A lack of urgency and compete resulted in the Parkland Rangers winning just one of three games over the weekend.

In the team’s annual Hockey Fights Cancer Game, the Brandon Wheat Kings scored five times on the power play en route to a 9-2 win.

The next day, it was the Norman North Stars which took advantage of Parkland’s penalty kill, scoring three times in a 4-2 victory.

Parkland got a measure of revenge, Sunday afternoon, when they connected four times on the man advantage in a 10-1 rout of their northern counterparts.

Rangers head coach Tyler Carefoot said Brandon’s top players proved to be hard to play against, which is something he hopes his players can take away from that game.

“That was the message that we wanted to have overall, as an entire team. We don’t have three or four players that are going to break the game open. We’re a team that has to work together,” he said.

Prior to Saturday’s loss, Carefoot asked his players what type of player to they want to be.

“All these players and families aspire and hope that they’re going to play at higher levels of hockey. In order to do that, you need to ask yourself if you are a competitor. If you are tough to play against and you have that internal drive to be the ultimate competitor. And (Saturday) we lacked that,” he said.

The Rangers turned things around, Sunday, and earned the two points to build some momentum going into next weekend, when they host the winless Kenora Thistles, Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

Despite the number of power-play goals the Rangers gave up, Carefoot said that is not why they lost.

“It just comes down to being ready to play and being hard to play against and tough on pucks. It doesn’t matter what level of hockey you watch, whether it’s the NHL, the junior leagues, the Western League, junior A, the Kings, all the language is the same. And that’s the question you have to ask yourself. Am I hard to play against?” he said.

“Going forward, we have to have that mindset. Every player. You have to be on the right side of pucks. All of us need to buy in. And that’s the message going forward.”

An agriculture project in which 160 acres of canola was planted will benefit the Dauphin and District Community Foundation.

Jason Beyette spearheaded the grow project starting in the spring, with various sponsors donating everything that was needed to make the project a success.

“We had received donations from various retailers. The Co-op was instrumental in getting the seed organized for the field and then they followed it up with the chemicals to spray the crop,” he said. “And we’ve had other retailers, like 360 Ag Consulting. They provided the agronomy for us and told us what we needed to do on the field.”

Reit-Syd Equipment looked after all the custom spraying, as well as donating two combines to harvest the crop, which took place, Oct. 17.

“And the Michaeleski family has been trucking it into town for us to the elevator,” Beyette added.

The idea came from one of the DDCF board members, Beyette said.

“Sherrie Volk had noted that in her hometown of Elkhorn, their community foundation had done a grow project and she thought it would be neat to do that here,” he said.

The land used for the project was owned by the late Peter Sklepowich.

Beyette does not yetknow how much the project will raise and it will be a while before they do.

“But we’re hoping to raise a substantial amount of money through this grow project,” he said.

Because of the success of similar grow projects as a fund-raising endeavour, Beyette feels it would be a wonderful fund-raiser for DDCF if they can get the land to do it again.

“I think retailers are very charitable in giving product to organizations to get a crop in the ground. And I think there’s always producers willing to lend a hand to help that succeed,” he said, adding his thanks to everyone who has contributed to the project. “And thank you to the foundation for taking the leap and going forward with it,” he added.

Kit Daley, DDCF executive director, said the project will have a huge impact on what the foundation can grant every year.

“Obviously, every donation helps, but the hope with this crop is it will be a substantial gift and it will increase annually what we can give back to the community. So the more projects and organizations we can support through our granting program, the better it is for our community,” she said.

The SVRSS Tigers Boys and Girls Soccer teams travelled to Dauphin for the MHSAA Soccer Provincials for the second straight season as wildcard teams for their respective groups...

The Dauphin Clippers senior boys volleyball team won the Neepawa Tigers Varsity Boys Tournament, Saturday.

The Clippers opened the tournament with a 25-18 and 25-21 win over the Alonsa/McCreary co-op team, then beat the Portage Collegiate Trojans, 25-22 and 25-18.

After a 25-21 and 24-25 split with the host Tigers, the Clippers were set to face the William Morton Warriors of Gladstone in the final round-robin match.

With the two teams were already slated to meet in the semifinals, the round-robin match was deemed unnecessary, so the Warriors forfeited and the teams went ahead with the semifinal match, which the Clippers won, 25-13 and 25-17.

In the final, Dauphin won the tournament title with a 25-21 and 25-16 win over Alonsa/McCreary.

Clippers win preseason tourney

The Clippers hockey team opened its preseason schedule by winning the annual Glenboro/Carberry/Baldur Wildcats preseason tournament, over the weekend.

Dauphin began the tournament with a 3-0 win over the Pembina Tigers.

Tyron Sweetman scored twice and Liam Chartrand had a single in support of Owen Chubka, who earned the shutout in goal.

