Former Pistons Amsbaugh, Birnie take pro steps

A pair of former Steinbach Pistons have moved up in the professional hockey ranks.

Braden Birnie, who joined the Pistons for their run to the Manitoba Junior Hockey League finals in 2022 via a mid-season trade, signed a professional try-out contract with the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League.

After completing four years at the NCAA’s University of Alaska-Fairbanks this season, he turned pro, joining the Rapid City Rush of the ECHL, where he made an immediate impact.

His six points in nine games was enough to impress the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks, which signed him to a try-out April 1.

Mistelbacher signs AHL deal with Belleville

Steinbach’s Luke Mistelbacher has locked in where he will continue his foray into professional hockey.

The 2005-born forward signed with the American Hockey League’s Belleville Senators April 8, after the Brandon Wheat Kings were eliminated from the Western Hockey League playoffs.

Mistelbacher is joining Belleville immediately on an amatuer try out contract and has signed formally for the 2026/2027 season. Belleville is the AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators.

Last year, Mistelbacher played with the AHL’s Iowa Wild for a couple games on an amateur try out contract, nabbing his first professional goal.

Blatz helps Canada to best-ever finish at World Baseball Classic

David Blatz’s prediction from three years ago came true on the baseball diamond at the World Baseball Classic.

Blatz, who is an athletic therapist for Baseball Canada, guessed the canucks would show massive improvement at the next iteration of the tournament after the 2022 tournament and saw the team have their best-ever finish in 2026.

Canada made the quarterfinals for the first time, but could’t get past a stacked American team, who were upset by Venezuela in the finals.

The owner of Eastman Therapy had mixed feelings seeing Venezuela win, loving the underdog champions but lamenting the impact it will have on Canada’s Olympic qualification chances.

SPORTS FLASHBACK 2016: Priest postpones mass while Habs win 1956 Carillon Cup

A record-breaking crowd of more than 600 turned out to watch La Broquerie skate circles around the Steinbach Huskies, on the way to the 1956 Carillon Hockey League Championship and the coveted Prefontaine Cup that went with it. The game was played the Saturday night of the Easter weekend and La Broquerie priest Father Leon Roy rescheduled the start of a 9 p.m. service until well after the game was over.

Bob Wiebe scored for the Huskies in the second period and Gordon Kreutzer got one for Steinbach in the third, but goals by Pierre Pelletier, Roland Gauthier, Paul Taillefer and two by Adelard Pelletier, gave La Broquerie the margin of victory in the fifth game of the hard-fought final series.

It was an uphill battle for La Broquerie since the playoffs began, narrowly getting past Grunthal with six goals in the last 10 minutes to win the deciding game of the semi-finals 8-6.

After the Habs won the first two games of the finals, Steinbach came back to win the next two to force a fifth game during the Easter weekend.

AS I SEE IT COLUMN: Congratulations Pistons, good luck Nighthawks and other random thoughts

Pistons – Congratulations to the Steinbach Pistons. While the organization is obviously disappointed that their season is over, their ability to consistently make the playoffs is remarkable. Since Paul Dyck took over the reigns as permanent coach in 2012, the team has never missed the MJHL playoffs. That is simply amazing.

Disappointed Pistons fan can take some solace that our team isn’t the Winnipeg Blues. The last time the Blues participated in the MJHL playoffs was way back in the 2016-2017 season. Yikes.

As is the case year after year after year, the biggest impact the Pistons have happens away from the rink, thanks to all the great community work the players do. Well done boys!

Jets – So Connor Hellebuyck can stone Team Canada in the Olympic gold medal game but he can’t lead the Jets into the playoffs. How disappointing and yet utterly unsurprising.

DANKOCHIK’S DRAFTINGS: Examining my lack of World Cup excitement

Four years ago, you couldn’t find a person who was more all-in on Canada’s men’s national soccer team.

Watching them qualify to the World Cup as the top team in the region, including memorable victories over the United States and Mexico are some sporting memories I will never forget.

So why am I not hyped for this year’s World Cup? Canada is hosting, I should be all-in. Maybe when the tournament starts I will be, but not participating in the qualification has taken a lot of the fun out of the process.

Canada hosting as part of a tournament across three countries probably doesn’t help either. If Canada were solo hosting, I’d probably be way more interested, but as part of not only dual-hosts, but triple-hosts, it’s just not hitting the same way the 2010 Olympics did.

Steinbach Pistons sputter out of MJHL playoffs

The Steinbach Pistons had their chance to force a winner-takes-all game seven in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League semi-finals.

With just two seconds on the clock and down 4-3, the Virden Oil Capitals iced the puck, setting up a last gasp chance for the visitors. While Sam Noad perfectly won the face-off back to Connor Paronuzzi, who was lurking right at the top of the slot, Tyson Ulmer read the play perfectly, squeezing by Brett Kaiser, who was screening for Paronuzzi, to get a leg on the ensuing shot to block it.

Head coach and general manager Paul Dyck said losses in game one and game two, where Virden came out and took early 3-0 leads inside the Southeast Event Centre, were too much to overcome. Steinbach’s coach had already been crunching numbers following the series conclusion, noting the Oil Capitals scored their first goals across the series seven minutes into the game, while it took Steinbach 23 minutes on average to find the back of the net.

“Game one and game two were so detrimental to our cause,” Dyck said a couple days after the loss.

Niverville Nighthawks glide into MJHL final

For four games, the Waywayseecappo Wolverines battled above their place in the standings during the Manitoba Junior Hockey League semi-finals, but finally faltered in game five.

