The Dauphin Kings rebounded from their first loss of the season with two of their best games of the year, last week.

After dropping a 2-1 decision to the Selkirk Steelers, Oct. 1, Dauphin scored a 3-1 victory over the Virden Oil Capitals, Oct 5, followed by a dominating 6-2 win over the Neepawa Titans, Friday night.

All three games were at Credit Union Place.

Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley felt the Kings played a complete game against Virden.

“I thought our back pressure was outstanding and our even number and odd-man rushes. They’ve got a good team. They can be creative on the offence and we did give up some chances, but Sheff (goaltender Cole Sheffield) made some good saves when he had to,” he said. “But for the most part, we really had some good D-to-D and out. We had good exits, good speed through the neutral zone and we were patient enough to finally get some goals. That’s so important.”

Neepawa took a 1-0 lead late in the first period, while the Kings were creating all kinds of opportunities. The Kings eventually tied the game midway through the second period.

Dauphin broke the game open in the third, with five goals, to pull away with the victory.

“The work ethic and compete just finally caught up to them and we just found a way to score. The last two games have been really good.”

Even in the game against Selkirk, Hedley said, the Kings didn’t play that badly, but the Steelers worked hard and outworked the Kings at times. And they took advantage of their power-play opportunities.

Against Virden and Neepawa, Dauphin maintained its discipline allowing just one power-play chance in each game.

The entire lineup is playing well right now. Hedley noted the line of Gavin Nemis, Ethan Williment and Madden Murray had speed every shift, with Nemis picking up an assist with a backhand feed to Jordan Bax on a back door play.

“That’s an elite play, that kind of backhand pass right on the tape. That’s what the kid is. He’s a 17-year-old that’s got some tremendous upside. And Williment just compliments that line. Whether it’s with (Rhett) Perrin or Murray, they really work their butt off and I thought Murray was real good tonight,” he said.

The three rookie defencemen - Trey Gnetz, Karson Raymond and Aiden Murray - comprising the team’s third defensive pairing has excelled all season.

“They’re tireless. Their compete is unbelievable. Gnetz never gives up. Too many times he makes a move, but if he does lose a battle or lose the puck, he works his butt off to get back and you can’t ask for anything more,” Hedley said. “The whole game is about mistakes. If you make a mistake, it’s how hard you work to get it back that makes a difference. And that’s why he’s a difference maker, for sure.”

When the defence does make a mistake, Sheffield is there to shut the door. Through his first five games, the reigning goaltender of the month has a stingy 1.60 GAA and .931 save percentage.

Dauphin’s offence will get a boost with the addition of forward Cayden Glover, who was reassigned to the team by the Western Hockey League’s Prince George Cougars, last week.

After recording 40 points with the U18 Brandon Wheat Kings, Glover was drafted early by the Medicine Hat Tigers and signed there as a 16-year-old and was later traded to Prince George.

Last season, he scored seven goals and 12 points in 51 games.

Hedley said Glover is a good player that has a huge upside.

“We just want him to have fun again, get some touches and get some minutes and I know he’s going to contribute to our hockey club, for sure,” he said.

The Kings have just one game this week, a rematch with the Titans, Saturday at Credit Union Place at 7:30 p.m.

The team took the weekend off for Thanksgiving and will get back on the ice this week.

Kings court:

The game against Selkirk, Oct. 1, was head coach Doug Hedley’s 600th game as coach of the Kings . . . Dauphin sits atop the MGEU West Division with a 5-1-0-0 record and have allowed just 10 goals through the first six games. Only the 6-0-0-0 Winkler Flyers have allowed fewer goals against, giving up nine in their first six tilts.

The Dauphin Clippers girls 7s rugby team are provincial champions.

After winning the Westman High School Rugby 7s championship, the Clippers were crowned the first-ever 7s provincial champions at the first-ever provincial tournament, Friday in Brandon.

The Clippers clinched the league title by going 3-0 in the final of four jamborees, Oct. 3, in Brandon, hosted by the Vincent Massey Vikings.

Dauphin finished with an overall record of 10-1-1 for 21 points, three better than runners-up Crocus Plains Gold, which finished 9-3-0, also earning a spot at provincials.

