Kamloops. They beat the host team late last month and he was joined by Keith Pottle, Bob Scales, and Dwight Bottrell.
"We had a great time in Kamloops, the ice conditions were fantastic," said Baker. "We had a ton of fun and lots of laughs, it was a great experience."
Baker will continue to skip his own team throughout the winter and he will also return to the ice with Lisa Hale. The Dauphin duo has played in events around the globe including stops in Austria and Charlotte. The mixed doubles season has yet to start but once it does, it's set to be another exciting winter on the ice for Hale and Baker.
- Details
- Contributed by Darnell Duff
The Dauphin Kings put together a pretty solid defensive effort on Tuesday; however, the team has yet to find their stride offensively.
In their third meeting with Neepawa of the campaign, the Titans earned two points with a 4-1 win at the Yellowhead Centre.
Dauphin did open the scoring in the game as Matthew Gough scored his first as a King just 4:18 into the contest. From there, the Titans controlled the scoreboard. Kalen Reynolds would tie the game up for Neepawa after 20 minutes of play.
No goals were scored in the second and Neepawa took a 2-1 lead just 2:08 into the third. Neepawa would score two more the rest of the way to secure the win.
The loss now drops Dauphin to 2-3-1 on the season ahead of a weekend home-and-home with the Winnipeg Blues.
- Details
- Contributed by Darnell Duff
Taylor Fletcher and Adam Sharpe shot a 51 on Monday to win the par 3 tournament at the McCreary Golf and Country Club. The duo fired a superb 3 under par as they played the nine-hole course twice.
Here are the closest to the hole winners:
- Details
- Contributed by Darnell Duff
Photo Credit – Pederson Photographic
=====
The Dauphin Kings and Neepawa Titans opened the new season with a home-and-home against each other. Each team successfully defended their home ice as Dauphin won in overtime at Credit Union Place and Neepawa won on the road at the Yellowhead Centre.
On Tuesday night, the two clubs will battle once again as the Titans host the Kings. It’s already the third game against each other and the season only began 11 days ago.
After dropping three straight games, Dauphin responded with an overtime win on Saturday while the Titans have lost three straight games and four of their first five games of the season. Dauphin enters Tuesday’s game in a tie for third with five points while Neepawa is at the bottom of the West Division with four points. Offence has been tough to come by for both clubs, the Titans have scored 12 goals while Dauphin has found the back of the net 11 times.
Following Tuesday’s meeting, the two clubs won’t play again until October 28.
By the numbers:
Dauphin
GF- 11
GA- 17
PP%- 21.4%
PK%- 83.3%
Leaders- Blake Boudreau 2g, 2a / Riley Borody 2g, 1a / Jayden Harris 2g, 1a / Mason Smith 1g, 2a / Jovan Malay 3a
Road Record– 0-2-1
Neepawa
GF– 12
GA– 20
PP%– 15%
PK%– 64.7%
Leaders- Will Highet 1g, 3a / Parker Murn 1g, 3a / Parker Korman 2g, 1a / Josh Romanyk 2g, 1a
Home Record- 1-1-1
- Details
- Contributed by Darnell Duff
Going perfect the entire way throughout the round-robin and playoffs is an extremely tough feat. For the Gilbert Plains Trojans junior varsity girls' volleyball team, that tough feat was achieved over the weekend.
Playing in a tournament at the Teulon Collegiate, Gilbert Plains rolled in their round-robin games playing in Pool A alongside Arborg, Treherne, Stonewall, Steinbach Christian, and Teulon. The team gave up less than five points in two of their round-robin sets and they gave up just 108 points in their 10 round-robin sets while scoring 250.
In the semifinal against Teulon, the Trojans won 25-5, 25-9. They would then down Warren in the finals, 25-23, 25-13. 14 sets played and they only gave up more than 20 points once on their way to a title.
- Details
- Contributed by Darnell Duff
A pair of teams from the Manitoba Junior Hockey League is right near the top in the most recent Top 20 rankings that are put up weekly by the Canadian Junior Hockey League.
Following a trip to last year's MJHL final, the Steinbach Pistons are ranked second nationally. Competing in the league's East Division, the Pistons are off to a 5-0 start as they lead their division by two points.
Their 23 goals are the most in the league and their 13 allowed is the second-fewest. Steinbach's 34.8% on the power play ranks atop the league while their 80% on the penalty kill also ranks near the top of the league. Travis Hensrud leads the way for the Pistons so far with his five goals and four assists while Davis Fry is just behind with eight points. The Pistons play Swan Valley and Selkirk this weekend.
Over in the West Division, the Virden Oil Capitals have been the class of the division so far and they're ranked fourth nationally. Sitting at 4-0, the Oil Caps' are two points up on OCN and they also have two games in hand. Virden has produced 18 goals while giving up the fewest in the league at 11.
Virden has been getting the job done offensively by committee with seven skaters recording at least three points, led by Nolan Chastko's six points. Both Owen LaRocque and Eric Reid have been solid in net for Virden as both netminders have a pair of wins early in the season.
Over in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League, the Yorkton Terriers are 4-0 to start the season and they're ranked ninth.
