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Lane Prokopowich spent the past three summers at one of the most prestigious golf courses in the province.
The Dauphinite worked at the St. Charles Country Club. The same course that Michelle Wie won the LPGA's Canadian Women's Open in 2010 and Johnny Palmer won the PGA's Canadian Open in 1952.
Prokopowich spent two years working in the clubhouse and her final year in the pro shop. While at St. Charles, she provided lessons for junior golfers who were looking to improve their skills. Always with a smile on her face, Lane enjoyed every minute of her duties.
"It was great to go every day and share my love of the game with younger golfers," said Prokopowich. "To show them the ropes and get them started was a great experience."
Lane would also come back to Dauphin as often as possible during the summer to play at the Dauphin Lake Golf Club with her family and her game improved immensely from the time she began at St. Charles to the present day.
She was about a 20 handicap and today, Lane is thrilled to say she plays to an eight. Prokopowich was able to shave off 12 strokes off her game while working full-time and staying busy with everything else life threw her way.
"I find when I start something, I want to become the best I can," said Prokopowich. "I started to realize that you can do anything you put your mind to when you put time and effort into it. I have a passion for golf so I enjoyed trying to improve my game and it feels good to know that I did."
While working at the course and on her game, Lane was studying at the University of Manitoba. After five years of working around the clock, Lane achieved a major milestone when she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Minor in English.
With her family and friends right by her side, Prokopowich celebrated graduating in late October.
"It feels surreal, as much as it went by slow, it went by quickly," commented Prokopowich. "One day I was starting and the next I was on the stage getting my degree. It feels great to have that under my belt, no more studying."
Prokopowich has since begun her new career as a Human Resources Generalist with CHB Company in Winnipeg.
"It feels great, all of these big life chapters opening," continued Prokopowich. "Walking into adulthood has been a change but a great change."
While Lane's schedule will be very busy with her day-to-day duties in her new career, she will always find time for one of her major passions: spending time on the pebbled ice. While she is living in Winnipeg full-time, Lane's journey in curling dates back nearly two decades. She started in the Kids Curling Program in Dauphin and quickly moved up to the high-performance program and years later, Lane is heading back to the provincial championships.
Lane is back skipping her team this year. Her foursome includes Mikaylah Lyburn, Caitlin Kostna, and Stephanie Feeleus. Playing in just their fourth event of the season over the weekend, the foursome caught fire. They scored 39 points in five games on route to winning all five matches at a qualifier in Carman. Their 7-5 victory over Team Calvert in the final earned the foursome a berth in the Rocky Mountain Equipment Women of the Rings provincial championships from January 21-26 at the Pilot Mound Millennium Recreation Complex.
An event that features the best teams in the province, Prokopowich is thrilled at the opportunity.
"Being able to go undefeated was huge for our team, we knew that if we earned that berth we wouldn't have to play in regionals," offered Prokopowich. "I am so proud of our team. Being able to secure our spot early is a bit of a relief."
Next year's event will be Lane's fourth time playing in the women's provincial championship.
"It never gets old and I don't think it ever will. To play at that level against all of these top teams and to be on arena ice," ended Prokopowich. "It's where any female curler in our province wants to be, playing in a provincial championship. It's an incredible experience and I can't wait for the event to begin."
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The Dauphin Kings found a way to break the ice in the third period to earn their 14th win of the season.
Playing a mid-week afternoon game at the Centennial Arena, the Kings prevailed in a 3-1 win against a Swan Valley Stampeders team that is better than their record but still sit with only two wins this season.
Aidan Taylor (4) scored for Swan Valley with 49 seconds left in the first as the Stampeders held a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes and they held that lead for another 26 minutes. That's when the Kings got on the board as Ethan Stewart (2) tied it and they never looked back.
Gabriel Bugeaud (6) scored the game-winner and Rylan Gage (4) scored into an empty net late to seal the game for Dauphin.
The Kings (14-4-1) will be back at Credit Union Place on Friday to play the Neepawa Titans. Next broadcast is next Thursday from Waywayseecappo.
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Madden Murray had two goals and looked outstanding, Cole Sheffield turned 29 away shots and the Dauphin Kings wrapped up a successful weekend on Sunday.