For the Clippers, it is their second 7s championship in as many years and Clippers coach Shawn Sarkonak said it feels pretty good, noting Dauphin trailed Crocus by a single point going into the final jamboree.

“Our varsity squad was able to put it together and go undefeated on the day and take the league title,” he said.

Every player, Sarkonak said, pulled their weight throughout the season after losing quite a bit of depth from last year’s graduating players such as Brooke Miner, Chloe Fletcher, Emma Fox and Allee Hrechka.

“So we leaned heavily on the girls that played provincial this past summer, that brought the extra rugby in to lead the way and we came through in the end,” he added.

At provincials, the Clippers first defeated Steinbach, 49-5, then beat Crocus, 12-10.

Dauphin then faced Crocus again in the final, this time scoring a 28-20 victory and the first-ever provincial title.

“It feels amazing. It’s always nice to be the first ever, but it’s been a long time coming on getting an actual provincial title set up. Thanks to the work from Westman high school president Brian Yon, working with Tahnee Grosskopf in the Winnipeg and southeastern area,” he said. “Steinbach came and we were able to have a good afternoon of rugby and Dauphin was able to come out victorious.”

Once they knew who their opponent would be in the final, the Clippers knew what to expect, having faced Crocus a number of times in the Westman 7s league.

“We knew we had to shutdown a few of their key members. We knew if we shut them down and moved the ball wide and utilized our speed, good things would happen,” Sarkonak said.

Based on the team’s success this fall, Sarkonak likes the team’s chances in the spring 15s season.

“We have quite a few returning players from last year’s spring team that won the league and provincials, plus we had 11 players total take part in provincial rugby between the U18 program and the U16 Sask program. So we’re going to be leaning on them heavily,” he said. “Plus we’ve been able to have some new players with athletic back grounds and we’re looking forward to seeing how they transition from 7s to 15s.”

Once they got past the first-game nerves, the Parkland Rangers improved their play in the season opener against the Yellowhead Chiefs, Friday at Credit Union Place in Dauphin.

But it wasn’t enough to secure a victory as the Rangers fell, 3-2.

Rangers head coach Tyler Carefoot wasn’t pleased with the team’s start, stating even the veterans were slow out of the gate.

“It goes back to the old, urgency, playing with relentlessness and it’s hard to work hard. I think for some it was an adjustment,” he said. “But as the game went on, I liked the second half of the game.”

The Rangers, Carefoot said, started creating more scoring chances in the latter half of the contest by getting pucks to the net.

“I liked the way our D played. I liked Carnegie up front. I thought he was noticable up front,” he added. “But I just think some of the veterans, for sure, they’ve got to start moving their feet a little bit more.”

Even during the pre-game warm up, the coaching staff noticed there appeared to be some nervousness among the players, many of whom were playing their first game at the U18 level.

“Even in the first period, the puck was like a grenade. And that was for everybody. It was exciting, with good support in the stands. So there were some jitters, for sure,” Carefoot said, adding the Rangers played through it and were a lot better in the third period.

It bodes well for the team in the future, knowing they didn’t quit.

“If we’re going to have success this year, we’re going to have to be a team that just really focuses on being really efficient with the little details. And that’s just being strong on the puck, winning battles and taking those battles personally,” Carefoot said. “Everything starts in the D zone and then you work your way up. Are you getting the puck deep? Or are you chipping it? It’s all those little things. Eliminating pucks through the middle. We always say, ‘girlfriends are pretty, hockey is not pretty.’ And we don’t want to be a team that’s pretty.”

Overall, Friday’s loss is a game the Rangers can build off of. Every shift, Carefoot said, is a teaching point.

“We’ve got a young group here and we’re going to be positive,” he added.

The Rangers will look to get into the win column when they host the Eastman Selects, Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 1:30 p.m.

The Dauphin Clippers boys golf team won a bronze medal at provincials, Sept. 29, at the Pleasant Valley Golf Club south of Belmont.

Jackson Delaurier shot a 75 to finish one shot back of Neepawa’s Hayden Delaloye.

Boston Karlson shot an 82, while Cash McCallum finished with an 87 and Mitchell Rauliuk shot a 94.

