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Round one of the Turnbull Cup playoffs is in the books as just four teams remain.

Jeff Henson downed Darnell Duff in the first round of 730CKDM's MJHL Playoff Pick-Em.

Kings vs Blizzard: Henny Won 

Virden vs Neepawa: Henny Won

Steinbach vs Niverville: Henny & Duffy Tied

Portage vs Winkler: Henny Won 

Round Two:

Pistons vs Blizzard:

Duffy's Predictions: Blizzard in 6

Duffy's Thoughts: Goaltending and the hardest-working team in the league. They needed to split the first two games of the series and they did. Now, they're heading back home to play two games at the Roy H Johnston Arena and it is sure to be jumpin' at the rink. Tomas Anderson will outplay Cole Plowman and the Blizzard will continue to wear down the defending champions.

Henny's Predictions - Pistons in 6

Henny's Thoughts - Steinbach though is coming off a week-long break, so early in the series might be good for the Blizzard if they can carry momentum from round one.  Over the long haul though the Pistons are just too deep,  But if Tomas Anderson gets hot (like he did at times against the Kings, it could make this series interesting.  

Virden vs Winkler:

Duffy's Prediction - Virden in 6

Duffy's Thoughts: They know how to win games when it matters. They advanced to the league final last year and have all that experience to look back on. They can win high-scoring games and low-scoring games. This series should be a treat, but I'm taking playoff experience overall.

Henny's Prediction - Flyers in 7

Henny's Thoughts - I see this being a seven-game war between two deep teams that love to forecheck and play physically.  I took Winkler as the team to win it all this year so I am sticking with them in this series,  

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Contributed by Darnell Duff

Published: Apr 8, 2024 - 11:36 am

The stage was set.

It was the Brandon U18 Wheat Kings up against the Saskatoon Blazers in front of an incredible crowd at the Hockey for All Centre in Winnipeg on Sunday. The winner would earn the right to compete at the Telus Cup, Canada's U18 National Championship, from April 22-28 in Membertou, Nova Scotia.

Brandon had downed the Blazers in the round-robin. The Blazers doubled up the Winnipeg Wild, 4-2, the night prior for a chance to go up against the Wheat Kings once again, a team that lost their first game in regulation the day prior against Thunder Bay. Brandon had already earned a berth in the finals after two straight wins to open their tournament.

Brady Turko had already put together a great tournament with three goals and two assists in the team's first three games. It was; however, the goaltenders that stole the show in the final as Grayson Malinoski of the Blazers made 30 saves throughout regulation while Burke Hood of Brandon turned away 29 and 60 minutes after no goals were scored, overtime was needed.

It was winner-take-all. 

"We weren't nervous going into overtime, we were a confident group," said Turko. "We also had a power play to start overtime which was nice for us."

Brandon would not score on the man advantage. But, shortly after Kristian Lacelle of Saskatoon stepped out of the box, Turko went into highlight reel mode. He picked up the puck deep in Brandon's zone and worked his way down the ice, ultimately ending up in a 1-on-1 situation now in Blazers territory. Turko made a fantastic move to step around the Blazers defender and then he lifted the puck over the glove of Malinoski as Brady's fourth goal of the tournament confirmed Brandon's trip to Nova Scotia.

"It's such an amazing feeling, I don't know what else to say," offered Turko. "It's just incredible, we worked so hard and to win that game, special."

Brandon will now make their way to Nova Scotia on April 20 ahead of their first game two days later against the champions from Quebec. Brandon will then play the following day against the host Sydney Rush before games against the Atlantic, Pacific, and Central champions. The two semi-finals are on April 27 and the medal games will be the following day.

"This is only the second time that a Brandon team has advanced to the national tournament so it's a huge honour for us," offered Turko. "We're excited to play against the top U18 teams in the country."

While this will be Turko's first opportunity to play nationally, he's ready for the challenge.

"It's just another set of games, I'm not nervous, I'm just very excited," ended Turko. "This is what we play for, to fight for a national crown and I can't wait to get to Nova Scotia."

A team from Manitoba has not won a medal since 2008 when the Winnipeg Thrashers lost to the Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves in the gold medal game. So when Brandon arrives, they will be looking to break a 13-year run of a Manitoba team not finishing in the top three. 

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Contributed by Darnell Duff

Published: Apr 8, 2024 - 10:46 am

The Parkland U13 Vipers stunned the Bisons fans in attendance and won gold medals to go along with it. 

The Vipers beat a very gold Bisons 13U team in the gold medal match to finish on top of the tournament in Winnipeg this weekend. It was a near perfect overall weekend for the Vipers.

