The OCN Blizzard went one for three on the weekend, dropping games to the Wolverines and Natives, before defeating Neepawa in Overtime yesterday.

The Blizzard, who currently sit fourth in the MJHL, are nine points behind Virden and Portage in the standings, while level with Winkler, though OCN has a game in hand.

Cross Lake native Anthony Keeper continues to lead the team in points, with 52 (15G, 37A).

The Blizzard will play their final home game of the season Wednesday as they host the Swan Valley Stampeders.

With the regular season now in the books, the first round playoff matchups in the Manitoba Midget “AAA” League have now been set.

Below is a breakdown of all four first-round matchups.

(1) Winnipeg Wild vs (8) Central Plains Capitals

The Wild finished the season first place in the league with a record of 41-5-0-1-1, outscoring their opponents 325-107. That offence was led by Bemidji State commit Kyle Bettens who won the league scoring title with 95 points (40G, 55A) in 48 games. That dominance over their opponents extended to the Central Plains Capitals, as the Wild swept the season series 4-0 (6-2, 3-2, 7-1, 6-4).

Despite having the four wins, the Wild were in tough in the last game against the Capitals, who were surging as they pushed to make the post-season. Central Plains went 8-1 in the month of February, as they narrowly edged out the Pembina Valley Hawks for the final playoff spot. The Capitals are led by their captian, Reily Funk. The Portage Terriers prospect split the season between the Terriers and Capitals, putting up 61 points (29G, 32A) in midget “AAA” play.

If the Capitals can continue their streak of tenacious play, this could be an upset in the making. On the other side of the coin, however, if the Wild can get fast transition game going like they have all season, there is also the possibility of a quick series with the number one seed moving on.

(2) Brandon Wheat Kings vs (7) Southwest Cougars

The Brandon Wheat Kings will be in tough against one of the hottest teams in the league. Despite finishing second in the league, the Wheat Kings have lost two of their best players that got them to where they are. The Wheaties lost star goalie Trent Miner on January 10^th as he was called up by the Vancouver Giants of the WHL. Despite not finishing the year in the league, Miner finished as the league leader in GAA (1.64) and save percentage (.941). Since being called up, Trent Miner has played in four games with the Giants, posting a 3.13 GAA and .918sv%. Also missing for the Wheat Kings is defenceman Daemon Hunt, who was called up by the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors.

The season series was won 3-1 by Brandon, but Southwest is coming into the playoffs on a roll having won three straight and five of their last six. The Cougars are led by Jared McCorrister, who put up 49 points (33G, 16A) in 42 games. Riley Wallace has been solid between the pipes for the Southwest team, posting a record of 19-10 with a 2.67GAA and .917sv%.

This is another series that can go either way. If the team play that brought the Cougars into the playoffs continues they have a shot at the upset. On the other hand, if the Wheat Kings focus on the team they have, which includes 84-point rookie Nolan Ritchie, the series is well within reach for the Wheaties.

(3) Winnipeg Bruins vs (6) Yellowhead Chiefs

Despite making it to the league finals last year, Yellowhead has regressed a bit, coming into the playoffs as the number six seed with a record of 62-20-0-2.

The Bruins, who are coming off a dominant performance in the last weekend against the Norman Northstars, will be looking to shake off their 3-6 month of February in the playoffs. They’ll be relying on their top line of Jayson Szun, Blake Burr and Kyle Lang. The trio finished with a combined 194 points and 88 goals. Winnipeg won the season series with Yellowhead 3-1.

Yellowhead will be in tough, as the scoring has been hard to come by this season. Chad Nychuck led the team in scoring with 61 points (17G, 44A) in 47 games. The Chiefs will be relying heavily on former Norman Northstars goaltender Jeremy Dutcawich, who posted a 22-17 record.

(4) Winnipeg Thrashers vs (5) Eastman Selects

The 4-5 series, as expected, should be the closest and most tightly-contested matchup in the first round. The two teams split their regular season series, and finished the season with the same amount of points, 57. The Thrashers will get home ice advantage, however, as they finished with two more wins.

Josiah Vanderhooft leds the Thrashers offence, and finished the season with 50 points (25G, 25A) in 48 points. He finished the season strong with 14 points (6G, 8A) in the final eight games of the season. Eastman is led by Cole Dekoninck, who had 58 points (20G, 38A) in 48 games. The Kelowna Rockets prospect played two games with the Waywayseecappo Wolverines this season.

This is the one series that should go down to the wire, as there isn’t much separating the two teams.

The first round of the playoffs will begin on Friday March 2^nd, with the final wrapping up on March 30^th.

The Norman Northstars wrapped up their season over the weekend with a pair of disappointing losses to the expansion Winnipeg Bruins.

The Nor-Man squad was playing with a short bench Friday night, as captain Jerome Linklater, Jonathan Saunders and Frederick Ledoux were out of the lineup. Ryan Monias, who had 17 points (6G, 11A) with the Midget “AA” King Miners this season, made his Northstars debut.

