Providence Pilots seasons in full swing

Providence Pilots athletes are busy across three different sports as the collegiate season heats up across the province.

VOLLEYBALLThe MCAC women’s volleyball standings will be a fight to the absolute finish, with three of the conference’s four teams sitting with seven wins heading into play this weekend.

Providence’s place at the national championship is locked up due to the school hosting the upcoming tournament, but they will need some help on the out of town scoreboard to host a playoff game this year.

The men’s team has the most wins of any MCAC team, but trail Assiniboine in the standings due to games the Brandon-based school has in hand.

Carillon Sports Second Shots: Jan. 22nd edition

Featuring an SRSS Hockey game Jan. 14, a Niverville Nighthawks game Jan. 15, an Eastman Selects U18 AAA game Jan. 15, a Steinbach Pistons Game Jan. 16 and a HTJHL game in Steinbach Jan. 17

Ste Anne’s Zach Lansard shoots up NHL draft list

Zach Lansard’s reputation as an NHL prospect is certainly growing.

The 2008-born forward from Ste Anne rose the NHL Central Scouting rankings, moving up from potential late-round pick to 72nd among all North American skaters in the most recent rankings.

If that ranking reflects NHL teams’ internal ratings, he could be selected in the third round, the same as fellow Eastman draft pick Owen Martin last year.

Through 39 games this season, Lansard had 15 goals and 21 assists for the Regina Pats in the Western Hockey League.

Norman Blizzard head coach leaves program

The Norman Blizzard’s championship defense season could not have gone worse.

After losing most of the core that led them to that championship, as well as head coach Eric Labrosse before the season even began, they turned to Ty Valin to try and recover the season.

That hiring hasn’t worked out as they had hoped with the team announcing Valin “will no longer be filling the position as Head Coach/General Manager,” on social media Jan. 13.

“Ty has given his time, energy, and passion to our organization, and we are appreciative of his commitment to our players and staff,” the team posted.

SPORTS FLASHBACK 2017: Rest easy, Jean Guy Tetrault

A La Broquerie hockey legend lost a lengthy and courageous battle with cancer New Year’s Day, 2017.

Anybody who ever played hockey with Jean Guy Tetrault remembers him well. Anybody who ever played hockey against Jean Guy Tetrault remembers him even better.

A gentle man off the ice, a tough guy on the ice, and a hockey idol for two generations of La Broquerie Habs hockey fans, Jean Guy Tetrault passed away in the early hours of January 1, surrounded by his family.

He came by his hockey reputation honestly and early in his career. As the story goes, hockey players learned to take a wide berth around young Jean Guy when he first stepped on the ice at St Boniface College as a young student there.

January 18 blizzard puts halt to hockey across region

Leagues across the province had to postpone their games Jan. 18, as a blizzard wrecked havoc with roads across Manitoba.

The first cancellation came at Providence College, as poor driving conditions earlier in the weekend prevented North Dakota’s Trinity Bible College from visiting for a scheduled double-header Jan. 16/17. The college did manage to host futsal at the on-campus gym in Otterburne, but matchups against Canadian Mennonite University had to be put on hold.

All games scheduled in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League for the 18th were cancelled, including a high-profile showdown between the Steinbach Pistons and Portage Terriers at the Southeast Event Centre. Those two teams are in a battle for second in their division.

The Pistons/Terriers game was quickly re-scheduled for Feb. 7, with an 8 p.m. puck drop. Tickets from the 18th will honoured by the team.

Providence Pilots announce launch of curling program

Providence College continues to expand their sport offerings.

The school announced they would be launching a men’s and women’s curling program this fall.

“Curling is a sport built on community, tradition, and excellence — and that fits perfectly with who we are,” Providence director of athletics Joel Coursey said in a Providence news release.

“The excitement around curling in Southeast Manitoba is undeniable. After seeing Steinbach host the Grand Slam of Curling just last week, it’s clear this region is passionate about the sport. We’re proud to bring collegiate curling to Providence and to Otterburne.”

