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.

The Dauphin Clippers senior girls and boys volleyball teams were in Regina for the annual Campbell Invitational Volleyball Tournament, this past weekend.

The girls did not fare well, losing all of their games, but coach Chris Wolfenden said they learned a lot of lessons in the process.

“Just what we need to work on and things to improve on,” he said.

“It was a difficult tournament, It was basically some of the best teams in Saskatchewan were in this tournament. So we were playing against some pretty talented players. But regardless, it’s not like we weren’t competitive. It’s all learning opportunities at the beginning of the season. That’s how I categorize this weekend, was just a good learning experience for the girls.”

The Clippers did improve as the tournament progressed.

“There’s improvement every time. Everybody is learning lessons within little moments of the game. I’d say every one of our girls had successful moments where they were applying something new and they had success with it. Now it’s trying to become more consistent as the season progresses,” he said.

“It’s always a positive, for sure. We spent three days together and built a little team culture. So it’s all a process.”

The next tournament will be in Winnipeg, hosted by Daniel McIntyre Collegiate, Oct. 18 and 19.

Wolfenden said the team will watch a lot of film to self-analyze their play.

“Where we’re standing and how we’re playing systems, general ball control. Things like that,” he said.

“I film most games so we’re doing video sessions a couple times in the next couple of weeks to self-analyze and learn from those videos and moments we’ve already been through.”

The senior boys played nine matches in two-and-a-half days, losing in the consolation final of the 12-team tournament.

Clippers coach Taylor Schmidt said the team played well considering they were playing against some AAAAA schools.

“So we were facing some good competition. We’re still finding our right combinations of players and rotations and we were working it out through the whole tournament. And it came together near the end,” he said.

“We found the right combination, the right rotation and we were playing some of our best volleyball by the end of the tournament.”

From set to set, match to match, Schmidt said the Clippers continued to improve as a team and as individual players.

“In the semifinal versus Centennial, that’s when it all came together. We really clicked. And the final match was a great match against Estevan. It could have went either way. It was some great volleyball,” he said.

The Clippers will now prepare for a tournament, Oct. 19 in Winkler, hosted by Northland Parkway.

In the meantime, the Clippers will continue to work on team play in practice.

“We’ve got a lot of fire power on our team that seems to be clicking real well. So we’re going to start focusing a little bit on defence and team defence and go from there,” Schmidt said.

Nicole Chychota, Chief Administrative Officer of the Rural Municipality of Dauphin, was acclaimed as the new president of the Manitoba Municipal Administrators (MMA) at the organization’s recent convention.

Chychota admitted she was hopeful of getting the position.

“I knew I was going to put my name forward, but I wasn’t sure what was going to happen until the actual conference,” she said.

As president, Chychota will help provide leadership to the organization.

“Supporting the board and carrying out the strategic plan of our association. I also will be sitting on the AMM (Association of Manitoba Municipalities) board as part of my duties, so I’ll get to engage with that association in a new capacity, which is exciting,” she added.

Chychota stepped into her new role, Sept. 9, and is the first person from District 7 to be appointed president of the MMA.

“It’s exciting. We’re starting to see CAOs from the Parkland region and out in rural Manitoba really strive to put their names out there and get involved. I hope to see more of this as time goes on,” she said.

Chychota’s term is for two years and MMA bylaws state she is limited to just the one term.

“My term will be over, but I look forward to continuing on with the association as the past-president and supporting when I can,” she said.

Chychota is grateful to the RM council and staff for their support.

“This is definitely a big responsibility and I couldn’t do it without the support of all of them. I very much appreciate it,”she said.

The MMA is a not-for-profit professional association created by The Manitoba Municipal Administrators Association Inc. Act, an act of the Manitoba Government. Since 1931, the MMA has existed to provide support, education and continuing professional development to its members. The MMA is also the voice of municipal administration in Manitoba, advocating for members and promoting effective municipal administration.

The Dauphin Kings are 4-0 to start the season after sweeping a home-and-home with the Neepawa Titans over the weekend.

After spotting Neepawa a 1-0 lead midway through the opening period, Friday in Neepawa, the Kings rattled off four unanswered goals to skate away with a 4-1 victory.

