Moose intrasquad game brings pro hockey to Steinbach

The roster of the Manitoba Moose took one step closer to being finalized Oct. 5, but it wasn’t in the Hockey for All Centre or even downtown at the CanadaLife Centre.

The American Hockey League affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets held their annual intrasquad game in Steinbach, at the newly opened Southeast Event Centre.

“It’s great to bring a game like this a little bit outside the city limits and give back to communities beyond just Winnipeg,” Manitoba Moose vice-president of business and hockey operations Brad Andrews said after the game.

“Obviously we get lots of minor hockey teams and school groups and whatnot from Steinbach, so it’s great for us to be able to bring the game to this beautiful new facility.”

SPORTS FLASHBACK 2015: Koskie joins greats in Baseball Hall of Fame

Regarded as the greatest baseball player Manitoba has ever produced, Anola’s Corey Koskie, the former Minnesota Twins star, was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame last weekend at St Mary’s, Ontario.

Koskie is among five 2015 inductees that went into the Hall of Fame, which also included two of the greatest names in Canadian baseball, Felipe Alou of the Montreal Expos and Carlos Delgado of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Also inducted last weekend were long-time major leaguer Matt Stairs, a first baseman and designated hitter who holds the distinction of being only one of four Canadian players who played for both the Montreal Expos and Toronto Blue Jays, and baseball journalist Bob Elliott.

“It was an absolute honour to have my career recognized like this, especially with this group of fellow inductees,” Koskie said in an interview with The Carillon this week.

Local junior loop increases in size

The Hanover-Tache Junior Hockey League is bigger this year, and in more ways than one.

The league has expanded once again this season, adding Warren to make an 11-team league. This is the third consecutive year the HTJHL has added teams.

With 11 teams, the league has scrapped the division format, going back to one big group of standings. Teams will play a 30-game schedule, an increase of six games compared to last year. Each franchise will play each opponent three times throughout a season.

A new standings means a new playoff format. Every team will play some form of post-season, with teams finishing between sixth and 11th playing in a best-of-three play-in round. The quarterfinals will be a best-of-five, with the semi-finals and finals best-of-seven series, completed before March 31.

Steinbach’s Green, Miles, named MJHL players of the month

The Manitoba Junior Hockey League turned to the East Division when putting together their players of the month.

All five players honoured in the short month were from the division, with two Steinbach Pistons and two Selkirk Steelers.

Zhenya Miles was named the Safe Work Manitoba defenseman of the month while Green was recognized as the Manitoba Pork Peak Performer.

Head coach Paul Dyck said both players have returned to Steinbach ready to thrive.

Year 2 for Junior B La Broquerie Habs comes with higher expectations

The La Broquerie Habs first season in the Capital Region Junior Hockey League was a moderate success, as the team battled to a fourth-place finish in the standings before falling to Selkirk in the post-season.

The program’s second year is coming with higher expectations, as the CRJHL season got underway in the region Oct. 4 when the Habs hosted North Winnipeg in La Broquerie, winning 6-2.

“I love our squad,” head coach Dan Taillefer said.

“We’ve got a lot of returning guys… So far, I love everyone’s work ethic.”

Niverville sweeps Zone 13 soccer championships

For the second consecutive year the Niverville Panthers swept the boys and girls Zone 13 provincial championships.

Unlike last year, where teams battled sleet and near zero temperatures, the conditions were glorious, as the Mercury hit 27 C Oct. 2. The Panthers hosted the tournament at Hespler Park.

On the girls side, Niverville kept two clean sheets, with goaltender Anna Forytarz making a key save early in the first half of the final against Gabrielle-Roy to preserve their advantage.

After a grinding battle, the Panthers scored a well-deserved goal with roughly 15 minutes to go, which was enough for a 1-0 win and the banner.

Steinbach Regional Sabres claim victory in homecoming game

The Steinbach Regional Secondary School Sabres weren’t as convincing as coaches hoped, but they still came out with a win in their homecoming game Oct. 3.

The Sabres took down the River East Kodiaks 36-22. Twice the Sabres took multi-touchdown leads only for the Kodiaks to storm back to make it a game. With the Sabres up 29-22, Ryan Martin had the play of the day, shaking off several River East tacklers en route to a 55-yard punt return touchdown to clinch victory.

“There’s lots of good, there’s some mediocre, and then there’s some stuff we definitely have to improve on,” varsity head coach Stephan Fedus said.

