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For the first time in about three weeks, the Dauphin Kings are going back to the drawing board.

One day after beating the Neepawa Titans and putting up a five spot, Dauphin's offence struggled to get anything going on Sunday afternoon as they dropped a 3-1 game to the Winkler Flyers. It was the team's second meeting against eachother this season and the season series is now tied at a game apiece.

It was also Winkler's third game in as many days and they were brilliant defensively and blocked more than 30 shots in the win. Cole Sheffield was one of the lone bright spots in the game for Dauphin as he turned away 32 shots as he dropped his first game of the season. Sheffield is now 11-1 on the campaign.

Lucas Ens opened up the scoring for Winkler just 1:48 into the game. Anthony Bax would respond on the power play for Dauphin 8:01 into the game as the Kings tied it up. However, that was it offensively for Dauphin. 

Dalton Andrew responded with goal at the 13:00 mark of the first as Winkler led the game 2-1 after 20 minutes. Ty Pratte would then find the back of the net midway thru the third as Winkler skated off with a 3-1 win. Malachi Klassen turned away 24 shots in the victory.

Dauphin drops to 13-3 on the season and they next hit the ice on Friday night when they host Portage on Ag Appreciation Night. Tickets are only $7. 

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Contributed by Darnell Duff

Published: Nov 12, 2023 - 9:31 pm

That's now six in a row for the Dauphin Kings.

Neepawa opened the scoring, Dauphin took care the rest of the way in a 5-2 win against the Titans. 

Following an opening goal from the Titans, Havyril Simchuk tied the game. Blake Boudreau then scored back-to-back goals as Dauphin took a 3-1 lead before Ethan Williment made it 4-1.

Neepawa would cut the deficit in half; however, that was it. Anthony Bax continued with his great start to the season as he scored the team's fifth goal to put the contest away. 

Austin Seibel was outstanding as he made 37 saves for his second straight win as Dauphin is now 13-2 on the season.

A marquee game is set for Sunday as the Winkler Flyers come to town. It's a battle of two of the top teams in Canada. Darnell Duff has the pregame show at 3:45.

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Contributed by Darnell Duff

Published: Nov 11, 2023 - 7:46 pm

What a night it was for the Dauphin Clippers on an extra special night at the rink.

Credit Union Place was painted orange as the Clippers hosted their first annual 'Every Child Matters Night' which was brought forward by Norman Lacquette.

When the dust settled, Liam Chartrand scored a pair of goals in a 4-0 win against Swan Valley.

Ronin Mouck and Tyron Sweetman scored for Dauphin as well while Owen Chubka was excellent in net as he made 39 saves.

Dauphin has now won six of their seven games and have yet to lose in regulation. 

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Contributed by Darnell Duff

Published: Nov 10, 2023 - 10:37 pm

What a volleyball season it has been for the Gilbert Plains Mustangs program.

Recently, the program won all four divisions as the Mountain View School Division hosted its divisional championships over the course of the past week.

On November 7, the grade eight boys and girls teams went undefeated and ultimately downed Mackenzie Middle School in the final in two sets to grab a pair of championships. Then on November 8, the grade six and seven boys team went undefeated. They beat Grandview in the final.

On the grade six and seven girls' team side, the Trojans beat Grandview in the final, a third set was needed to determine the winner.

Both grade eight teams are now off the provincial championships which will be held in Winnipeg on December 1 and 2. 

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Contributed by Darnell Duff

Published: Nov 10, 2023 - 11:59 am

The Dauphin Kings have won 12 of their first 14 games this season and will have a chance to improve on a stellar start to the season this weekend.

The team is in action for a pair of games, one of which comes Saturday at the Yellowhead Centre in Neepawa as Dauphin goes up against the Titans for the third time this season. Then on Sunday, the Winkler Flyers come to town to wrap up a three-game in three-night road trip. 

