The Dauphin Clippers varsity girls rugby 7s team is undefeated after three jamborees, including winning both games at its home jamboree, Sunday.

The Clippers beat their JV counterparts, 41-0, to open the tournament. They then defeated Vincent Massey 1, 48-0.

The wins improve Dauphin’s record to 7-0. They will look to win the fall 7s season at the final jamboree, today in Brandon, hosted by Crocus Plains.

Clippers coach Shawn Sarkonak felt the girls had a bit of a rough start against the Clippers JVs.

“I think they were underestimating our JV team and the JVs came out strong. We were able to come out of that with the win, like we should,” he said.

Overall, Sarkonak was much more pleased with the second game, with the way the team was moving the ball, offloading it and keeping the flow of the game.

Sarkonak noted the team has been working hard in practice.

“They just work on the structure and the flow and just moving from sideline to sideline. And communication. And just the different scenarios and what you can find yourself in. They’re using it today,” he said.

“When there isn’t a ruck formed, they’re releasing the ball and getting to their feet. They’re waiting for support to get there. They’re counter-rucking. They’re doing everything we’ve asked them to do.”

When the 15s season gets underway in the spring, the varsity squad will definitely be leading that team, Sarkonak said.

“But overall, with the experience that the JV players are getting, they’ll definitely be putting their hands up for starters spots, for sure,” he added.

After the opening loss to the varsity squad, the JVs lost to Souris, 25-5.

No score was reported from the game against Crocus M.

Noting all of the players on the JV team are first-year players having never played before, JV coach Codi Harrigan has seen improvement in the team’s play.

“I’ve seen a really good, positive increase in performance from these girls. They came out first practice not knowing anything,” he said.

“We’re definitely advancing game after game after game. And we’re shocking some people, other coaches have told me.”

The team continues to learn and improve with every practice and game.

“They enjoy being out here with each other. They’re building a good team with one another. Their skills are improving, for sure,” Harrigan said.

Competing in the fall 7s season will give the JV players a head start when the 15s season begins in the spring.

“They’ve got a head start on the 15s here. They’ve faced three of the toughest teams here today and they’re getting a taste of the game,” Harrigan said.

“They’re getting to see what the competition is like and they’re going to go against the same girls in the spring. It’s good for them to come out and play these girls now and they know what they have to work on in the winter.”

After dropping their season opener, the Parkland Rangers have won two games in a row, in convincing fashion.

The Rangers scored a 7-1 win over the Brandon Wheat Kings, Sept. 28, and hammered the Kenora Thistles, 11-1, Oct. 4.

Rangers head coach Rick Freese is seeing the hard work and consistent effort he was hoping for.

“Especially from the young kids. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve got some veteran players up front that are scoring goals and they’re doing their thing, especially on the power play,” he said.

“And we’ve got some veterans on the backend like Ryder Gardner. And I know (Owen) Sigvaldason hasn’t played here, I know this is his first season, but he’s played real well.”

Freese said the line of Alex Campbell, Dayson Martin and Noah Smigelsky has played well in the early going, combining for seven goals and 16 points.

“We’ve been lucky here these last couple of games. Our young kids are working hard. They’re forechecking hard. They’re killing penalties. We’ve been successful here as of late,” Freese said.

One bright spot is the balanced scoring. The 11 goals on Saturday came from nine different players.

“That means everybody is contributing. Everybody is getting involved. And it means I can play everybody against anybody in the league up to date,” Freese said.

“Sure, we have our power-play units and our PK units. But it’s nice to see everybody getting involved. And another indication that everybody is starting to work. And they’re starting to play the system we want, especially in the neutral zone. When we do what we need to do in the neutral zone and they do what they’ve been taught in the neutral zone, we keep those guys wide and we seal the zone and we just move. So yeah, I’m happy with everything so far, for sure.”

The Rangers will now prepare for the annual trip north to Thompson, where they will play the Norman North Stars, Saturday and Sunday.

“That’s the life of a hockey team. Ten or 15 minutes after you enjoy your win, it’s time to move on. The bigger prize is at the end. That’s just how it is,” Freese said.

