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The Parkland U18 Rangers are on a roll and so is Carter Zalischuk.
In just two games against the Interlake Lightning over the weekend, Zalischuk racked up eight points and he's this week's CCM Player of the Week. On Friday night, Carter recorded a hat-trick and added an assist.
One day later, Carter scored once and had three assists. He's tied for 11th in league scoring with his 30 points and is second in team scoring, only behind Jayce Legaarden.
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A Grey Cup berth is on the line in just a few days' time as the Winnipeg Blue Bombers host the West Division Final against the Saskatchewan Roughriders.
Saskatchewan advanced to the game after they downed the Calgary Stampeders in a thriller after Rene Paredes missed a game-winning field goal for Calgary.
In their two regular-season contests against Saskatchewan, Winnipeg easily took care of business, outscoring their prairie rivals, 56-17. The forecast for Sunday's game is expected to be around -8 before the wind chill but that isn't bothering the Bombers. Star defensive back Brandon Alexander says whatever the elements are, the team will be ready.
"I don't think anyone on this team is worried about it or even really thinking about it," said Alexander. "We've been practicing in these conditions for a while now and even colder. Whether you're wearing or sleeves, we'll be ready. I just think of it as another game, no worries about the weather."
Alexander recorded 36 tackles for Winnipeg in the regular season and he had two interceptions while also forcing one fumble. The Blue and Gold are looking to defend the title after winning the Grey Cup in 2019 against Hamilton. The team went 11-7 that season, finishing third in the West Division, scoring 508 points while giving up 409.
This year, the Bombers enter the playoffs after an 11-3 season in which they allowed just 188 points against. That's 56 fewer points than Hamilton, who gave up the second-fewest. Winnipeg was a perfect 7-0 on home field at IG Field in the regular season.
"The difference between the two years is the positioning, that's really it," said Alexander. "Our preparation is the same and we know we have to go out there and win a game. We're excited about the challenge and we're happy that we get to play on our home field."
The game will also mark the end of Bob Irving's career. He has decided to hang up his mic after a nearly five-decade career in the booth.
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The top two teams in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League will square off in a home-and-home this weekend; however, there is a little change.
Dauphin will be in Steinbach to play the Pistons on Friday night and originally, the two teams were set to return to Credit Union Place for a rematch on Sunday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.
That game on Sunday has now been moved one day earlier.
New date: Saturday, December 4
New time: 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Credit Union Place
The change will be welcomed by Winnipeg Blue Bombers fans as they play in the West Division Final on Sunday afternoon.
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The Dauphin Clippers football team left everything on the field in the championship final of the Rural Manitoba Football League and despite coming out on the losing end, the Clippers stayed right with the undefeated Swan Valley Tigers all game long and it came right down to the wire.
And now that another off-season is here, the RMFL has announced its season-ending award nominees and several Clippers made the list this year.
Matt Zurba ran for 209 yards this season on 24 carries with two touchdowns and 25 yards receiving.
Sully Fox is a nominee for the most outstanding player on the offensive line.
Joseph Lopez put together an incredible season defensively. He had 37 tackles and six assists. On top of that, Lopez had one sack, one fumble recovery, three interceptions and two knockdowns. Joseph also ran for 344 yards on just 31 carries.
Damon Nepinak recorded 12 tackles, six assists and one knockdown. An interception he made was also the Clipper player of the year.
Sergio Garcia made eight of the nine converts he kicked this season and he's a nominee for the special team's most outstanding player.
In his first year of football, Scott Gower was put into many different situations and he did a great job on the field and now he's a nominee for the league's rookie of the year award.
The Norris Aitken Memorial Award recognizes a player who combines football ability, academic ability and other criteria schools deem to be an asset to all-around individuals. Aitken was a longtime coach of the Clippers and a commissioner for the RMFL for several years. Up for the award this year is Matt Zurba.
The Parker Guy Memorial Award is given to a player in grade 11 or 12 and this award exemplifies character through involvement in football. This year's nominee for the Clippers is Garrett Thompson.
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The Dauphin Clippers climbed back from a two-goal third-period deficit on Sunday to earn a point.
Playing against Boissevain, Dauphin found themselves down 3-1 in the third period before they battled back to tie up the contest.
Logan Chapman, Cole Delamare and Parker Boguski scored for Dauphin in the game.
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The Parkland U18 Rangers took the Winnipeg Wild to overtime on Sunday, November 7 as they earned a single point. Two days later, the team lost a hard-fought battle against the Brandon Wheat Kings who are on top of the league and since, the team has been firing on all cylinders. It's also important to note that the Wild are 16-1-2.