St. Paul’s Crusaders won the provincial title on a tie-breaker over the Steinbach Sabres after both teams finished with a 236.

In the girls’ tournament, the College Jeanne Sauve Olympiens won the gold, with a 278, two shots better than the Carman Cougars.

Swan Valley won the bronze with a 289, led by Crystal Zamzow, who had the low girls’ score with a 70.

Only the top three scores go towards to the team’s overall total.

Cross-country zones

Dauphin hosted the Zone 8 cross-country regionals, Sept. 26, at the Northgate Trail System, with three runners finishing first in their categories.

Cecilie Larson in the varsity girls, Roman Polovinka in the JV boys and Liam Sobering in the varsity boys all won their races, while Ava Paziuk was second in the varsity girls race.

Also competing in the varsity girls race were Kara Paziuk, who was third; Calla Tabin who finished fourth; Rachel Desseaux who was fifth; and Ellie Czarnecki, who was sixth.

Other competitors in the JV girls race were Jessica White, who finished 11th and Emma Windsor, who finished 12th.

All athletes have qualified for provincials, Oct. 11, at the Asessippi Ski Hill.

Clippers sail to first win

The Dauphin Clippers football team hit the win column, Friday in Dauphin, scoring a 40-6 win over the ParkWest Outlaws.

Will Miner led the offence with 109 yards rushing on 11 carries, while Sully Fox ran the ball 11 times for 60 yards, including two touchdowns.

Cody Zurba was seven for 14 in passing for 60 yards.

The defence was led by Josiah Seale with four tackles, two assists, half a sack, one knockdown and an interception he returned for a touchdown. Lars Gudbjartson had six tackles, one assist and one interception. Jackson Cheater had five tackles, one assist, half a sack and one knock down, while

Declan Waggoner chipped in with three tackles, two assists, an interception returned for a touchdown and a knockdown.

Dauphin will now take its 1-3 record into Neepawa, Saturday, to face the 0-4 Tigers at 3 p.m.

The Dauphin Kings suffered their first loss of the season, Sunday, when they dropped a 2-1 decision to the previously winless Selkirk Steelers at Credit Union Place.

The loss came on the heels of a 4-3 overtime win over the Portage Terriers, Friday in Portage. That win improved Dauphin’s record to 3-0-0-0, until Sunday’s loss.

Naaman Hofer scored the overtime winner against Portage, just 56 seconds into the extra frame.

Myles Yearwood, Gabriel Bugeaud and Nolan Wickham had the Dauphin goals in regulation, while Nolan Nenow, Grant Dardis and former King Slade Stanick replied for Portage.

Cole Sheffield stopped 20 shots in the victory and Portage’s Gavin Renwick made 35 saves in the loss.

Special teams proved to be the difference against Selkirk.

In front of a crowd of 727 spectators, Deshon Frieson and Owen Wiehs each scored on a power play for Selkirk, while Jack Hodgins had a busy night, being called upon to make 37 stops in goal.

Ethan Williment was the only King to find the back of the net. Austin Seibel made his Kings debut in goal and made 19 saves.

Selkirk finished two-for-six on the power play, including four man advantages in the third period. Dauphin was scoreless in four chances.

Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley said the Kings played well after the second period, with good puck control.

“They weren’t really getting any opportunities and we had some good chances,” he said. “You can’t kill eight minutes in penalties in the third period and not be on your heels a little bit. We had some good opportunities at the end, but couldn’t get it through. That’s what happens when you set yourselves back.”

Hedley felt the Kings rebounded well in the second period after falling behind in the first period.

“We didn’t come off the hop real good. Not being on the ice for a couple of days doesn’t help. We couldn’t get in the building (Saturday),” he said. “It is what it is. No excuses. They worked hard and found a way to win.”

Although the Kings had 38 shots, they didn’t really generate much in the way of quality scoring chances, something Hedley feels needs to improve.

“I think we’ve got to get better in the offensive zone. We do it all the time. We talk about creating offence. We didn’t drive the middle enough to get pucks to the net. And then we missed short side, high side instead of going far pad,” he said. “We’ve got to start doing some simple smart things. Intangibles win hockey games and it’s the little things that make the difference. We didn’t have any net front presence in the first period at all. And until we get that mentality and it becomes habit, then we’re going to let goaltenders see pucks. We’re not going to create offence for scoring if we’re not going to be willing to go to the hard areas.”