After playing Norman, the Rangers will face some stiffer competition as they play the Winnipeg Wild, Eastman Selects, Winnipeg Bruins twice and Winnipeg Thrashers before their next home game, Oct. 31.

“We’re going to be in Winnipeg for three weekends in a row. This month on the road is going to be a tough test, for sure. Better to get it out of the way now, though, than later on,” Freese said.

It wasn’t the start the Parkland Rangers were hoping for.

The Rangers opened the 2025-26 Manitoba U18 AAA Hockey League season with a 5-3 loss to the visiting Southwest Cougars, Friday in Dauphin.

Southwest opened the scoring, but the Rangers responded with goals from Alex Campbell and Dayson Martin on a power play.

The Cougars responded with two of their own to carry a 3-2 lead into the second period, where they increased the advantage to 5-2.

Jordan Height pulled Parkland to within two late in the second, but that was as close as Parkland would get.

Rangers head coach Rick Freese feels some of the veterans need to lead the way as the rookies learn to adapt to a higher level of hockey.

“But those young kids are working and giving it all they’ve got. It’s early in the season. We’ve just got to make sure we follow the process and make sure that guys are buying into our systems and buying into where we want them, to be out there,” he said.

One thing Freese would like to see from the younger players is a consistent work ethic.

“The biggest thing for us is it’s not a spectator sport and you can’t watch, especially away from the puck. If your feet aren’t moving, you’re probably not where you should be. We’ll get there,” he said.

Every coach, Freese said, wants as short of a learning curve as they can.

“But at the end of the day, you just have to go through things with those guys until they understand what you’re asking for and what you expect. And if it takes a little bit longer, you just continue the same thing until they pick it up and it becomes second nature,” he said.

Freese felt the young players getting their first taste of U18 hockey know how to work hard, singling out Noah Hanneson.

“I thought Hanneson worked real hard. I thought he played a pretty good game for the pace of it and the way it was. I thought he played real well. And we’ve got some other guys that are right up there,” he said.

“So do I think it’s a process. I do and it’s going to take some time.”

The Rangers had chances to score in the third period, but were stymied by Cougars netminder Brady Shields.

Southwest, Freese noted, had two power-play goals and took advantage of some miscommunication by the Rangers.

“They didn’t get anything we didn’t give them and all those things are completely fixable. You just have to be engage and be prepared to play. I think that comes with maturity a little bit, too, as guys get into things,” he said.

The Rangers hosted the Brandon Wheat Kings, Sunday.

After allowing six goals against in the season opener to the Swan Valley Stampeders, Sept. 19, the Dauphin Kings have given up just two goals against in winning their next three games.

The Kings shutout the Stampeders, Sept. 20, before sweeping a home-and-home with the Neepawa Titans, scoring a 4-1 victory, Friday in Neepawa, and completing the sweep with a 2-1 win in Dauphin, Saturday.

Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley said other than the third period of the season opener, the Kings’ goaltenders have played well, noting Justin Perreault picked up his first Manitoba Junior Hockey League win, Saturday.

“Justin Perreault looks like he can play. So I’ll be happy with a 19 and 18 year old and we’re doing well,” he said.

“But we’re moving pucks well in the D-zone. Guys are working hard. We kept them to the outside. This wasn’t our best game tonight, but we found a way to get it done. A win is a win.”

Forwards Ethan Stewart and Cam Jansa missed Saturday’s game due to injuries, resulting in Hedley mixing up the lines. In the third period he reunited the line of Luke Myhre, Quentin Fisk and Kale Pratte, which paid dividends when Fisk scored the game winner with six minutes left.

“We had to do some things with Stewie out and Jansa and Simmer (Havryil Simchuk) is not back yet. We just had to shuffle the lines around with the other guys to give us some balance,” he said.

“But when we put Fisk, Pratte and Myhre back together again, they have chemistry. They work hard together, they communicate, they talk, they’re good friends. They were the best line on the ice in the last two periods.”

Neepawa pulled their goaltender with just over two minutes to go, but never really had any scoring chances due to Dauphin’s pressure on the puck. In fact, the Kings had more scoring chances than the Titans.

