Morris Mavericks off to hot start in Zone 4 hockey

The Morris Mavericks are looking good in their quest to return to the top of the Zone 4 hockey mountain.

The Mavericks started the season a perfect 7-0, outscoring their opposition 32-14.

Wyatt Sabourin is now the head coach of the program. Morris claimed the provincial AA championship banner in 2025 and fell in the Zone 4 final and provincial finals last season.

“We’re a smaller group in numbers, but we I think make up for it in speed,” Sabourin said after a 8-2 win over the Pembina Tigers Oct. 28.

“The guys play hard. All those guys are really coachable. It’s a really good group of guys so that makes my job really easy.”

Sabourin lifted a trophy inside the Morris arena in 2019 as part of the Pembina Valley Twisters. He was named the team’s captain the following year before COVID-19 shut down the season.

He said the team came into the season without any real expectations, but have quickly built a strong team culture, while racking up points in the standings.

“There’s always lessons to be learned in wins,” Sabourin said.

“I think there’s more to be learned in losses, but we’ll take it as we go. We’re not going to take a loss if we don’t need to.”

The Mavericks looked especially dangerous while possessing the puck and cycling with it in the offensive zone against Pembina, with players finding space to generate chances in the slot.

“We try to give the guys a foundation of where they should be but when they’re in the offensive zone, they just have to take over, trust their gut and play with creativity and have some fun in the fun zone,” Sabourin said.

The Mavericks are next in action Nov. 18 when they take on the W.C. Miller Aces. Puck drop is at 6 p.m. The AA Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association provincial championships will be hosted in Niverville this season in February.