In the semifinals, Boston Karlson scored twice to lead the Clippers to a 5-3 win over the Reston/Elkhorn/Melita/Hartney Renegades.

Ronin Mouck, Sweetman and Chartrand had Dauphin’s other goals, while Joseph Tabin earned the win in goal.

Chubka recorded his second shutout of the tournament in a 2-0 win over the Carman/St. Claude Cougars in the final.

Ethan Everett and Cody Zurba scored for the Clippers.

Clippers end regular season

The Clippers football team ended the Rural Manitoba Football League with a 32-21 loss to the Swan Valley Tigers, Friday in Dauphin.

Quarterback Cody Zurba completed five of 15 passes for 39 yards, while Will Miner ran for 187 yards on 15 carries.

Declan Waggoner led the defence with 14 tackles and five assists, Blake Thacker had eight tackles and three assists and Lars Gudbjartson contributed five tackles, three assists and one fumble recovery.

Josiah Seale added three tackles, two assists, one interception and three knockdowns and Riley Lobert had an interception return for a touchdown and he also scored on a 60-yard punt return.

Sully Fox had the Dauphin’s other major.

The Clippers finish the season with a 2-4 record and will now host the Neepawa Tigers in the consolation semifinals. The game is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m.

Tavyn Boychuk’s power-play goal, 1:44 into overtime lifted the Parkland Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Wild, Saturday in Winnipeg, the team’s first W of the season.

Cam Sarna opened the scoring just 1:29 into the contest and added his second midway through the period to give Parkland a 2-0 lead.

It stayed that way until the 15:55 mark of the third period when Gino Cotroneo put Winnipeg on the board. The Wild tied it 43 seconds later on a goal from Cole Babych.

Winnipeg’s Carter Kingerski was called for a holding penalty 1:06 into overtime and the Rangers capitalized when Boychuk netted the winner.

Chase Glover made 28 saves to earn the win, while Winnipeg’s Jacob Armstrong took the loss with 21 saves to his credit.

Parkland was seven seconds away from their second straight win, but had to settle to a 4-3 overtime loss to the Interlake Lightning, Sunday in Teulon.

Drew Russell in the first period and Brandon Burak in the second had given Interlake a 2-0 lead. But Cash Clarkson put the Rangers on the board 55 seconds after Burak’s goal and Sarna tied the game 41 seconds later.

Cade Legaarden put Parkland in front 58 seconds after that and the Rangers skated into the third period with a 3-2 lead.

All three Parkland goals came on the power play.

Russell’s second of the game came with seven seconds left on the clock, sending the game to overtime, where Burak scored his second, 3:01 into OT to give Interlake the win.

Alex Myers made 35 saves in the win, while Glover had 29 saves.

After playing the Eastman Selects twice last weekend, Rangers head coach Tyler Carefoot wanted his team to create the same identity as the Selects.

“And that’s just being a hard team to play against and just executing all the little details behind the scenes that we always talk about as a group,” he said, adding the Rangers have played very well against the Wild in recent years.

“I’m not too sure if it’s because they maybe take us for granted. But the game against the Wild, we were in control all the way through.”

After taking the lead in the first period, the Rangers didn’t sit back and kept up the pressure offensively. It wasn’t until towards the end that Winnipeg started pressing to tie the game.

“I thought they got a lucky goal there to tie things up and send it into overtime and we found a way to win,” Carefoot said. “You talk about momentum shifts in a season, that game just proved to all of us that we can compete in the league this season, but we can win some games if we have the mindset of, together, playing the right way.”

In Sunday’s game against Interlake, the Rangers were able to overcome killing off three of four penalties in the first period.

“So they had all kinds of momentum, generating lots of chances. And we weathered the storm,” Carefoot said.

Interlake tied the game on what Carefoot called a lucky bounce.

“Their D-man just kind of hail Mary’d it on to the net and a little deflection beat our goalie,” he said.

What made Carefoot most proud about the weekend was the chemistry the players built over the weekend, developing a bond of brotherhood that most teams strive for.

“Guys are battling for each other. We care for each other and I think we recognize that, if we’re going to have some success, it’s really important that we have that team unity and buy in,” he said. “Factor in the way we are competing and executing, we are on the right track.”

The Rangers start a seven-game homestand with three games in as many days this weekend, beginning, Friday, when they host the Brandon Wheat Kings at 7:30 p.m.

On Saturday, the Rangers face the Norman North Stars at 7:30 p.m. date, followed by a rematch, Sunday, at 1:30 p.m.

The Dauphin Kings ended a four-game home stand with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Neepawa Titans, Saturday at Credit Union Place.

Trey Gnetz was the overtime hero for Dauphin, snapping home a shot past Neepawa netminder Mason Lobreau, who was stellar in goal, making 44 saves.

For Gnetz, it was his first of the season.