That is something the Kings work on in practice, both offensively and defensively.

“When we practice special teams, we do six-on-five faceoffs when we’re down and we do that six-on-five for our point with different offensive faceoffs,” Hedley said.

“But in the D-zone, we like to bring our D back, to have a two-man D and the forward goes on the wall. And we try to just block out and just  to get loose pucks, get there first. And it worked good tonight. The biggest thing for us is that we want pressure on the puck by one guy only. One guy goes hard and the other two guys are still high.”

Nicholas Zaharias, Hedley said, was unbelievable with his forecheck, keeping Neepawa hemmed in their own end for 10 to 15 seconds before getting help from his linemates.

“We have to make sure we have full control of the puck when that happens,” he said.

Hedley feels the Kings have done well at locking games down since the championship season in 2022.

“In our one-goal leads or two-goal leads, we’ve really played well. There’s a learning curve there and our guys are starting to buy in,” he said.

The Kings now have a 10-day break between games with the next contest taking place, Oct. 7, when they visit the Stampeders in Swan River at 7 p.m.

In between, the team plans to take part in some team-bonding events. Last week, they took part in some paint ball games at Dauphin Bible Camp and this week, they plan to hit the golf course for a round of golf.

The Kings have been waiting for a release from Hockey Canada for Simchuk. He and Luc Sedawey, a player from Rosemère, Que., who has been practicing with the team for a couple of weeks, should be ready to go when the Kings next hit the ice, as should Stewart and defenceman Brett Magarrell. Jansa is day-to-day with a knee injury.

Hedley still has some decisions to make with 27 players still with the team.

It was a good start to the season for the Dauphin Clippers senior boys volleyball team.

Competing in the Brandon University Varsity Boys Tournament, the Clippers finished fourth out of 31 teams.

Dauphin opened the tournament with a 25-16 and 26-24 win over Oxbow in their first match, then split with Ebb and Flow, 25-18 and 22-25.

A 25-17 and 25-23 win over Glenboro put the Clippers in first place, earning the team a playoff match against Elmwood, which Dauphin won, 25-14 and 25-8.

In the quarterfinals, the Clippers beat Weyburn, 20-25, 26-24 and 15-12, advancing to the semifinals where they lost to Estevan, 10-25 and 22-25.

In the bronze medal game, Dauphin fell to Yorkton, 16-25 and 23-25.

Gabriel Beaudin was named to the tournament all-star team for his stellar play throughout the weekend.

Clippers coach Taylor Schmidt felt it was a good start to the season.

“It was our first competition of the year and we have a fairly new group this year, with only four returning players. So we went into the tournament looking to improve throughout the whole tournament, both as individuals and as a team and take it from there,” he said.

“It was a great tournament, in that the team continued to improve each match and some of our best volleyball we played in the quarterfinals against Weyburn. We went down one set and we were able to come back and win in three to give us a spot in the semis.”

With this being their first tournament, the Clippers learned what they have to work on and where the players are best suited to play.

“It’s a great place to start and still lots of room to grow. And we’re looking forward to getting back into the gym for the next couple of weeks to continue to improve,” Schmidt said.

Beaudin was a big part of the team’s success, leading the team on and off the court. With so many new and inexperienced players, Beaudin did what Schmidt called “a wonderful job leading our group,” which the tournament organizer recognized in naming him to the all-star team.

“Well deserved and well earned by him,” Schmidt added.

Dauphin’s next tournament will be in Roblin, Oct. 3.

Dauphin’s JV girls volleyball team was in Niverville for the Southeast Spike Tournament, where they won the consolation final, placing fifth.

The Clippers began the event with a 25-8 and 25-19 win over Faith Academy, followed by a 25-8 and 25-9 win over St. Norbert.

Dauphin then split with the host Niverville squad, 22-25 and 25-14, to clinch first place in their pool.

In the quarterfinals, Dauphin lost to Gabrielle-Roy, 13-25 and 23-25, dropping the Clippers to the consolation side of the bracket.

