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For 16 years, it was a dream. Growing up in Dauphin, Carter Zalischuk grew up playing in the Dauphin Minor Hockey Association and he always envisioned what life would be like if he were a Dauphin King.
Now 17 years old, it isn't a dream anymore for Carter, it's a reality. The hometown favourite is in his first season with Dauphin as he's played in 30 games, scoring three times and recording four assists. Carter made his debut with his hometown junior team back on Friday, September 16, in front of more than 1400 fans and the Kings ended up winning the game in overtime.
"It's been awesome, it's nice to be at home, and it's a great feeling to represent Dauphin," said Zalischuk. "Every day is a good day, being a King really means the world to me, I wouldn't change it for anything."
While making his debut with the team on opening night is one game that Carter will never forget, he will also never forget Ukrainian Night. Dauphin won the game 5-2 and more than 2000 fans packed inside Credit Union Place.
"It's hard to explain the emotion I was feeling that night, I had a lot of fun playing in that game," said Zalischuk. "The atmosphere in the rink helped push us, it really was amazing."
Known as a player that goes hard into each battle and comes out with the puck more often than not, Carter has looked impressive when he has been in the lineup this season. Being a rookie, the Dauphinite knows there will be games moving forward that he isn't in the lineup, but he's looking forward to proving himself. Carter believes it's a great honour to represent his hometown and he will also get the chance to represent the province once again later this year.
After a fifth-place finish with the team last year in Nova Scotia, Carter will once again play with the Manitoba men's team at this year's National Aboriginal Hockey Championships which are slated for May 7 to 13 at Seven Oaks Arena in Winnipeg. Carter will be joined by Ben Roulette of the Waywayseecappo Wolverines, a player that Zalischuk grew up playing against.
"It means a lot to me to make the team once again," offered Zalischuk. "I had a blast last year, it was just unfortunate that we didn't win that gold medal. We had the ability last year and I definitely believe we have the ability this year to get the job done, it's going to be another great experience."
The Kings are back on the ice Friday when they welcome the Winnipeg Freeze to town and then they host the OCN Blizzard on Saturday. Dauphin is currently tied for first in the West Division with the Wolverines, but they're only two points clear of a playoff spot.
"We definitely can't take either of those games lightly, Winnipeg beat Neepawa a couple of weeks back so we know they can compete," said Zalischuk. "When it comes to OCN, we know that we can beat them, we just have to play our game and work hard."
You can listen to Carter's full chat with Darnell Duff during the team's power play show after the 4:00 p.m. news, weather, business, and sports on Friday.
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Wesley Gryba-Smith had two assists as the Parkland U18 Rangers continued to roll.
In their third straight win, Parkland put up an eight-spot in a 8-5 win over the Yellowhead Chiefs on Tuesday night. Havyril Simchuk finished with two goals and one assist as did Tavyn Boychuk.
Dru Mushumanski also scored a goal in the game while adding two assists. Cash Clarkson, Cade Legaarden, and Hayden Seib also scored for Parkland.
Chase Glover made 37 saves in net to record the victory.
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The Dauphin Kings pushed late; however, they couldn't find the equalizer on Tuesday night.
Opening a busy week, the Virden Oil Capitals scored a goal late in the first period and they held on for a 2-1 win over the Kings.
Colten Miller opened up the scoring for Virden just more than six minutes into the game. Dauphin would respond as Matthew Gough found a rebound in front and potted home his 20th of the season on the man advantage to tie the game up.
Then with less than a minute left in the first, Jamie Valentino coughed up a puck at the Oil Capitals blue line and Virden got away on a 2-on-1, one that they capitalized on as Roux Bazin scored his 10th of the season to give Virden a 2-1 lead.
Both teams had many chances the rest of the way, but no one was able to find the back of the net as Dauphin dropped a 2-1 game. Paired with a Waywayseecappo win over Neepawa, the Kings are now tied with the Wolverines for first place in the West Division.
Virden is now tied for third in the division and they are just two points back of first.
Dauphin will look to get back in the win column on Friday when they play the Winnipeg Freeze at Credit Union Place.
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They gave up a three in the fourth end, but other than that, it was all Manitoba.
After splitting their first two games, Tessa Terrick, Cassidy Dundas, Lauren Evason, and Grace Beaudry came up big on Tuesday afternoon.
