The Parkland Rangers find themselves among the leaders in the Manitoba U18 AAA Hockey League after splitting a pair of road games in Winnipeg.

Quentin Fisk continued his torrid scoring pace to start the season, scoring three times and adding an assist to lead the Rangers to a 5-2 win over the Winnipeg Thrashers, Friday.

Cade Legaarden and Dayson Martin had Parkland’s other goals, while Ethan Saari and Ryden Duchon replied for Winnipeg.

Piet Mierau made 25 saves to earn the win and Hudson Hunnie took the loss with 28 stops.

Parkland scored three times with the man advantage.

It was a different story on Saturday as the Winnipeg Bruins rode three power-play goals to a 7-3 win over the Rangers.

Aiden Jacobson and Tyler Free each scored twice and added an assist for Winnipeg. Danny Cross, Shea Chornley and Luka Fay added singles.

Fisk, Forrest Karlson and Noah Smigelsky had the Rangers goals.

Zak Matheson stopped 24 shots to pick up the win in goal. Mierau finished with 28 saves.

The Dauphin Clippers entered the Rural Manitoba Football League playoffs with high hopes that they would compete for a championship.

Instead, they are left to wonder what could have been after losing their semifinal contest to the Moosomin Generals, 26-20 in overtime, Sunday afternoon in Dauphin.

The Clippers proved to be their own worst enemy, having two lengthy runs for touchdowns called back because of penalties.

Dauphin did have the lead, 20-14, only for the Generals to march down field to tie the game. The Clippers defence came up big, stopping the convert attempt, sending the game to overtime.

Each team had one possession, with the Generals scoring on their first possession. The Clippers failed to score on their time with the ball, resulting in the Moosomin victory.

Clippers coach Gerald Lopez said the two penalties were unfortunate.

“I thought both teams had the same type of penalties, but it just unfortunately happens like that. It’s just the way the ball bounces sometimes,” he said.

Lopez was pleased his team didn’t fold and kept giving their all, eventually taking the lead late in the game.

“Right up to the end, I was proud of all those guys. They played hard right up to the last snap, all the way to overtime. Unfortunately, the better team won and it wasn’t our day today,” he said.

The Clippers will lose six or seven players next year, but they will have a good core of players returning.

“I’m proud of all these guys,” Lopez said.

The Dauphin Kings remain in second place in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s MGEU West Division after splitting four road games last week.

Dauphin extended its winning streak to three games with  5-4 win over the Waywayseecappo Wolverines, Oct. 15, in Waywayseecappo.

Nathan Lenoski scored the winner for the second straight game against the Wolverines. Gabriel Bugeaud, Ethan Williment, Cayden Glover and Madden Murray had Dauphin’s other goals.

Sebastien Hicks with two, Deegan Wapass and Sebastian Stone scored for Waywayseecappo.

Cole Sheffield picked up the win in goal, making 21 saves. Jase Wareham took the loss with 32 saves to his credit.

The Kings then embarked on a three-games-in-three-nights road trip on the weekend, beginning in Selkirk on Friday.

Owen Brandon’s goal 1:32 into the third period stood up as the winner as the Steelers scored a 5-3 victory.

Landon Jamieson, Rohan Guevarra, Griffin Crone on a penalty shot, and Owen Warnick into an empty net with one second left, had Selkirk’s other goals.

Glover, Bugeaud and Matthew Thomas replied for the Kings.

Noel Olsonawski made 31 saves in the win, while Sheffield stopped 39 shots in the loss.

On Saturday in Winnipeg, Braxton Burdeny made 59 saves and Nicholas Cullen scored twice to lift the Winnipeg Freeze to a 3-1 win.

It was Winnipeg’s first win of the season after recording just a single shootout loss in their first eight games.

Job Peters had Winnipeg’s other goal, while Glover replied for Dauphin.

Victor Larin made 21 saves for the Kings.

After falling behind early on Sunday, the Kings rebounded to beat the Winkler Flyers, 3-1.

Blake Matheson staked Winkler to a 1-0 lead on a power-play 16 minutes in.

Rylan Gage scored a shorthanded goal before the period was out to tie the game and Glover scored in the second to put the Kings in front.