On the flip side, the Kings limited Selkirk’s chances.

“I thought we controlled the puck after the first period. And when we stayed five-on-five I thought we were pretty good,” Hedley said, adding the league has a lot of parity this season, much like it had the last few years. “It doesn’t matter who you play this year. The parity is unbelievable and the speed is there. There’s some good speed in the league and if we’re playing with speed and play fast, we’re a very tough team to play against. And in the second and third period we were that. We just couldn’t get the win.”

The Kings will get a stiff test tonight when they host the Virden Oil Capitals at 7:30 p.m.

With a veteran-laden lineup, the 2-2-1-0 Oil Capitals are among the favourites to win the MGEU West Division.

Following Tuesday’s game, the Kings will face the Neepawa Titans, who are off to a 3-2-0-0 start to the season and will not be an easy opponent.

Dauphin’s lineup was bolstered by the addition of veteran Alex Senf from the North American Hockey League.

Senf had 19 goals and 39 points with the Kings last season and was in the lineup against Selkirk.

“We know he can score, so we’re hoping that touch is contagious,” Hedley said.

Three rugby players from Manitoba were chosen to attend Canada’s women’s U18 West camp in Shawnigan Lake, B.C., last month.

Faith Burtnyck of Rapid City joined Dauphin’s Emma Fox, who is currently attending the University of Oklahoma, and Bree Walker of Ste. Rose at the camp, Aug. 14 to 20, with 40 players in total showing off their skills.

Walker, who is attending her Grade 12 year in Dauphin, was excited when she was selected to the camp.

“Because, obviously, it was an amazing opportunity. And I was also (surprised). I’ve only been playing rugby for one year. How does this just happen to somebody after so little a time?” she said. “So I was nervous. I was a year younger than everyone else, so everyone else was going to be older. They’ve been playing their whole lives and they’re going to be insane. It was my first year playing and I know I’ve improved a lot, but I was definitely nervous.”

Other than the trip to Ireland with the Parkland Pirates rugby program, the trip west was a new adventure for Walker.

“I’ve never been to B.C. in the summer,” she said. “B.C. was so pretty. It was a really great experience.”

The camp itself was intense, Walker said, adding the level of rugby was something she had never seen or played before.

Read the full in depth story in this week's Dauphin Herald!

The Clippers football team played its first home game of the Rural Manitoba Football League season, keeping the game close before the Interlake Thunder pulled away in the second half of a 32-0 win.

The defence kept Interlake at bay for much of the first half as the Thunder only led 12-0 at halftime.

Colton Miner led the defence with seven tackles, while Lars Gudbjartson, Taylor Adcock and Blake Thacker had five each and Gudbjartson added a sack.

The Clippers struggled offensively, with quarterback Cody Zurba going 0-8 in passing.

Will Miner led the ground game with 62 yards on 19 carries. Tristan Fidierchuk had 25 yards on eight touches.

Dauphin could only muster 87 yards of total offence.

The Clippers will look to right the ship when they host the Parkwest Outlaws, Friday at 4:30 p.m.

Volleyball

The Dauphin Clippers varsity boys volleyball team saw their first action of the season, competing in the Brandon University Varsity Boys Tournament, Friday and Saturday.

Dauphin opened the tournament with a 25-22 and 24-26 split with Margaret Barbour Collegiate of The Pas and followed this up with another split, this time 24-26 and 28-26 with Neepawa.

The Clippers then faced Neelin, losing 16-25 and 15-25, and followed with a 21-25 and 22-25 loss to Weyburn.

A 24-26 and 25-21 split with Fort Richmond of Winnipeg left the Clippers in sixth place in their pool, dropping them to the C-side of the draw, where they faced Roblin’s Goose Lake Raiders in the quarterfinals, winning the match, 25-20, 20-25 and 15-12.

In the semifinals, Dauphin met another Parkland team, Ebb and Flow, scoring a 25-21 and 25-18 win to advance to the final, where they beat Margaret Barbour, 20-25, 26-24 and 15-11.

The Clippers varsity girls were in Selkirk for the Varsity Girls Royal Rumble Invitational, Friday and Saturday.