On Saturday in Dauphin, the Kings scored a 3-1 win in a game in which they outshot the Titans, 43-16.

Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley felt Saturday’s win was ugly.

“We can play a lot better than that. You take it and you get better and learn from it. The fortunate thing is we can learn and still get two points,” he said, adding it is still early in the season, but the first 10 games of any season is so important to a team’s success.

“The better start you get off to, the better work ethic you have. The better energy you have. It just sets the tone for the whole season,” he said.

Neepawa netminder Mason Lobreau kept his team in the game.

Ethan Williment gave the Kings a 1-0 lead with a power-play marker late in the first, but the Kings couldn’t solve the Neepawa tender again until early in the third frame.

“He’s a good goaltender, there’s no doubt about it. I didn’t think we made it tough enough for him. If he sees the puck, he’s going to stop it. We didn’t get a lot of traffic in front of him. We didn’t get a lot of guys going to the net for second shots. Not a lot of rebounds,” Hedley said.

“If there’s one thing he will do is he will give up the odd rebound if you’re going to the paint and trying to get a second shot. There’s things we’ve got to get better at. We know that.”

Hedley feels the top players can be better, but some of the rookies are starting to produce.

Joey Kubas netted his first goal as a King in Friday’s win, while Declan Hoad found the back of the net on Saturday.

The top line of Cayden Glover, Gavin Nemis and Jack Bechard was fantastic in Friday’s win, Hedley said.

“They had a real good game. And the energy that we had there, the forecheck that we had, just a totally different game,” he said, adding the ice conditions may be playing a factor.

“I don’t know what’s going on with the ice here, but it gets awfully bouncy and it gets awfully slow. I don’t know what’s going on, but it’s got to get better.”

Dauphin will look to make it five straight wins when they host the defending league champion Winkler Flyers, tonight at 7:30 p.m.

The home stand will continue, Friday, when the Portage Terriers visit Credit Union Place, also at 7:30 p.m.

“Neepawa played very well against Winkler (a 5-4 Neepawa victory, Sept. 24). I think it’s one of those things where we know they’ve got a big hockey club. They play aggressive, they play hard and they really compete. So we’re going to have our A game, no doubt,” Hedley said.

In terms of player movement, Jackson Hofer was reassigned to Fort Knox of the Prairie Junior Hockey League.

The deal with the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Flin Flon Bombers, which saw the Kings acquire forward Ashton Paul and futures for defenceman Anthony Bax was completed, last week, with the Kings acquiring 18-year-old defenceman Daniel Helary.

The six-foot, four-inch, 198-pound Calgary native had not played a game with the Bombers this season. He had eight goals and 22 points in 29 games with Prairie Hockey Academy, last season.

The addition of Helary gives the Kings eight defencemen and 17 forwards, plus two goaltenders. Hedley plans to get down to at least 25 players by next week.

The Dauphin Clippers senior boys volleyball team opened the season strong, finishing second at the Brandon University Varsity Boys Tournament, Friday and Saturday in Brandon.

Dauphin opened Friday’s round-robin portion of the tournament with a 25-17 and 25-15 win over Neepawa, then won the split over MBCI of The Pas, 22-25 and 25-18.

Following a 24-26 and 12-25 loss to Brandon’s Vincent Massey, the Clippers again won a split, this time over Carlton, Sask., 25-11 and 24-26.

Dauphin ended Friday’s action with a 25-19 and 25-21 win over Fort Richmond.

The Clippers finished third in their pool setting up a Round of 16 match against Yorkton to begin play on Saturday.

Dauphin won that match 25-19 and 25-20 to advance to the quarterfinals where they beat Weyburn, 23-25, 25-23 and 15-9.

The Clippers then bested Garden Valley, 32-30, 20-25 and 15-12 in the semifinals setting up a date with the Neelin Spartans in the championship match where the Clippers were sunk, 13-25 and 14-25.

Gabriel Beaudin was named to the tournament all-star team.

Clippers coach Taylor Schmidt said it was a great start to the season.

