Plenty of local hockey games are happening here in town today and tomorrow. The postseason-bound Northern Manitoba Blizzard will face off against the Winnipeg Blues at 7:00 p.m. tonight at the Roy. On the other hand, the OCN Storm will put their win streak to the test tonight against number one-seeded NCN; the puck drop for that contest is at 7:30 p.m. Tomorrow at 4:00 p.m., OCN will once again challenge NCN  at the GLMC, and at 7:00 p.m, the Blizz will go head-to-head with the Selkirk Steelers. Both Blizz games will be broadcast live on CJAR, with the Funky Threadz pre-game show starting around 6:45 p.m.

Last weekend, two JV teams from  Northern Manitoba were crowned Zone 11 Champions; starting today, two more varsity squads will look to earn a ticket to the A/AA Provincial Championship. MBCI will be hosting the girls's Basketball Championship from Thursday to Saturday. At the same time, the boys' championship will take place at the Frontier Collegiate Campus in Cranberry Portage and will start on Friday. The Girl's round-robin format will be split into two pools and feature a total of six schools; the boys, on the other hand, will be grouped into one and see five Northern schools competing against each other.

The Northern Manitoba Blizzard now have back-to-back victories after last night's 4-2 win against the Swan Valley Stampeders. Cael Primanti and Miguel Bouvier opened the scoring for the Blizz, and Will Brown of Swan Valley was able to knock one in before the first intermission. There was no scoring in the second, but thirty seconds into the third, Marlen Edwards netted his twenty-first goal of the season. Will Brown got one more for the Stampeders to inch the game closer, but it wasn't enough to turn the tide. Blizz defenceman Brett Ward registered an empty netter with mere seconds left to make the final 4-2 for the Blizz. The Blizz will now redirect their energy to this weekend's two-game doubleheader against the Blues and the Steelers. Both games will be broadcast live on CJAR.

Make that five wins in a row for the OCN Storm,  who are coming off an impressive weekend against the 5th-seeded Cross Lake Islanders. In Saturday's contest, the Storm faced adversity after Cross Lake scored three back-to-back goals in both the first and second periods, giving the Islanders a three-goal cushion. The Storm did not get discouraged; they fired back and scored seven unanswered goals, making the final score 7-3. Storm captain Drew Peter earned a hat trick, and the rest of the goals were netted by Maddox Dominey, Keestin Danielson, Keilan Holland, and Mason Ndungo.

Sunday's showdown saw the Storm get off to a better start in the first. Laryn Chaboyer put the Storm on the board first by registering his fifth season goal; soon after, Ozy Atkinson and the Storm power play unit facilitated a power play goal to make it 2-0 heading into the second. In the early going of the second, Rowan Fenner added another one to the tally to make it a 3-0 game. Cross Lake finally answered the call with Wilfred McLeod's goal, although moments later, OCN's Logan Marr and Drew Peters closed out the second by adding two more to the state sheet. Drew Peters, Justin Etuk, and Rylan Fourre-Cook bumped the total even more for the Storm, scoring three goals. Bobby Orr-Roulette of Cross Lake attained one more goal, but it was too late to mount a comeback; the final score was 8-2 for the Storm.
The Storm will put their win streak to the ultimate test this weekend, welcoming number-one NCN to the GLMC. Puck drop on Friday is at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday's game will begin around 4:00 p.m.

Registration for Session 4 of the Winton Pools Swim For Life Swimming Lessons opens today, February 26th. Sessions start next week on March 3rd and run until April 11th. There will be no lessons during Spring Break, but that is subject to change depending on the number of participants who register. Those interested can sign up at the Wellness Center or call 204-627-1134 for more information. 

