With the world coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, things got back to normal with the return of festivals, fairs and sports.
There were several highlights in Dauphin and the Parkland when it came to sports.
Perhaps the biggest highlight of 2022 in Dauphin was the Kings winning the eighth Turnbull Trophy in team history, with a 2-1 win in game seven of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League final against the Steinbach Pistons in Steinbach.
The Kings finished the regular season in first place in the West Division, posting a 41-12-1-0 record. They were second overall behind the Pistons (42-9-2-1).
In the first round, Dauphin beat the Swan Valley Stampeders in six games, then upended the Winkler Flyers in five games.
In the game seven victory over the Pistons, Roblin native Brayden Dube tallied the winning goal with 8:27 left in the third period to snap a 1-1 tie.
Three Kings won league awards, last season.
Parker Malchuk was named Top Defenceman, while Carson Cherepak won the Top Goaltender Award, as well as Playoff MVP and head coach Doug Hedley won the Coach of the Year honour.
Malchuk and Cherepak were also named to the first all-star team, while Kaden Bryant, who led the league with 36 goals, and defenceman Colby Jaquet were selected to the second all-star squad.
Dube and rearguard Jayden Jubenvill were named to the rookie all-star unit.
In the Centennial Cup in Estevan, Sask., Dauphin was first in their pool after the round-robin with three wins and a shootout loss. Their run at a national title ended with a 2-0 loss in the semifinals to the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Pickering Panthers.
It wasn’t all good news for the Kings, however, as a racist gesture by defenceman Klim Georgiev at the end of a game against the Waywayseecappo Wolverines made national headlines. Georgiev would receive an 18-game suspension, 11 regular season and seven playoff games.
Off the ice, the Kings announced in March, they had eliminated the team’s debt.
With the encouragement of his high school coaches, Dauphin’s Kelton Amendt was selected to the Manitoba Selects football program as a middle linebacker.
The program was facilitated by CFL professional athletes and trainers, with the focus being on athlete performance, competition, scouting and recruiting. Amendt’s goal is to play football at the college level.
A group of friends from Pine Creek took the basketball world by storm, winning the Hoop It Up national title in Tempe, AZ.
Get the full year recap in this week's Dauphin Herald!