Gavin Nemis sealed the win with a power-play goal, three minutes into the third period.

Sheffield finished the night with 33 saves, while Liam Ernst made 28 saves in the loss.

The Kings return to home ice this weekend, when they host the Winnipeg Blues, Friday at 7:30 p.m.

The Flyers pay their final visit to Credit Union Place, Sunday, at 4 p.m.

Kings court: Forward Cayden Glover now has goals in seven straight games and leads the MJHL with 12 on the season . . . Dauphin’s next win will be Doug Hedley’s 400th as head coach of the Kings.

The Dauphin Clippers clinched first place in the Rural Manitoba Football League, Saturday, with a 34-0 win over the visiting Virden Golden Bears.

With the win, Dauphin improves to 6-1 on the season and the shutout means they have the best defence in the league, allowing a league low 65 points.

Clippers head coach Gerald Lopez was pleased for all the players, stating they worked hard right from the start of training camp.

“I couldn’t be more happier for them, They deserve this,” he said.

Dauphin scored on their first possession of the game and never looked back. Lopez said jumping out to an early lead was huge.

“It establishes who we are as a team. We’re coming in with a mission and we had some thoughts in our mind and one was scoring on our first possession, which we did,” he said.

Lopez credits defensive coach Robbie Tomkins for his work in making the Dauphin defence the stingiest in the league.

“Coach Tomkins has these guys really humming as a unit. And defence wins championships. It’s as simple as that,” he said.

The Clippers are expected to play the Moosomin Generals in the semifinals, the only team to beat the Clippers in the regular season.

Dauphin will have their eye on getting a measure of revenge when the two teams hook up in Dauphin.

“Oh yes. We definitely had their team circled if we were to play them. I think our team has really matured since that first loss. So it will be a fun, tough match, because both teams are scrappy teams,” he said.

The key to beating Moosomin, Lopez said, will be discipline.

“Discipline, running to the plays and being able to execute without taking penalties,” he said.

The date for the semifinal match has yet to be determined.

The Parkland Rangers find themselves alone in first place in the Manitoba AAA U18 Hockey League after winning two of three games on home ice over the weekend.

But they deserved a better fate in the game they lost, a 5-1 setback at the hands of the Southwest Cougars, thanks to a 37-save effort by Micky Gross.

The Rangers rebounded to score a pair of wins over the Norman North tars in Swan River.

Quentin Fisk scored twice and added three assists to lead Parkland to a 7-3 win, Saturday. He added another two goals in regulation and assisted on Trace Langan’s overtime winner in Parkland’s 3-2 win on Sunday.

At 7-2-0-0, the Rangers are alone in first place, one point ahead of the Winnipeg Wild.

Rangers coach Josh Tripp felt the Rangers played well and worked hard in Friday’s loss.

To see the full story, read this week’s edition of the Dauphin Herald.

For the third straight year, the Dauphin Clippers girls rugby team are Westman High School Rugby 7s champions.

Dauphin clinched the title by going 3-0 at the final jamboree, Oct. 8, in Brandon.

The Clippers were tied with Rivers at 8-1 entering the Brandon event, after Rivers scored a 7-5 win over the Clippers in Dauphin’s jamboree, Sept. 29.

The two teams met again in a rematch in Brandon, with the Clippers getting their revenge in a 33-0 victory, clinching the title.

Dauphin finished 11-1, while Rivers was 10-2.

Clippers head coach Shawn Sarkonak said it is crazy to think the team has won the 7s season for the third time in a row.

“Myself and Kent Miner are just completely ecstatic and very proud of our girls. They went out and played their hearts out and came out champions,” he said.

When the schedule for the Brandon jamboree was released and the Clippers saw they would be facing Rivers again, they circled that game as the one they wanted most to win.

“They felt that the game that they lost, they know that they ended up playing an individual game instead of a team game and that’s actually what led to the loss,” Sarkonak said, adding the Clippers had previously beaten Rivers, 27-0, in Brandon, Sept. 26.

“They definitely were wanting another shot at Rivers, for sure,” he said,

The varsity girls all played in the Manitoba Summer Games, where they won a bronze medal, which did not sit well with them.