The Zone 11 JV Basketball Championship happened this past weekend for both the girls and boys of Northern Manitoba. The JV girls championship was held in Flin Flon at Hapnot Collegiate Institute, and the JV boys were set up at the Helen Betty Osborne Ininiw Education Resource Centre in Norway House. After a competitive set of round-robin games, the two undefeated teams, in the end, were the Frontier Raiders and Margaret Barbour Spartans. The two unscathed teams would meet in the JV Boys title game; the Raiders prevailed over the Spartans and earned a berth into next month's Provincial A/AA JV Boys Basketball Championship. The two top teams after the girl's round-robin tournament were the host school Hapnot KopperKweens and Margaret Barbour Spartans; the Kweens ended up outperforming the Spartans and, much like the Frontier Raiders, secured a spot in next month's provincial bracket.

Before the Blizz engage in this weekend's two-game home stand, the NorMan squad will make the short trek to Swan River tonight to challenge the Stampeders. After clinching a spot in the playoffs, the Blizz are fighting with Neepawa to keep their second seed, whereas Swan Valley will miss the postseason for the second year in a row. The Blizz are coming off a 2-1 win against the Winnipeg Blues. On the other hand, Swan Valley is fresh off a dominant 5-1 win against the Portage Terriers. The puck drop for tonight's game is 7:00 p.m.

The Northern Manitoba Blizzard punched their ticket to this year's playoffs after splitting their two road games this past weekend. On Friday, the Blizz faced the Portage Terriers, another squad that also secured their spot in the postseason after this weekend of MJHL action. Grant Dardis of Portage found the back of the net on the power play near the halfway point in the opening twenty to claim the first point. Late in the second, Blizz playmaker Miguel Bouvier cracked the thirty-goal mark and tied things up going into the third. A bit after the midway point, Portage's Parker Scherr ripped in the period's lone goal to give the Terriers a 2-1 win.

 Saturday's game saw the Blizz go head to head against the Winnipeg Blues, a team that has missed the playoffs for the second year in a row. Early in the first, Blues left winger Brycen Gair netted his first goal of the MJHL season to give Winnipeg the early lead. Miguel Bouvier, however, buried one to even the score before the period wrapped up. Only one more goal would be scored between the two sides; it came in the first few minutes of the second and was scored by Blizz defenceman Benson Hirst. The Blizz would go on to win 2-1.

The Blizz will play a two-game doubleheader this Friday and Saturday. They will welcome the Winnipeg Blues and the Selkirk Steelers to the Roy. Both contests start at 7:00 and will be broadcast live on 102.9 CJAR.

The Junior Varsity Zone 11 Basketball Championship starts today for Northern Manitoba boys and girls. The JV Boys Championship will occur at the Helen Betty Osborne Ininiw Education Resource Centre, and the JV Girls Championship will be held at Hapnot Collegiate Institute. A total of six schools will be competing in the JV Boys Championship. Pool 1 will feature the Froniter Raiders, HBOIERC Huskies and the Mel Johnson Eagles, whereas Pool 2 will consist of the Hapnot Kopper Kings, Margaret Barbour Spartans and Oscar Lathlin Wolverines. The JV Girls Champion will have only four schools in one pool; the round-robin tournament will include the Frontier Raiders, Hapnot Kopper Kweens, Margaret Barbour Spartans and Cheif Sam Cook Tataskweyak. Two schools will be crowned Zone 11 Champions tomorrow.

Both varsity basketball teams at MBCI were involved in two different tournaments this past weekend. The varsity boys travelled to Neepawa to partake in their basketball tourney; in the opening round, they thumped Gilbert Plains/Grandview (Co-Op) 97-43. In the semis, the Spartans would lose 71-68 in a close-fought match against the eventual tournament champion Souris Sabres. MBCI would square off against the Virden Bears for the third-place decider and won 80-57. The varsity girls played their weekend basketball matchups at Warren Collegiate Institute. In the preliminary round, the Rosenort Redhawks had the upper hand on the Spartans; they were, however, able to regain momentum against the Grant Park Pirates with a decisive 63-15 win. In the consolation game, the Spartans would face none other than the Hapnot Kopper Kweens and secured a 63-27 victory. 