“The film from today’s game, there will be a lot of teaching points. There will be lots to celebrate but still lots of stuff that we can teach.”

Carillon Sports Second Shots: October 2nd edition

Featuring a pair of volleyball nights at Steinbach Regional Sept. 22 and 29, a Steinbach Pistons win over the Winnipeg Monarchs Sept. 24, a high school soccer game in Niverville Sept. 25 and an SRSS football game against Dakota Sept. 26.

Prairie leagues partner for Team Canada camp

For the second year in a row, the Saskatchewan and Manitoba Junior Hockey Leagues are partnering up to hold an evaluation camp for the World Junior A challenge.

Martensville, Sask. will play host to the Western All-Star Challenge, as 40 top prospects will get a chance to impress Team Canada West staff and scouts from across hockey.

The Manitoba and Saskatchewan Leagues have grown closer since the COVID-19 pandemic, hosting a joint showcase event every year in Winnipeg. This fall camp, hosted in Martensville, Sask., emphasizes 19U prospects.

“The MJHL is excited to continue to grow our partnership with the SJHL for the benefit of all involved, especially the players,” MJHL commissioner Kevin Saurette said in a news release.

Steinbach Pistons add depth from Ontario

Reinforcements arrived just in time for the Steinbach Pistons.

With the team picking up a slate of early-season injuries, head coach and general manager Paul Dyck turned to the trade market to fill in the pieces, picking up 2006-born defenseman Rory Gilmour and 2005-born goaltender Xander Miceli from Cornwall of the Central Canada Hockey League.

The trade was finalized Sept. 24, with Steinbach sending out a player development fee for both players. A couple days earlier they moved 2008-born goaltender Dylan McFadyen to Norman.

Gilmour split time between the B.C. Hockey League and CCHL last season, spending the bulk of his time in Cornwall with the Colts, scoring 20 points in 27 games. He’s already nabbed an NCAA commitment with the University of Maine.

Vigfusson leading hungry Niverville Nighthawks squad

The first step on Adam Vigfusson’s path towards Manitoba Junior Hockey League stardom came in one of his team’s toughest results.

As a young player suiting up for a vastly out-matched Niverville Nighthawks team, down 3-0 in the first round of the 2024 playoffs against a powerhouse Steinbach squad, the coaching staff turned to the youngster.

Vigfusson was one of the five players who took to the ice to begin overtime, getting the most valuable minutes the team had given out that season. While the Nighthawks would lose that game and the series, it was clear a newly hired coaching staff trusted the young forward from Gimli.

After a breakout season in 2024/2025 (31 G 31 A), Vigfusson has turned from young gun to veteran leader for the Nighthawks, with that same coaching staff granting the 2005-born player the captaincy this year.

Hanover Kickers earn promotion on goal difference

From the beginning of the season, the Hanover Kickers knew they had the potential to rebound right back to Division 1 of the Manitoba Major Soccer League.

After getting relegated to Division 2 last season, the goal was to quickly advance back to the second-highest division of amateur soccer in the province and despite some bumps along the way, the team accomplished their goal, finishing second.

Kickers head coach Andreas Bergen was delighted the team could get over the line.

“Once we started putting the team together in early April, just looking at the roster I knew we had a really, really good team,” Bergen said.

SPORTS FLASHBACK 2002: Grunthal horsemen enjoy great day at the Downs

A trio of Grunthal horsemen have enjoyed a great year at Assiniboia Downs, highlighted by Speedy Treat’s July 13th win in the Manitoba Maturity, followed by another major win in the Agassiz, September 2.

The four-year-old thoroughbred earned big purses in those two races for Jake Penner, who, along with his wife Barb, owns J-Bar Stables, 10 miles south of Steinbach, They are having a dream year at the Downs, with Speedy Treat winning $35,000 in the Manitoba Maturity and adding $30,000 when he raced to the win in The Agassiz on September 2.

Speedy Treat is a collaborative effort with Penner’s friends and fellow horsemen, George Friesen and Peter Funk from the Grunthal area. Friesen provided the stud for Speedy Treat, while Penner purchased the horse from Funk, two years ago. Friesen also had a horse in the Manitoba Maturity, finishing third with G and L Special.

With owners eligible to keep 60 percent of a purse in a race, those two races alone netted Penner $39,000. Speedy Treat has raced eight times this year, winning a total of $53,000.