U18 Rangers Pick Up Character Win

The Parkland U18 Rangers have now beat the second ranked team in the league twice in the last two weeks.

Opening up a weekend set against Southwest, the Rangers lit up the scoreboard in a 7-4 win against the Cougars.

Cam Sarna and Maddox Shindle scored a pair of goals each for Parkland in the victory. Hayden Seib, Ryzlie Nepinak, and Cash McCallum also scored for the Rangers in the win.

Chase Glover made 44 saves in the win.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Jan 19, 2024 - 10:20 pm

It was a classic for the ages on Friday night between the Dauphin Kings and Virden Oil Capitals.

It ultimately took a shootout to decide a winner and after it, the Kings skated off with an impressive and important 4-3 win over the Oil Caps' at Tundra Oil & Gas Place.

Cole Sheffield was incredible for Dauphin as he made 36 saves on 39 shots while Ashton Paul once again played the role of hero as he was the only shooter of six to score in the shootout as Dauphin won their fifth straight game of 2024.

Jordan Bax opened up the scoring in the game as his 12th of the season 8:24 into the game was his first since he scored this year's Teddy Bear Toss goal. Virden would respond; however, with less than two minutes left in the first to tie it up. Naaman Hofer and Ashton Paul scored for Dauphin in the second while Grady Lane responded for the Oil Capitals, but Dauphin took a 3-2 lead into the third.

In the final stanza, the Kings led very late until Trevor Hunt scored with just 1:24 left in the game to force overtime. After no goals were scored in overtime, that set the stage for the combination of Sheffield and Paul and it was a winning combination on Friday night.

The Kings will look to keep it rolling on Saturday night when they welcome the Niverville Nighthawks to town.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Jan 19, 2024 - 10:13 pm

Ashton Paul was a force to be reckoned with in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League with the Blizzard during last season.

Averaging just less than a point per game with 26 goals and 30 assists in 57 games, Paul finished 16th in league scoring as he guided his hometown junior team to the Turnbull Cup playoffs.

While the team was bounced in the first round by the Virden Oil Capitals, there was a certain buzz back around the organization. Now, the team plays in The Pas at the Roy H. Johnston Arena. Paul will return to his home community in a matter of weeks, but it won't be with his hometown team.

To start this year, Paul was with the Flin Flon Bombers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. Flin Flon has been ranked as the top team in the country for more than two months with 29 wins in 33 games.

Paul notched four goals and 15 assists across 28 games in which he admits was a frustrating start to the season on a personal basis.

"I wasn't overly happy with my production, especially after last year," said Paul. "With that said, we had a great group of guys, everyone bought in and I had a really good time in Flin Flon."

The Bombers were then active at the CJHL Trade Deadline which has since come and gone and Paul was dealt to the Dauphin Kings. Now playing with his third junior team as a 19-year-old, Paul has enjoyed the transition back to the MJHL and while he is still nearly five hours from his hometown, the 19-year-old sniper is happy to be a King.

"I was excited for the challenge when I found out I was traded, it's a great opportunity to meet new guys and step into a bigger role," offered Paul. "The guys have been very welcoming, it's been going great so far."

Making his debut with Dauphin on Tuesday night against Swan Valley, Paul instantly made his presence felt as he racked up several chances throughout the game, and then late in the contest, Ashton took things into his own hands.

While on the power play with less than two minutes left in the game and tied at two and set up inside the left circle, Paul took a pass from Charlie Sandven and he wired home a one-timer that saw Dauphin go up 3-2 and they capped things off with an empty-netter from Alex Senf just moments later.

One game and one goal for Ashton, it certainly was a great start for the 19-year-old star who is looking to get back to his production from last season.

"It was a great feeling," said Paul. "I ripped it up and over Abrahamson's glove, it was a great feeling to get that one for the boys."

It was a sign of things to come for Dauphin. After acquiring Paul, the team has added an elite scorer and one who has a knack for finding open spots. Paul also creates offence with his great skating ability.

Ashton was set to return to his hometown to play the Blizzard this past Sunday; however, that game was postponed because of poor weather conditions. Dauphin will head to The Pas to play the Blizzard on February 27 and then on March 3.

"It's going to be weird playing against my former team," said Paul. "With that said, I'm excited for the challenge and I think it's going to be a great game playing against old teammates and in my hometown, it will be a special evening."

Get to know Paul:

What are some of your hobbies? I love to golf in the off-season when I'm not on the ice. I'm not great at it, but I enjoy it. I also love spending time with my family and friends.

Who is the biggest inspiration in your life? I would say my dad, he is always pushing me and he has supported me since day one.

Is there anyone you craft your game after? I would say like William Nylander, Mitch Marner, Auston Mathews, and a few others.

Do you have a favourite NHL team? The Toronto Maple Leafs.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Jan 18, 2024 - 10:00 am

The Dauphin Clippers hockey team came up short in an all Parkland battle on Wednesday night.

In Major Pratt, the Clippers were doubled up by the Trojans, 4-2.

Boston Karlson and Ronin Mouck scored for Dauphin in the defeat. Despite the loss, Dauphin has still won 15 of their 20 games in league play and they remain in second place.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Jan 17, 2024 - 11:34 pm

It's crazy to think that the Parkland U15 Rangers have just seven games left in their regular season.

There will be playoff hockey to follow and at this point, the team looks like they will play in the consolation side of the bracket. The Rangers have racked up nine wins this year in their 25 games as the regular season, unfortunately, continues to come to a close.

To begin 2024, Parkland has won two of their six games so far. They opened the New Year with a 6-1 loss to the Winnipeg Wild Gold, a game that Matt Kustra says was a tough one out of the gate.