Here is the complete list:
1. Collingwood Blues (OJHL)
2. Steinbach Pistons (MJHL)
3. Titan de Princeville (LHJAAAQ)
4. Virden Oil Capitals (MJHL)
5. Battlefords North Stars (SJHL)
6. Navan Grads (CCHL)
7. Humboldt Broncos (SJHL)
8. Carleton Place Canadians (CCHL)
9. Yorkton Terriers (SJHL)
10. Milton Menace (OJHL)
11. Summerside Western Capitals (MHL)
12. Miramichi Timberwolves (MHL)
13. Cobras de Terrebonne (LHJAAAQ)
14. Camrose Kodiaks (AJHL)
15. Toronto Jr. Canadiens (OJHL)
16. Espanola Paper Kings (NOJHL)
17. Kam River Fighting Walleye (SIJHL)
18. Blind River Beavers (NOJHL)
19. Lloydminster Bobcats (AJHL)
20. Truro Bearcats (MHL)
HONOURABLE MENTION: Drayton Valley Thunder (AJHL); Spruce Grove Saints (AJHL); Whitecourt Wolverines (AJHL); Trenton Golden Hawks (OJHL); Powassan Voodoos (NOJHL).
- Details
- Contributed by Darnell Duff
Photo Credit - Pederson Photographic
=====
If Madden Murray's performance at the JoFo Cup was any indication of how his season would go, big things were on the way. Murray scored twice in the game and he followed that up by suiting up in a pair of preseason games with the Kings.
While Madden intends to continue practicing with the team every day, he's back playing with the Parkland U18 Rangers and what a start he is off to. As the team opened their season against the Winnipeg Wild on Saturday, Murray scored twice in the team's tough defeat. His second goal was a highlight reel marker as he went coast-to-coast and made a nice move past a Wild defender and then capped the rush off by going bar down.
Then on Sunday afternoon, Murray was at it again as he scored two more goals in a very tight defeat against the Wild. He had another highlight reel goal as he once again went coast-to-coast and tucked the puck just under the bar on a shot from the left goal line. Madden now leads the league in goal scoring after one weekend of the season. Six other skaters have three goals, Madden is the only one with four.
"I feel really fast, I feel like I was the fastest player on the ice," said Murray. "We struggled in the first game. But we came back in the second game and put forth a pretty good effort and kept it close with Winnipeg."
Murray says practicing with the Kings has been great and it has brought up his compete level. Known for his great speed and high-level skill, Murray is tough to get off the puck and if he goes 1-on-1 with a defender, he continues to prove that he can win the race and produce.
The club has also announced their leadership group for the season with Bo Eisner being named the team's captain. Murray; meanwhile, will serve as one of the team's assistant captains alongside Dru Mushumanski, Jackson Badowski, Sam Swanton, Skyler Carriere, and Kyler Swanton. Murray says being a part of the leadership group is a special feeling.
"I've never been part of a leadership group in recent years so it's a pretty cool feeling," said Murray. "I maybe was in like atom but I haven't sniffed it since then so I'm very happy about it."
Parkland will now hit the ice for practices on Tuesday and Thursday before hitting the road for a pair of games next weekend in Teulon. Friday's game against Interlake is slated for 7:30 and the two teams will meet again on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
That's followed up with a game next Wednesday in Brandon, a pair of games in Thompson against Norman before rounding out a seven-game road trip with two games in Winnipeg against the Bruins. Parkland's next home game is Tuesday, October 25 when the Wheat Kings are in town.
"I believe we are a playoff team, we just have to keep improving every practice and game," said Murray. "We have a lot of big strong forwards that have a lot of skill. We're all looking forward to getting back on the ice against Interlake, it should be a good test for us."
- Details
- Contributed by Darnell Duff
Photo Credit - Pederson Photographic
=====
The Parkland U18 Rangers lost their game on Sunday but there were plenty of positives for the club.
Wrapping up a two-game weekend set with the Wild, Parkland stuck right with them in losing a tight 5-4 contest. The solid performance came one day after a 10-3 loss.
Madden Murray continued with his sizzling start to the season as he had two goals. He now has four on the season. Bo Eisner and Conner McKay scored Parkland's other goals in the game.
The Rangers now head to Teulon for a pair of games next weekend.
- Details
- Contributed by Darnell Duff
The Major Pratt Trojans varsity girls volleyball team won a championship last weekend and they made it happen again this weekend.
Playing at the Elton tournament, the Trojans lost just one set to win another title. In the round-robin, they played a close game against Grandview as they won 25-19, 25-22. They would go on to dismantle both Killarney and Rivers, giving up a combined 31 points in the four sets.
Following a quarterfinal win against Erickson, the Trojans downed a tough Sabres team in the semifinal in three sets. Going up against Grandview in the finals, the Trojans played stellar in winning in straight sets, 25-19, 25-14.
The Trojans have now won tournaments on back-to-back weekends. The Grandview Spartans; meanwhile, won a tournament last weekend and finished second this week.
- Details
- Contributed by Darnell Duff
Photo Credit – Pederson Photographic
=====
Garrett Hrechka scored the game winning goal in game six of last year’s MJHL final against the Steinbach Pistons. On Saturday night in Dauphin, he ended the game once again.
In a thrilling game against the Swan Valley Stampeders, Hrechka scored the game-winner for Dauphin in overtime as the Kings earned a 3-2 win.
Riley Borody scored first to give the Kings a 1-0 lead in the first but the Stampeders scored two straight to take a 2-1 lead in the third. That’s when Mason Smith stepped up. He took a beautiful pass from Blake Boudreau and potted it to the back of the net for his first as a King.
That set the stage for Hrechka. Nicholas Hatton had a lane down the left side of the ice and he skated it across the blue line, fed Hrechka and the 20-year-old from Dauphin did the rest to seal the game.
Keaton Woolsey also made an incredible save on Collin Jennings in overtime.
With the win, Dauphin snaps their three-game losing streak and they are now 2-2-1 on the season. Swan Valley; meanwhile, are now 2-2-1.
Dauphin is back in action Tuesday when they play the Neepawa Titans at the Yellowhead Centre, their next home game is next Friday when the Winnipeg Blues are in town.
- Details
- Contributed by Darnell Duff