The Winnipeg Bruins came out hard and fast, as they needed just one point to lock up third place in the league heading into the playoffs. Jason Kotchon potted the first of the game less than two minutes in, giving the Bruins the lead. Kyle Lang and Blake Burr would add two more goals for Winnipeg, giving them a 3-0 advantage going into the second. Wheat Kings prospect Wililam Highet added one on the powerplay 1:24 into the second, before Lang added a pair of goals two minutes apart to double the Bruins lead to 6-0. The Northstars would get two back, with Hunter Rambow and Sheldin Howard beating Kolby Thornton. 6-2 was as close as they would come, however, as Lang and Jayson Szun would add two more to make the final 8-2. Szun and Lang finished with five points each, while Burr added four. Tanner Pilon was one of the bright spots for the Northstars, playing as a forward for the first time in his midget “AAA” career. Despite not making a mark on the scoresheet, Pilon had a handful of scoring chances and made his presence known physically in the Bruins’ end.

Saturday saw the debut of two more Midget “AA” King Miners, Riley Locke and Cody Hale. The penalty-filled affair was not better for the Northstars than it was the night before, as they were down 5-0 after the first period. The only real bright spot of the game came near the end of the second period, when Mikey Baron scored his eight goal of the season shorthanded. The third period started with the Bruins up 11-1, and they’d add five more in the final frame for a final score of 16-1. Szun would finished the night with seven points, Luc Massé with six, and Lang and Devin Bulloch with five a piece. Northstars alternate captain Mitchell Reid finished the game with 23 PIMS, while Jamie Valentino had 15.

The Norman Northstars finished the season with a record of 4-43-0-0-1. The Northstars will say goodbye to five players as they are aging out of midget hockey; Linklater, Reid, Pilon, Jon Tagoona and goaltender Keian Weseen.

The Pas, MB native and OCN Blizzard prospect Hunter Rambow, who wore the captain’s “C” in the final two games, finished the season as the team leader in points with 36 (12G, 24A).

Three RD Parker basketball teams participated in tournaments over the weekend, and two came out with championship banners.

The junior varisty (JV) girls and boys teams were at home, as RD Parker played host to the Zone XI JV basketball tournament. There were four teams competing in both girls and boys ball; RD Parker, MBCI (The Pas), Cross Lake and Norway House.

The JV girls opened the tournament with a statement win over Norway House, 66-12. They then beat the MBCI Spartans from The Pas by a score of 59-11 to advance to the finals. They faced the Spartans again in the final, where they won 50-13.

The JV boys also opened up the tournament against Norway House, winning 81-36. The Trojans turned around to play the MBCI Spartans, and fell 93-64. Sitting at 1-1, the boys played Cross Lake, and won 59-55 to advance to the finals. In the championship game, the Trojan boys came up strong, defeating the MBCI Spartans 76-73.

The senior varisty girls team was on the road this past weekend, taking part in the Credit Union Varsity Girls Tournament, hosted by the Swan Valley Tigers. The girls went 1-1, with a 59-51 loss to the host Tigers and a 62-33 win over Neelin.

The Thompson King Miners and Cross Lake Islanders will play in Cross Lake for the first game of the Norman Midget "AA" League playoff finals the weekend of March 10th.

The series was originailly scheduled to take place this weekend, but had to be moved until after the 2018 Manitoba Winter Games due to a scheduling conflict. 

The King Miners are coming off a first round sweep of the Norway House Northstars, which saw the Thompson side outscore their rivals a combined 21-6. They were led up front in the series by Drayden Spence (7G, 3A), Chase Gurniak (4G, 5A) and Matthew Rempel (7A). Skylar Szocs, who made his Midget "AAA" debut earlier this season with the Norman Northstars, played all three games for Thompson while posting a 2.00 GAA and a .924 save percentage.

Cross Lake, who finished first in the regular season and received a bye to the finals, hasn't played since beating Norway House on February 8th. Kadin Ross led the team in offence all season, posting 30 points (15G, 15A) in 15 games. Peter Ross was the team’s main goaltender, posting a record of 5-4. Ross' .891 save percentage led the league while his GAA of 4.80 was second to Thompson's Isaak Weenusk.

The first ever Wayne Zahayko Memorial pre-novice hockey tournament will be taking place tomorrow, February 24^th, at the Thompson Regional Community Centre.

The tournament is in memory of Wayne Zahayko, who passed away in 2015. Zahayko was an active member of the Thompson Minor Hockey Association, playing throughout his childhood, then volunteering as coach.

The tournament, which features six-year-old players, will have ten teams. Three teams are from Thompson; the Jets, Blackhawks and Redwings.

The action will get underway at 9:30am, with the Wabowden Stingers playing the Thompson Jets and the Snow Lake Spartans playing the Thompson Blackhawks. The opening ceremonies will follow at 11:50am.

The Flin Flon Bombers will start their preparation for the playoffs this weekend as they play a home-and-home weekend set with the Nipawin Hawks, who lead the SJHL with 82 points and are currently listed as the fourth best Junior “A” club in Canada.