Dauphin has used a well-balanced approach to find success this season as six players have at least a dozen points and eight players have recorded at least five. Anthony Bax and Naaman Hofer are on top of the Kings scoring as both have scored 15 points apiece and are part of a defensive core that has combined for 51 points. Logan Walker (13), Jordan Bax (13), Blake Boudreau (13), and Gabriel Bugeaud (12) round out the six that have eclipsed the 10-point mark as of right now.

Between the pipes, it has been the Cole Sheffield show. Returning for his second season as a King, the 19-year-old from London has won all 11 of his starts. His .919 save percentage is paired with a 2.04 goals-against average across 675 minutes. Cole is one of only two goalies in the league that has yet to lose a game in net as he's joined by Liam Ernst of the Flyers. Cole is nearing his win total from last year when he won 15 games and there are still four and a half months left in the season. 

"Once he started to dial in, he has really stepped up," said Doug Hedley, who won his 500th game as a coach last Friday against Waywayseecappo. "He is playing the best hockey he has since he arrived in Dauphin. He's focused and he's game-ready, we can't ask for much more. He comes to the arena to get better and he sharpens his sword. Very happy that he is having success."

Dauphin vs Neepawa:

It's the third meeting between the two West Division rivals after Dauphin scored 10 times in the first two contests. Dauphin needed overtime to beat the Titans back on October 14 and eight days prior, they scored five times in the third period in a 6-2 victory. 

Neepawa has lost two straight games coming in after they were swept in a weekend set in The Pas last weekend against the Blizzard. With a record of 6-10-1, the Titans are four points back of Waywayseecappo for the fourth and final playoff spot. In order to find success, the Kings will have to find a way to beat Mason Lobreau. A 19-year-old from Brandon, Lobreau is one of the top goaltenders in the league with a .920 save percentage and he always gives the Titans a chance to win. 

"We need a greasy road win, we have to play simple and smart," offered Hedley. "They have some speed and we need to control that, they always come hard at you in their building. It's going to take our A-game to come out with two points, we have to be ready to play the second the puck drops."

Saturday's game starts a stretch that will see Dauphin play four of their next six games away from Credit Union Place.

Dauphin vs Winkler:

These two powerhouses met for the first time at the MJHL Showcase and treated fans to an excellent game. The game saw Winkler take a 2-0 lead before Dauphin found the back of the net twice on the power play in the second. After no goals were scored in the third period nor overtime, Cole Sheffield stopped all three shooters he faced in the shootout and Cayden Glover sent Dauphin home with a pair of points in a hard-fought battle between two of the league's top teams.

Sunday afternoon's game will be the second of four between Dauphin and Winkler and the game starts a stretch that will see the Kings play four of their next five games against East Division opponents. Dauphin will play Portage, Steinbach, and Niverville, all within the next two weeks.

The game will also be Winkler's third in as many nights after games in Swan Valley on Friday and The Pas on Saturday. Winkler enters the weekend with 12 wins in their first 14 games. Sunday's game will pit two of the top defensive teams against each other. Entering this weekend, Dauphin has allowed just 32 goals (second-fewest in the league) while Winkler's 20 goals against entering this weekend are the fewest in the league. Both teams are also very capable of filling up the stat sheet offensively. Dauphin has 59 goals this year while Winkler has found the back of the net 65 times. Seven Flyers have at least 10 points this year, led by Trent Penner who has 19.

Winkler also has two goalies who have been outstanding this year in Malachi Klassen and Liam Ernst. Klassen has a .915 save percentage to go along with a 1.71 goals-against average while Ernst has a .958 save percentage and a 0.83 goals-against average.

King Notes:

So as the Kings prepare to play two games this weekend, they will continue to look for production from Logan Walker. The 20-year-old has been nothing short of outstanding with nine goals in 14 games and he has 13 points. To put Logan's success early into perspective, he had seven goals all of last year. Seven of them came in 34 games with Dauphin. While Logan has been great offensively, it's just not his offence that makes the veteran a great player. Logan's work ethic is contagious and he will do whatever it takes to help the team win.

"He plays such a heavy game, he separates guys from the puck and he protects the puck well," said Hedley. "He is very solid as a net-front guy on special teams. Game in and game out, he's one of our top performers. Even if he isn't scoring, he always finds a way to help the team and he makes a difference."

