La Broquerie players nab CRJHL honours

A pair of La Broquerie Habs were honoured for their outstanding seasons by the Capital Region Junior Hockey League.

Goaltender Jaxon Loewen was named the league’s top goaltender, while Mario Gagnon was recognized as the most sportsmanlike.

Loewen had an outstanding season for La Broquerie. Starting in 16 games, he posted a 0.916 save percentage, as he filled in with the Steinbach Pistons throughout December when the Junior A team ran into injury trouble in the crease.

Gagnon had an incredible season, racking up 45 points, while playing in all 30 regular season games for the Habs. Despite those numbers and ice time, he only took a single minor penalty across the entire regular season.

SPORTS FLASHBACK 2003: Hockey legend Serge Savard thrills fans at Rat River Classic

Real Cure, who doubles as the mayor of St Pierre Jolys and is the owner of Rat River Golf at St Pierre, has pulled it off again as he hosted the Fifth Annual Rat River Celebrity Golf Classic last week, with Montreal Canadiens legend Serge Savard as the guest of honour.

The tournament, with a full field of more than 150 players, is a fund-raiser for the CNIB. Savard was welcomed at the first tee by tournament coordinator Heather Cure and four-year-old George Lafleche, a client of the CNIB.

The golf course owner, a diehard Canadiens’ fan, started the tournament five years ago to raise money for the charity supporting the vision-impaired. The guests at the Rat River Celebrity Golf Classic over the years have been some of the most storied figures of Montreal Canadiens hockey, including Yvan Cournoyer, Henri Richard, Jean Beliveau, Gump Worsley and in 2003, Serge Savard,

Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1986, Savard spent 17 seasons in the NHL, 15 with the Canadiens, winning eight Stanley Cups along the way. The Canadiens won two more Stanley Cups during the 12 years Savard was their manager, including their most recent one, a decade ago in, 1993.

Lorette’s Boles will continue hockey career in Regina

Merik Boles has certainly made an impact with the Niverville Nighthawks.

The Lorette product has played more than 200 games with the Manitoba Junior Hockey League franchise just down the road and is one goal or assist away from passing the 150-point mark.

“It’s nice to stay home, play junior here, and still stay close and go to school here,” Boles said after a win against Swan Valley Feb. 27.

The former Eastman Selects standout will continue his career at the collegiate level, as he announced his commitment to the University of Regina last week.

Pilots men’s volleyball extend dynasty with 4-peat

It didn’t feel like a college volleyball championship, but the Providence Pilots men’s volleyball team got the job done, defeating Canadian Mennonite University 2-1 in their best-of-three match Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference finals Feb 28/March 1. It was the team’s fourth consecutive MCAC championship.

After game one was postponed due to road closures conditions Feb. 27, the league made the call to move game two and three to March 1, with game three scheduled for just three sets.

“I don’t have any words right now,” finals most valuable player Liam Buhler said following the championship win.

“It kind of felt like high school again. We wanted to take care of business in our first game, then get out of the gym as quick as possible, get some rest, get some food in, and come back ready.”

PLAYOFF RECAP: Sabres eliminated from league playoffs

The Steinbach Regional Sabres couldn’t continue their run in the top division of the Winnipeg High School Hockey League.

The Sabres managed to win their final home game of the season Feb. 29, keeping their season alive with a 3-2 overtime win over Oak Park thanks to a Peyton Froese goal, but a 4-2 loss in a winner-takes-all game February 28 in Winnipeg ended their season.

Oak Park’s David Sudoski scored the game winner with nine seconds into the third period, and they added on an empty-netter to finish the game. The Sabres are applying for a wildcard spot for the upcoming AAAA provincial championships.

In the indoor soccer ranks, the Sabres finished a strong season just short of a championship appearance, falling 1-0 to Glenlawn in the premier division semi-finals.

Carillon Sports Second Shots: Feb. 26th edition

Featuring photos from SRSS basketball and playoff hockey games, Hanover Tache Junior Hockey League quarterfinal games in Steinbach and Ste Anne, Game five of the South East Manitoba Hockey League quarterfinals in Ile des Chenes and game one of the Capital Region Junior Hockey League quarterfinals in La Broquerie.

Koop brothers celebrate end of lengthy collegiate careers

Tyson and Paxton Koop have certainly played a lot of volleyball over the years.

The Steinbach twins graduated from SRSS in 2020. With the COVID-19 pandemic wrecking havoc on sports across the province, they were eligible to play volleyball for extra years as so-called ‘super seniors.’

“It was actually a blessing in disguise for me to get a year of training with the guys at this level before going into any actual competition,” Paxton, who plays at the University of Winnipeg, said.

“Although it did kind of suck taking off a whole year, I think that was really, really helpful for me to adapt and adjust to the new level of volleyball that I was entering into.”

Scotties bronze medalists Team Cameron ‘parting ways’

Team Cameron, which play out of the St Adolphe Curling Club, announced on social media they will no longer be playing together.

The team, skipped by New Bothwell’s Kate Cameron, was formed three years ago with Taylor McDonald and Mackenzie Elias, adding Brianne Harris as third last season.

Team Cameron is one of many teams that will break up this year, as the curling cycle ends after the Olympics, and players join new teams in attempts to represent Canada on the world’s biggest curling stage.

“Although thie season didn’t receive the results we hoped for, we remain great friends and will forever be cheering each other on in whatever is next,” the post reads.

SPORTS FLASHBACK 2005: Competitive curlers need both fitness and finesse

Some curlers may look like they would be more at home in the aisles at Safeway selecting groceries rather than on the ice throwing rocks for the Manitoba men’s curling championships at the upcoming Safeway Select.

It was not that long ago that an Olympic curler was chastised for being out of shape and the suggestion was made that he did not look enough like an athlete to represent his country in such a stellar competition.

Looks can be deceiving, and if you harbor any doubts that competitive curlers require both finesse and fitness to be at the top of their game, it’s time to turn loose your imagination a little.

Picture this. You are at the previously mentioned grocery store, about to push a shopping cart down the cereal aisle, past all the healthy foods, while heading for the cookies, which they hide at the other end of the store.

Pilots women’s basketball team doubles up on trophies

Providence College’s women’s basketball team continues to add to their trophy case.

The team went into the Northern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament as the number one seed and proved why they earned that ranking, holding off a late charge from Trinity Bible College in the final minutes of the final Feb. 22.

After a back and forth opening half, the Pilots managed to build a 10-point third quarter lead. Trinity battled back to pull the game within three, but three quick baskets within a 40-second span mid-way through the fourth turned the game. Faith LaRocque hit two of those baskets, including an acrobatic layup twisting around a defender.

Providence crushed Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College in the quarterfinals before battling past fellow Manitoba team St Boniface in the semi-finals. Head coach Kendall Perpall was named NIAC coach of the year and LaRocque was player of the year.