Tonight’s game will be the second of three games in a row that the two teams will play against each other. They have met six times already this season, with the Hawks getting the better of the Bombers in four of the games. Nipawin has outscored Flin Flon 24-10 so far this season.

Prince Albert native Josh McDougall leads Nipawin in scoring this season with 64 points (15Gm 19A) in 49 games played. The 1998-born skater will be lacing up for the Mercyhurst University next season to play NCAA D1 hockey. Flin Flon is led by Nate Hooper, who has 48 points (19G, 29A) in 50 games. The 20-year-old former Winnipeg Thrasher is in his second season with the Bombers.

Flin Flon has six games left in the regular season after this weekend.

The OCN Blizzard continue their road trip tonight with a game against the last-place Waywayseecappo Wolverines.

The Blizzzard are coming off a 3-2 shootout loss to the Portage Terriers, and will be looking to once again get the upper hand on the Wolverines to gain some separation in the standings from the Flyers.

OCN and Wayway last met during the Northern Manitoba Trappers’ Festival, where the Blizzard beat the Wolverines 3-2 and 2-1.

After tonight, OCN heads to Neepawa where they have back-to-back games against the Natives at the Yellowhead Centre. The Blizzard will be in tough, as Neepawa is the only team outside of the top eight left with a shot at the playoffs. They currently sit five points back of Swan Valley for the final playoff spot.

If you want to follow the action, make sure totune in to 102.9 CJAR as Marty Martinson will have the call of all three weekend games. If you’re outside of The Pas area, you can head to thepasonline.com.

It’s a busy weekend when it comes to basketball for RD Parker Collegiate.

The school will be hosting the junior varsity Zone XI tournament, with games starting this afternoon. The tournament is taking place in both the Parker and Trojan gyms, with four teams competing in both the boys and girls sides. RD Parker, Norway House, Cross Lake and The Pas all have teams competing in both tournaments. The girls final will take place in the Trojan Gym tomorrow at 12:30pm, while the boys final will start right after at 2:00pm.

While the JV tournament is going on at home, the senior varsity girls are on the road. The Trojans will be in Swan River, where they are taking place in the Credit Union Varsity Girls tournament.

The Norman Northstars will wrap up their 2017/2018 season this weekend the same way they began the season; against the expansion Winnipeg Bruins.

The two teams have played twice this season, both times in Winnipeg. The Bruins took the first game 4-1, and the second 13-3. Winnipeg Blues prospect Ty Naaykens, who currently sits second on the team in scoring with 57 points (26G, 31A), dominated the Nor-Man side with four points in the opener (2G, 2A) and five points in the second game (4G, 1A).

The Bruins, who left Winnipeg for Thompson this morning, are currently in a slump. They have lost six of their last seven games, including five straight. Despite the recent run of bad play, Winnipeg continues to hold on to third spot in the Manitoba Midget “AAA” League, four points up on fourth place Eastman and eight points up on the Winnipeg Thrashers.

The Norman Northstars are coming off a disappointing 12-5 loss to the Winnipeg Thrashers after upsetting the Winnipeg side 2-1 the night before. The Northstars were led in the offense department last weekend by captain Jerome Linklater, who had four helpers. Sheldin Howard and Keistin Saunders each had three points.

This weekend will mark the last chance for Linklater, Tanner Pilon, Jon Tagoona, Mitchell Reid and Keian Weseen to don a Northstars jersey. The five 2000-born players on the team will age out of midget hockey once the season comes to a close. Both Linklater and Pilon are in their second full season with the Nor-Man side, while Tagoona, Reid and Weseen made their debuts this year.

Both of the weekend games, tonight and tomorrow, against the Bruins will start at 7:30pm at the C.A. Nesbitt Arena in the T.R.C.C. If you can’t make it out to tonight’s game, tune in to 102.9 CHTM for the call of the game starting at 7:25pm.

There are three other midget “AAA” games on the go tonight here in Manitoba. The Eastman Selects are visiting the Winnipeg Thrashers, the Pembina Valley Hawks host the Brandon Wheat Kings, and the Parkland Rangers will battle the Southwest Cougars.

A curling team from RD Parker Collegiate is currently in Winkler participating in the provincial finals.

Brooke Graham, Madison Andrews, Keanna Lowlin and Kira Milligan make up the team, coached by Jeff Paradis.

The girls open up the "A" side draw against Garden Valley, and will face the winner of Shoal Lake and Ashern.

The OCN Blizzard lost to the Portage Terriers last night in a shootout, dropping a key point against the team that was right above them in MJHL standings.

Portage got the ball rolling early, as Jeremey Leipsic potted his 27th of the season to give the Terriers a 1-0 edge. Nick Doyle would add one ten minutes later, and Portage would take a 2-0 lead into the break.

The second period saw no scoring, but OCN would storm back in the third. Former Norman Northstar Tony Apetagon scored five minutes into the final frame, before Riley Bruce tied things up half way through, forcing overtime.

