Volleyball Manitoba honours top graduating high school players

The province’s best graduating volleyball players were in Winnipeg last weekend for one more high school volleyball event.

The grad all-star matches took place at the University of Manitoba, with plenty of local talent hitting the floor.

Steinbach Regional, the biggest school in both the region and across the province had some of the best representation, with four girls players and three boys players attending for the AAAA level.

Abigail Voth, Jubilee Steppan, Madelyn Friesen and Madelyn Hiebert were joined by Erik Neufeld, Grayson Heese and Joseph Leclair on the AAAA all-star rosters.

SPORTS FLASHBACK 2001: Natural ice a thing of the past at Vita Arena

The $250,000 Vita Arena project that included renovations to the 20-year-old facility and the installation of a geothermal ice making system are now complete, after a tireless three-year effort by countless volunteers, who made the project possible.

The first artificial ice was used by the public on November 19 and the Vita Arena has been a beehive of activity since that time.

Jim Wiebe, president of the Vita Arena Board of Directors, pointed out last week that without the new ice plant, with the recent mild weather, there would not yet be ice.

A special banquet was held December 1 in the community, attended by about 250 people, to mark the completion of the project.

AS I SEE IT COLUMN: This is the only way the Jets can salvage their season

Things look really bleak for the Jets (thanks Captain Obvious). The players, the coaching staff, the organization, the media and the public simply cannot understand how a team that’s been so good the past few years now looks so disorganized, so disjointed, so outworked, so unskilled, so slow and so outclassed.

Heading into the current season, the Jets knew they probably wouldn’t be quite as good as they were when Nikolai Ehlers was on the team, but the club clearly and explicitly said they were singularly focused on winning the Stanley Cup.

One of the biggest reasons for their belief they would be contenders and not pretenders was that the team had four strong lines; that having the league’s most balanced team would carry them to the promised land.

With the season over a third done, that team balance is non-existent. The Jets have one line that can score and three lines that can’t. The idea of the Jets rolling out four lines and wearing down their opposition has completely evaporated.

O-Line standouts honoured at SRSS Sabres football banquet

The big men who block up front rarely grab attention in football, but they were the focus at the Steinbach Regional Secondary School Sabres football banquet Dec. 4.

Offensive linemen Ryder Wallace and Eric Barnard split the varsity top lineman award, with Wallace being named the team’s most valuable player in addition to winning the league’s top lineman award and Barnard claiming the program’s Legacy Award.

“(Wallace) won the top lineman in Manitoba by a 10-2 vote. I’m not allowed to vote for him, and somebody else obviously didn’t watch every football game this year,” Fedus said, drawing laughs from the crowd.

“He was a dominant force on both sides of the ball. When you can run the same run play seven or eight times in a row, behind the same player, you have somebody special. When you can put him on the defensive line and he can ruin the other team’s offense, you have somebody special. When you have that in the same player stay on the field the whole game, you have somebody really special.”

St Jean’s Hicks leading Waywayseecappo in MJHL

Sebastien Hicks found the perfect way to break out of a scoring slump.

The St Jean forward scored twice in Waywayseecappo’s 5-4 overtime win over the Selkirk Steelers, including the game winner.

With the Wolverines on a 4 on 3 powerplay Hicks took advantage of the extra space, working his way down to the faceoff spot, and wristing home the game winner to give his team a victory.

“It felt good to get the monkey off my back,” Hicks said with a chuckle a couple days later.

Niverville Nighthawks ranked as top Junior A team in Canada

The best junior A team across all of Canada just might be in Niverville.

The Niverville Nighthawks were placed as the number one team in the nation in the latest Canadian Junior Hockey League rankings.

Nine leagues across Canada are included in the rankings, which are compiled by a scouting service.

Head coach Dwight Hirst said the team is keeping focus.

Carillon Sports Second Shots: Dec 4th edition

Featuring photos from a Steinbach Pistons game Nov. 26 and the MHSAA boys varsity semi-finals at the University of Manitoba.