In the consolation semifinals, the Clippers defeated Steinbach, 23-25, 25-15 and 16-14, advancing to the consolation final where they defeated Neelin, 18-25, 25-19 and 15-13, placing fifth.

After dropping the season opener to the Swan Valley Stampeders, Friday in Swan River, the Dauphin Kings had a nice bounce back effort in Saturday’s home opener.

The Kings had a 3-0 lead late in the second period of Friday’s game only to give up six straight goals, including five in the third period, settling for a 6-3 defeat.

On Saturday, in front of a crowd of 1,083 spectators, Bryson Yaschyshyn, who took the loss on Friday, had a good rebound game, stopping all 33 shots he faced in leading the Kings to a 7-0 shutout victory.

Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley said the Kings had chances to score, but didn’t bear down when they needed to.

“We had pressure all the time. We had so many chances, walked in and just not bearing down,” he said, crediting Stampeders goalie Easton Falls with making key saves.

“In Swan, the puck bounces everywhere, around the net steady. We lost a couple of assignments on the rush, they took advantage of it and we were trailing,” Hedley said.

“It’s a learning process. There’s some new guys in the lineup. We didn’t lock it down like we’re used to doing and it just comes from experience and getting better at it.”

It was a better effort on Saturday. Hedley said the Kings were using their speed and all four lines were working hard.

“I thought the young kids played really well. The 17-year-olds, (Quentin) Fisk and (Brody) Wytinck and (Brady) Bell. And then you put (Kale) Pratte and (Luke) Myhre in there, I think they were really good,” he said, adding when teams get a big lead, they can play their younger players more.

“Because they weren’t hurting us. They were playing very well, playing defensively and they were responsible coming back. And they contributed offensively.”

Myhre played one of his best games that Hedley has seen, finishing with two assists before he was ejected for a third period fight.

“He’s a talented kid. It’s just that consistency and the work ethic that’s got to be there. And tonight, that line was very good for us, Kale Pratte, Quentin Fisk was very good,” Hedley said.

Through the first two games, the Kings have goals from eight different players, with 14 skaters hitting the scoresheet.

Hedley was pleased with the balanced scoring, noting the Kings will have to score by committee. Getting Havryil Simchuk back from the British Columbia Hockey League’s Brooks Bandits will help.

The Kings currently have 29 players still in camp. At some point Hedley expects to let go two forwards and two defencemen.

Defencemen Brett Magarrell and Talon Hogg are currently on the  injured list.

Magarrell had shoulder surgery in June and is expected to be cleared by doctors at the end of the month.

Hedley said the decisions will be tough, because he feels every player still in camp can play at the junior level.

“So it’s going to come down to character and work ethic. It’s going to be tough,” he said.

Prior to the start of the season, the Kings acquired goaltender Justin Perreault from the Winkler Flyers for a player development fee.

Last season, playing with the Winnipeg Wild, Perreault was named the Manitoba U18 AAA Hockey League’s Most Valuable Player and Top Goaltender and was selected to the first all-star team after posting a 25-4-0-1 record with a 1.65 goals-against average and .934 save percentage, to go along with eight shutouts.

Piet Mierau, who had the inside track to be the backup this season, will instead play for Columbia Valley in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League on loan from the Kings.

Hedley said Perreault is a player he really couldn’t pass up on, adding goalie coach Dan Keeping will work with him and Yaschyshyn, who had a good game Saturday, following Friday’s loss.

“I think he’s got to keep control of some of his rebounds, but he had a good game and made some good saves at the right times. The games he played last year for us, he looked like he could be a starter for us. When he’s quiet and when pucks stick to him, he’s a good goaltender. So it was a great bounce back tonight,” he said.

The Kings have another home-and-home this weekend, facing the Titans in Neepawa, Friday at 7:30 p.m., before hosting the Titans, Saturday at 7 p.m.

A former Dauphin resident has been tasked with a unique challenge - White House news editor.

Roberta Rampton has been National Public Radio’s (NPR) White House editor, overseeing a team of journalists covering the Trump and Biden administrations for NPR’s radio programs, podcasts, website and newscasts for the past six years.