After a 4-3 overtime defeat on Friday, the Kings responded in a solid 4-1 win against Selkirk. Murray (6) opened the scoring just 14 seconds in and Joshua Schmidt (2) scored to give Dauphin a 2-0 lead after 40.
In the third, Murray (7) and Naaman Hofer (3) scored for Dauphin, who went 1-for-8 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.
The Kings have won six of their last seven games and have earned 13 of a possible 14 points during that span. They're two points ahead of the Blizzard for first place in the West Division while Steinbach remains atop the league with 29.
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The junior women's curling scene in the province is being dominated this season by a pair from the Parkland.
Skip Cassidy Dundas of Onanole and her foursome which includes Tessa Terrick of McCreary, won their second bonspiel of the season on Sunday as they clinched a 7-4 victory in the final of the Kyle Flett Memorial MJCT event.
Team Dundas which also includes Lauren Evason and Eryn Czirfusz stormed out of the gates, scoring 15 points in their first two games and giving up just two. They moved into the semifinals after a 6-2 win over Team Ryssel and beat Team Patton, 10-1, in their final four.
In the finals against Team McPherson, the Dundas rink scored a three in the fourth and never looked back.
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The Dauphin Clippers hockey team had no problems rolling to their fifth straight win to open the season.
Cody Zurba and Ethan Carnegie scored two goals apiece as the Clippers hammered Vincent Massey #2, 9-1. Dauphin led 3-0 after 20 minutes and never looked back.
Will Busby, Ethan Zalischuk, Boston Karlson, Julien Lopez, and Jesse Hockridge scored one goal each for Dauphin. Dauphin returns to the ice on Friday when they head to Birtle, their next home game isn't until November 24 when Minnedosa comes to town.
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The Dauphin Clippers varsity boys volleyball team continues to impress and dominate their competition.
Hosting their mini tournament, the Clippers hammered Swan River, Gilbert Plains and R.D. Parker in the round-robin.. Dauphin did not allow more than 17 points in any of the six sets they played in and allowed 13 or less in four of the six sets.
In the playoffs, there was no match for the Clippers. They swept Gilbert Plains and R.D. Parker again to win the title.
Dauphin will have a week to prepare for the zone championships which go next Saturday in Swan River. As the second-seed, the Clippers will play the host Tigers first. Neepawa plays Neelin in the other semi-final and it is single elimination.
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The Minegoziibe Anishinabe Talons varsity girls volleyball team hosted zone championships earlier this week.
While they came up short against Ste. Rose, Ethelbert and Gilbert Plains, the Talons put together some impressive performances in front of their home crowd and have much to be proud about. Basketball season will now take over at the school. There will be a boys tournament at the school on December 6-7 and a girls event the following weekend.
The Gilbert Plains Trojans won the title when they beat Ste. Rose in the finals.
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A very late goal helped the Dauphin Kings secure a point on Friday.
In a battle between two contenders, the Steinbach Pistons outlasted the Kings in a 4-3 overtime victory. It was a game that showcased both teams great speed and skill. Ty Paisley, who is one of the purest scorers in the league, scored twice on the night, including the game winner on an incredible snap shot that went bar down past Cole Sheffield.
Ashton Paul (6) scored with just 10 seconds left to force overtime. Gabriel Bugeaud (5) and Naaman Hofer (2) also scored for Dauphin in the defeat.
Dauphin is now two points up on the Blizzard for first place in the West Division, the Blizzard are in Virden on Saturday night.
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It has been a quiet week on the ice but a very busy one off the ice for the Swan Valley Stampeders.
The team first announced that hometown star Josh Tripp is taking over as head coach after starting the season with the Parkland U-18 Rangers. The Stampeders and Barry Wolff mutually parted ways last month, and Tripp will fill the void for the remainder of the 2024-25 season.
He will make his head coaching debut in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) on Friday night when Swan Valley plays Niverville on the road.
Ahead of hitting the road for a pair of games this weekend, the Stampeders announced three trades, the biggest of which includes Will Munro.