Nighthawks, Terriers sweep MJHL players of the month

It’s no surprise to see the Niverville Nighthawks all over the Manitoba Junior Hockey League players of the month.

The Nighthawks have dominated the early part of the season, with an outstanding 21-1 record and a plus-51 goal difference. That includes a perfect 9-0 record in the month of November.

Adam Vigfusson was named the league’s player of the month, Austin Dubinsky was awarded the goaltender of the month, with Hayden Wheddon recognized as the “peak performer.”

Portage’s Wyatt Dreger (1G 10A) is the league’s defenseman of the month and Trevor Hill (9G 7A) is the rookie of the month.

Area athletes recognized by MHSAA

Two of the recent Manitoba High School Athletic Associations athletes of the week came from the region, as Springfield Collegiate and Morris School volleyball players were honoured.

Zach Hamblin was recognized Nov. 19. The Mavericks won the Zone 4 championship this year, with Hamblin playing a key role.

“Zach is a dynamic volleyball player and a key contributor for the Morris Mavericks. He is a tremendous attacker, blocker, and passer,” a release reads

“He leads the team offensively and can be counted on to get a kill in key situations.”

SPORTS FLASHBACK 1980: American teams no match for Steinbach Millers in Utah

The Steinbach U18 Millers had been scoring one-sided victories in the first two months of the 1979-80 season and their trip to Salt Lake City, Utah in December proved to be no different.

With the exception of the first game against the host team, which Steinbach won by a single goal, teams from Salt Lake, Phoenix, Arizona and Aspen, Colorado provided little opposition for the Millers on their way to a six-game winning streak. The Millers completed the tournament undefeated, outscoring the opposition 59-10 in six games.

The only disappointment for the trip was that teams expected from Calgary and Sweden were unable to attend the Salt Lake City tournament.

Millers coach Randy Penner said he was disappointed his team had not faced stronger opposition at the tournament, but thought the trip had been a worthwhile experience for the boys.

AS I SEE IT COLUMN: ‘Too late’ MJHL thoughts and predictions

I know it might come off as disingenuous, but I saw the Niverville Nighthawks season coming.

There were two predictions I made before the start of this Manitoba Junior Hockey League Season that I considered outside common knowledge.

That the Niverville Nighthawks were the best team in the league and that the Winnipeg Blues would be competitive for a playoff spot.

While the Blues have certainly taken a step forward, it’s not quite as big a leap as I had hoped. But the Nighthawks have certainly made me look smart to anyone I told those two predictions to before the start of the year.

MJHL trade market heating up

The region’s two Manitoba Junior Hockey League teams are tweaking their rosters, as the annual Canadian junior hockey roster freeze is just over a month away.

The Niverville Nighthawks, in the middle of an undefeated month of November, added 2006-born forward Renat Nahnieiev. Nahnieiev is a Ukrainian International, joining Canadian minor hockey ranks in the 2022/2023 season. After graduating high school, he spent a year with the Winnipeg Blues, before moving to Weyburn of the Saskatchewan junior league at the start of this season.

Niverville sent a player development fee to Weyburn in exchange for the 2006-born forward.

Nahnieiev’s 24 points across 37 games played was good enough to put him third on the Blues for points per game in the 2024/2025 season.

Niverville and Oakbank finalists for Jets Town Takeover

Voting is now open to see which Manitoba town will welcome the Winnipeg Jets for a day.

Gimli, Niverville and Oakbank were announced as the three finalists for the Jets Town Takeover. The Jets first Town Takeover took place in Morris in 2019, with Stonewall and Oakville hosting in years following the pandemic.

“I am excited to see our community chosen as one of the finalists for the Jets Town Takeover,” Niverville Mayor Myron Dyck said in a town news release.

“Being selected as a finalist is an honour and is in large part due to our many great volunteers. Just being selected as a finalist puts a spotlight on us and our small-town feel. I can’t wait to see Niverville win and have the Jets in our community come March.”