U18 Rangers Weekend Primer

Ahead of two games this weekend, the Parkland U18 Rangers are on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff picture. Parkland is 13-19-1 for 27 points, which is five less than the eighth-place Central Plains Capitals.

This past weekend, the Rangers had a 4-0 lead on Central Plains before the Caps' stormed back to pick up a 6-5 win. Two extremely tough opponents stand in the way of the Rangers getting closer to the playoff picture this weekend.

Tonight, the team is in Carberry to play the 23-11, Southwest Cougars. On Sunday, the team plays in Swan River against the 22-7, Pembina Valley Hawks. Parkland has gone 0-3 combined against the clubs this season.

The Rangers continue to be led by their first line. On top is Garrett Hrechka with his 44 points while Steven Arp has 33 and Brayden Kohlman is just behind at 27. The Rangers will enter this weekend's game with three losses in their last four games.

Despite a tough schedule this weekend, Parkland has shown that they can beat and compete with the best teams in the league. Back on December 21, the team beat the Yellowhead Chiefs, 2-1. Two weeks prior to that, the Rangers beat the Winnipeg Wild who is the top team in the league.

They have also beat the Bruins who are a playoff team.

When it comes to Hrechka's production, he's near the top. His 44 points are tied for the sixth-most in the league. One of his linemates, Steven Arp is tied for the league-lead with nine power-play goals.

Sunday's game at the Swan River Centennial Arena is set for 1:30 p.m. After Sunday, the Rangers won't play another home game for a couple of weeks. The Eastman Selects will battle Parkland at Credit Union Place on February 1 while Southwest is in town on February 2.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Jan 17, 2020 - 1:20 pm

The Manitoba Summer Games Powered by Manitoba Hydro are coming to Dauphin from August 9-15 and next week you can sign up to make sure you're a part of them.

The Volunteer Committee will have a table set up at the Dauphin Kings Ukrainian Night game at Credit Union Place.

"If anyone's interested in learning how to volunteer, what roles are still available and that sorts of thing, we would love if you stopped by," said Alicia Zurba, Games Coordinator.

At this point, only about 20% of the available volunteer spots have been filled. The committee is still looking for roughly 650 volunteers to help out during the event in a variety of roles.

They include duties such as selling 50/50 tickets to helping out in the office, time-keeping and so many other roles are also available. All of that information will be shared next Saturday beginning at about 6:30 p.m.

"This event is huge for Dauphin, it's going to bring so many people together," said Zurba. "You'll get to meet your old friends and some people you may not have even known were in the area."

"Volunteering is also a great way to add to your resume and just be a part of something that's going to be really special," she concluded. "Whether you want to help out in a small way or a big way, it will go a long way to making sure this event is great."

There is no cost associated with volunteering. All volunteers will be supplied with water, food, and more. Some duties will require you to undergo a criminal record check, which will be covered by the Manitoba Summer Games Host Committee.

You can always sign up prior to next week by heading to the 2020 Manitoba Summer Games Volunteer Opportunities.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Jan 17, 2020 - 10:35 am

If you're looking to watch one of the best Bantam AAA teams in the province, you'll have three chances to do so this weekend.

The Parkland Bantam Rangers have a very busy weekend as they play three games in three days.

Beginning tonight, the Rangers play at the Swan River Centennial Arena against the Winnipeg Hawks at 7:00 p.m. Parkland beat them last weekend. Tomorrow, the Rangers play in Grandview against the Brandon Wheat Kings at 7:00 p.m.

On Sunday, the club will end their weekend with a very stiff test. The 18-4-1 Eastman Selects are set to make a stop in the Parkland. The two teams will play in Roblin at 1:30 p.m.

Parkland leads the West Division with a 16-6-2 record this year, good for 34 points.

The Rangers are fourth place in the entire league, but they can jump ahead of Eastman with a solid weekend. If all things go right, they could also find themselves even in second place.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Jan 17, 2020 - 10:08 am

The Gilbert Plains Competitive League of Curling wrapped up last night and Team Lobert's Electric took home the title.

They beat Team Stoski Farms to claim this season's title.

