The RDPC Senior Varsity (S.V.) Girls Basketball Team are champions after winning the Bill McDonald Memorial tournament in The Pas over the weekend.

The Girls beat the Hapnot Kopper Kweens out of Flin Flon in the finals 53-32. Ashley Williams was named MVP.

The S.V. boys’ team from RD Parker finished in third place with a 104-61 win over Porcupine Plains.

The Norman Northstars have reached the halfway point of the Manitoba “AAA” Midget season on a high note after splitting a pair of games with the Kenora Thistles.

The Thistles took control of the Friday night affair from the opening faceoff, with Ben Hackl opening the scoring two minutes into the game. Kenora would put nine more goals past Northstars goalie Braedin Melsted, who made 54 saves on the night.

Seven different Thistles had multi-point games, including four points from Cooper Witherspoon (2G, 2A), Hackl (1G, 3A) and Sam Brunton (3G, 1A).

Jerome Linklater had the lone goal for the Northstars, his 7^th of the season. Keistin Saunders and Sheldin Howard had the assists on the goal.

Linklater was named offensive player of the game for the NorMan squad, while Melsted took home the defensive honours for his stellar performance.

The Friday night game was chippy to say the least, with 85 combined penalty minutes between the two teams. The game reached a boiling point in the third period when a fight broke out Frederick Ledoux and Aidan Shumka.

Saturday night saw a complete turn-around from the NorMan squad in what could possibly be their best game of the season so far. Jonathan Saunders scored two minutes in from Albert Sinclair to put the Northstars up 1-0. Witherspoon tied the game up ten minutes later for Kenora, and the two teams would go into the intermission with the score knotted up at one.

Sam Brunton would add a pair for the Thistles in the second, but it was the Northstars who would take the lead into the final frame thanks to goals from Mikey Baron, Chase Muswagon and Sheldin Howard.

The third period was quiet on the goal front until Witherspoon tied up the game with five minutes left in regulation. Overtime solved nothing, so the two teams went to a shootout.

Keistin Saunders scored after Kadin Ilott was denied by Keian Weseen, who made 44 stops on the night. Weseen stopped Hackl and Dylan Winsor to secure the second win on the season for the Northstars. It was Weseen’s first win with the team.

Hunter Rambow led the way offensively for the NorMan side, picking up offensive player of the game honours for his pair of assists. Weseen was named defensive player of the game.

Rambow, whose Jr. “A” rights are held by the OCN Blizzard, currently leads the Northstars with 22 points (7G, 15A) in 28 games. Mitchell Reid continues to lead the team with 12 goals.

The Norman Northstars are now on a break for the holidays, and will resume practices in the New Year before hosting the Pembina Valley Hawks at the T.R.C.C. on January 5^th and 6^th.

Current Manitoba "AAA" Midget Standings

Your chance to play basketball this year for the Trojans is today and tomorrow. 

All that's required to try-out is clean running shoes, appropriate clothing and readiness to compete. 

If you are interested in trying out but can't make it both days, you're asked to communicate directly with the coach or PHE staff as soon as possible.

Read: Trojan Volleyball Teams Come Up Short In Provincials

Below is the schedule for tryouts:

JV and SV Girls:
Monday (December 4) @ 3:30 pm in the Trojan and Parker Gym.
Tuesday (December 5) @ 5:30 pm in the Trojan and Parker Gym.

JV and SV Boys:
Monday (December 4) @ 5:30 pm in the Trojan and Parker Gym.
Tuesday (December 5) @ 3:30 pm in the Trojan and Parker Gym.

Note: all athletes are eligible to tryout at the SV level, and have the choice to do so. Only athletes in grade 9 and 10 (athletes in their first two years of high school) are eligible to tryout for the JV level.

The RD Parker Trojan SV volleyball teams can hold their heads high despite not making the playoffs at the Provincial Championship in Brandon over the weekend.

Both the boys and girls teams finished fifth in their respective pools. The girls finished round robin play with a record of 1-3 while the boys finished 0-4. 

The attention now turns to basketball for the Trojans after capturing five of a possible six zone championships in volleyball.

It took 24 games, but the Norman Northstars have finally won their first game of the season.

The NorMan squad split their games over the weekend against the Central Plains Capitals, dropping the Friday night affair 8-5 before finally getting that long-sought first “W” on Saturday 6-5 in dramatic fashion.

The Northstars got out to a fast start yet again on Friday night, with Mikey Baron scoring to give his team the lead 30 seconds in. The first period would end tied up at two, with Keistin Saunders scoring the second goal for the NorMan squad. The second and third periods saw Central Plains dominate, outscoring the Northstars 6-3 in the last 40 minutes. Keian Weseen made 36 stops in the loss. Jerome Linklater, Keistin Saunders, Mitchell Reid and Hunter Rambow led the way up front with two points apiece.

Saturday saw a much different Northstars team come flying out of the gate. Sheldin Howard scored on the powerplay 5:26 into the first period, followed by a pair from Jonathan Saunders to give the home team a 3-0 lead. The NorMan squad would add two more goals in the second period from Jordan Pfoh and Linklater to take a 5-2 lead into the second intermission. Central Plains would score three in the final frame, but it wasn’t enough as Linkater added his second of the game into the empty net to push the Northstars over the top. Braedin Melsted was named defensive player of the game, making 33 stops on the night. Linkater was named offensive player of the game with two goals and two assists.

Saturday’s 6-5 victory was their first since February 4^th, when they beat the Soutwest Cougars by the same score. Ethan Stuckless had the game winner in February, and Melsted was between the pipes.

Jerome Linklater, in his second season with the Northstars, is sitting at 18 points in 17 games after his 6-point weekend against the Capitals. Friday’s game was his first game since the November 10^th tilt against the Pembina Valley Hawks.

Howard and Rambow are currently tied for the team lead in points, with 19. Reid continues to lead the team in goals with 9.

The Northstars are at home again this weekend for their final games before the holiday break. They’ll host the rival Kenora Thistles Friday and Saturday at the T.R.C.C. Both games will start at 7:30pm.