The extra frame solved nothing, so the two teams went to the shootout. Leipsic was the only skater able to score, giving the Terriers the extra point. The Former Winnipeg Wild standout is an alternate captain with Portage this season, and currently has 76 points (27G, 49A) in 56 games.

With the Win, the Terriers have jumped over the Oil Capitals to take second place in the league. The OCN Blizzard continue to sit fourth, two points up on the Winkler Flyers with two games in hand.

Seven of the eight playoff spots in the MJHL have been clinched, with number eight still up for grabs. The spot is currently held by the Swan Valley Stampeders, who sit five points ahead of the Neepawa Natives with three games in hand.

Photo courtesy of the Winnipeg Free Press

The OCN Blizzard picked up four crucial points over the weekend by taking down the Waywayseecappo Wolverines in back-to-back games.

The Wolverines, who sit dead last in the MJHL, were hoping to play spoiler as they made the trip north to play the Blizzard during the Northern Manitoba Trappers’ Festival.

Friday night saw a close game, with OCN coming out on top 3-2. The Blizzard started the game playing catch-up, with Jesse Korytko potting his 10^th of the season only 42 seconds in to give the Wolverines a 1-0 lead. Riley Bruce would tie things up for the Blizzard with 3:30 to go in the opening frame. The powerplay goal was set up by two former Norman Northstars, Anthony Keeper and Tony Apetagon.

The second period saw more penalties than scoring, as Mark Liwiski had the only goal as OCN took a 2-1 lead into the third.

Wayway would tie up the game early in the third thanks to Peyton Malcolm, before former Vancouver Giant and Edmonton Oil King Jesse Roach scored his 10^th of the season to push OCN over the top. Former Drummondville Voltigeurs goalie Emilien Boily picked up the win for the Blizzard, his 21^st of the season. He sits among the league leaders with a 2.79 GAA and 0.923 sv%.

Saturday saw another close game between the two clubs, once again with OCN coming out on top.

Brayden Dale opened up the scoring early in the first with his 11^th of the season. The goal, which came at the 2:02 mark from Wyatt Riendeau and Liwiski, would be the only marker of the period.

Korytko would tie things up midway through the second period for the Wolverines, before Brady Valiquette scored early in the third to give the Blizzard their second win in 24 hours.

With the pair of victories, the Blizzard sit in fourth place in the MJHL, three points up on fifth place Winkler.

OCN has five games left of the season, starting Wednesday against the third place Terriers in Portage.

The end of the season gets easier after Wednesday with game against the last place Wolverines, followed by a pair against Neepawa and one against Swan Valley. The Stampeders currently sit in the final playoff spot, five points ahead of the ninth place Neepawa Natives. Swan Valley has two games in hand.

The Norman Northstars are looking ahead to the final two games of the season after splitting a pair of games at home against the Winnipeg Thrashers.

Friday night saw the Northstars play their best game of the season in a 2-1 victory over the Winnipeg Thrashers. It was a tightly-contested game for the entire 60 minutes, with both sides doing everything they could to try and give their team an advantage.

The scoring started early in the third period, when Nor-Man alternate captain Keistin Saunders scored his sixth goal of the season at the 1:02 mark. Jordan Pfoh would add his team-leading seventh powerplay goal of the season to give his team a 2-0 lead. Billy Klymchuk would add one late for the Thrashers, but it wasn’t enough. Waywayseecappo Wolverines prospect Braedin Melsted played one of the best games of his Midget “AAA” career, stopping 35 of 36 shots. The Northstars penalty kill continued to shine, going a perfect ten for ten.

Saturday night saw a very different game from both teams as the Thrashers dominated the Northstars en route to a 12-5 victory. The line of Klymchuk, Josiah Vanderhooft and Levi Thiessen proved to be kryptonite for the Nor-Man side, as the trio of Thrashers combined for seven goals and 19 points in the game. The Thrashers were up 8-2 at the start of the third, and stretched that to 11-2 before the Northstars attempted a late comeback. Jon Tagoona got the ball rolling with his fourth of the season with five minutes left, before Sheldin Howard and Mikey Baron added quick goals a minute later closing the gap to 11-5. The comeback was cut short less than a minute later as Klymchuk scored with three minutes to go to seal the deal.

Captain Jerome Linklater and The Pas, MB native Hunter Rambow are currently tied for the team lead in points with 34. Mitchell Reid continues to lead the team in goals with 18.

The Norman Northstars will finish off their season this weekend at the TRCC as they host the expansion Winnipeg Bruins.

The Flin Flon Bombers are in tough tonight as they face off against the divisional-rival Mustangs in Melfort.

The two teams, who have both clinched playoff berths, have had very different seasons. The Bombers currently sit third in the Sherwood Division with a record of 19-22-3-4, while the Mustangs are second with a record of 33-11-4-1.