Also scoring for Dauphin were Alex Senf with his first, Blake Boudreau with his fifth and Rhett Perrin with his first.

Dylan Schrader, Kyle Weisgarber and Cooper Kasprick scored for Neepawa, with Kasprick’s goal coming on a power play with 4:32 left in the third to tie the game.

Cole Sheffield picked up his league-leading sixth win of the season, making 17 saves in the process.

Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley noted Neepawa had five different players dressed from the night before when they lost 9-2 to the Waywayseecappo Wolverines, which made a difference in their play.

“I’m glad we got the two points. They hang in there and they work hard. We had so many chances and real good looks. Lobreau plays well. You’ve got to be lucky to be good and good to be lucky and he was both,” he said.

The Kings dominated from the opening faceoff, with a strong forecheck.

The line of Ethan Williment, Perrin and Gavin Nemis was outstanding all night, Hedley said, pointing out Nemis stripped the puck off a Neepawa player in the neutral zone leading to Gnetz’s game winner.

“I was really happy with those three. Just our work ethic overall is really good. We’re working hard,” he added. “The stick battles tonight had to be definitely over 50. Stick battles are usually one of our indicators on how hard you’re working. I thought with the stick battles tonight, we turned a lot of pucks over.”

The Kings used their speed to break out of their zone well, Hedley added, which led to some good scoring chances.

“Coming up through the dots and we drove the paint really well. Senf’s goal was a really nice play. That’s the kind of stuff we have to do. Because our D-men are so active, we can drive three guys to the net and still get that fourth guy coming in with the D-man jumping in late,” he said.

As well as the Kings are playing, there are still some areas that could be improved upon, such as the power play, which sits last in the division and 11th overall at 11.1 per cent success rate.

The penalty kill is sixth overall at 84 per cent.

“Our power play has got to get better. It’s got to start making teams pay for taking penalties and taking liberties on us. So we’ve got to be better on special teams,” he said. “Defensively, we played really well tonight, using the weak side and getting pucks up the dots. And our rush defence probably has to improve a little bit, just identifying guys that we’re picking up and communicating who’s got who.”

After a slack schedule through the early part of October, things will pick up now as the Kings hit the road, Saturday, to play the Wolverines in Waywayseecappo at 7:30 p.m., before heading to Winnipeg for the league’s Showcase at the Seven Oaks Sportsplex, where they will face the Niverville Nighthawks, Oct. 23, at 4 p.m.

The next day, Dauphin plays the Winkler Flyers, which leads the MGEU East Division with a 7-0-0-0 record, having allowed just nine goals in those seven games.

The Kings sit alone in first place in the MGEU West Division with a 6-1-0-0 record, one point ahead of the Virden Oil Capitals, but Dauphin has games in hand on every other team in the division and will play their next seven games in 15 days.

Twenty high school soccer teams invaded the City of Sunshine, Friday and Saturday, looking for gold on the soccer pitches at the Vermillion Park Sportsplex.

By the end of the tournament, it was the Garden Valley Zodiaks of Winkler celebrating not one, but two provincial titles as their girls and boys teams swept the gold medal games.

In the girls’ draw, the Zodiaks defeated the W.C. Miller Aces of Altona, 2-1, while the Neepawa Tigers claimed the bronze medal with a 3-0 win over the Niverville Panthers.

The Minnedosa Chancellors won the consolation with a 4-2 win over the Morden Thunder.

In the boys’ tournament, Garden Valley beat their Winkler counterparts, the Northlands Parkway Nighthawks, 4-0 to claim gold.

The Aces boys team won the bronze medal with a 3-1 win over Niverville and Minnedosa swept the consolation crowns with a 2-0 win over the Morweena Raptors of Arborg.

As for the host Clippers, the girls played their hearts out, but fell short in both games, first losing 1-0 in overtime to the Hapnot Kopper Queens of Flin Flon, before being eliminated by Morden, 4-1 on penalty kicks.

Check this week's Dauphin Herald for a full recap of the provincials!

The Dauphin Fire Department hosted a fund-raising barbecue, Saturday, at the fire hall to wrap up Fire Prevention Week.

They also made the draw for their annual 50/50, with Cam Klepak of Sifton taking home the $5,000 grand prize.

All proceeds will go to the Dauphin Fire Fighters Association for the restoration of the department’s antique firetrucks.

Dauphin is set to host the Manitoba High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) soccer provincials, Oct. 13 and 14, at the Vermillion Park Sportsplex.

The Dauphin Clippers girls and boys teams won the zone playoffs in Swan River, last Thursday, and will represent Zone 8 at provincials.

Both Dauphin teams entered zones as the number one seed.

After the Swan Valley Tigers scored a narrow 3-2 victory over the McCreary Mustangs in the girls’ semifinal, Dauphin advanced to provincials with a 2-0 win over the Tigers in the final.