“From where we started the tournament to where ended, we just continued to improve throughout the tournament and making adjustments. The players were working every single match and improving their play, and the team play. It came together at the end in the semifinals,” he said.

Schmidt noted this is the best finish the Clippers have had at this tournament, having previously finished fourth.

A strong start like this will give the Clippers something to build on in the future.

“Having a start like that sets the tone in what we can do and gives us a starting point to work in practice and goals from where we’re at to where we want to go to,” he said, adding it’s a great place to be starting.

The Clippers played against some tough teams, Schmidt said, such as Garden Valley, Carlton, Weyburn and Neelin.

“We were right there. And we were able to beat Carlton and Garden Valley and Weyburn. We beat those strong teams. And Neelin is a strong team. They’re in our interzone, so we’re definitely going to see them again,” he said.

“So the confidence I think the players got from winning and competing tells them that, hey, we’re here to compete with the top teams and beat the top teams. And walking into other tournaments and facing other teams with that confidence that we can compete and beat these top teams is a great place to start.”

The Dauphin Kings are 2-0 to start the 2024-25 Manitoba Junior Hockey League season after sweeping a home-and-home over the Virden Oil Capitals.

The Kings scored a 3-0 victory in the season opener, Friday in Virden, before scoring a 4-2 win in their home opener on Saturday.

Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley liked the way the team played in Friday’s win.

“I think tonight (Saturday), we had a good second period. I thought we started playing the way we could, just a little bit of structure,” he said.

“The first period we were kind of all over the place in the neutral zone. Didn’t get a lot established on the forecheck. We got probably fortunate we got a couple of breaks on a breakaway to (Ethan) Williment and then another big goal to make it 2-0. But I thought our first period we were fortunate to get out of it up two.”

The Kings were a lot better in the second period of the home opener, Hedley said, adding they probably could have put the game away.

“A lot of oddman rushes, a lot of chances, a lot of opportunities, two-on-ones. Created some opportunities, which was really good. Used our speed to get the puck up ice,” he said.

The third period of Saturday’s game was reminiscent of the preseason encounter between the two teams the week before when Virden controlled the play.

In the preseason, the Kings weathered the storm and eventually won in a shootout.

Saturday, with Dauphin holding a 3-1 lead, Virden scored to make it a one-goal game. But Cayden Glover’s second of the game into an empty net sealed the deal with 1:53 remaining.

“They took it to us in the third period. We got set back on our heels. I think we just thought it was one of those things where we could just coast through it and get it done,” Hedley said.

“The good thing about it is you find a way to get it done. It’s greasy enough, whether it’s a home opener or not. It’s always tough.”

The humidity in Credit Union Place, Hedley said, is not good, which led to poor ice conditions.

“I think they’re working on it, but the ice was really bad toward the last 10 minutes of each period. The puck was bouncing,” he said.

Hedley still has some tough decisions ahead as there are still 28 players vying for a spot on the team.

Read the full story in this week’s Dauphin Herald.

The Dauphin Clippers football team came, oh so close to remaining undefeated in the Rural Manitoba Football League, Saturday in Moosomin.

But a goalline stand on a two-point conversion ended with the Clippers suffering their first loss of the season, a 14-12 decision versus the Generals.

“It was a heartbreaker,” said Clippers coach Gerald Lopez.

Trailing in the dying seconds, 14-6, the Clippers scored a touchdown to pull to within two points. On the two-point conversion attempt, which would have tied the game, Dauphin’s receiver caught the ball and had his feet in the end zone.

“But the ball didn’t break the plane. And the game ended on that note,” Lopez said.

Lopez said the Clippers lost the game due to a couple of reasons.

“Our offence really couldn’t get a rhythm going. And when we tried, we ended up getting into penalty trouble,” he said, adding the two touchdowns scored by Moosomin were aided by penalties.

“At least 50 yards of penalties each drive. And then they scored,” he said.

Ronin Mouck and Julien Lopez had Dauphin’s touchdowns.

There were some positives to take from the game. Lopez said some players showed their leadership skills and helped their teammates hold it together.

“Other times, we just mentally broke down. We did it to ourselves. Moosomin is a tough place to play,” he added.

