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Ahead of the 2019-20 hockey season, a little change will take place. The Bantam Parkland Rangers will still be called by that exact name. When it comes to the older Rangers, things will be a bit different.
The Manitoba AAA Midget League changed their name to the Manitoba U18 Hockey League. That means the Parkland Rangers will now be called the Parkland U18 Rangers moving forward.
"Hockey Canada was thinking of doing this as well, so we thought we would make the change," said Commissioner Greg Thompson. "We just wanted to get away from the "Midget" wording."
Besides that change, all else is normal within the league as the regular season continues to get closer.
"There hasn't been any negative feedback from this, we just knew we had to make the change," he added.
Here is the brand new logo:
The Parkland U18 Rangers will begin their season on Friday, September 27 against the Winnipeg Thrashers, at Credit Union Place.
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Logan Conrad and the rest of the Prairie Blizzard kicked off their nationals with a 35-5 loss against the Atlantic Rock.
The Rock came into the game as veterans together. They’ve played the last four years as a team.
The Blizzard get back at it today against Ontario.
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Chad Facey once again spent a weekend representing the Gilbert Plains Country Club and he did so in a solid way.
Playing at the Portage Men’s Open at the Portage Golf Club, Chad finished in third place.
The field consisted of nearly 150 players.
Chad shot a 75 on Saturday and he finished the tournament with an improvement on Sunday, where he shot a 72.
The total had him just two strokes back of the tournament winner. Teale Merkeley went 68-77.
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A title for the top senior golfer is up for grabs today on the men’s and ladies side.
The Gilbert Plains Country Club will host their annual “Seniors Open”.
The event starts with registration at 9 and the first tee off will be at 10:00 a.m. It will be a shotgun format.
It’s just $60 which includes a fantastic meal after the round, plus a chance at prizes and the chance to call yourself a 2019 title holder.
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Mercy Maston is the newest member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
The club has signed the 26-year-old to a contract.
Maston played with Edmonton in 2017 and 2018. He was released in January as he pursued an opportunity with the Philadelphia Eagles.
The move comes as Winnipeg looks to end their two-game losing streak on Thursday.
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It was a busy weekend of baseball for a few Parkland teams.
Aiden Ziprick and Team Midwest lost in their semifinal.
At the 13U tier 2 AAA provincials, Team Parkland had a solid weekend. They made the semifinals, where they came up short against Brandon 7-4.
At the 15U AAA event, Parkland failed to qualify for the playoffs.
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McCreary's Logan Conrad is getting set to play on the biggest stage he ever has before. The former Dauphin Clipper has been named to the U19 Prairie Blizzard team.
Logan is one of 24 players that will represent the prairies at the U19 Canadian Rugby Championships, in Newfoundland. The event starts on August 5 and runs right through the 11.
"This is very exciting. I get to travel to Newfoundland and I've never been there, so that's really exciting," said Conrad. "Also the group of guys we have this year is pretty unreal. I don't think I'd rather represent the prairies with anyone but them."
"I've been working hard for years and I love rugby," he added. "I guess all of that hard work just paid off, it's pretty cool."
Conrad and the team play their first game on Monday against the Atlantic Rock. They also play on Tuesday against Ontario, Thursday against Quebec, and they play another game on August 11 against Ontario.
"I've been so nervous all week leading up to this. It's such a higher level of competition," said Conrad. "It's pretty nerve-racking but I'm excited about it. It'll be interesting to see how I stand up against some of the best around the country."
Logan did play at the Western Canadian Championships last year. With this event having teams from around the country, he knows he'll have to step it up a bit.
"The players are going to be bigger, stronger and faster," he added. "Everyone has more experience and they're going to use it."
With players from Saskatoon, Brandon, Winnipeg, Souris, Vancouver, Guelph, Provost, and Macdowall, Logan has nothing but confidence in the team.
“Our team has been bonding like crazy and everything our coaches throw on us, we're adapting great," he added. "I think we have a really good chance this year."
Prior to this, Logan played four years with the Dauphin Clippers. That included lots of ups and some downs. Another thing it included is some fantastic coaching along the way.
"I have nothing but gratitude towards all of our coaches over the years," concluded Conrad. “All of them played such a big impact on how I play and my feeling towards the game."
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The Winnipeg Blue Bombers will be very happy to leave Ontario.
For the second week in a row, the team lost in the province, this time against the previously winless Toronto Argonauts 28-27.