They scored two in the seventh end and solidified their victory with a steal of one in the eighth in a 7-4 win against Ontario #2.
With a record of 2-1, the team will now play two crucial games on Wednesday before ending their round-robin on Thursday.
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It's bonspiel season at the Winnipegosis Curling Club and it all started with Team Glenn Toews taking down the men's event.
Toews was joined by Dwight Bottrell, Nick Ogryzlo, and Morley Burns.
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It was a decade ago in 2013 when Reid Carruthers was playing for Team Jeff Stoughton at the then-Safeway Selects. Carruthers played a pivotal role on the team and ultimately helped the foursome win a provincial championship.
10 years later, Carruthers will look to win another provincial championship, just this time, he will be a skip. Reid's team is ranked second in a field that features 32 of the top men's teams in the province. Matt Dunstone's rink will enter the tournament as the number-one-ranked rink. This year's event is being played at the Yellowhead Centre in Neepawa, the same arena that plays home to the Neepawa Titans of the MJHL.
Now called the Viterra Championships, the event opens on Wednesday morning with draw one slated to begin at 8:30. The provincial final is then set for Sunday afternoon at 2:30. Scott Newton was just returning from university when the event was hosted at the Yellowhead Centre in 2013 and 10 years later, he is a co-chair for this week's event.
"I believe we have done an outstanding job here in the past hosting these types of events," said Newton. "We came together as a group and decided it was time to host again, so we are extremely excited to welcome the top curling teams in the province to our community."
Transformation of the Yellowhead Centre began after the Titans downed the Steinbach Pistons on Friday night. Days later, the rings were completed and now, the first rock to be thrown is less than 24 hours away. Before team practices begin on Tuesday afternoon, volunteers for the event took part in a little fun spiel.
Team Ryan Wiebe, Team Corey Chambers, and Team Braden Calvert round out the top five. Here is a deeper look at the top five ranked teams.
Team Dunstone:
Competing in nine events so far this season, the team has qualified for the playoff round in eight of those events, with a win in Red Deer and three other finalist finishes. This marks a return to Manitoba championship play for Dunstone after several years of competing at the Brier for Saskatchewan.
Team Carruthers:
The team earned their CTRS #5 ranking, and a 2022-23 CTRS entry into the Viterra Championship, competing in ten events so far this season. They qualified for the playoff round in five of those events, with a win in Fredericton and two other finalist finishes.
Team Wiebe:
The young team has earned their CTRS #10 ranking, and a 2022-23 CTRS entry into the Viterra Championship, competing in eight events so far this season. They qualified for the playoff round in six of those events, with a win at the Granite Curling Club and two other finalist finishes.
Team Chambers:
They have played five events and qualified in all five, with a win at Thistle and one other finalist finish to earn a Manitoba Curling Tour berth into the Viterra. A year ago in Selkirk, Chambers and Leduc advanced to the Page Playoff final round before being knocked out. Chambers will enjoy returning to Neepawa where he played third for Sean Grassie in a 2013 championship final game loss to Jeff Stoughton.
Team Calvert:
This year, playing a reduced schedule of six events, the team has a #35 CTRS rank. They have played six events and qualified in three but have yet to reach a final. A year ago in Selkirk, the same line-up advanced to the playoff round but did not qualify for the Page Playoff final round.
While those five are favourites to make the playoff round, the field for this year's event is very deep and includes the likes of Team Steve Irwin, Team Daniel Birchard, and Team JT Ryan, to name a few.
"We're pretty lucky in this province to have such a deep field," said Newton. "There are going to be many rinks that are going to be really exciting to watch, we welcome everyone out to come enjoy."
You can get an event pass for $150, a day pass for $50 or the evening draw after 6:00 p.m. costs just $20. Children 16 and under will be free and tickets will be available at the door.
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The Parkland U15 Rangers season has been one of extreme growth and this past weekend was no different.
Opening their weekend against the Winnipeg Thrashers Blue, the U15 club came out with a hard-fought 3-2 win. The Broadway Tie went to all 19 players who worked extremely hard and every player made a contribution to the win. Trace Langan led things offensively with a pair of goals while Owen Sigvaldason scored the game-winner on the power play in the second period. Scott Tibbett was outstanding in net as he made 49 saves.
