It was a clean sweep for team MJHL in Wednesday's finale of the MJHL-SJHL Showcase. In the first game, team MJHL 20U Black was able to bounce back from a 9-4 loss on Tuesday and beat team SJHL 20U Gold 5-1. Portages Cameron Bullinger scored his first goal of the weekend to put Team Black on the board first; Team Gold responded with a power play goal a little bit after the halfway point to make it a tie game at 1-1. To cap off the first, Grady Hoffman of Steinbach chalked up a goal to give Team Black their second lead. In the second, Matteo Speranza and Nolan Nenow added two more points to the score to make it 4-1. Near the end of the third, Cameron Bullinger scored an empty netter, making the final score 5-1. 

The next contest featured team SJHL 20U White and team MJHL 20U Red going toe-to-toe against each other. Team White scored first at the nine-minute mark; Winklers Isaiah Peters and the Team Red power play unit put together a goal to wrap up the first. Brody Beauchemin recorded his second of the weekend to give Team Red their first lead; that was the case up until Team White bagged another one to tie things up. In the third, six goals were scored between the two teams; Team White notched one early to give them their second lead. Blizz standout Quincy Supprien, Niverville's Sean Williams and Adam Vigfusson all racked up back-to-back goals, making the score 5-3. Team White got one more shorthanded goal, but it was too little too late.  Jayce Legaarden added one more to the tally to make Team Red's final score 6-4.

Team MJHL 18U White and team SJHL 18U Blue played against each other once again. Much like their first matchup, this one ended in a shootout. Team Blue scored in the first, and Blizz defender Esteban Cinq-Mars earned his second goal to tie things up in the second. After fifteen attempts, Max Lavoie buried one and won the game for Team White, making the final score 2-1.   
The Northern Manitoba Blizzard hit the road this Saturday to take on division rival Dauphin.

Day one of the MJHL-SJHL Showcase is in the books, and three games were played yesterday.  Game one was between team MJHL 20U Red and team SJHL 20U Gold; the MJHL 20U Red is not only being coached by Coach Eric Labrosse but also features a plethora of Blizz players like Brett Ward, Miguel Bouvier and Keenan McNeill, to name a few. Winkler centerman Brody Beauchemin orchestrated a power play goal to put team Red on the board first. Shortly after, team Gold was able to bang in back-to-back goals to make it a 2-1 game. Late in the second, team Gold scored again and made it a 3-1 game for the SJHL squad. Early in the third, Niklas Gudmundson made the game a bit closer by recording his first goal for Team Red, but not too long after, team Gold bagged another goal to make the score 4-2. Late in the third, team Gold added another one via a power play to make the final score 5-2.

The next game featured team MJHL 20U Black and SJHL 20U White and saw team White put on an offensive clinic.  Eight goals were scored between the two teams in the second period. Two came from Niverville's Matteo Speranza and Portages Decker Mujcin; the rest were scored by team White, with two being short-handed goals. The next goal was scored early in the third by Steeler forward Wyatt Witham, followed by a power play goal by Decker Mujcin. With the score being 6-4 for Team White, the game was most definitely within reach for Team Black; that was the case until Team White chalked up three unanswered goals to make the final score 9-4.

The closest game was yesterday's last contest between team MJHL 18U White and SJHL 18U Blue. Blizz defender Esteban Cinq-Mars gave Team White the lead early in the second by scoring his first goal in the showcase; a few minutes later, Adam Mater of the Winnipeg Blues made it a 2-0 game for Team White. Team Blue was able to score one soon after Matar's goal, and they were able to tie up the game at the halfway point in the third. The game would eventually be decided via shootout after a quiet overtime period and see Selkrik forward Remy Hlady win the game for team White.

Three more games will happen today; this time, team SJHL 20U Gold will do battle against team MJHL 20U Black, then team MJHL 20U Red will go toe to toe with team SJHL 20U White, and lastly, team MJHL 18U White will rematch team SJHL 18U Blue.