Winnipeg opened up a 20-0 lead in a game that looked like it would be another rout.
That wasn’t the case, however as Toronto kept on coming.
Winnipeg had a 27-21 lead very late in the fourth. With just 10 seconds left McLeod Bethel-Thompson drove the ball down the field and threw a touchdown pass with just 10 seconds left.
Thompson ended up throwing for 343 yards, as he helped Toronto win their first game of the season.
In the loss, Andrew Harris ran for 152 yards.
Winnipeg next plays next Thursday against Calgary, at home.
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The Dauphin Kings will have an extremely busy September. On top of training camp and their regular season starting on September 20, the team will play six preseason games beginning on September 2.
The six games will come in the next 11 days wrapping up on September 13.
Here is the full schedule:
September 2 - vs Swan Valley - 7:30 p.m.
September 3 - @ Swan Valley - 7:30 p.m.
September 5 - vs Melville - 7:30 p.m.
September 7 - @ Neepawa - 7:30 p.m.
September 9 - @ Melville - 8:30 p.m.
September 13 - vs Neepawa - 7:30 p.m.
Don't forget, the first broadcast of the season with the Voice of the Kings Darnell Duff is set for September 20.
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Many of the best athletes in the province will invade Dauphin next summer for the Manitoba Summer Games. The event is from August 9-15 and you can get in on the action.
The organizing committee is now accepting volunteer applications.
"It's official, our volunteer database is now up and running," said Co-Chair Carla Wolfenden. "It's really exciting for us and we can't wait for August."
"We do have specific categories if people are looking to volunteer for something specific," she added. "There really are a ton of areas for people to volunteer."
If you want to find out all the areas you can volunteer in, you can check out Manitoba Summer Games Volunteer.
The list of people already signed up to volunteer includes Dauphin's Mayor, Allan Dowhan.
As preparation for the event kicks into high gear, Carla is hoping you'll be a part of what should be a fantastic event, just like in 2004.
"I think when they were held here in 2004, people didn't really know what to expect. It was also the first big event in Dauphin for a really long time," she added. "After that, people realized that we have the capability to run something like that."
"It's going to be a really fun event. I also think every volunteer is going to have a pretty special week knowing they're a part of something that's going to be so huge for Dauphin. ," she concluded.
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He didn't start the season with the Dauphin Kings last year, but when he made his arrival in town, his presence was immediately felt. After a trade with Waywayseecappo, Cole DeKoninck called Dauphin his new home and he kicked things off with a bang.
In his first game with the team on October 19, Cole had the primary assist in the team's game-winning goal against the Wolverines. For the remainder of the season, Cole became a fan favourite around Dauphin.
In what's been a busy summer, it has included a trip to the National Championships. Cole joined Team Manitoba at the U19 Ball Hockey Championships in BC.
"Yeah, that was a great experience. It was a lot of fun," said DeKoninck. "We didn't do as well as we wanted to, but it was still a great week."
Now, Cole is only a few weeks away from making the trip back to Dauphin. This year will be Cole's second as a junior hockey player after a standout career with the Eastman Selects.
"I'm very excited to be heading back to Dauphin," he said. "I'm probably the most excited as I ever have been for a season of hockey."
DeKoninck will join a solid group of returnees when camp opens up later this month. The fun of the regular season all begins on September 20 in Swan Valley.
"It's a really big year for myself and we have a great group of returning guys," said DeKoninck. "We're going to make a push this year and we want to show the City of Sunshine what we have to offer."
In 48 games last season, Cole put up 35 points (11G). He also had three goals in four playoff games. His 35 points in the regular season were fourth-most on the team and overall if you combine the playoffs, he was third in team scoring.
For the upcoming season, Cole's goal is individual and team success.
"It's all about winning hockey games," said DeKoninck. "That's really the only thing that matters. With that being said, I know if I put everything I can into it, the points will come."
When it comes to why he wants to come back to Dauphin, that's a no-brainer.
"The fans are great and the kids are fun to be around. They're always hanging out over the glass and they ask for stuff, that's really cool," concluded DeKoninck. "Everyone is so nice and it's just a great place to be."
The first chance you can see DeKoninck and the Kings in regular season home action is on September 21, when they host the Swan Valley Stampeders.
The Voice of the Kings Darnell Duff will have that broadcast right here on 730CKDM.
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