In the third-place game, Team Greg Genik beat Team Rubes Auto.

Team Cross Town Motors beat Team Bruce Hannabil for fifth place.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Jan 17, 2020 - 9:06 am

Photo Credit - Dauphin Kings/Pederson Photographic

For the first time, hockey fans in Dauphin and area will get the chance to see the new looked Kings as they're back at Credit Union Place.

Tonight's opponent is a tough one in the Portage Terriers as the game marks the return of Koby Morrisseau.

Bryson Cecconi will play his second game with Dauphin while Colby Jaquet, Levi Mitchell, and Kaden Bryant will all play their third.

Dauphin's winning streak is two coming into this evening as they've scored nine goals in the past two contests while giving up just three.

Portage, meanwhile, won their last game against Waywayseecappo and they scored six goals in the process.

Game time tonight is set for 7:30.

Don't forget to tune into the Dauphin Kings Power Play Show after the 4:00 p.m. news, weather, and sports.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Jan 17, 2020 - 4:38 am

Kayden Bodnar had a game that he likely soon won’t forget for the Dauphin Clippers tonight.

He scored four times and he added three assists as the Clippers skated to a 10-1 win against the Roblin Raiders.

Ashton Hlady also scored twice in the big win.

Cole Delamare, Cohen Smigelsky, Bryce Bonnett, and Brayden Broome scored singles in the big win.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Jan 16, 2020 - 10:47 pm

The Dauphin McDonald’s Atom 4 team picked up a 9-7 win in Gilbert Plains tonight over the home team.

CJ Bilay was awarded the Gold Jersey after the game.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Jan 16, 2020 - 9:29 pm

Photo Credit - Pederson Photographic

January 1-5, 2020, will go down as a week many curling fans in the Parkland area won't forget. That's when the Telus Junior Men's and Women's Curling Championships took place inside of the Dauphin Curling Club and Credit Union Place.

On the women's side, it's also a week that Team Zacharias won't forget as they won their second straight title. On the men's side, a team with some Parkland flavour on it took home the title after a wonderful week.

Team Brett Walter which includes Dauphin's Lawson Yates won the title as they beat Jacques Gauthier. It was Lawson's first-ever provincial junior curling title and it came in his final year of eligibility. That came on the provincial stage and now, Yates and company will look to add another title to their resume on the national stage.

The foursome is now in Langley, B.C. as they take part in the New Holland Canadian Junior Curling Championships that begin on Saturday. The event will be played at the George Preston Recreation Centre which features five sheets.

"Everyone is really excited to take a look at the venue and get out on the practice ice. We're hoping for a good event and I'm sure it will be," said Yates. "I'm super excited to be able to represent Manitoba. It's my last nationals as a junior, so I'm pretty pumped up to get started and I know our whole team is."

Yates and the rest of the foursome who are coached by Calvin Edie begin their quest to a national title on Saturday morning against Team Prince Edward Island.

In all, they will play six round-robin games through Tuesday, January 21.

"We're just excited to get going and we'll try to stay as calm as we can and we'll see where that takes us," added Yates.

A much-anticipated game comes up on Monday when Yates and the team battle the second team from Manitoba. That team is Jacques Gauthier and his foursome who earned a berth by making the Manitoba final.

The two teams played each other in the 1vs2 game in Dauphin and then the final which means Monday's meeting will be the third this month alone.

"We'll try and play the same game that we did in Dauphin, and hopefully, that works for us again," continued Yates.

Last year, JT Ryan and his foursome based out of the Assiniboine Memorial Curling Club in Winnipeg advanced to the final where they fell short against Team BC which was skipped by Tyler Tardi.

14 teams will play in this year's championships, eight of which will advance to the championship pool. From there, three teams make the playoffs. The second-place team will play the third-place team for a berth in the finals. The top-ranked team earns a bye to the national final.

That game will be broadcasted on TSN on January 26. The semifinals will also be broadcasted on TSN on January 25.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Jan 16, 2020 - 2:20 pm

The Gilbert Plains Competitive League of Curling will come to a close tonight with three games.