 

The Northern Manitoba Blizzard returned to their winning ways last night after picking up a hard-fought 2-1 victory against division rival Dauphin. The first goal came early in the second and was scored by Cael Primanti. A bit after the nineteen-minute mark, Miguel Bouvier and the Blizzard power play unit would add one more to the tally to conclude the second period. Late in the third, Havryil Simchuk netted the only goal for Dauphin, which closed out the score at 2-1 for the Blizz. Goaltender Taye Timmerman had another excellent night, saving thirty-two out of thirty-three shots on goal. The Blizzard will hit the road again this Friday and Saturday to go head-to-head with the Portage Terriers and Winnipeg Blues.

The OCN Storm not only went 2-0 this past weekend but also clawed their way back into third place in the KJHL standings. The Storm welcomed the Norway House North Stars to the GLMC for a two-game doubleheader. In Saturday's game,  The Storm would chalk up eight goals in a row; two were scored shorthanded, three were earned on the power play, and the rest were regular goals. Rowan Fenner, Tye Burke, Laryn Chaboyer and Jacey Melnyk all turned up on the stat sheet, whereas Storm captain Drew Peters and Keestin Danielson had two goals apiece. North Stars forward Quentin Kablutsiak would be the lone scorer for Norway House late in the third, making the final 8-1 for the Storm. Storm goaltender Logan Grenier had a fantastic night in net, saving thirty-three out of thirty-four shots on goal.

Sunday's contest was just as if not more dominant for your OCN Storm.  Cedrick Puffalt and Tye Burke would record back-to-back goals early in the first. A little after the halfway point, Daine Thomas and the North Stars power play unit would put together a power play goal to make it 2-1. Shortly after, Laryn Chaboyer and Ozy Atkinson would add two more to the tally to cap off the first. Early in the second, Drew Peters would bag his third goal of the weekend; moments later, Jonah McKenzie and Kaiden Ross responded and brought the game to a two-goal deficit for the North Stars. Storm defenseman Kaleb Friesan and the Storm power play unit would choreograph a power play goal to conclude the second period. In the third, the Storm would put up four more goals in total, as scored by Maddox Dominey, Cedrick Puffalt, Xzavier Kubluitok, and Rylan Fourre-Cook. Kaiden Ross of Norway House would net his second goal of the night just before the halfway point, but it was too late to make a difference, making the final 10-4 for the Storm. The Storm will hit the road this weekend to face off against the Cross Lake Islanders.

The Northern Manitoba Blizzard split their weekend after picking up a dominant 7-0 win against the Freeze and losing a razor-close game to the Niverville Nighthawks. Friday's game saw excellent team play and spectacular individual performances. Marlen Edwards was the lone goal scorer in the first, and early in the second, Tyler Dahms scored back-to-back goals to make it a 3-0 game. A bit after the halfway point, Marlen Edwards would bag his nineteenth goal of the season and his second of the night. To cap off the second, Tyler Dahms would record his third goal to earn himself his first hat trick as a member of the Northern Manitoba Blizzard.  A little under two minutes into the third, Marlen Edwards would also earn himself a hat trick after getting his third goal of the night. Late in the third, Miguel Bouvier and the Blizz power-play unit would orchestrate the only power-play goal, making the final score 7-0 for your Blizzard. Alexander Reedy would earn himself his third shutout of the year after saving all seventeen shots on goal.

Saturday's game against Niverville was much closer than the score showed; just before the ten-minute mark of the first, Quincy Supprien would chalk up his league-leading fourth shorthanded goal. Shortly after, Niverville's Matthew Bertolin, Matteo Speranza and Dawson Zeller would rack up three unanswered goals for the Nighthawks. After no goals were scored in the second and third, the Nighthawks would win 3-1. The Blizz will now play their next four games on the road; tonight, they will take on division rival Dauphin.