But, starting Oct. 1, Rampton will join the Associated Press (AP) as their new White House news editor.

And she got her start in journalism right here in Dauphin as a summer intern at the Dauphin Herald in 1989.

“It was my very first real reporting job,” she said, adding her internship began after her first year at university.

“It was really, really fun and people were so kind to me. I’m sure I was very annoying and I had no idea what I was doing. But people were very nice. The people at the paper were very nice and the people in the community were nice.”

After graduating from the DRCSS in 1988, Rampton attended Carleton University for four years. Her first job after university was with the Western Producer newspaper, where she worked for six or seven years.

“That was another really great job. I loved it. I got to travel around and meet all kinds of farmers around Manitoba And I learned a lot,” she said, adding she grew up on a farm and got a lot of tips from her grandfather and uncle about the technical aspects of farming.

“They really helped me out and I learned a lot.”

Rampton’s work with the Western Producer was where she learned everything she knows about listening to people, writing a feature and doing an interview.

From there, Rampton joined the Reuters news agency.

At the time, Rampton said, Reuters had one reporter for the Canadian prairies based in Winnipeg.

“The job was basically to write about agriculture ,primarily. Things that were happening that people from other parts of the world needed to know,” she said, adding that was how she got into wire service reporting.

The biggest story Rampton covered was the mad cow disease outbreak in 2003.

“That was the first massive news story that I covered. Because everyone around was interested in that and it was a really big deal,” she said.

Rampton made the move to Washington, D.C., in 2008 to cover agricultural trade for Reuters. She had applied for the job because of her experience of reporting in the agriculture industry.

Rampton ended up covering a few different beats in Washington, eventually becoming a White House correspondent in 2012.

Read the full story in this weeks Dauphin Herald.

The Dauphin Kings are getting set to embark on another crusade to win the Turnbull Cup as the team opens training camp, Thursday.

This year’s format is a bit different than in past years.

Registration takes place Thursday morning, with on-ice sessions taking place over that afternoon and Friday, with the annual JoFo Cup intrasquad game going, Friday at 7 p.m.

The Kings will waste little time getting into their preseason schedule as they host the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Yorkton Terriers, Saturday at 7 p.m.

The two teams hook up again on Sunday in Yorkton at 4 p.m., Manitoba time.

Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley said there are a number of players who will be attending Western Hockey League camps.

“The reason we opened up a little bit later is to let all those guys go. There’s no reason for them not to go to Western League camps now because of the (NCAA) eligibility rule,” he said, adding there are eight to 10 players in the WHL camps.

That said, there are currently 57 skaters and 10 goalies registered for the Kings camp.

The team’s veterans, Hedley said, will have to set the pace for camp, showing newcomers how things are done here.

Hedley will be looking to replace some top end talent as Gabriel Bugeaud is trying out with St. Cloud of the North American Hockey League, while Gavin Nemis, Havryil Simchuk and Matthew Thomas are all trying out for teams in the British Columbia Hockey League.

“It’s good for the program, because they’re getting an opportunity at another level. We’ll see what happens. If they happen to return, it’s good for us. If they don’t it’s a matter of replacing them with some younger guys or some older guys we’re bringing in,” he said.

“We’ve got three or four guys coming in from out east and a couple from out west.”

The landscape in hockey is changing, Hedley said. Teams will probably be younger, he said, and they will likely have more opportunity to move on.

“If they move on, you try to replace them with as good a player. We think we have some real good talent coming up. Our 2008 draft was really good and we have letters of intent for quite a few of them,” he said.

“It’s just a matter of filling those gaps. I don’t think it’s a rebuild. I think it’s just a reload and finding guys that we like, that have certain characteristics, to play the way we want. That work hard, that compete and have speed and are very good ambassadors in town. That’s what we do. We’re humble and we’re here to represent the crest and try to compete for a championship.”

Hedley is expecting a competitive camp, noting there are a few 2009-born players he wants to sign to letters of intent for next season.

“The good thing about our returning vets is there’s some quality leadership there with. There’s some work ethic there with (Rylan) Gage, (Sheldon) Shyiak, (Joshua) Schmidt, (Madden) Murray, (Ty) Pratte, (Brett) Magarrel, Aiden Murray,” he said.