Since a loss against Brandon, Parkland has points in their last seven games and that includes their current three-game winning streak. Parkland's only defeat since November 9 was against Pembina Valley; however, the Rangers still earned a point as the game went into overtime. Rylan Gibbs scored the Rangers' fourth goal in that game to force overtime.
The Rangers completed a weekend sweep this past weekend, downing Interlake twice and capping the weekend off by beating Norman on Sunday. Parkland's hot play has seen them jump into solo fifth place in the league and they're only one point behind fourth.
Tyler Carefoot says earning a point against the Wild was the turning point for the team.
"We've talked about that weekend a lot. It took us a little longer to come together as one but you're seeing us do just that now," said Carefoot. "The compete level and intensity on the ice has been top shelf. We're doing all the small things right and that has allowed us to win some games which is very important this time of year."
Four Rangers have at least 10 goals this season, including Madden Murray and Will Munro who both have 10 while Carter Zalischuk has 14. The fourth Ranger with 10 or more is Jayce Legaarden who has been absolutely dominating opponents this season. In just 23 games, the Grandview native has tickled the twine 28 times and he scored another three times on Sunday. 12 of Jayce's goals are on the power play and he has two-game winning goals.
Jayce's 28 goals are the most in the league and his 40 points are tied for the fifth-most in the league.
"What he's done is well deserved. He's also playing with some solid linemates," said Carefoot. "He's going to the hard areas to get the job done. Some are pretty, some aren't but they all count. To have a Parkland Ranger at the top of the goal scoring list on the website, that doesn't happen often so it's pretty special."
The team's busy November which saw them play 10 games has come to an end and now they're set to enjoy a little bit of a break. Next up for the club is a trip to Shoal Lake to play the Chiefs next Tuesday on December 7. Parkland has opened up a seven-point gap between them and Yellowhead entering this week.
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Brenden Birch-Hayden had his best game of the season as the Parkland U18 Rangers completed a perfect weekend with their third win in as many days.
Hosting Norman on Sunday afternoon, Birch-Hayden made 38 saves to record a shutout in a 4-0 win for the Rangers.
Jayce Legaarden continued with his dominating offensive ways, scoring three times while Kyan Grouette had a solo marker for Parkland who are just one point behind fourth place in the league standings.
The team is in Yellowhead on Tuesday night.
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The Gilbert Plains Trojans junior varsity girls volleyball team are provincial champions.
The team won a thriller in the final against Gabrielle Roy in three sets, 15-25, 25-15 and 15-5.
Anika Gulenchin was named the tournament's most valuable player while Nevaeh Payne and Montana Jubenvill were named all-stars.
The team lost just one set in the round-robin and entered the playoffs on fire.
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The Dauphin Kings have now won eight straight games after a thriller on Saturday night.
In a game that needed overtime, Colby Jaquet scored his biggest goal as a King as Dauphin outlasted Portage, 4-3.
In front of a great crowd, Dauphin came from behind twice in the game. They fell down 2-0 and also 3-2 in the contest, before tying it late and ending it early in overtime.
Ethan Williment scored Dauphin’s first goal of the game and it was his first goal as a King and first game back after missing several weeks with an upper body injury.
Dube would then go bar down short side to tie the game up before Portage took a 3-2 lead. Dauphin’s never quit attitude paid off for the team in the third as Bryant scored just 95 seconds into the third.
Jaquet’s overtime goal was his sixth of the season as Dauphin skated off with another win.
King Tips:
Dauphin has now reached 20 wins, the first team in the league to do so
The team now has 10 wins on home ice and 10 on the road
With Bryant’s goal, he now has eight goals in his last four games, six of which came at the MJHL Showcase earlier this week
Dauphin is now 4-0 against East Division teams
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Will Munro lit it up on Saturday afternoon as the Parkland Rangers earned another two points.
The Swan River native scored three times as Parkland downed Interlake, 6-3. It was a comeback effort for the U18 club as they trailed 3-2.
Munro also had one assist for a four-point afternoon. Madden Murray scored into an empty net while Hayden Seib and Carter Zalischuk also scored for Parkland who remained red-hot with the win.
Parkland has now earned points in six straight games, with five of the games being wins. They're now 11-8-3 and they have temporarily jumped ahead of the Thrashers for fifth place in the league.
The team ends their weekend on Sunday afternoon when they welcome the Norman Northstars to town.
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Carter Zalischuk lit the lamp three times on Friday night as the U18 Rangers erupted offensively.
Kicking off a three-game weekend, Parkland scored nine times in a 9-5 victory against the Interlake Lightning.
Jayce Legaarden scored another two goals while Will Munro also scored twice.
Madden Murray and Kyan Grouette each scored a single for Parkland who are now 10-8-3 this season.
They'll look for a two-game sweep over the Lightning on Saturday afternoon.
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