The Northern Manitoba Blizzard will take on the Winnipeg Freeze and the Niverville Nighthawks today and tomorrow in a two-night doubleheader at the Roy. Puck drop for both nights is at 7:00 p.m., and our Shanes Blizzard Hockey Broadcast will start around 6:45 p.m. In other local hockey news, the OCN Storm will play against Norway House in a two-game home stand tomorrow and Sunday at the GLMC. Puck drop tomorrow is 3:00 p.m., whereas Sunday's game begins at 1:30 p.m. A friendly reminder that all regular season games are free to attend for your OCN Storm.

The OCN split their weekend of hockey this past weekend after going 1-1 against second-place Peguis. In the first contest on Saturday, the Juniors got the better of your Storm. In the first period, Corwin Bear scored first for Peguis; shortly after, Storm forward Maddox Dominey was able to tie things up. Early in the second, Ayden Daniels got Peguis back in front, then Hutton Foster and Drew Peters bagged back-to-back goals to give the Storm their first lead. To cap off the second, Derrell Murdock tied the game back up after notching his seventh goal of the KJHL season. Late in the third, Tyrone Meldrum put the Juniors back in front with his goal, and with only two seconds left in regulation, Hutton Foster knocked in his second unassisted and sent the game to overtime. However, the Storm would fall short as Ayden Daniels of Peguis added his second goal to the tally and won the game for the Juniors.

Sunday's match-up saw the Storm get back on track; like yesterday, the Juniors got on the board first with Derrell Murdock's goal. The Storm then racked up two back-to-back goals to get their first lead; goals were scored by Cedrick Puffalt and Maddox Dominey. Early in the second, Rowan Fenner made it a 3-1 game for the OCN Storm with his goal. After the ten-minute mark, Dyson Pelletier and the Peguis power play unit orchestrated a goal to shorten the deficit. However, Drew Peters and Keilan Holland were able to chalk up back-to-back goals to cap off the second and make it a 5-2 game. Early in the second, the Storm power play unit and Drew Peters made it a 6-2 game after a successful power play.  Brandt Cochrane and Dyson Pelletier added two more to the scoreboard for Peguis, but it was too late, making the final score 6-4. The Storm are back home this weekend to take on the Norway House North Stars. Puck drop on Saturday is 3:00 p.m., and Sunday's game will begin at 1:30 p.m. 

R.D. Parker Collegiate will represent Northern Manitoba in the Provincial Girls and Boys Curling Championship starting this Thursday at Ecole Edward Schreyer School in Beausejour. The varsity girls will take on the Prairie Mountain Predators,  Vincent Massey Trojans and Kelvin Clippers in their opening set of games. The varsity boys, on the other hand, will play against the Miles Macdonell Buckeyes, William Morton Warriors and Neelin Spartans in their opening round. The Provincial Championship is set to wrap up on Saturday.

Both JV teams and the varsity boys of R.D. Parker  Collegiate are back in Thompson after competing in various basketball tournaments down south this past weekend. The JV girls were at John Taylor Collegiate for their Piper Classic; even though they were competitive in the first two games against Sanford and Mennonite Brethren, they went 0-2 against them. They eventually found themselves in the 7th place game, where they beat Lorette 33-21. The JV boys made the trek to Ste. Anne Collegiate for their basketball invitational, where they played against the host school in the opening round and won 64-56. They did lose 96-58 to the eventual tournament champion Louis-Riel Voyageurs in the semi-finals; however, even with the loss, they did book their ticket to the third-place game, where they took on the Niverville Panthers. They would eventually lose 70-65 and place 4th in the invitational. Lastly, the varsity boys at R.D. Parker joined two other northern schools in OLC and Hapnot Collegiate Institute for the St. Boniface Classic. The Trojans lost 68-59 in the opening round against host school St. Boniface; they would then put on a scoring clinic against OLC and book their ticket to the consolation game. The varsity crew would put on yet another offensive masterpiece against the Minegoziibe Anishinabe Talons, earning themselves 5th place.