Macdonald Swarm perfect through 23 games in HTJHL

The Macdonald Swarm are on pace for a historic Hanover Tache Junior Hockey League season.

The Swarm, which play out of the Sanford Arena, are a perfect 23-0 on the season so far, including a 3-0 record against the second-place Springfield Xtreme.

They looked dominant against Steinbach in a Jan. 17 game against the Huskies, scoring 12 goals in a blowout victory.

“It’s a big change from previous years, obviously” head coach Darren Wiechern said.

New SRSS basketball coach hoping to build program

Gabrielle Souliere has the Steinbach Regional Secondary School Sabres off to a hot start.

The new varsity girls basketball coach put together a roster that competes at the highest level in the Manitoba High School Athletic Association, even if there’s an on-paper talent gap.

As the biggest school in the province, the Sabres have to play at the AAAA level, up against the association’s best basketball programs.

Souliere said she thinks playing at the AAAA level hurts recruitment at SRSS, as players looking to give basketball a try are intimidated by having to line up against those top programs.

Carillon Sports Second Shots: Jan. 8th edition

Featuring photos across the week of Grand Slam of Curling action inside the Southeast Event Centre, as well as a St Malo Warriors game in Grunthal and an SRSS varsity girls basketball game Jan. 7.

Ste Anne curler to don Buffalo at U18 nationals

Tyler Graham will be representing the province as his team takes to the ice for the U18 Junior Curling Championships in Timmons, Ont. in February.

Team Graham, skipped by Tyler, went undefeated in pool play and won the page playoff to lock up a spot in the provincial qualifier. The top two teams advance to nationals, so a tough loss to Team Boutet in the final didn’t stop them from earning provincial representation rights.

The first game of the tournament was a turning point. Down three in the seventh end, Graham scored four to flip the score, before eventually forcing a miss in the extra end to steal a win.

“We just staggered up the front and hoped and prayed,” Graham said with a laugh in between volunteer shifts at the Grand Slam of Curling’s Players’ Championship in Steinbach.

Larocque set for Olympic return at Milano Cortina games

For the fourth time, Ste Anne’s Jocelyne Larocque will be an Olympian.

Larocque was named to Team Canada’s women’s Olympic roster, which was announced Jan. 9. She has helped Canada to two gold medals and a silver at her three Olympic games.

After just missing out on the final roster for the 2010 Vancouver Games, Larocque has established herself as a stalwart on the Canadian blue-line.

Every player on the Canadian roster currently plays in the PWHL, with Larocque suiting up for Ottawa.

SPORTS FLASHBACK 1988: SPORTOPICS — Give it the inturrrn, Rrrrobbie

I told my wife I may be late, for I was curling in Morris as part of a media team upholding a tradition of excellence against a rink that included a couple of Scottish curlers.

When I got home, Anne asked if we had won. Are you kidding, I says, they kilt us…get it? Kilt Us.

The reception to that remark led me to draw two conclusions. Firstly, jokes about men in skirts aren’t funny, or secondly, you need more than a sample of Scottish jam made especially for Her Majesty to justify a trip to Morris for a four-end curling game.

It wasn’t my fault we lost. The team was equally represented by press and radio and it was the radio people who let us down.

Manitoba Junior Hockey League teams cement standings at deadline

With more than 20 games to go in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League season, there seems to be very little to be decided in the regular season.

The West Division should enjoy an entertaining finish at the top of the standings at least, as Dauphin, Virden and Neepawa were within two points for the division lead as of writing, but every other position appears safe.

Winkler’s massive deadline should put to rest any questions Selkirk could have posed them in the next eight weeks. Swan Valley shipped out their top two scorers, looking out of the hunt already in fifth in the West.

Niverville looked like a shoe-in to finish first in the East and league before adding a proven playoff performer in Marlen Edwards and I’d have guessed Steinbach would have held off Portage before they added last year’s league-MVP (Connor Paronuzzi) to their roster.