Tonight's game will mark the third time in a row, and sixth time this season, that the two rivals have played each other. Melfort currently holds the edge in the season series 4-2. The last games these two teams played, on February 9th and 10th, was split. Flin Flon won the first game 6-4 in Melfort before the Mustangs dropped the Bombers 6-3 at the Whitney Forum.

The two teams will play one more time this season, on March 6th, in Flin Flon.

Tonight's game is scheduled to start at 7:30pm local time.

The OCN Blizzard are at home this weekend during the Northern Manitoba Trappers' Festival with a pair of games against the Wayway Wolverines.

The Blizzard have won all three games that the two teams have played this season to date. They last met on January 24th, with the Blizzard skating away with a 4-1 victory.

OCN currently sits fifth in the MJHL, one point back of the Winkler Flyers. They'll be pushing hard the rest of the season, which ends at the end of month, in an attempt to earn home ice advantage in the playoffs. Anthony Keeper continues to lead the Blizzard with 49 points (15G, 34A) in 49 games.

Waywayseecappo on the other hand can do nothing but try and play spoiler. The Wolverines are dead last in the MJHL with a record of 7-14-3-1, and have already been eliminated from playoff contention. Hibbing, Minnesota native Jake Bestul is among the team leaders for Wayway, and has 20 points (10G, 10A) in 52 games played.

The first game of the weekend will go tonight at 7:00pm.

The Norman Northstars have a tough weekend ahead of them as they prepare to host the Winnipeg Thrashers for a pair of games.

The Northstars are coming off their last road trip of the year, which saw them drop three games to the Wild, Capitals and Lightning. Despite the trio of losses, the Norman Northstars continued to see the emergence of rookie defenceman Jordan Pfoh. The 15-year-old Flin Flon, MB native has 14 points (7G, 7A) in his 44 games played. His big physical presence and leadership have been impressing fans and coaches alike over the season. Pfoh was recently listed by the MJHL's Waywayseecappo Wolverines.

The Thrashers, who are fighting to get home ice advantage in the upcoming playoffs, are coming off a 2-1 loss to the red-hot Southwest Cougars. They currently sit in sixth place in the Manitoba Midget "AAA" League with a record of 25-18-0-1. They are three points back of the Eastman Selects for fourth place.

The two teams have played twice this season, both times in Winnipeg at the Gateway Blue Arena. On November 12th, the Thrashers edged the Northstars 4-3 in a very close and tightly contested affair. The next game the two teams played, on November 25th, the Winnipeg side came to play, and trounced the Nor-Man squad 10-4.

The Thrashers are led offensively by Josiah Vanderhooft, who leads the team with 41 points (22G, 19A) in 44 games. Kelowna Rockets 2015 draft pick Reid Robertson is second on the team with 40 points (18G, 22A).

The Pas native and OCN Blizzard prospect Hunter Rambow continues to lead the Norman Northstars with 33 points (11G, 22A) in 43 games. Flin Flon's Mitchell Reid leads the team with 18 goals.

The first game will be played at the C.A. Nesbitt arena tonight at 7:30pm. If you can't make it to tonight’s game, it will be broadcast live on 102.9 CHTM starting at 7:25pm.

The 48th annual Munn Cup tournament is now underway at the T.R.C.C.

This year’s edition of the tournament features 21 teams. There are three teams from Thompson ("AA" King Miners, "A" Kinger Miners, "B" side Carroll Aeors), one from Waboden ("B" side), and two from Nunavut ("A" side from Arviat, "B" side from Rankin Inlet).

The first game of the tournament, which started minutes ago, is a "B" side matchup between Arviat and Cross Lake. Today's games will wrap up with a "AA" matchup between Swan River and Norway House in the Gordon Beard Arena at 8:00pm.

The official opening ceremonies will take place tomorrow at 12:45pm, before the "AA" King Miners take on Swan River.

Tomorrow's games will go from 8:00am to 8:00pm with the final games being played on Sunday.

The full schedule can be found here, or at the TRCC.

The Thompson Midget “AA” King Miners are moving on to the finals of the Norman Midget “AA” League playoffs after a weekend sweep of the Norway House Northstars.

The first game, which took place on Friday, saw the King Miners get out on the right foot, crushing Norway House 7-1. Drayden Spence led the way for Thompson with three goals, while Chase Gurniak added a goal and two assists. Former Norman Northstars standout Henry Muchikekwanpe had the lone goal for the Northstars.

Saturday saw a closer game that the night before, but nothing that wasn’t comfortable for the home team. Back-stopped by Skylar Szocs, the King Miners won game two 5-2. Matthew Rempel led the way with three assists, while Harley Horning added a pair of goals.

Yesterday, in a do-or-die game for Norway House, the King Miners stamped out any hope of extending the series with a 9-3 statement win. Drayden Spence and Brendan McKay each had three goals, while Chase Gurniak added a pair for Thompson, while Kale Mayor added the other goal. Dawson Bilawka, Rylee Locke and Rempel each added a pair of helpers.

The King Miners will move on to play the Cross Lake Islanders in the next round of the playoffs.