The Clippers boys beat the Alonsa Aces, 12-1 in their semifinal match before beating Swan Valley, 4-3, on penalty kicks to advance to provincials.

Clippers boys coach Cory Armstrong said it was the first time since he has been involved with the high school soccer program that the Clippers have been the top ranked team going into the zone playoffs.

“We’ve either been two or three, so it’s a great change,” he said.

Both Clippers teams, Armstrong said, are more evenly skilled than in past years.

“Meaning that some of our younger players, the Grade 9s, you can’t tell the difference from the rest of the team, because they’re very skilled. Which gives us a great advantage, because we play everybody and so when everybody is on the field, there’s not much difference between our starters and then our next group,” he said.

Dauphin enters the girls’ draw as the seventh seed and will face the 10th-ranked Hapnot Kopper Queens, Friday at 10 a.m., with the winner advancing to play the Niverville Panthers at 1:30 p.m., that day.

The boys, meanwhile enter provincials as the ninth seed and will open against no. eight, Frontier Mosakahiken Grizzlies of Moose Lake, Friday at 10 a.m. The winner advances to play the top-ranked Northlands Parkway Nighthawks of Winkler at 1:30 p.m.

Armstrong feels the Clippers have a good shot when it comes to provincials.

“It’s a tough sport. But I think we’re ready to go, definitely. We’ll keep playing and practicing and I think we have a good shot,” he said. “I think our girls have a really good shot at winning provincials. They’re a very strong team and our exchange students make us strong.”

The high school soccer program, Armstrong said, has come a long way thanks in part to the development of the players coming through the minor soccer program in the city.

Clippers girls coach Richard Kunicki said it has been a number of years since the Clippers have had two teams competing in soccer.

Both teams have played a number of tournaments, including the girls finishing atop the standings in a tournament in Swan River, a couple of weeks ago.

Kunicki liked the girls’ chances heading into zones and hoped to avoid having to play in a wildcard match for a spot at provincials.

Both teams, Kunicki said, played exceptionally well.

“Both girls and boys attacked the opposition with great tenacity and carried out the game plans perfectly,” he said, adding standout performances were put in by Raylyn Koshowski for the girls and Nick Plustwa, who scored seven goals for the boys, including hat tricks in both games. “Though every player had to contribute, the games were tough. We couldn’t be more proud,” he added.

Going into provincials, both teams have tough draws, Kunicki said, and will have to be at their best to get through the early stages.

“These are the strongest teams we have been able to field in Dauphin for a number of years, so we’re very excited. All the players involved have worked very hard since early August and we continue to get better with every game. So as tough as this tournament is, we believe in the players and we’re capable of doing well,” he added.

Both championship games will take place, Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

The tournament draws can be found on the MHSAA website at mhsaa.ca.

The Parkland Rangers were a little over two minutes away from their first victory of the young Manitoba U188 AAA Hockey League season, but instead had to settle for a single point in an overtime loss to the Eastman Selects, Saturday.

Eastman scored a 4-3 come-from-behind overtime win, Saturday, erasing a 3-2 deficit with 2:08 remaining in the third period and netting the winner, 3:21 into the extra session.

Despite the loss, Rangers head coach Tyler Carefoot felt it was a great game for his young squad. But he also had high praise for the Selects.

“I like the way Eastman plays. They have an identity. I think their identity is just they’ve got nobody that’s flashy. They just go out and they out work you, they out hustle you, they do all the little things that make a team very efficient,” he said. “No disrespect to their lineup, but there’s no rock stars there. They’re all the same. They go out and out hustle you. They’re just very efficient.”

Carefoot felt the Rangers matched that efficiency in Saturday’s game and knew what to expect going into Sunday’s contest.

But as well as the Rangers played, they failed to equal Eastman’s offensive output, falling 10-1.

“There’s probably a few that we’d like back, but that’s the game. It’s all about minimizing our mistakes,” Carefoot said. “We’re going to learn from this. We want to be a team that is hard to play against. We want to be a team that is going to be just very efficient with all the little things that makes a team have success. We want to be Eastman, plain and simple.”

Carefoot credits his players for not quitting even as the score got away from them.

Given how young the Rangers are, Carefoot feels Sunday’s loss will be a good learning experience for his team.

“We’re learning something every period. It’s still early in the season, so there’s still runway left and we’re going to keep growing.” he said. “Hopefully we can find ways to be a little more efficient. We know we can compete with teams in our league. We proved that Saturday night. Eastman plays a hard brand of hockey and are very disciplined in their structure and details. We will keep moving forward.”

On Saturday, the Rangers play the 0-2-0-0 Wild in Winnipeg at 4:15 p.m., before heading to Teulon, Sunday, for a date with the 2-2-0-0 Interlake Lightning at 1:30 p.m.