All MBCI and R.D. Parker Collegiate varsity curling teams will head to Joseph H. Kerr School in  Snow Lake for the Zone 11 Curling Championship. Three schools will be competing today and tomorrow for a chance to book their ticket to provincials.

The OCN Storm picked up four much-needed points this past weekend after securing back-to-back wins in Thompson. Saturday's game was against the number one team in the KJHL, the NCN Flames, and it was truly a heavyweight brawl from start to finish.

A minute and thirty seconds into the first period, NCN’s Marcus Moody put the Flames on the board first. Shortly after, KJHL All-Star Cedrick Puffalt tied things up by scoring his eighteenth goal of the season. To cap off the first period, NCN’s Kobe Tanuyak and Cayden Nycheporak scored back-to-back goals, making it a 3-1 game for the Flames.

Early in the second period, Storm forward Laryn Chaboyer recorded a power-play goal to bring the game closer. Maddox Long then notched his league-high thirty-third goal of the season to make it 4-2 for NCN. Drew Peters, Cedrick Puffalt, and Keilan Holland then put on an offensive clinic, scoring three goals to give the Storm a 5-4 lead. However, it was short-lived as Gregory Wiseman was able to tie things up with just under six minutes to go.

Keestin Danielson then scored his first goal of the Storm's 2024-2025 campaign, but Maddox Long responded by adding another goal to his impressive league-high tally. It was anyone's game with the score tied at 6-6 going into the third period.
Kobe Tanuyak scored his second goal of the night near the halfway point of the third, and Cedrick Puffalt not only earned a hat trick but also sent the game into overtime. In the end, it was none other than Keilan Holland, who scored his second goal to break the Storm's six-game losing streak.

Sunday’s game against the North Stars was just as impressive and gritty as Saturday’s win against NCN. It was a back-and-forth battle through the first and second periods. Jacey Melnyk bagged his first goal of the weekend on a power play early in the first, and Gilbert Teneycke then tied things up to make it 1-1 going into the second.

Cedrick Puffalt tallied another goal for the Storm early in the second, but near the end of the period, Norway House standout Lucien Tait-Reaume orchestrated a North Star power-play goal to make it 2-2 going into the third. Cedrick Puffalt, Drew Peters, and Tye Burke scored back-to-back goals to make it 5-2 and secure another win for the Storm. North Stars forward Daine Thomas was able to add one more goal, but it was too little, too late, making the final score 5-3 in favour of the Storm.
The Storm hit the road this weekend for a two-game doubleheader in Peguis to take on the Juniors.

The Oscar Lathlin Collegiate Wolverines varsity girls' basketball team placed fourth in this past weekend's Frontier Collegiate Classic in Cranberry Portage. In the opening round, the Wolverines secured a dominant 70-26 win against the Chief Sam Cook Mahmuwee Education Centre. In the semifinals, the Wolverines lost a hard-fought battle against the eventual tournament champions, the Hapnot Kopper Kweens. The Wolverines then faced the Minegoziibe Anishinabe Talons for third place but were defeated 53-21. The varsity girls are back in action next week in Swan River for the Swan Valley Co-op Basketball Tournament.

The Northern Manitoba Blizzard are coming off a tough weekend against the Winkler Flyers, going 0-2 in both games. In Friday's game, Winkler’s Max Lavoie put the Flyers on the board first. At the ten-minute mark of the second period, Blake Matheson and the Winkler power play unit capitalized, scoring a power play goal. Shortly after, Brody Beauchemin added the third and final goal, securing a 3-0 win for Winkler.

Saturday’s game was a more competitive contest between the Blizz and the Flyers. There was no scoring in the first and second periods, but once the third period began, centerman Brady Craik recorded his seventeenth goal, giving Winkler a 1-0 lead. Late in the third, Nicholas McKee put the finishing touch on Winkler's second consecutive win by scoring his first goal of the weekend, making the final score 2-0 Winkler.