The Norman Northstars were on the road over the weekend down south to play the Wild, Capitals and Lightning on their last road trip of the 2017/2018 season. The team was down two regular forwards on the trip, Jonathan Saunders and Frederick Ledoux.

The weekend started on a rough note at the BellMTS Iceplex with a game against the Winnipeg Wild. Head coach James Buchanan said before the game that he knew his side was in tough against Winnipeg, especially without Saunders and Ledoux. Alternate captain Mitchell Reid spoke to 102.9 CHTM before the game, and said that going into the game the team had to do all they could to outwork the Wild. Braedin Melsted got the nod between the pipes to start the game, but didn’t last the first period, allowing seven goals in the first 16:22 of the game. Keian Weseen would allow 13 goals over the final 43:38 as the Wild came away with their fourth win of the season over the Northstars by a score of 20-1. Mikey Baron had the lone goal for the Nor-Man side, assisted by captain Jerome Linklater. Kyle Bettens led the way for the Wild with eight points (3G, 5A), while 14 other players had multi-point games.

It was a quick turnaround for the Northstars, who made the short trip to Portage la Prairie the next afternoon for a 4:00pm game against the Central Plains Capitals; a team they have beat this year. Melsted, who started the Saturday game, said that he was ready for the game and wouldn’t let the previous night’s game affect him. The Nor-Man side got out to a fast start by putting Central Plains on their heels, but couldn’t capitalize. At the end of the first frame the Capitals were up 2-0. Coach Buchanan spoke highly of his captain during the first intermission for his work in shutting down the Central Plains Captain, Reilly Funk. Funk has played 20 games this season, while not with the Jr. “A” Portage Terriers, and has 47 points (23G, 24A). He did score in the game, but that was the only time he was noticeable. The Capitals would add four more goals in the game to skate away with a 6-0 victory.

The Northstars wrapped up their road trip in Teulon, MB on Sunday with a matinee against the Interlake Lightning. The team once again got out to a good start, but couldn’t capitalize on their chances, leading to the Lightning breaking the deadlock with four minutes to go in the opening frame. Penalties plagued the Nor-Man side in the second period, as they allowed a goal while shorthanded. Mitchell Reid would answer back for the Northstars with his 18^th of the season on a Northstars powerplay, with the assists coming from Linklater and Keistin Saunders. Despite the visitors having the momentum from the goal heading into the third period, Interlake would add four in the third period to finish the 7-1 victory.

Morgan Beauchamp, an “AP” call-up, was with the team over the weekend to help fill the holes left by missing players. Though he didn’t register a point, the coaching staff said they were happy with his play. He has now played five games with the team.

The Northstars will finish off their season at home with two giant challenges. The first is the Winnipeg Thrashers, who are in town this coming weekend for a pair of games. After the Thrashers, the Winnipeg Bruins will be in town for the final games of the season.

The Norman Northstars are in tough tonight in Winnipeg against the Wild.

The NorMan squad made the long trek down to the provincial capital last night, and are well rested for the tough task of facing the Winnipeg Wild.

The Northstars would rather forget the last time they saw the Wild, which was a few weekends ago in Thompson. The Winnipeg side outscored the Northstars 29-3 over the two games that they played. 

The Wild currently sits atop the Manitoba Midget “AAA” Hockey League with a record of 35-4-0-1-1, holding the tiebreak over the Brandon Wheat Kings, who also have 72 points

The Northstars are at the other end of the spectrum, sitting last with seven points.

Tonight’s puck drop is scheduled for 7:00pm. Be sure to follow 102.9 CHTM on Facebook for the latest updates on the game.

It was a successful weekend for the Atom King Miners at the annual Grub Box Tournament in The Pas.

The Atom “A” team won the Morrish Cup by a score of 4-3, and the “AA” team won the Grub Box Cup. The "AA" side captured the trophy with a 6-3 victory over Swan River.

The Pas Huskies were the only other team to take home a trophy, as they won the “B” side Grub Box Cup. They defeated the King Miners to take home the prize.

Flin Flon finished third in the "AA" division, beating out the Huskies in overtime.

The Midget “AA” King Miners did what they needed to on the final weekend of the regular season to find themselves, at least for now, atop the NorMan Midget “AA” Hockey League.

The King Miners went into Cross Lake Saturday, and came away with a 6-4 victory. Isaak Weenusk stood tall between the pipes, stopping 30 shots to pick up the win. Chase Gurniak led the way for the offence, scoring a hat trick while adding two assists. Matthew Rempel added two assists.

Sunday had the Thompson squad in Norway House, where they laid a 9-3 beating on the Northstars. Harley Horning and Brendan McKay each had a goal and three assists, Matthew Rempel and Drayden Spence each had two goals and an assist, while Kale Mayor added a pair of goals. Skylar Szocs made 30 saves for the win.

Former Norman Northstar Henry Muchikekwanape had a goal for Norway House.

The King Miners currently sit first in the league, one point ahead of the Islanders. The team now needs Norway House to beat Cross Lake Thursday in the final game of the season to maintain their position.