“They knew that they could have placed higher. And they used the 7s season to come out on top and put into work what they knew they could have done in the summer, and it showed,” Sarkonak said.

The Clippers JV team finished sixth with a 4-8 record, tops among the JV teams taking part in the 7s season.

For a lot of the girls, it was their first year playing, Sarkonak said, adding a couple of girls who were part of last year’s 7s team and played 15s in the spring were the leaders of the JV squad.

Sarkonak noted a handful of players will be trying out for Team Manitoba, which will compete at the Canada Summer Games.

“So they’ll get some extra work in,” he said.

The team will begin ramping up for the spring 15s season with workouts in mid-February.

The Dauphin Kings snapped their two-game mini-losing streak in convincing fashion, this past weekend.

The Kings scored seven times in the second period to erase a 3-1 deficit in a 9-4 romp over the Winnipeg Freeze, Saturday in Dauphin.

On Sunday, Cole Sheffield made 30 stops as the Kings ended their five-game home stand with an 8-0 win over the Waywayseecappo Wolverines.

Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley said the team had a few good days of practice and got back to some team structure.

“We started a little bit slow (Saturday) against the Freeze, but then the second period was real good. We started using our speed and playing fast,” he said.

“When we put pressure on the other team’s D, they struggle. That’s one of our strengths is getting pressure on the D, getting behind and work the forecheck, because we do have some guys with good speed who gets there first.”

Through the first six games of the season, the Kings scored 16 times. They more than doubled that on the weekend, finding the back of the net 17 times, with 11 different players notching a goal.

The power play, which connected three times on eight chances, was bolstered by the addition of defenceman Matthew Thomas, who was acquired from the Leamington Flyers of the Ontario Junior Hockey League for a player development fee (PDF).

“Matt Thomas adds a lot to the power play. He’s a right hand shot. And big Daniel Helary gives us some size and some strength down there on five-on-five,” Hedley said.

“And even Ryan Gower coming in and playing like he did this weekend. He moves pucks, is aggressive. He’s not the biggest guy, but he plays big and that’s the main thing.”

The Kings have a busy week ahead, beginning tonight at 7:30 p.m., when they face the Wolverines in a rematch.

Read the full story in this weeks edition of the Dauphin Herald.

The Dauphin Shrine Club hosted a raffle draw, Saturday, as part of a fund-raiser for the Shriners Hospital for Children in Canada.

The raffle was held in conjunction with the Brandon Shrine Club and Wolfpack Shrine Club.

The proceeds will be used to purchase a mini C-arm, a piece of equipment which will allow surgery to be performed on children as young as one year of age.

“It’s a very precise piece of equipment for the small extremities such as the hand and wrist, or the feet and ankle, or the knees,” said Klaus Knorz, Past Potentate of the Wolfpack Shrine Club.

The piece of equipment is priced at $68,903.

The raffle drew support from other Shriners clubs. According to Knorz, Shriners in British Columbia donated $50,000, the Shrine Club in Sioux Lookout, Ont., donated $10,000 and the raffle was a complete sellout. And, although the numbers still have to be worked out, Knorz was confident they will be able to donate $10,000 from the raffle.

“I can tell you, it’s been successful and it’s 100 per cent paid for now,” he said.

Knorz said the Shriners are a fraternity, but they also support and operate the Shriners health care system.

The Shriners Hospital for Children in Canada is located in Montreal, Que., and is for children from all across Canada.

Knorz said there is also a transportation fund so that if a child from Dauphin, for example, has to go to the hospital in Montreal, money would be sent to pay for transportation for the child and a parent to Montreal for a consultation or to receive medical treatment.

“We say the medical treatment comes regardless of the family’s ability to pay. The family does not receive a bill, but we’re cautioned not to say free, because it costs a lot of money,” Knorz said.

“So what we do is we raise money for our health care system. And children from Dauphin, from Brandon, from all across Canada are treated at Shriners Children’s Hospital.”

Once children enter the Shriners hospital system, they may be sent to a Shriners facility in the United States, based on medical treatment.