Lopez said it was a good learning experience for the team.

“We’ll look back at the tape. But I truly believe we are the better team. But the only way our kids can grow from this is to learn from this. And not only from this, it will translate into their own life self-discipline,” he said.

Dauphin, now 2-1 on the season, will look to right the ship when they face the 3-0 Southwest Sabres, Friday in Souris.

Lopez feels the Sabres will be a good match up for the Clippers.

“With all these games, our prime focus is we just forget about it. Acknowledge it, but forget about it. We can’t change the past. We just have to move forward. Learn from what happened. It’s a brand new practice on Monday and go from there. Just like anything else,” he said.

Imagine getting the chance to meet your idol.

For Dauphin’s Marty Isfeld, that chance became a reality when he traveled to Edmonton to participate in the Street Outlaws No Prep Kings (NPK) All Stars vs Canada drag races in July.

In April, just on a whim, Dawn Isfeld sent an email with a picture of husband Marty’s car to the producers of NPK, not thinking they would respond.

“It was just an idea. I didn’t think anything would come of it. And then they invited us to come,” she said.

Isfeld, owner of the Speed Shop in Dauphin, has been drag racing for about 10 years. He and Dawn have been involved with cars their whole lives and eventually got into drag racing, which Dawn said, helps to promote their shop.

Because there are no drag races in the area, the Isfelds usually go to Gimli, as well as Neepawa a couple of times a year, and Saskatoon, which has a large venue.

Two weeks before the event, the producers responded to Dawn’s email with an invitation to the RAD Torque Raceway in Edmonton, to take part in the Street Outlaws NPK All Stars vs Canada drag races, July 19.

Because of the short notice, they had to get ready for the trip in a hurry, which was not as easy as it sounds.

“The engine was still out of the car. We were freshening the engine, so the engine was still out. We had to put the engine back together and get the car running,” Marty said.

They also had to get a crew together as only three people plus the driver were allowed.

Isfeld’s car is a Chevy Nova, the same as the car raced by Isfeld’s idol Shawn Ellington, better known as Murder Nova.

“He’s the OG. He’s the legend,” Dawn said.

Read the full story in this week’s Dauphin Herald.

Anyone dealing with mental health issues will soon have a chance to discuss their problems with others in a group setting.

Eleanor Snitka, a Peer Connections Manitoba counsellor, is looking to start a Stories and Smiles group for people who are living alone or may be full-time caregivers and they need a little break. Hence the name.

“I want to dwell more on mental health than mental illness. And I want to dwell on the positive side of it,” she said.

“People can come and tell their stories and we can sort of celebrate their contributions that they’ve had.”

While she had thought about it before, Snitka said a meeting with a lady who was a full-time caregiver of her husband pushed the idea forward.

During that meeting, the lady started telling Snitka how, when she first left home from a small town in Saskatchewan, she had to take a train with her belongings in cardboard boxes, because she had no suitcases.

“And she went to St. Boniface Hospital to take nurses’ training,” Snitka added.

“She told me that story and she’d been a nurse in our area for many, many years, and I thought, ‘people love to hear those stories and those happy stories and those fun stories.’ So that’s what I want to do rather than dwelling on the negative.”

The meetings, which are open to anyone regardless of age, will be held the fourth Thursday of each month from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Dauphin Active Living Centre beginning, Sept. 26.

“I think it’s important for people to connect, you know, social connecting. It gives people something to look forward to. It gives them a sense of belonging and wellbeing, because they’re with other people and they’re not always alone,” Snitka said.

Snitka added some people have barriers preventing them from connecting with others, whether it be their age, their physical abilities or lack of transportation.

“So trying to make people feel included and belonging,” she said.

“We just want to have a fun time, a happy time. Because sometimes mental health is not always happy.”

Snitka feels such group meetings are important.

“Because people can share. And it’s still confidential. We still don’t have to share their stories with anybody else. And they can share their hardships they’ve dealt with in life, because all of us, from when we grew up from way back when, life wasn’t always easy. And it doesn’t matter when we grew up,” she said.

For more information, contact Snitka at 431-345-0353.