The Norman Northstars couldn't overcome a slow start on Saturday night as Eastman completed the weekend sweep with a 9-3 victory.

The Selects came out strong to start the game, putting three by Braedin Melsted in the first 10 minutes. The game was the first for Melsted since January 14th, who stopped 41 of 50 shots on the night.

Kelowna Rockets prospect Cole Dekoninck opened the second period the same way he ended the first, with a goal. Dekoninck, who has 53 points so far this season, scored a natural hat trick when he potted home his third of the game at 11:34 of the second frame. Dekoninck would finish the night with five points. His line mates, Jesse Mistelbacher and Dallon Wilton, would finish with a goal and three assists each.

Mitchell Reid opened up the scoring for the Northstars late in the second period with an unassisted goal. Keistin Saunders and Sheldin Howard would add the other two for the NorMan squad.

The Northstars are on the road this weekend for their final road trip of the year. They'll face-off against the Winnipeg Wild on Friday, the Central Plains Capitals on Saturday and finish with the Interlake Lightning on Sunday.

The Norman Wolves ended their regular season on a sour note as they dropped a pair of games to the Parkland Rangers.

The Wolves got out to a 5-1 lead early in Saturday’s game, before giving up nine unanswered goals en route to a 10-6 loss. Sunday was no better, as they fell behind early and couldn’t catch up in the 13-4 route.

The Pas’ Chase Bertholet led the team over the weekend with two goals and four assists, while Flin Flon native and team captain, Justin Lies, finished the weekend with three goals and three assists. Carter Anderson, the lone Thompsonite competing in boys’ hockey at the Manitoba Games, put up a goal and an assist.

14 different players ended up on the score sheet for the Rangers, including goaltender Jean Berthaudin. Nine players had multi-point weekends, including five who had over five points. 13-year-old Tyson Zimmer led the way with eight points over the weekend, three goals and five assists. 

The Manitoba Midget "AAA" League has named their players of the month for January. Two of the three players are from the Southwest Cougars, who went 7-3 in the first month of 2018.

Zachary Falk (Winnipeg Wild) was named the Chicken Chef forward of the month, Cory King (Southwest Cougars) was named the Super 8/Motel 6 defenceman of the month, and Riley Wallace (Southwest Cougars) was named the Xplornet goalie of the month.

Falk, a Winnipeg native, put up 22 points (12G, 10A) in 10 games during January. The 17-year-old, who is in his first full season with the Wild, has put up 64 points (33G, 31A) in 39 games. Falk is currently fourth in overall league scoring, second in goals and 11th in assists. He sits second in team scoring behind Kyle Bettens. 

15-year-old Cory King is have a huge breakout year in his first Midget "AAA" season. He represented Manitoba earlier in the year, helping the team win bronze in the WHL Cup. He scored two goals in the tournament. The Souris, MB native has a bright future ahead of him after being taken third overall by the Swan Valley Stampeders in the 2017 MJHL draft and 98th overall by the Moose Jaw Warriors in the 2017 WHL draft. 

Sophomore goalie Riley Wallace has played in 37 games for the Cougars this year, posting a record of 14-8. The 17-year-old has posted good numbers this year; a 2.78 goals against average and a .913 save percentage. The Oak Lake native has already improved on last season, where he held a 3.71 GAA and .890 SV%. Over the month of January, Wallace collected 6 wins while posting one shutout and an impressive .933 SV%. 

The Flin Flon Bombers picked up two critical points last night as they destroyed the La Ronge Ice Wolves 6-1.

In the first of the back-to-back home-and-home, the Bombers came to play. Dawson McKenzie potted his fourth of the season 2:28 into the first period, and Flin Flon never looked back. The Bombers would add two more in the opening frame thanks to Nate Hooper and Chrystopher Collin. 

The lone Ice Wolves goal came from Zach Bannister, his third of the season, with 1 second left in the first period. 

Flin Flon would put another one by Victoria, BC native Merek Pipes in the second thanks to Donavan Houle-Villeneuve. Brandson Hein would net his fourth of the year at the 7:07 mark of the third, before Hooper scored his second of the game to close out the scoring. 

The two teams will meet again tonight at the Whitney Forum in Flin Flon. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30pm.  

The OCN Blizzard came up short last night in their attempt to capture fourth in the MJHL standings as they dropped a 3-1 decision to the Neepawa Natives.

Blizzard forward Tony Apetagon, who put up 102 points in 34 games last year with the OCN Storm, opened up the scoring near the end of the second period with his 14th goal of the season. The OCN lead wouldn't last long, as Zach Johnson responded for Neepawa just over a minute later to send the game into the third period tied at one. 

Ashton Anderson and Nolan Richards would each put one past Blizzard goaltender Emilien Boily in the first 10:00 minutes of the third period to give Neepawa the lead, and the win. 