The Blizz only play one game this week. On Saturday, they travel to Dauphin to take on the Kings. Their next home game is against the Selkirk Steelers on Monday, February 3rd.

The OLC Wolverines will travel to Cranberry Portage to participate in the Senior Varsity Girls' Frontier Collegiate Classic. Their first game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. against the Chief Sam Cook Mahmuwee Education Centre. Win or lose, they will face the Hapnot Kopper Kweens or Mikisew School in the next round. The tournament will conclude tomorrow with the championship game at 5:15 p.m.

The Northern Manitoba Blizzard cap off a quiet January with a two-night doubleheader against the Flyers in Winkler. The Blizz are currently riding a seven-game win streak, whereas Winkler was recently on a twelve-game win streak before it was broken by the Neepawa Titans this past Tuesday. The Blizz and the Flyers rank second overall in their respective divisions and are 1-1 against each other in the 2024/2025 regular season. Puck drop for tonight’s and tomorrow’s games is at 7:30 p.m. The Blizz play one more road game on February 1st against Dauphin before returning home on the 3rd to take on Selkirk. 

The KJHL's 2025 Showcase is happening this weekend at the C.A. Nesbitt Arena and Gordon Beard Arena in Thompson. The event will kick off on Friday with an All-Star Game, featuring thirty-four of the top players in the KJHL. The OCN Storm players who will be playing this Friday include Justin Eetuk, Brody Burrell, Ozy Atkinson, Keilan Holland, Cedrick Puffalt, and, of course, Drew Peters, who will also serve as one of the two All-Star Captains. The All-Star Game starts at 7:30 p.m. at the C.A. Nesbitt Arena.

In addition to the All-Star Game, the OCN Storm will play two scheduled games against the Norway House North Stars and NCN Flames this weekend in Thompson. Saturday's game against the NCN Flames starts at noon and will be held at the C.A. Nesbitt Arena. Sunday's game against the North Stars is set for 2:15 p.m. at the Gordon Beard Arena.

Admission is free for the entire weekend. The KJHL's website has more information on the Showcase.

For the second consecutive year, Eric Labrosse, the Northern Manitoba Blizzard's Head Coach and GM will be heavily involved in the upcoming MJHL-SJHL Showcase. Starting on January 28th, the two-day event will be held at the Seven Oaks Sportsplex in Winnipeg. Over a hundred top players from the MJHL and SJHL will compete against each other and showcase their skills in front of scouts.

Eric Labrosse will serve as the head coach for the MJHL 20U Red Team and will be accompanied by eight players from the Northern Manitoba Blizzard. Captain Miguel Bouvier, Keenan McNeill, Quincy Supprien, Cheechoo Lathlin, and Brett Ward will all suit up for Team 20U Red. The remaining three players—Marlen Edwards, Esteban Cinq-Mars, and Taye Timmerman—will attend but play for the MJHL Team 18U White.

The varsity boys' basketball team at R.D. Parker Collegiate earned third place at this past weekend's Linden Christian School Hoops For Hope Tournament. They were awarded a win in their first game against Niverville, as the Panthers could not attend day one due to weather conditions. The Trojans then lost a close match to the host school and eventual tournament champions, Linden Christian, with a final score of 61-57. The Trojans went on to play against Nelson McIntyre for third place, defeating the Torchbearers 66-44. The Trojans will now prepare for the upcoming St. Boniface Centurion Classic, which will take place early next month.

The varsity girls' basketball team of MBCI were a perfect 3-0 and crowned tournament champions at this past weekend's Kopper Crown Classic in Flin Flon. The Spartans dominated in their first win against Frontier Collegiate, beating the Raiders 64-32. In the next matchup against host school Hapnot, the Spartans narrowly defeated the Kopper Kweens by four points. The final game against Creighton was another hard-fought battle for MBCI, but the Spartans came out on top, beating the Kodiaks 47-42. The Spartans will now prepare for next month's Swan Valley Coop Varsity Girls Basketball Tournament in Swan River.