Besides winning the gold medal match in straight sets, the Vipers also swept Bisons 12U Gold, Vision Elite Blue, and the Winman Storm. Parkland beat the Junior Pilots in three sets and tied the Bandits U13. 

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Contributed by Darnell Duff

Published: Apr 7, 2024 - 8:02 pm

As is the case for so many young officials, Evan Butler put on the stripes when he was 13 to make some extra cash.

11 years later, Butler is still a hockey official; however, it isn't about just money for Butler. From Gilbert Plains, Butler has risen the ranks over the years and now lines Manitoba Junior Hockey League games. 

"I love the camaraderie between the players and my fellow officials," said Butler. "As officials, we're always striving to be the best that we can."

Being an official also provides Evan more time to bond with his dad. Dave Butler, who owns Pet Junction in Dauphin and is a longtime member of the local Fire Department, has been an official for many years, and with it, it's often a family affair for high-level games in Dauphin with Dave and Evan sharing the ice.

"It means a lot, reffing with him just brings us closer together," offered Evan. "It's always special when we step out on the ice together, I think for both of us."

While Evan will not get another chance to officiate a junior game in Dauphin this season with the Kings being eliminated earlier this week, he will make his way to Flin Flon later this month and some of the top officials will join him from across the province.

Evan is among seven linespeople selected to work the 2024 Central Canada Cup at the famed Whitney Forum. The Central Canada Cup is the Junior B National Championship and will feature the host PBCN Selects, the champion from the North Eastern Alberta Junior Hockey League, the Prairie Junior Hockey League, the Lakehead Junior Hockey League, and the Keystone Junior Hockey League. 

The event takes place from April 17 to 21 and Evan is honoured to represent his hometown of Gilbert Plains at this prestigious event.

"It feels great, it's nice to see people from Rural Manitoba getting recognized," said Butler. "I was thrilled when I found out that I was on the shortlist of seven, it means a lot to me and I'm looking forward to making my way to Flin Flon."

Evan is the lone Parkland official at the tournament while Matt Rapsky of Minnedosa will also be there as a referee.

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Contributed by Darnell Duff

Published: Apr 5, 2024 - 10:51 am

Brady Turko had a goal and an assist on Thursday as the Brandon U18 Wheat Kings scored a big win.

Opening the Telus Cup West Regionals at the Hockey for All Centre in Winnipeg, Turko had two points as the Wheat Kings downed the Saskatoon Blazers, 4-1. Dauphin Kings prospect Ethan Stewart also had a goal while Owen Wallace and Loughlan McMullan also scored for Brandon in the win.

In the four-team event, Brandon now moves to 1-0 during their three-game round-robin. The top two teams after Saturday's round-robin will play in the regional title game. The winner of the event advances to the Telus Cup in Nova Scotia later this month. 

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Contributed by Darnell Duff

Published: Apr 4, 2024 - 8:46 pm

The Dauphin Kings were a part of one of the longest series in MJHL history.

They, unfortunately; however, finished on the wrong side. After staying alive with a quintuple overtime win on Monday night, the Kings saw their season end with a heartbreaking 2-1 triple overtime loss to the Blizzard.

Logan Walker gave Dauphin a 1-0 lead in the second before Sebastian Hamming tied it for the Blizzard. The Blizzard then finished it very late into the triple overtime session. 

Once again, Cole Sheffield put on a show for Dauphin as he finished with 53 saves.

The Blizzard will now play the Pistons and the Kings will turn their focus to the 2024-25 season. 

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Contributed by Darnell Duff

Published: Apr 4, 2024 - 9:56 am

Riese Gaber has signed on the dotted line.

Gaber, who finished with more career points at the University of North Dakota (UND) than anyone in the last decade, has signed a two-year, one-way deal with the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League. The Checkers are the top minor-league affiliate of the Florida Panthers.

Gaber's contract will begin for the 2024-25 season, his plans the rest of this season are still to be determined. Riese of Gilbert Plains is the first player from the 2023-24 UND team to sign a professional deal. 

Across 142 games with UND, Gaber had 64 goals and 129 points and he had three consecutive 30-point seasons to finish his career.

Serving as UND's captain this year, Gaber helped the Fighting Hawks to a sixth Penrose Cup as National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) champions. He won the Penrose in three of his four years at UND.

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Contributed by Darnell Duff

Published: Apr 2, 2024 - 2:52 pm

It was an outstanding weekend for the Layne Stars hockey team.