The Blizzard will play again tonight as they host the Winkler Flyers. The last time the two teams met, the Blizzard put 5 past Flyers goalie Troy Martyniuk in a 5-2 win. Puck drop tonight is scheduled for 7:00pm at the GLMC. 

The Norman Northstars came up short last night at the C.A. Nesbitt arena as the Eastman Selects skated away with a 5-3 victory.

For the first time in a while, the Northstars were the team with a full roster card, while the EastMan squad was down a few players. The Northstars were augmented by two "AP" call-ups, goaltender Rylan Potkonjak and forward Morgan Beauchamp. 

Shelding Howard opened up the scoring 57 seconds into the first period (assisted by Jamie Valentino and Branden Hill) to give the Northstars an early 1-0 lead. It wasn't long, however, before Eastman answered back. The Selects would put five unanswered goals past Potkonjak, who was making his Midget "AAA" debut. 

The second period saw the NorMan squad start to mount a comeback, with powerplay goals from captain Jerome Linklater and Hunter Rambow. Both of the goals came when Spencer Morrison was in the box for the Selects.

The comeback, however, wasn't meant to be as Eastman goaltender Justin Powers closed the door in the third to lead his team to a 5-3 victory. Potkonjak made 44 saves in his Northstars debut.

The two teams will meet again tonight for the conclusion of their weekend series. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30pm. 

The Flin Flon Bombers will continue their push for eighth spot in SJHL standings tonight as they face the Ice Wolves in home-and-home weekend series.

Tonights game, against the Bombers' Sherwood Division rivals, will get underway at 7:30pm in La Ronge, Saskatechewan. The last time these two teams met, the Ice Wolves edged Flin Flon 4-3 in overtime.

After tonight, the Bombers will return home to the Whitney Forum as La Ronge will come to Flin Flon.

The Bombers currently sit ninth in the league, three points back of the Kindersley Klippers.

The OCN Blizzard will be looking to climb up the MJHL ladder this weekend as they host both Neepawa and Winkler.

The Blizzard will kick off their weekend tonight with a game agains the Neepawa Natives at the Gordon Lathlin Memorial Centre. OCN is coming off a pair of losses to the Winnipeg Blues. The Natives on the other hand are coming off a 3-1 road win over the Stampeders. 

After tonight, the Blizzard will have a quick turnaround as they will host the Winkler Flyers on Saturday night. The two teams are currently tied with 56 points in the standings, though Winkler holds fourth and OCN sixth as the Flyers have three more regulation wins.

The Blizzard are led up front by former Norman Northstars standout, and Cross Lake native, Anthony Keeper. The 20-year-old third year Blizzard forward currently leads the team with 45 points (15G, 30A) in 43 games played.

It’s a busy weekend for the RD Parker athletics department.

The senior varsity boys basketball team is in Winnipeg this weekend for the Linden Christian “Hoops for Hope” tournament. They’ll open up the bracket against Steinbach Christian. If they win, they’ll face either Saint Norbert or Swan Valley in the semis.

The junior varsity girls basketball team is also in Winnipeg, competing in the Elmwood JV tournament.

In addition to basketball, both RDPC girls curling teams are competing at the Zone XI Championships in Flin Flon.

The Midget “AA” King Miners are on the road this weekend as they try to clinch first place in the league.

They're in Cross Lake tomorrow to play the first-place Islanders, and in Norway House Sunday to play the Northstars.

The King Miners currently sit second the league, three points back of Cross Lake.

The Norman Wolves (6-26-0-0-2) will be looking to end their 2017/2018 home schedule on a high note as they host the Parkland Rangers (17-10-0-2-1).

The Wolves currently sit in the basement of the Winnipeg Bantam “AAA” West Division, while the Rangers sit third behind Southwest and Yellowhead.

Game one goes tomorrow at 4:00pm, while game two will be played Sunday at 11:00am.

Both games will be played in the C.A. Nesbitt Arena.

Photo courtesy of the Thompson Citizen.

The Norman Northstars have a tough weekend ahead of them as they host the Eastman Selects tonight and tomorrow at the TRCC.

The last time these two teams played, back on January 12^th, Mikey Baron scored in overtime to lead the NorMan squad to a 5-4 win. The only other meeting of the season, back in November, was a 9-3 victory for the Selects.

Eastman comes into this weekend in fourth place in the Manitoba Midget “AAA” League, two points ahead of the Pembina Valley Hawks, though the Hawks have a game in hand. Eastman is currently on a three game slide, coming off 4-0 and 3-2 losses to the Winnipeg Bruins and Interlake Lightning respectively. The Selects are expected to come out strong to try and hold on to home ice advantage for the playoffs.

The Northstars are coming off a weekend they’d all like to forget, dropping a pair of games to the Winnipeg Wild with a combined score of 29-3. The NorMan squad will get a boost between the pipes, as Braedin Melsted is expected to be back in net. Hunter Rambow leads the Northstars with 31 points (10G, 21A) in 38 games.

The games will be played tonight and tomorrow night in the C.A. Nesbitt Arena. Puck drop is 7:30pm both nights.