In local hockey news, tonight's Blizz game has been postponed due to weather conditions and will be played later in the season. The OCN Storm will play two back-to-back games at the GLMC tomorrow and Sunday against the Cross Lake Islanders. Puck drop tomorrow is at 7:30 p.m., while Sunday's game will begin at 1:30 p.m. This is a friendly reminder that all regular season games for your OCN Storm are free to attend.

The U15 AAA Northstars will also play three road games this weekend in Winnipeg. They will go head to head against the Winnipeg Bruins, Eastman Selects, and Winnipeg Wild.

Lastly, the U15 AAA Norman Wild will play one road game against the Westman Wildcats in Deloraine tonight at 7:00 p.m. They will then play two home games against the Pembina Valley Hawks at the Roy H. Johnston Arena tomorrow night and Sunday.

The Varsity basketball squads and the JV boys at R.D. Parker Collegiate will travel south today to compete in various tournaments across the province. The JV boys will be in Dauphin to participate in the Clipper Classic, where they’ll face the Ebb and Flow Thunderbirds in their first game at 6:30 p.m. The Varsity Boys will have a long trek to Winnipeg to partake in the Linden Christian School Hoops for Hope tournament, where they’ll go head-to-head against the Niverville Panthers at 4:30 p.m. Lastly, the Varsity Girls are in Brandon for the Vincent Massey Vikings Invitational, where they will battle the Crocus Plains Plainsmen at 6:45 p.m. All three tournaments wrap up tomorrow evening.

The varsity girls' basketball squads from MBCI and OLC will head to Flin Flon today to partake in the Kopper Crown Classic. It's an annual tournament that takes place at Hapnot Collegiate Institute. This year, eight schools from across the North will be battling for first place. At 4:30 p.m., the Wolverines will take on the host school, the Hapnot Kopper Kweens, while the Spartans will face the Helen Betty Osborne Ininiw Education Resource Centre Huskies at 9:00 p.m. The tournament will wrap up tomorrow, with the championship game scheduled for around 6:30 p.m.

The Kelsey Rec announced on Monday that 2025 applications are now open for the Moffat Family Fund. Those applying must be part of a charitable, non-profit organization with projects that align with the Moffat family's aspirations: "to support and advance the economic, social, physical, and intellectual well-being of children and families." The deadline to apply is March 7th at 4:30 p.m. Applications can be picked up at the front desk of the Wellness Centre. For more information, call 204-627-1134 or email krc@townofthepas.ca.

Both JV basketball teams at MBCI will be trekking south later this week to compete in two tournaments. The JV Girls will be heading to Neepawa Collegiate to partake in their JV Girls Invitational. Their opening game will be against the Helen Betty Osborne Ininiw Education Resource Centre Huskies. The JV Boys will travel to MacGregor Collegiate Institute to compete in their JV tournament, where they will face off against the William Morton Warriors in the opening round.

The OCN Storm are coming off a tough weekend after going 0-2 against number one-ranked NCN. In Saturday's game, Cedrick Puffalt put OCN on the board first and was the lone goal scorer for the Storm. After Puffalt’s goal, NCN took over and scored five unanswered goals to make it a 5-1 Flames win. Ben Tulugak and Russell Matoo had a pair of goals for NCN, while Cash Long recorded a hat trick.

Sunday's game was another dominant win for the Flames. NCN forward Gregory Wiseman scored the only goal in the first period. Early in the second, Israel Maktar and Cash Long added two more to the tally, making it 3-0. Storm captain Drew Peters and Justin Eetuk each scored to make the game closer, but shortly after, Maddex Long bagged back-to-back goals, making it 5-2 going into the third period. Cedrick Puffalt scored his second and final goal of the weekend four minutes into the third. After that, NCN scored five unanswered goals, making the final score 10-3. Gregory Wiseman earned a hat trick by scoring two more goals, while the rest were scored by Bradley Prince, Sage Ouskan, and Seth Zahayko.