“There’s real good character. Real good compete. The compete level, the hard work and attitude. So we’ve got a real good start and real good nucleus of leadership, for sure.”

After picking up some key wins for the Kings last season, Bryce Yaschyshyn likely has the inside track to the starters job in the crease.

Returning to the Kings is Austin Seibel, who played for the team two years ago and spent last season with the Powassan VooDoos of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League.

Also in the mix will be prospect Piet Mireau and some American prospects.

“So there’s five or six quality goaltenders and we’ve got a couple of good younger kids that are going to be part of our organization sooner or later. So we’re looking forward to the compete level. It’s going to be very competitive,” Hedley said, adding he expects a couple of competitive games against Yorkton.

And, while this year’s camp is a little different from past years, Hedley is looking forward to see how things work out.

The Dauphin Clippers football team has been practicing throughout the month of August in preparation for the 2025 season.

Numbers have been steadily increasing to the point where they now have 30 to 33 players out for practices.

“We could always use more. But there’s a lot of veterans that are still out working, doing their summer jobs. So it will increase,” said Clippers coach Gerald Lopez.

Noting the Clippers lost some key players last from last season, Lopez said Nathan Thacker has returned to the team as offensive co-ordinator along with former Clipper Mitchell Prawdzik.

“Both who are offensive gurus. They’re using back-to-the-basics terminology and building from there. Watching those two grow is quite neat,” he said.

Robbie Tomkins is the defensive co-ordinator and Lopez said he, too, is starting with the basics.

The Rural Manitoba Football League will be comprised of two divisions.

The Clippers are in the Doug Steeves Division, along with the Interlake Thunder, Moosomin Generals, SouthWest Sabres, St. Vital Mustangs, Swan Valley Tigers, Virden Golden Bears and Winnipeg Falcons, while ​the ParkWest Outlaws, Neepawa Tigers, Neelin Spartans and Transcona Nationals will make up the Murray Black Division.

The eight-team Doug Steeves Division will be the Tier 1 group, while  four-team Murray Black Division is the Tier 2 group.

Dauphin opens the season, Sept. 7, against the Falcons in Winnipeg.

Lopez said the Clippers will focus on their passing game under quarterback Cody Zurba.

“I think we’ve picked up some great wide receivers. And running the ball, that will come with the cold weather,” he said.

“Defensively, Regan Clyde is having such a great camp, along with Blake Thacker and Julien Lopez and Morgan Fleck. We’ll build up on those four key cogs there. It will be good.”

Lopez is looking forward to getting the season going.

“We’re all starting to get antsy. There’s only so many reps we can do. All the kids are all looking forward to the next weekend coming up,” he said, noting the Clippers only have three home games this year.

The Dauphin Mavericks rugby team traveled south to Brandon for a tilt with the Barbarians, Saturday.

After a strong start in which the Mavericks built a 26-17 lead at halftime, Brandon took advantage of the Mavericks’ inexperience in the second half to walk away with a 53-26 win.

Ronin Mouck had two tries for Dauphin, with Riley Keith and Sam Plante adding singles. Daniel Evans added three converts.

Mavericks player-coach Shawn Sarkonak said the Mavericks came out flat in the first two minutes.

“But we basically started trading tries back and forth. We pulled ahead. We were playing really well,” he said, adding they ran into penalty trouble in the second half.

Dauphin’s lack of experience, Sarkonak said, also played a factor.

“We had a good, young squad there, just a little inexperienced. And compared to the size of their pack, as we made changes, we got lighter and lighter, so they were able to push us around pretty good later on in the second half,” he said.

Despite the second half collapse, the experience gained by the young Mavericks will benefit them in the future.

“They see what it takes to play at that level and the more you play the better you get. But I was very pleased with how the squad really played,” Sarkonak said.

The Mavericks have two games remaining, a home-and-home with the Winnipeg Wasps.

The next game in Dauphin is tentatively set for Aug. 30, with the game in Winnipeg slated for Sept. 6. Both games have yet to be confirmed.