Trade #1:
Munro, who played the past two years with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League (WHL) returned to his hometown team this season and posted three goals and seven points in 10 games. He was traded to the Melfort Mustangs of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL).
The defending SJHL champion Mustangs lead the Sherwood Division with 11 wins in 14 games and they're second place overall, just a single point behind Weyburn. There will now be a Swan River connection on the Mustangs as Bo Eisner is also on the team.
In return, the Stampeders welcome Jake Giacobbo to the team. He had two goals in seven games this year with Melfort.
Trade #2:
Swan Valley then dealt Ty Easton to the Selkirk Steelers in exchange for a player development fee.
Easton had one goal and 60 penalty minutes in 16 games with Swan Valley this year.
Swan Valley had this to say after the trade.
"We want to thank Ty Easton for his contributions to the Stampeders and wish him the best of luck moving forward with his new team,"
Trade #3:
Swan Valley brought in 18-year-old defenceman Gavin Bartha.
Bartha comes from the Olds Grizzlys of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL), where he had one assist in 12 games this season. Last year, he had eight goals and 36 assists in 44 games with the Okanagan Rockets U-18 AAA team.
The Stampeders sent a player development fee in exchange.
Stamp Tips:
- In Niverville Friday, Portage Saturday;
- Return home on Wednesday to host Dauphin in the first all-Parkland battle of the season at 12:30;
- The roster now includes two goalies, eight defencemen, 17 forwards; and
- Parkland region players include Tavyn Boychuk, Carter Zalischuk, Trace Langan, and Andrew Pidskalny.
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This year's Dauphin Kings roster is very deep.
With outstanding talent from the top to the bottom, the Kings find themselves in first place in the MGEU West Division ahead of their game on Friday night against Steinbach. When a roster is deep, tough decisions have to be made and that was the case this year.
In three separate trades, the Kings dealt three Dauphinites.
The first player traded was Carter Zalischuk as he was sent to the Swan Valley Stampeders.
Zalischuk joined his hometown junior team in the 2022-23 season, playing 44 games with five goals and five assists. He returned to the team last year, playing 47 regular season games and all seven of the team's playoff contests. Zalischuk is a relentless worker and was fantastic on the penalty kill.
Doug Hedley wants to thank Carter for his contributions.
"From the Dauphin Kings organization from the coaching staff up to the board of directors, we want to thank Carter for his hard work and effort with our organization," said Hedley. "It's very tough on a coaching staff to make those types of decisions. I know he is going to do great things in Swan Valley, he's a good teammate and works hard."
Dauphin then completed a trade with the Oil Capitals as Dauphin sent Kyan Grouette to Virden. The Dauphinite joined the Kings later last year after starting his junior career in the Western Hockey League with the Everett Silvertips.
Grouette played 18 games with Dauphin, scoring three times and adding three assists in the regular season before playing two playoff games with the team. He has since played 12 games with Virden.
"He's a kid that came in here, worked hard and had a very good summer in the gym training," continued Hedley. "Although he's not playing in Dauphin, we found him a home. He can continue to improve and enjoy the Junior A hockey experience. We thank Kyan and wish him all the best."
In one final transaction, Dauphin sent Rylan Gibbs to the Blind River Beavers of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League. Rylan played 99 regular-season and eight playoff games in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL), all of which came with the Kings.
During this time, Gibbs scored 14 times and had 19 assists. He has since scored once and had one assist in three games with his new team in Blind River.
"We're very appreciative of his effort, time and dedication to the crest," ended Hedley. "He is a great kid and a good player. We felt he needed more minutes and puck touches, he needs to be the go-to guy. I believe he could play Division 3 if he chooses that path. I want to wish him all the best and we appreciate the time he put in."
Dauphin returns to the ice Friday when the Steinbach Pistons come to town.
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The Gilbert Plains Trojans varsity girls' volleyball team had no troubles at the Zone 8 championships earlier this week.
They hammered Pine Creek and Ethelbert and split with Ste. Rose in their round-robin. Moving forward, the Trojans dispatched Ste. Rose in straight sets in the final, 26-24 and 25-18.
The Trojans will host a provincial qualifier on November 16. Gilbert Plains is the top-ranked team in the province while Ste. Rose is third.
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