Then on Sunday, Parkland racked up 47 shots and one point in a 6-5 overtime loss against the Thrashers Gold. Quinten Fisk racked up three goals in the game while Hayden Shtykalo had one goal and three assists. Ryder Gardner also scored for Parkland in the game and he had one assist. Tibbett made 43 more saves.
Parkland will wrap up their regular season next weekend with a game in Winnipeg and a game in Winkler. The Rangers have 11 wins this season.
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The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will look to get back to the top of the Canadian Football League in 2023 and they have made several key signings ahead of the new season which begins with preseason play in 110 days.
In their most recent signing, the team agreed to terms with receiver, Nic Demski on a three-year contract extension, a deal that will keep him in Blue & Gold through 2025.
From Winnipeg, the new season will be Nic's fifth with his hometown team. In four seasons so far with Winnipeg, Demski has 215 receptions for 2,523 yards and two touchdowns, while adding 633 yards and four more scores on the ground.
Demski finished last year with 64 catches for 772 yards and 10 touchdowns and in the process was named the Blue Bombers Most Outstanding Canadian Player for a second straight season and was also selected to the West Division All-Star Team.
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Ben Roulette was drafted fourth overall in the 2020 MJHL Draft by the Waywayseecappo Wolverines. This after he posted a 17-point season in 16 games with the Yellowhead U15 Chiefs.
Then two years after he was drafted, Roulette posted 46 points in 40 regular season games and another six points in four playoff games. Ben still had one more year of U18 eligibility this season; however, the 17-year-old from Rivers decided to go the junior route as he joined the Wolverines.
He's now played 30 games with the team and scored three times while adding three assists. Playing on Waywayseecappo has also given Ben a chance to continue playing with Kurt Rookes, a great friend of his and they played together with Yellowhead.
"It's a dream come true, getting to spend all my time focusing on hockey and being on the ice," said Roulette. "Taylor and Josh are amazing coaches and they have shown me so much during my time here, it has been amazing."
Sitting right near the top of the MGEU West Division, Waywayseecappo is just two points back of Dauphin for first and they will look to get back in the win column on Tuesday after a setback this past weekend. The team gave up nine goals in a pair of losses against the Selkirk Steelers who are in sixth place in the MGEU East Division. Despite that, the Wolverines are still in a good spot and Roulette is determined to help the team get two points on Tuesday.
"We just have to flip the page and get a fresh start here," said Roulette. "We're going to work hard at practice on Monday. We will be prepared, we know Neepawa is a good club and we know what we are capable of."
While Ben's full focus is on Waywayseecappo right now, his focus will shift to representing the province in May. For the second straight year, the 17-year-old has been named to Team Manitoba as they will compete in the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships from May 7 to 13 at Seven Oaks Arena in Winnipeg.
"It's a privilege and such an honour to make the roster," offered Roulette. "We have a great group of guys and I'm very excited to lead the team alongside Carter Zalischuk, it's always a great feeling to represent the province."
Ben was on the team last year when they finished fifth place at the event in Nova Scotia.
"You can't take any team lightly, that's what happened with us in our last game," ended Roulette. "Last year was likely the tightest team that I have played on before and that was pretty amazing to be a part of."
You can hear Ben's full chat with Darnell Duff during the first intermission of Tuesday's Dauphin Kings game on 730CKDM.
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Greg Todoruk is once again a champion. He skipped his team to another title in the Parkland Super League of Curling that wrapped up on Sunday.
In a tight final, Team Todoruk downed Team Forsyth, 7-3. Greg was joined by Darcy Todoruk, Rob Fisher, and Terron Stykalo.
"It always feels good to end the year with a championship," said Todoruk. "It's my fifth or sixth time winning it and it never gets old."
The league has been running for 16 years and it will return next season.
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The Dauphin Co-op U15 Silver Kings have brought some silver medals back to the heartbeat of the Parkland.
The team put together another strong weekend as they made the final in Niverville, where they came up short in an overtime thriller against Steinbach.
Dauphin won four of their five games throughout the weekend and they now haven't lost a regulation game in 13 straight.
In the team's semifinal, Tylor Guiboche filled the net with three goals in a convincing 8-1 win against Springfield. Noah Shiner had four assists in the game while Zak Fillion had three.
In a game against Beasujour, Josh Beyette had the hot-stick as he scored five times and Xander Perih earned his 17th win of the season.
Previous to that, Ayden Bradley had a five-goal game as Dauphin put up a 15 spot against St. Adolphe.
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