In Winnipeg at the Hockey for All Centre, the Stars came together to dominate their competition en route to a Tribal Days championship. The Stars downed the Dakota Warriors in the championship final. They also beat the Warriors on one other occasion which was paired with wins against Pikangikum and Cross Lake Islanders.

Layne Stars outscored their opponents in the tournament, 24-5. The team is a perfect 9-0 this season, scoring 52 goals and giving up just 11. Next up for the team is the Manito Ahbee Cup in Winnipeg from May 16 to 19. 

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Contributed by Darnell Duff

Published: Apr 2, 2024 - 2:10 pm

They knew before the season even started that they had something special.

After heartbreakingly falling to the Winnipeg Wild in the playoffs the previous year, the Brandon U18 Wheat Kings had one thing on their mind and that was to win a championship. As the 2023-24 regular season went on, the Wheat Kings continued to prove night after night that they were in a class of their own.

The team's only defeat all season was an overtime affair when they came up short against the Southwest Cougars. Besides that, Brandon ran the table as they finished the regular season at 43-0-1. This year's team included a duo from the Parkland and they played a massive factor in the team winning a championship.

Brady Turko of McCreary scored 41 goals while finishing the regular season with 90 points and Easton Odut of Dauphin finished with 63 points. 153 points combined by the Parkland stars helped Brandon achieve a historic season and one that may never be matched again.

"It was crazy how we went the entire season without a loss," offered Odut. "We love the feeling of winning and we wanted to win every time we hit the ice. It was pretty awesome that we broke so many records along the way."

Finishing 29 points ahead of Southwest for first place overall, the Wheat Kings entered the playoffs as heavy favourites and they opened their first best-of-three series by scoring 26 times in a three-game sweep of the Eastman Selects. They followed that up by posting another 14 goals in sweeping the Pembina Valley Hawks. Then just one team stood in the way of Brandon capturing Manitoba's glory. 

The final just so happened to be against the Winnipeg Wild, a team that broke the hearts of the Wheat Kings in the previous playoffs. Holding a two-games to one lead over the Wild last year, the Wheat Kings had two chances to advance to the league final; however, the Wild stormed back winning two straight to send Brandon home packing.

With a great memory of what happened, Odut says that fuelled the team to not let that happen again. Then Colten Worthington scored the game-winning goal 1:23 into overtime as the Wheat Kings completed a three-game sweep in the league final. It brought the team's record to 52-0-1 on the season and with it, they were named Manitoba champions.

"Brandon hasn't won in a long time, so it's pretty incredible to get the job done with our amazing group," said Odut. "The Wheat Kings have historically not done very well against the Wild in the playoffs, so for us to be able to get the job done and break so many records along the way, it's awesome."

Along the way this year, Easton also had the chance to play seven games in the Western Hockey League with the team that drafted him 34th overall in the U15 Draft in 2022. He had one assist across those contests.

"I enjoyed my time, it was a lot of fun and more competitive," said Odut. "I'm happy that I got some playing time so I am used to that pace and level of play moving forward."

While he continues to keep his eye on how the big club is doing as their playoff series against Moose Jaw has now begun, Odut is preparing for the Telus Cup West Regionals that begin on Thursday in Winnipeg.

Brandon will be joined at the four-team event by the Thunder Bay Kings, Winnipeg WIld, and Saskatoon Blazers. Playing a round-robin, the top-ranked team will go up against the second-ranked team after the first three days of round-robin play.

The winner of that championship game advances to the Telus Cup National Championship in Nova Scotia later this month.

For Easton, getting the chance to play in a national championship would be a dream come true and the Wheat Kings are entering the regional event confident and ready to go.

"We all work together, and we all work hard," ended Odut. "We trust each other and we believe that we can do it. If we play our systems and stick with the process, we know that we can do some damage." 

All games will be played at the Hockey for All Centre.

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Contributed by Darnell Duff

Published: Apr 2, 2024 - 12:16 pm

It was the longest game in Manitoba Junior Hockey League history.

The Dauphin Kings were apart of it and they are heading to The Pas on Wednesday. Cayden Glover scored with 9:14 left in the fifth overtime in a 3-2 victory for the home team. It was a game that went back and forth and it was a game that both goaltenders stood on their heads.

Cole Sheffield made 71 saves in the victory while Tomas Anderson made 61 saves for the Blizzard in the defeat.

Dauphin's season was less than a minute from ending before Alex Senf scored with just 54 seconds left in the game. Brett Magarrel also scored for the Kings in the victory on a historic night in Dauphin. 

Game seven will now be played Wednesday night and Darnell Duff will broadcast the game beginning at 6:45. 

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Contributed by Darnell Duff

Published: Apr 2, 2024 - 1:58 am