New goalie helps Pistons to perfect week in MJHL

It was a magical Steinbach Pistons debut for Hunter Bauer.

The 2006-born goaltender from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, posted a shutout in his first Manitoba Junior Hockey League start, stopping all 25 shots he faced as the Pistons blew out the Winnipeg Monarchs 7-0.

“It was a lot of calm and rebound control,” Bauer said on his game.

“When I get tested, (I try to) get out and challenge the shooter knowing my D is pressuring behind them so they don’t have much options.”

Holiday hockey rare but present across the region

While fans will notice a decrease in games between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, there are still some places to get your local hockey fix this year.

The Steinbach Pistons will be hosting a New Year’s Eve game this season, as they take on the Winnipeg Blues. The 6 p.m. start time is perfect for anyone planning on attending the Southeast Event Centre’s 80s-themed social later in the evening.

The Pistons also play an unusual Wednesday afternoon game against the Blues Jan 7. Puck drop is at 12:30 p.m. in Winnipeg at the Rink Training Centre.

The Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League has a full slate of games scheduled for Dec. 23, but the Morris-based Pembina Valley Twisters will be on the road against St Vital.

Arena reno delays push St Malo Warriors to St Jean

If the two-time defending champion St Malo Warriors home to add another Capital Region Junior Hockey League banner to their rink, they’ll need to do it in someone else’s home.

The Warriors announced on social media Dec. 13 they would need to play the rest of their season outside of the St Malo Arena, as ongoing construction will continue for the rest of this hockey season.

“While this is not the situation anyone hoped for, the St Malo Warriors remain committed to defending our back-to-back championships by adding a third straight league championship,” the post reads.

“The Warriors will play the majority of their home games in St Jean Baptiste, with additional home stops in Grunthal, Rosenort and St Agathe.”

U18 AAA Eastman Selects keeping pace despite offensive woes

The Eastman Selects U18 AAA team found a spectacular way to break out of an offensive slump.

The team blew out Norman 11-1 Dec. 14 at the Southeast Event Centre, ending a spell of four games with just a single even-strength goal.

That lack of offense didn’t stop the team from racking up points, with a pair of extra time losses and a spectacular come from behind win over some of the better teams in the league.

Their most spectacular result came against the Winnipeg Thrashers Dec. 13. Eastman scored three late third period goals to tie a game against the second-place Thrashers, before star defenseman Crosby Mateychuk finished the job in overtime on the powerplay.

Struggling Pembina Valley Twisters hope coaching change provides spark

The Pembina Valley Twisters went from contender to bottom feeder in Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League the blink of an eye. Just two seasons ago they finished second and battled St James in the league finals.

Many of the players on that team did not return, leaving the Twisters to struggle at historic levels. The team won just three games in 2024/2025, with a minus-218 goal difference. Pembina Valley didn’t win a game at their home rink in Morris.

This year showed little improvement. Through 22 games this season, they have just two wins and a minus-88 goal difference, although those two wins have come on home ice.

With those results, it’s no surprise the team has made a coaching change. Braeden Beernaerts and Riley Wise are out, replaced by Chris Unger. Unger is from Winkler, and previously coached high level minor hockey. He played junior A hockey in Selkirk in the 90s.

Carillon Sports Second Shots: Dec. 11th edition

Featuring photos from an SRSS Hockey Game Dec. 3 and a Niverville/Steinbach MJHL game Dec. 5.

Ralph Krueger to be inducted into IIHF hall of fame

Switzerland’s national hockey team made a smart choice choosing Steinbach’s Ralph Krueger to coach their team in 1998.

In the 35 years before Krueger took the helm, the Swiss had only played in the top division six times. Under Krueger, they didn’t miss a year playing in the A-Pool.

Krueger coached Switzerland at 12 world championships and three Olympics and was announced as part of the International Ice Hockey Federation’s hall of fame class of 2026 as a builder.

“The team was always competitive, but most important it believed it belonged at the top and played with a confidence infused in them by Krueger,” his bio reads.

Calvert, Ueno win Morris Superspiel

While the eyes of Canadian Curling were in Halifax, the Dekalb Superspiel rolled on.

With the Canadian Olympic Curling Trials scheduled for the same week as the superspiel, there was less star power on the ice in Morris this year.

Team Calvert, out of Winnipeg has made a habit of performing well at the event, losing in the final in their first season together and winning back-to-back championships, including this year.

Calvert defeated Team Sinnett in the final. taking advantage when a last rock draw came up short in the second end, leaving an open draw for five to take complete control of the game. After conceding a pair of steals, Sinnett shook hands after just four ends of play.

Oakbank’s Caiden Gault honoured after strong weekend

Caiden Gault had the best weekend of any forward in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, helping his Northern Michigan Wildcats to their first win of the season.

He had three goals over two games to lead the conference, and his eight on the season are the most by any Wildcats player this year.

Gault, who was born in Oakbank, transferred to Northern Michigan this year after three years suiting up for Ferris State University.

Gault opened the scoring in the Wildcats 3-2 win and their 4-3 overtime loss, both to Bowling Green. His third of the weekend was spectacular, as he set up at the point on the powerplay and ripped a one-timer slap shot perfectly into the top corner to give his team a 2-1 lead in the second period.

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.