"I think we were still getting our turkey legs out, I guess you could say," said Kustra.

While the Rangers have lost three other games in the matter of the first two weeks of 2024, it has not been for a lack of effort. The team has gone up against some of the best teams in the league over the first two weeks of 2024 and has battled hard.

"We have been playing a lot better, despite not coming out on top," offered Kustra. "The effort has been there every game and that's what we continue to preach. As long as we continue to battle and work hard, that's what matters. I'm proud of our guys, they continue to show up to every practice and game with a mission of getting better and every player is doing just that."

In their most recent game, Parkland played the role of comeback kids. Trailing the Yellowhead Chiefs 3-1 after 40 minutes of play, Parkland turned things around as they scored five goals in the third period and ultimately won the game, 6-3. Brayden Budolowski led the way for Parkland with three goals and one assist and Noah Smigelsky scored once while adding one assist while Tevin Code to go along with Noah Hanneson also scored for the Rangers.

It was the Rangers' ninth win of the season and one that showed their never-give-up attitude.

"We talk about it every game, we don't quit," said Kustra. "Even if we have a bad period, we talk about bouncing back and that is exactly what we did. We have a special group that can bounce back and that's exactly what we did against Yellowhead, it was a great win for our group."

Parkland is back in game action on Saturday and a daunting task awaits. The club opens a weekend road trip in Winnipeg going up against the Bruins Gold, a team that has won 19 of their 24 games so far.

"We know we have to be ready, we can't take a period to get ourselves into the game," offered Kustra. "They have one big line that scores all of their goals. I'm going to challenge a few of our guys to stop that line. If we can do that and get some secondary scoring, there is no reason that we can't keep it close and you just never know."

The Rangers play one more game in Dauphin at Credit Union Place, the team's last, on February 11 as theyt welcome the Eastman Selects to town. The team also plays home games on February 2 in Russell and February 4 in Swan River.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Jan 17, 2024 - 11:11 am

It was a performance that had Dauphin Kings fans cheering and applauding the opponents goaltender.

While he ultimately has nothing to show for it as far as a win, Kyle Abrahamson put on a show on Tuesday, a show that was fun to watch. In net for the Swan Valley Stampeders on Tuesday, the 19-year-old that started his season in the North American Hockey League turned away a jaw-dropping 66 shots in a 4-2 loss against Dauphin on Tuesday.

With the win, the Kings have won four straight games to begin 2024 and they have inched closer to the Blizzard as a result. Dauphin peppered Abrahamson all night long, but the game was tied at two late.

That until, in his first game with the Kings, Ashton Paul let go of a gorgeous shot while on the man advantage and his first as a King with just 1:43 left proved to be the winner before Alex Senf gave the Kings some insurance.

Kyan Grouette also scored for Dauphin and Trey Gnetz opened the scoring just 20 seconds into the game. Dauphin could have easily scored 10 goals or more in the game, but Abrahamson put up a performance that is not seen very often.

Cole Sheffield turned away 31 shots and was named the game's second star.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Jan 16, 2024 - 10:52 pm

The Parkland 16U Vipers made the short trip to Yorkton and came back home with a championship.

Playing in the Blitz tournament, the Vipers capped off an incredible weekend with a clean sweep in the finals against the Yorkton Venom, 25-17, 25-18.

The Vipers won five of their seven round-robin matches which saw them finish in third place heading into the playoffs. They had to go up against the Yorkton Blitz Ignite, a favourite to win the tournament, but they couldn't get past the Vipers in the semi-final as the Vipers downed them in three sets.

That victory was followed up by their win against the Venom in the gold medal match.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Jan 16, 2024 - 1:52 pm

A pair of Parkland stars are heading to Manitoba's capital later this month to go up against the best players from the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

The Seven Oaks Sportsplex will again host the SJHL/MJHL Showcase from January 30-31. The two-day event features two 20U teams from each league and a single U18 team from each league.

Trey Sauder of Swan River will be on Team 20U Black. Sauder was recently dealt to the Steinbach Pistons and the 20-year-old is putting together another solid season, which began in his hometown. Since joining Steinbach, Sauder has three goals in two games. Across 35 games this season, the Swan River star has 34 points. Steinbach leads the East Division at 28-4-3.

Jayce Legaarden of Grandview will play on Team 20U Red. Back with the Winkler Flyers, Jayce 'The Ace' is averaging more than a point per game with 12 goals and 18 assists for 30 points in 27 games. With still more than two months left in the regular season, Legaarden is well on his way to recording a career year. He had 32 points last year. Winkler is second in the East Division at 25-5-2-2.

You can find the entire roster for Team MJHL here.

You can find the entire roster for Team SJHL here.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Jan 16, 2024 - 12:20 pm

They were the last team standing in Souris.

Competing in the 2024 Rural A U15 Tournament of Champions, the Dauphin Kings won four of their five games including an outstanding performance in the gold medal to win the tournament.

In the team's first game, they hammered Virden, 10-0. That was followed up with a 6-3 loss to Prairie Storm. Dauphin responded in their quarterfinal with a 5-0 win over Selkirk, followed by a big 6-0 win against Souris. Dauphin recorded another shutout in the finals with a 2-0 win over Rivers.

Aaron Miner is a part of the team's coaching staff and he had this to say on the great weekend that it was.

"It was a well-deserved victory for our team, everyone worked extremely hard and we were consistent," said Miner.

Tournament all-stars from Dauphin included Haden Billit and Lyric Smith. Billit led the tournament in scoring while Ben Miner, who was rock solid all weekend, had the tournament's top goals-against average.