The Clippers lost all three matches in the round-robin, losing 25-15, 17-25 and 8-15 to Garden City, 17-25 and 23-25 to Vincent Massey of Winnipeg, and 14-25 and 21-25 to Jeanne-Sauve of Winnipeg.

This put Dauphin in the consolation draw, where they faced River East, scoring a 25-23 and 25-19 win.

In the semifinals, Dauphin lost to Dakota, 25-15, 12-25 and 12-15, leaving the Clippers to play for 11th place against Garden City. Dauphin finished 12th after a 23-25, 25-16 and 14-16 loss.

Although he won his weight class at the recent Western Canadian Powerlifting Championships, Riley Bertrand felt he could have done better.

Originally from Ste. Rose, Bertrand had a squat of 265-kg or 584 pounds, a bench press of 162.5-kg or 358 pounds and a deadlift of 292.5-kg or 645 pounds at the event held in Brandon, Aug. 10 to 13.

His overall weight of 720-kg or 1,587 pounds tied him with another competitor, but his overall score of 94.43 was enough to capture the gold in the 93-kg weight class, finishing .22 points ahead of the runner-up.

Bertrand was pleased he won, but he admitted he didn’t do as well as he had hoped.

“I only got my first squat. My second squat I got called on depth and then I overcorrected on my third. And then that put me in a hole going into the rest of the competition, trying to make up that ground that I lost,” he said. “So I was happy I came away with the win, but definitely not the performance I was hoping for.”

In preparing for the event, Bertrand did his usual training regimen, which included lots of heavy lifting in each of the three disciplines.

“I felt really good going into the competition. No injuries or anything. But it just wasn’t my day,” he said.

Bertrand is now eyeing competing at provincials in February or he may wait until nationals next September.

In the meantime, Bertrand plans to continue training, building more muscle to continue competing in his current weight class.

“I just finally moved up to 93-kg this year, so I’m still trying to fill it out properly with enough muscle mass,” he said.

Bertrand now lives in Winnipeg and teaches Grades 4 and 5 in Beausejour. His students, he said, think it’s pretty cool that he competes in powerlifting.

“There was a writeup about me in the Brandon Sun, after the competition, so they think I’m famous,” he said.

A local motorcycle enthusiast won the Best in Colour Award at this year’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

Trevor Wasylyshen was the first Canadian to win the award at the annual Dave Perewitz Show.

“The Perewitz paint show is one of the most prestigious shows in Sturgis. We took down a bike that we’ve been rebuilding since the COVID lockdowns and this bike plays at the same level as the top, top, top builders in the industry,” he said. “It’s a full 32-inch layframe road glide.”

Fifty bikes were entered in the show, which only has three awards - Best in Colour, Best Use of Graphics and People’s Choice - with Wasylyshen placing second in the People’s Choice.

“We showed up late, too, so that could have played a factor in voting. A lot of the voting was done through the cell phones,” he said.

Wasylyshen admits he was blown away by his win.

“We go down there annually hoping to win something. It’s just a very cool experience. I’ve looked up to a lot of the guys in the industry over the years and we’ve become more than just acquaintances. I talk to these guys on a daily basis and everyone was very happy for me, not only for myself, but for the guys that helped me at home here building the bike. So it was a really cool experience,” he said.

Wasylyshen had help from two friends locally and another friend from Lockport who did the paint job.

Von Knobb Kustom Paint, Wasylyshen said, is one of the best in Canada and the two have been friends for years.

“We got the first paint job from him and he’s done every bike for me since,” he said.

Wasylyshen hopes to defend his title next year with another bike that is being built for the 2024 show.

“This bike is now going to stay as a show piece for myself,” he said.

Wasylyshen thanks everyone who has supported him over the years.

“Even if names aren’t mentioned, family and friends that have stuck by my side through a lot of the crap. There’s a lot of tension when it comes up close to the show,” he said. “It’s not a local Friday or Saturday night bike meet. These are guys that are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to basically prove themselves. It’s a big ordeal. It’s definitely a huge accomplishment.”

Wasylyshen said his bike was just featured on Street Biker Magazine.

“It’s pretty cool,” he said.