Most of the high school basketball teams here in The Pas and OCN are coming off a stellar weekend of basketball. The JV girl's squad from MBCI and both varsity squads from OLC and MBCI are fresh off an appearance at the Swan Valley Co-op Basketball Tournament. The varsity girls of MBCI went 2-0 in pool play, and the JV girls and varsity OLC team went 1-1 in round-robin play. The varsity MBCI team would play the eventual tournament champion Swan Valley Tigers in the tournament finale, where they would lose a razor-close decision. The OLC varsity girls matched up with the jv MBCI team for third place and beat them in a decisive 47-27 win. The varsity boys of MBCI travelled to College Lorette Collegiate for their varsity boys tourney. The crew from The Pas smoked the Sanford Sabres 89-50 in the opening round; they would then lose 82-73 in a very competitive semi-final contest against the Lord Selkirk Royals.  The varsity boys would eventually take on  St. Norbert for third place, where they beat the Celtics 72-60. Like the varsity boys, the JV Boys of MBCI hit the road this past weekend and placed third in their basketball tournament. The JV boys played their weekend of basketball at Gimli High School; in the opening round, they went up against the St. Laurent Hawks and won 76-71. In the semis, they would lose 62-50 to a familiar foe in the  Frontier Raiders. In the third-place game, the JV boys would squeak a 59-57 win against the Gabrielle-Roy Les Roys. The varsity boys of OLC are coming off a tough weekend, having gone 0-3 at the St. Boniface Centurion Classic.  

The Northern Manitoba Blizzard are fresh off a two-game doubleheader against division rival Neepawa, going 1-1 on the weekend. In the first game on Friday, Tim Tychonick of Neepawa scored a shorthanded goal to put Neepawa on the board first. Tyler Dahms then notched his sixth goal of the season to tie things up. To cap off the first, near the ten-minute mark, Mason Hartley recorded another shorthanded goal for the Titans, giving them a 2-1 lead. Nineteen seconds into the second, Max Collyer bagged his fifth goal of the year. At the halfway point, Miguel Bouvier and the Blizz power play unit were able to capitalize and chalk up a goal to give the Blizz their first lead of the game. Near the end of the second, Tim Tychonick was able to add another one to the tally to tie things up going into the third. Caden Hegarty chipped one in for Neepawa at the seven-minute mark,  shortly after Quincy Supprien was able to tie things up and make the score 4-4. After the halfway point, DJ Maloney would play saviour for the Titans after getting a game-winning goal for his squad, making the final score 5-4.

Saturday's game was just as much a back-and-forth battle between the teams. In the first, Caden Hegarty and Garrett MacDonald scored back-to-back goals for Neepawa, making it a two-point deficit for the Blizz. That was the case until Marlen Edwards bagged his seventeenth goal of the season near the twelve-minute mark, making the score 2-1 for Neepawa. Miguel Bouvier knocked in a goal early in the second to tie things up. Titans centreman Cooper Kasprick then added another one to the scoreboard for Neepawa. Quincy Supprien tied things up again by notching his second goal on the weekend. Not too long after, Talen Wallis and the Neepawa power play unit orchestrated a power play goal to give the Titans their final game lead. Jack Linton was able to record his sixth goal of the season to cap off the second period. Late in the third, Miguel Bouvier and the Blizz power play unit got the game-winner, giving the Blizz a much-needed 5-4 win.

The Blizz are still in second place in the MGEU West division after going 3-1 last week. They play two more home games this Friday and Saturday against the Winnipeg Freeze and Niverville Nighthawks.  

The Northern Manitoba Blizzard concludes their busy week with a two-night doubleheader against the Neepawa Titans tonight and tomorrow. The Blizz are currently riding a two-game winning streak, whereas Neepawa is fresh off a 7-2 win against in-division rival Waywayseecappo. The Titans are currently third in the MEGU West Division, only two points behind the Blizz in the standings. The two games will be at home, with puck drop starting at 7:00 p.m. on both nights. Our Shane's Broadcasts will begin at around 6:45 p.m. with your Funky Threadz pregame show. In other local hockey news, the OCN Storm will play the Peguis Juniors on Saturday and Sunday in Peguis First Nation.