Fortunately, the OCN Storm will be back at home this upcoming weekend for a two-game doubleheader against the Cross Lake Islanders.

The SV Boys' basketball team at MBCI brought home some hardware after a successful weekend at the MacGregor Basketball Invitational. The Spartans went 3-0 in tournament play, beating Prairie Mountain 87-44, Minnedosa Collegiate 73-49, and Gimli High School 78-58 in the championship game.

In other basketball news, the SV Girls at Oscar Lathlin Collegiate placed third at the St. Boniface Centurion Classic. The R.D. Parker Collegiate Trojans ended up winning the tournament, defeating the Niverville Panthers 69-38 in the finals.

Lastly, the SV Girls at MBCI placed first in the inaugural Caleb Janzen Basketball Tournament, which took place in Creighton this past weekend.

The Northern Manitoba Blizzard are a perfect 2-0 in 2025 after defeating the Winnipeg Blues 4-3 this past weekend. Tyler Bernier got things rolling by notching his second goal of the season late in the first period. Past the halfway point in the second, Tyler Dhams secured his fourth goal of the year, making it 2-0 going into the third.

A mere six seconds into the third period, Keenan McNeill scored the Blizzard's thirty-fifth power-play goal with the help of Quincy Supprien. Shortly after, Blizzard newcomer Jayden Ward recorded his first goal as a member of the squad, making it 4-0 with a little more than ten minutes left.

The Blues then started to pour it on, pushing for a comeback. Matthew Sawchyn put the Blues on the board first near the 13-minute mark. With a minute and twenty seconds left, Carson White and the Blues' power-play unit made things a little closer with another goal. With under forty seconds left, Renat Nhanieiev chalked up the Blues' third and final goal, making the final score 4-3.

The Blizzard will now get ready to welcome the Selkirk Steelers to town this upcoming weekend.

The Northern Manitoba Blizzard are primed and ready for their first home game of 2025, as they welcome the Winnipeg Blues to the Roy H. Johnston Arena tomorrow. So far in 2025, the Winnipeg Blues are 1-1 and are coming off a 6-2 win against the Winnipeg Freeze. The Blizzard are also undefeated in the new year, having beaten Waywayseecappo 4-2 this past Tuesday. They are currently riding a six-game win streak. Puck drop for tomorrow's game is at 7:00 p.m., the contest will be broadcast live on 102.9 CJAR, with coverage starting around 6:45 p.m.

In basketball action, both JV teams from MBCI will be travelling to Cranberry Portage to continue their runs at the Frontier Collegiate Classic. Round-robin play began yesterday, and the tournament will wrap up tomorrow. As of now, the Hapnot Kopper Kweens and R.D. Parker Collegiate Trojans are 1-0 on the girls' side, while on the boys' side, the only undefeated teams are the R.D. Parker Collegiate Trojans and the host school, Frontier Raiders. Meanwhile, the MBCI SV Boys are heading to MacGregor Collegiate Institute to participate in their Varsity Boys Basketball Invitational. Their first game will be against Prairie Mountain at 5:00 p.m. today.

The varsity girls' basketball teams from Oscar Lathlin Collegiate, R.D. Parker Collegiate, and Hapnot Collegiate Institute will travel to St. Boniface Diocesan High School this upcoming weekend to compete in their annual Centurion Classic. The tournament will feature eight schools from across the province and will begin this Friday.

The Northern Manitoba Blizzard continued their winning ways after picking up their first win of 2025 against Waywayseecappo. Blizzard newcomer Jack Linton, formerly of the Winnipeg Blues, put the Blizzard on the board first. Shortly after, Quincy Supprien notched his sixteenth goal, and Brett Ward scored his third power-play goal of the season, making it a 3-0 game going into the second period.