Dauphin has also added to an already stacked back end as Charlie Sandven is the newest member of the club. From Edina, MN, Sandven comes in at 6'3" and 190 pounds. The 18-year-old started this year with the Minnesota Wilderness of the North American Hockey League. While he is more of a stay-at-home defenseman, Charlie did score eight times while adding 18 assists in 30 games last year with Edina High School in the United States High School Minnesota conference. 

"Charlie looks really good, he works very hard and he's an exceptional player on and off the ice," said Hedley. "He moves pucks up the ice very well and he has great size and plays with an edge. We feel that he will be a great player on this team."

The team will host Ag Appreciation Night next Friday at Credit Union Place when the Portage Terriers come to town. More than $10,000 in prizes will be handed out and the 50/50 will start at $1000.

The team's Tractor Lotto is back for another year. The $100,000 grand prize will be given out on Sunday, December 10. You can get your tickets at Tractor Lotto.

The team has also stressed getting out into the community so far this year. On Thursday, Anthony Bax, Rhett Perrin, and Gavin Nemis alongside Derrick Brucks spent time with the kids taking part in the Hockey Cards Trading Night. 

The team was also at the Dauphin Fire Department training earlier this week. 

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Contributed by Darnell Duff

Published: Nov 10, 2023 - 10:22 am

Kara Bomback began playing volleyball in middle school.

From Russell, years later, Kara is now enjoying what has become another incredible season on the court as she plays her senior season with the Major Pratt Trojans. It's a program that has won three straight provincial titles at the varsity 'AA' level and it seems that they win every tournament they take part in or they come very close.

This year, the Trojans are back to doing what they do best on the court as they are the top-ranked 'AA' team in Manitoba. 

"The season is going great, we continue to produce great outcomes in the tournaments that we play in," said Bomback. "I have some amazing teammates and we're all very close. We have five seniors and I have played with them for years so we all have great chemistry on the court."

Kara has helped the team win tournaments at Elton (third season in a row), Roblin (second year in a row), as well as the Red River Invitational. The team also finished fourth at the Hank Lorenzen Invitational, which takes place at the University of Regina every year and features many of the top teams in Saskatchewan and some from Manitoba. 

Recently, the team made their way to Brandon for the Neelin DIG tournament. Featuring many top-end 'AAA' and 'AAAA' schools, Major Pratt proved they can play with anyone across the province as they won five of their six round-robin sets to finish atop their pool. They then beat Lorette and Rosenort in straight sets before downing Gilbert Plains to advance to the championship final. Major Pratt would ultimately come up short against Vincent Massey Brandon in the final, as the Trojans finished second place out of 40 teams. 

"It was an amazing weekend for us. I'm so proud of the team, we worked so incredibly hard all week to prepare for the event," said Bomback. "It's nice being from a small town and going to play against larger school teams and beating them."

As conference play continues to draw to a close across the province, the Trojans will very likely enter the provincial event as the top seed and it's a position that they are used to. Bomback also recently added to her trophy case as she was named the rural athlete of the week. It's an award that is given out weekly to an athlete who has gone above and beyond on the court while demonstrating great efforts in the classroom as well. 

"I was very honoured to be named player of the week, it was something that I wanted to achieve this year," ended Bomback. "It's nice to see all of the hard work that I have put towards the game is paying off. I also have to say a big thank you to my coach Tanya Thompson, she has shown me everything I know about the game."

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Contributed by Darnell Duff

Published: Nov 9, 2023 - 10:28 am

It's been a slow start to the season for the Swan Valley Stampeders, but they are hoping that their big win on Tuesday will turn things around.

Just hours after scoring four goals in the third period in a 5-2 win against the Blizzard Junior 'A' Hockey Club, the Stampeders announced that they have acquired Aidan Taylor from the Milton Menace of the Ontario Junior Hockey League in exchange for a player development fee.