All four Junior Varsity basketball teams from Margaret Barbour Collegiate Institute and R.D. Parker Collegiate will hit the road to compete in various tournaments across the province. The JV Boys of MBCI are travelling to Gimli High School to take on the St. Laurent Hawks in the opening round of their tournament. The JV Girls of MBCI will make the short trek to Swan River to participate in the Swan Valley Co-op Varsity Basketball Tournament; they'll replace the Varsity girls team at R.D Parker Collegiate Trojans. The JV Boys of R.D Parker Collegiate will pay a visit to Ste. Anne Collegiate to engage in their basketball invitational; in their first game, they will match up against the host school, Ste. Anne Lynx. Lastly, the JV Girls at R.D Parker Collegiate will be playing their weekend of basketball at John Taylor Collegiate, and they'll go toe-to-toe against the Sanford Sabres in the preliminary round.

The Northern Manitoba Blizzard are back in action this afternoon to take on the Swan Valley Stampeders in a special 12:30 p.m. start. The Blizz are fresh off a 5-2 win against the Selkirk Steelers, whereas Swan Valley is riding a two-game win streak going into this contest. This in-division matchup is slated for 12:30 p.m.; our Funky Threadz pre-game show begins around 12:15 p.m.

The varsity girls' basketball teams at Oscar Lathlin Collegiate, R.D. Parker Collegiate, and Margaret Barbour Collegiate Institute will make a short trek to Swan River this Friday for the Swan Valley Co-op Basketball Tournament. At 5:10 p.m., the Spartans will play against the Virden Bears. The last game is a battle between two northern schools, as the Wolverines will take on the Trojans. The tournament wraps up late Saturday.

The varsity boys basketball squads at Oscar Lathlin Collegiate, R.D. Parker Collegiate and Hapnot Collegiate Institute will head to St. Boniface Diocesan High School for their Centurion Classic this Friday. The Trojans will battle against the host school Centurions at 1:30 p.m., the Wolverines will take on the Landmark 96ers in the second game, and the Kopper Kings will match up against the Gray Academy Raiders at 4:30 p.m. There are a total of eight schools from across the province competing in this basketball tournament.

The Blizz got back into the win column last night with a win over the Selkirk Steelers. Quincy Supprien was the first to score a short-handed goal and put the Blizz on the board first. Remy Hlady recorded a power play goal shortly after to tie things up. Near the seventeen-minute mark, Quincy Supprien scored again, this time on the power play, to give the Blizz their second lead. Owen Warnick capped off the period by notching his sixteenth goal of the season to tie up the game. In the second, Marlen Edwards and Cael Primanti contributed two more goals to the tally to make it a two-goal deficit for Selkirk. Early in the third, Tyler Dahms scored the fifth and final goal, making the final score 5-2. The Blizz will prepare for tomorrow's matchup against the Swan Valley Stampeders. Tomorrow's puck drop is slated for 12:30 p.m.; our Shanes Blizzard Hockey Broadcast will start at around 12:15 p.m. with your Funky Threadz pregame show. 

The Northern Manitoba Blizzard have a four-game home stand ahead of them this week; their first matchup goes down tonight when they welcome the Selkirk Steelers to the Roy. The game was originally going to be played last month but was postponed due to bad weather conditions. The Blizz are riding a three-game losing skid, having recently lost 3-1 to Dauphin this past weekend. On the other hand, Selkirk is coming off a loss to the Waywayseecappo Wolverines. The 5th-place Steelers are currently on the outside looking in regarding the MGEU East Division playoff picture, whereas the Blizz are now tied with Neepawa for second in the MGEU West Division. Puck drop tonight is slated for 7:00 p.m. Your Shanes Blizzard Hockey Broadcast will start after tonight's OCN Elders Bingo.