Ile des Chenes players key for Winkler’s Turnbull Cup

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/05/2024 (434 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brody Beauchemin and Mike Svenson know how to play together.

Born a year apart, the pair of Winkler Flyers played together on the atom Ile des Chenes Elks when they were young, and have now claimed the Turnbull Cup together as members of the Winkler Flyers.

“Me and (Beauchemin), we’ve been through a lot of highs and a lot of lows,” Svenson said on the ice in Winkler after clinching the title in game four.

“I love him to death, and he’ll forever be my brother.”

The duo combined for six goals and 11 assists across 15 games in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League playoffs. Against Steinbach, Beauchemin came to life, scoring three critical goals throughout the series.

“(Mike and I) have been playing together for pretty much our whole lives,” Beauchemin said.

“We’ve been playing on this team for the last three years… It’s a really cool experience playing with him.”

Beauchemin’s second period-marker in game two may have flipped the entire series. With Steinbach looking to get back in the finals after dropping game one, the forward used his speed on the penalty kill to get in position and convert on two-on-one. His short-handed marker would stand up as the game-winner, earning Beauchemin first star of the game honours and giving Winkler what felt like an insurmountable series lead.

In game three, Beauchemin would strike again, notching a second-period goal to tie the game, with an assist from Svenson. It was the older player’s game to shine, notching a pair of assists and earning the third star selection in Winkler’s 4-3 overtime victory.

Beauchemin made it three games in a row with a goal in game four, tying the game at two to cap off his goal scoring in Manitoba for the year. He wasn’t done having an impact on the game, as he assisted on Avery Anderson’s second-period marker as well as the overtime series-clinching goal from Zach Nicolas.

It was a hard-earned four game sweep for the Flyers, needing two overtime victories to close the series out.

“We have the biggest, baddest guys in the league and we had to keep rolling them wave after wave,” Svenson said.

Beauchemin agreed that in the final, size mattered.

“We played a bigger style of game,” he said.

“We just out-worked them, simple as that.”

The victory came in front of an incredible crowd in Winkler. The town was rallying behind a team looking for their first championship since 1998. Before the game, a line-up of hundreds stood outside in the rain for a chance at a select few walk-up tickets.

“It’s insane, I’m super proud of these guys,” Beauchemin said.

“We worked all year for this. It came close at the end but we pushed through and we got this done for our fans.”

Included in the 1,300 lucky enough to get in the building were Beauchemin’s young cousins, who made the trip to Winkler to support the Flyers.

With the victory, Winkler locks up a spot in this year’s Centennial Cup, which acts as the national championship for junior A across Canada.
“I’ve never been to (a national championship) and I probably won’t ever go to one ever again,” Beauchemin said.

“It’s going to be a very special moment, and I’m so happy to do it with this group.”

Svenson likes Winkler’s chances at the tournament, which is hosted in Oakville, Ont. this year and begins May 9.

“We have the deepest line-up in Canada. I think we had the best team in Canada, and we’re going to go prove it,” he said.

“We’re going to show them who the big, bad boys of Winkler are, and we’re going to give ‘em hell.”

The trip to Oakville is the perfect cap off to a tight-knit Winkler team, which has been together since the 2020/2021 pandemic-shortened season.

“We’re going to be brothers forever,” Svenson said.