Taylor heads to Swan River after scoring three times and adding two assists in 17 games with the Menace this year. Taylor also had 10 points in 25 games last year with the Kindersley Klippers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. A native of St. Albert, AB., Aidan stands at 5'11" and weighs 170 pounds.

With their win Tuesday, Swan Valley is now 5-13-1 and they're now just six points back of Waywayseecappo for the fourth and final playoff spot in the West Division. After dropping 10 straight games from October 14 to November 4, Swan Valley has since reeled off two straight wins. Their win Tuesday came against a Blizzard team that was previously 5-2 on home ice.

Following a four-game stretch in five days, Swan Valley's schedule now sees them on home ice Friday night against Winkler before heading back to the Roy H. Johnston Arena to play the Blizzard on Sunday. The Stampeders will then play on November 17, 18, and 22 before getting a breather with their next game after that stretch not coming till December 1. The Stampeders will also play seven of their next eight games at the Swan River Centennial Arena. 

While the Stampeders are just 2-6-1 on home ice this year, they are starting to turn things around and have always been a tough team to beat on their home ice. Alex Walicki leads the Stampeders so far offensively with 19 points while hometown star Trey Sauder has 14 points alongside Josh Danis while all-star sniper Jakob Jones has mustered 13 points so far. 

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Contributed by Darnell Duff

Published: Nov 8, 2023 - 11:07 am

The Dauphin Clippers hockey team was already champions and the Westman High School Hockey regular season hadn't even started.

That's because the Clippers went into their annual tournament in Glenboro and had a perfect weekend to capture the title. Next up for the team was league play and for the most part, it's been smooth sailing for Dauphin. In six games so far, the Clippers have points in all of them, with five of them being wins. The team's only defeat came in extra time.

Dauphin's solid start has put them in first place in the 16-team circuit, one point ahead of the Vincent Massey Vikings. The Clippers have been very efficient offensively this year with 25 goals while they have given up just 14. Between the pipes, the team's goaltending duo of Owen Chubka and Joe Tabin have been marvellous. Chubka has three wins with a 2.43 goals-against average to go along with a .914 save percentage while Tabin has two wins with a 2.00 goals-against average to go along with a superb .925 save percentage.

Norman Lacquette, Will Miner, and Ronin Mouck have paced Dauphin offensively so far as the trio has combined for 21 points with each having seven apiece. Mouck has six goals.

Jason Alf has once again returned to the team and he's pleased with the start.

"It's been the way that the guys are working together as a group and their commitment to playing defence," said Alf. "We're not really breaking down if we get down, we continue to battle. The guys are sticking to the game plan, supporting each other and it's been a winning chemistry for us."

Speaking of Norman Lacquette, he is spearheading an event that has Dauphin's game on Friday bigger than just hockey. On Friday night, the Clippers will welcome the Swan Valley Tigers to Credit Union Place and the puck is slated to drop shortly after 7:30. 

The game will be a part of the 1st annual Dauphin Clippers 'Every Child Matters' Hockey Night. The event will include opening ceremonies at 7:20 with guest speakers and Christopher Flett will be singing our national anthem. The game is aimed at bringing everyone together in solidarity.

Lacquette thought of the idea and he originally brought it up to Jason Alf.

"It's about looking at the big picture for our community, it's about bringing our community as one," said Lacquette. "I do believe many people in this community are divided and that's not right, there isn't supposed to be division. It's all about making our community a better place."

With opening ceremonies set for 10 minutes prior to puck drop, everyone is encouraged to be in their seats early and wear orange. 

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Contributed by Darnell Duff

Published: Nov 8, 2023 - 10:39 am

Tuesday's Dauphin Kings game will not be played as scheduled.

Due to poor weather conditions, the MJHL has postponed the game. 

A makeup date will be announced at a later date. 

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Contributed by Darnell Duff

Published: Nov 7, 2023 - 1:47 pm

Week two of the Parkland Super League of Curling has wrapped up inside the Dauphin Curling Club.

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Contributed by Darnell Duff

Published: Nov 7, 2023 - 11:10 am