Wolverine forward Aiden Herring was the lone goal scorer in the second period. Supprien then scored his second goal of the night late in the third. Waywayseecappo defenseman Ryley Cyca managed to score his first goal of the year shortly after, but it was too little, too late.

Much like the past six wins, a lot of credit goes to goaltender Taye Timmerman, who has been amazing during this win streak. The Blizzard defeated Waywayseecappo 4-2, extending their win streak to six games. They will now prepare to welcome the Winnipeg Blues to town this upcoming Saturday.

The Pas Road Runners Swim Club will again host a two-week try swim for those interested in joining the club. The free-try swim will start next week, January 13th, and run until the 23rd. In total, there will be eight sessions, six of which will take place at the Winton pool. The other two sessions will occur at the Opasquia School. More information can be found on their Facebook page and website. You can also contact coach Emily Doucette at 204-978-1444 or by email at emilydoucette01@gmail.com.

The OCN Storm suffered back-to-back losses after playing two road games against the Norway House North Stars this past weekend. In Saturday's game, Drew Peters and Jacey Melnyk put the Storm on the board first. However, after picking up two penalties, the North Stars went on the power play and capitalized, scoring two goals to tie things up heading into the second period.

Right off the bat in the second, the North Stars took a penalty, and Ozy Atkinson took advantage, notching a power-play goal to make it 3-2 for the Storm. In the second half of the period, five goals were scored in total, three of which came from the North Stars. The pair of goals from Kavan McKay and Daine Thomas gave the Stars a 4-3 lead, but shortly after, Carson Clemons tied things up for the Storm. To cap off the period, North Stars forward Lucien Tait-Reaume and Storm forward Cedrick Puffalt both scored power-play goals, making it 5-5 going into the third.

In the third period, the North Stars dominated as they scored three unanswered goals, making the final score 8-5 in favour of the North Stars.

Yesterday's game was just as exciting, if not more. Similar to Saturday’s game, the Storm got on the board first with goals from Nathan Stevens and Ozy Atkinson. Near the end of the first, North Stars forward Lucien Tait-Reaume scored his third goal on the weekend. OCN Storm Captain Drew Peters responded with an unassisted goal, but with just under two minutes left to go, Daine Thomas got the North Stars closer by scoring his twelfth goal of the season. With the score being 3-2 going into the second, the North Stars had some work to do to tie things up.

Near the twelve-minute mark, Kade Bruyere tied the game with a power-play goal, and shortly after, North Stars defenseman Coalton Saunders gave the Stars their first lead. The North Stars then took two penalties, resulting in two back-to-back power-play goals scored by Jacey Melnyk and Laryn Chaboyer, making the score 5-4 going into the third.

Late in the third, Cedrick Puffalt extended the Storm's lead to 6-4 after scoring another power-play goal. Much like Saturday's game, the North Stars took control of the third and went on a run, scoring three goals in just one minute and thirty seconds. The North Stars were back on top, but not for long, as Tye Burke tied the game to send it to overtime.

After a back-and-forth battle between the two teams, it would be Dawson Osborne of Norway House who scored the overtime winner, giving the North Stars their second win in a row.

The North Stars will shift their focus to this upcoming weekend’s road trip matchup against the number-one-ranked NCN.

The Northern Manitoba Blizzards' 2025 campaign will have to wait due to the postponement of yesterday's game against Dauphin. Transportation issues were the main reason for the game's cancellation. The matchup will instead be played at a later date. The Blizz will now focus on tomorrow's contest against Waywayseecappo and this upcoming weekend, where they will host the Winnipeg Blues. Saturday's game will be broadcast live on 102.9 CJAR and is set to begin at approximately 6:45 p.m. with your FunkyThreadz pregame show. Puck drop is slated for 7:00 p.m.