“The initial consultation is done at Shriners Hospital for Children in Canada in Montreal. And each hospital had its own specialization. The hospital in Montreal specializes in spinal injuries. Some of the Shriners hospitals specialize in burn victims and so forth,” Knorz said.

“But once they see a doctor, the doctor then determines which hospital best suits the needs of that child and then the patient is directed towards that hospital.”

The Shriners started in 1872 as a fraternity associated with Freemasonry. As it developed, they wanted to have a purpose. In 1922, polio was affecting children in North America and the first hospital was established in Shreveport, LA.

There are now more than 20 Shriners hospitals in the U.S. and Canada, as well as one in Mexico.

Knorz appreciates the support from the various raffle sponsors, which include Parkland Sport and Marine, where the draws were made, as well as Sticky’s Bait and Tackle and Lews Canada/Expert Fishing Co. Knorz also noted a Fresh Market Foods in Sioux Lookout, Ont., also donated a prize.

“I just want to make a big, big thank you to our donors, because without our supporters we never would have been able to do this,” he said.

The Dauphin Clippers football team moved into first place in the Rural Manitoba Football League after a 28-14 win over the rival Swan Valley Tigers, Friday in Dauphin.

Cody Zurba completed five of the six passes he threw for 64 yards, while Morgan Fleck struggled, completing just one of his seven attempts for 12 yards.

Ronin Mouck was the favourite receiver as he had four catches for 53 yards and one touchdown.

Julien Lopez led the ground attack with 131 yards on nine carries and one major, while Sully Fox had two touchdowns on the ground. Mouck ran the ball for 49 yards on six touches.

Tristan Fidierchuk converted all four touchdowns.

Mouck led the defence with six tackles, two assists and two sacks, while Blake Thacker contributed three tackles and four assists and Lopez had four tackles, one assist, one fumble recovery and one interception.

Trailing the Tigers, 14-7 at halftime, Clippers head coach Gerald Lopez reminded his young charges that no one player is better than the team.

“We’ll regroup, we’re going to bend, we’re not going to break and we’re going to come out hard. So we made some halftime adjustments and, on the fly, it just happened,” he said.

“Everyone chipped in. I was so impressed by our offensive line. I will give the shout out to Mitchell Rauliuk, Connor Morrisseau and Zach Perih. They did the great blocking. It was a team effort all the way.”

Along with tight ends Jesse Genaille and Fidierchuk, those five players were able to allow the running game to open up in the second half.

“Once Swan started to key on the run, we were able to score on Ronin Mouck’s nice catch from Cody Zurba,” Lopez said.

The Clippers will now get set to face the Neepawa Tigers, Sunday in Neepawa at 2 p.m.

Lopez said the team will still focus on the little things that make a team successful.

“And to keep reminding the players that we’re only as good as the last game. So we hope that we can play well in the first quarter, first half and then we can rest these guys and have our substitutes in,” he said.

“We’re not going to take them lightly. But its in the hopes that we can bring in our other quarterback and systems there.”

The Parkland Rangers remain unbeaten in the Manitoba U18 AAA Hockey League following a weekend sweep of the visiting Eastman Selects.

Trace Langan, who was reassigned to the Rangers from the Western Hockey League’s Lethbridge Hurricanes, scored three times, including the overtime winner, and added an assist in Saturday’s 7-6 victory.

Quentin Fisk scored twice and added a pair of helpers, while Noah Smigelsky and Forrest Karlson added singles.

Piet Mierau made 33 saves to earn the win in goal.

Noah Stott with three, Ty Mistelbacher, Seth Hooper and Josh Borgfjord replied for Eastman, while Samuel Fontaine made 20 saves in goal.

On Sunday, Ryzlie Nepinak’s goal, 6:22 into the third period lifted Parkland to a 3-2 victory.

Alex Campbell and Fisk had Parkland’s other goals, while Kyle Pelletier, made 34 saves in his first game of the season.

Lucas Laramee and Stott scored for Eastman. Wyatt Minsky made 22 saves in the loss.

Rangers head coach Josh Tripp was impressed with his team’s resiliency, noting they didn’t quit after giving up a 4-1 lead in the third period of Saturday’s game.

Read more in this week’s Dauphin Herald.