The Niverville Nighthawks finished 40 points ahead of Waywayseecappo in the standings, but could only manage narrow victories and a loss until game five, a 7-0 drubbing on home ice April 10 to send them to the MJHL finals.

There was no drama to be had in the game, with Calyb Moore scoring the winning goal just 30 seconds into the first period, followed up 90 seconds later by Marlen Edwards to double the lead.

“Wayway did a really good job of playing a defensive style and clogging up the middle and bringing the series into the mud to start it out,” head coach Dwight Hirst said after the game.

Zach Lansard’s season continuing with Team Canada

While the Regina Pats season may have ended in the first round with a 4-1 series loss to top-ranked Medicine Hat, Zach Lansard’s season isn’t over yet.

Ste Anne’s Lansard, who is expected to be selected in this year’s NHL draft, will play with Team Canada, getting named to the pre-tournament roster for the upcoming U18 Men’s World Hockey Championships in Slovakia.

“Our group will continue to monitor the Canadian Hockey League playoffs, and we expect to add players prior to the start of the world championship,” U18 general manager Alan Millar, who selected the roster said in a Team Canada news release.

”At this time, we are pleased with the level of talent and international experience we have on our projected roster and are excited to gather in Slovakia in preparation to defend our gold medal.”

Carillon Sports Second Shots: April 9th edition

Featuring photos from Game four and five of the Capital Region Junior Hockey League finals and MJHL playoff games in Steinbach and Niverville.

Providence Pilots embrace hometown in rebrand

The Providence Pilots will have a new look next season.

The college released their new logo March 26, featuring an otter wearing pilot’s goggles as a nod to the post-secondary school’s home in the town of Otterburne.

“Strong, agile, determined, and free, the otter provides a symbol in which all Providence athletes can see themselves represented,” a Providence news release reads.

“It also creates a meaningful connection to the Town of Otterburne, grounding the Pilots brand in their local identity.”

Kate Cameron joins forces with Québec-based team

Kate Cameron’s curling career is taking her East from New Bothwell to a French community, but she’s going just a bit further than La Broquerie.

Cameron is joining forces with Québec skip Laurie St-Georges to form a new team for the upcoming curling cycle. Cameron will be the team’s skip with St-Georges at third. The front end from team St-Georges will also play for the new-look Team Cameron, with second Emily Riley and lead Émilia Gagné filling out the roster.

After skipping a Manitoba-based rink to a bronze medal at nationals in 2024, Team Cameron was granted one of the direct qualification spots at the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials, but couldn’t make the playoffs. They also failed to qualify for the Scotties this year, falling in the Manitoba championship semi-finals. After the end of the year, the team announced they were disbanding for the upcoming 2030 Olympic cycle.

The St-Georges rink added third Sarah Daniels last season, but lost out at the Québec provincials in the gold medal game, also missing out on a Scotties appearance. Daniels, who had been playing for a B.C.-based team before joining St-Georges, announced she would be leaving the team last month.

Steinbach Pistons eliminated from MJHL playoffs

The Steinbach Pistons season came to an end April 12, falling 4-3 in game six of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League semi-finals to the Virden Oil Capitals.

The Pistons had battled back to tie the game 2-2 with a Liam Doyle short-handed goal, but the Oil Capitals managed to restore their one-goal lead on that same powerplay.

Nathan Schaefer hammered home a one-timer from the point that eluded a screened Easton Thvedt. A three-on-one tally from Liam Goertzen ended any chances of another come-back from Steinbach, despite a last-minute scramble goal from the Pistons with the net empty.

Connor Paronuzzi had a glorious chance to tie the game after a Virden icing with two seconds left, but his one-timer attempt off the face-off was blocked by a charging Oil Capitals defender

SPORTS FLASHBACK 1991: Landmark captures first volleyball championship

The Landmark 96’ers humbled the host Niverville Panthers 15-6, 15-2 in the championship final to win their first ever Provincial ‘A’ High School Boys’ Volleyball Championship on the weekend.

The 96’ers, were the number one ranked team going into the provincials and were considered one of the top volleyball teams in rural Manitoba. The team saved their best volleyball of the weekend for the final against the hometown Panthers, and clearly showed their superiority in the back-to-back lopsided victories.

For the Panthers, who were runners-up for the second consecutive year, it was disappointing to lose the final again, but it was also an accomplishment just reaching the finals.

The rivalry that has been built up between Landmark and Niverville during the past two years was clearly evidenced by the more than 400 boisterous fans who jammed into the Niverville Collegiate gymnasium for the championship final.

AS I SEE IT COLUMN: To be a true sport, curling must get rid of this

There can be no question that curling is an ascendant sport. TV viewership is high, it’s one of the winter Olympics’ most popular sports, there’s a new league with an interesting format starting up; overall it looks like the trend lines in curling are all positive.

But if curling wants to be regarded as a true sport, there is one thing it absolutely has to change. If it wants to be recognized as a real sport – and by ‘real’ I mean sharing a foundational element seen in every other team sport on earth – this one thing has to go.

Without this change, curling will still be super popular in Canada and in pockets of the United States and Europe. But without this change, curling can never really be considered an equal to all team sports that share one basic, common, and universally-adhered-to truism. In a real sport, you can’t quit just because you feel like it.

Curling is the only team sport in the solar system where, if you don’t want to play anymore because you think the game is out of reach, you can simply “take off the gloves and shake hands.”