1st Place Game:

Team Stoski Farms vs Team Lobert's Electric.

3rd Place Game:

Team Rubes Auto vs Team Greg Genik.

5th Place Game:

Team Bruce Hannabil vs Team Cross Town Motors.

Details: Contributed by Darnell Duff; Published: Jan 16, 2020 - 11:14 am

Back on December 1, the Dauphin Kings made a trade that included sending Koby Morrisseau to the Portage Terriers as they looked to beef up their offence ahead of hosting the Centennial Cup in May at Stride Place.

One of the pieces Dauphin received back in the trade was future considerations. However, the biggest piece they received without a question, was Bryson Cecconi.

Just more than a month after the trade, Cecconi has reported to the Kings and he will finish off his junior career in the City of Sunshine.

"Dauphin has been great and the people are great," said Cecconi. "It's obviously been super cold, but the sun is out. I'm enjoying my time so far."

It's been a season of living in new places for the Powell River native. Cecconi began his season with the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League's, Humboldt Broncos. He would end up playing 25 games with them and he was very productive as he recorded 25 points.

He was then traded to the Portage Terriers where he would only end up playing a few games before the trade that saw Dauphin acquire him. Cecconi began his Jr. A hockey days with the Nipawin Hawks in the 2017-18 season and he also had a brief stint with the Kindersley Klippers that season.

All in all, Dauphin is Cecconi's fifth stop of his Jr. A career and it will be his final one.

"It's been a bounce around year, but it's been good," said Cecconi. "It's the way hockey goes sometimes. I've met some really good people and I've been a part of many different experiences."

With all of that in the past, it was Cecconi's time to get back in action for the first time in a while.

However, it sure didn't look like it. Playing against the OCN Blizzard back on Tuesday evening, Cecconi was sprung on a breakaway early in the first period off a pass from Colby Jaquet.

Bryson used his speed to get away from the Blizzard defender and he went to the backhand and went bar down to beat Zack Cloutier to give the Kings a 2-0 lead after Grady Hobbs previously scored.

"It's always hard to get that first goal and first point, so I was pushing for that," said Cecconi. "I took a great pass from Jaquet and went to my backhand and it ended up working out for me."

"I would like to think I'm a guy who can add points, I try to add as much offence as possible," he continued. "I also like to bring a physical aspect to my game as well."

Cecconi played on a line with Brendan Arnold and Avery Smith during the game. He also saw some time on the power play and penalty kill as Dauphin skated away with a 4-1 win.

"I thought the team played really well, the puck was moving quick and everyone was playing like a unit," continued Cecconi. "Their goalie played well or we could have had more goals. I feel really good about going forward the rest of the regular season and into playoffs with this group."

Bryson's second game as a King will be tomorrow when the Portage Terriers are in town. The same team that traded him on December 1 to his new team so there's no question whether he'll be motivated for the big game.

"It's always hard when you play against an old team that traded you because you get the feeling that they didn't want you," he added. "I have a buddy on the team so it will be nice to see him, but other than that, it's all business. It'll be a good test for us and we'll be ready as a group."

Get to know Cecconi:

What do you want to do when your hockey career comes to an end? I'm looking to become a teacher when hockey ends. I haven't really decided when it comes to elementary or high school. I really like kids and that's what I want to do.

Being from Powell River, are you a big Vancouver Canucks fan? I'm actually an Edmonton Oilers fan which is not really well-liked in Powell River because most people are Vancouver fans. I have some family in Edmonton so I've always been an Oiler fan and especially with Connor McDavid now.

What's your favourite hockey memory? I was playing for Humboldt right after the crash and so it would be the TSN Home Opener for the team. It was a hard time, but it was also really neat. I got to experience what it feels like to be a professional. It was really great to honour the lives that were lost.

What's your favourite pre-game meal? I'm a ribs and spaghetti kind of guy and I also really like steak. I try not to eat the same thing before every game, I like to switch it up.

Make sure you tune into the Dauphin Kings Power Play Show tomorrow afternoon where you can hear my full chat with Bryson. That's set for just after the 4:00 p.m. news, weather, and sports.