The Dauphin Clippers fastball team continued to prepare for zones with an exhibition game, as well as a one-day tournament in Ste. Rose, Saturday.

The exhibition game saw the Clippers fall 12-7 to the Ste. Rose Celtics, Thursday in Dauphin.

The Clippers opened the tournament with a 4-2 loss to the Neepawa Tigers, before rebounding to beat the Swan Valley Tigers, 13-4.

This put the Clippers into the third place game, where they lost to the host Celtics, 19-17.

Clippers coach Kyle Forsyth was pleased with the team’s play over the weekend.

“That wind was a challenge in the first game or two. The girls actually played really good this weekend. There’s a few little things that we’re going to work on. But other than that, they’re improving every game,” he said.

Forsyth is pleased to see the offence starting to produce.

“Our bats are starting to come around. We’re going to work a little bit more on that, because the bats went quiet a little bit  in the one game for a couple of innings, but then they came alive after that. Overall, the bats are coming along,” he said.

Forsyth noted there are a couple of new pitchers this year who haven’t pitch much in the past.

“They’ve done a great job for us, so far. We’ve had a couple of our regulars that came in and they shut the door when we needed them to. Pitching is coming along. We’re going to work a little bit more on a few things there,” he said.

The Clippers and Celtics will play another exhibition game, Thursday in Ste. Rose prior to hosting zones, May 20.

Forsyth feels the Clippers will be ready for the zone playoffs.

“I think the next few practices that we have between now and zones, we’ll work on a few things that we noticed over the last little while here,” he said.

“We’ve got to keep realizing that they’ve got to go back to the basics on a few things. The girls overall, they know what they need to do. It’s just when they get into that game situation, they forget and panic a little bit. We’ve just got to remember to settle down and play our game.”

The Dauphin Clippers rugby teams continued their winning ways last week, with each team picking up key victories in Westman High School Rugby.

The Clippers girls handily beat the Crocus Plains JV squad, 70-0, May 5 in Brandon.

Paityn Bourgouin had two tries to lead the Clippers, while Ryann Richard-Soltis, Jorja Percival, Mindy Chartrand, Ruth Evans, Kiersten Vanderkerckhov, Yulia Semerak, Felicity Sahulka, Victoria Carter, Desiree Lariviere and Jade Toews all had singles. Evans also added five converts.

On Thursday in Dauphin, Bourgouin had three tries to lead Dauphin to a 69-0 win over the Vincent Massey Vikings.

Carter, Sigrid Katerud, Evans, Vanderkerckhov, Mila Heschuk, Sahulka, Halie Garlinski and Madison Ferland all had tries and Evans had seven converts.

Clippers coach Shawn Sarkonak was pleased with the way the game finished, noting he and assistant coach Kent Miner weren’t pleased with the play in the first half.

“Just with core skill let downs. I think they let the weather get to them with the wind and just weren’t really focusing on those details. So there were a lot of dropped balls or passes at ankles,” he said.

“But over the course of the game, throughout the second half, they really cleaned things up.”

Sarkonak was pleased with the balanced scoring, with only one player scoring more than one try. That is something he and Miner emphasize, that it is a team game and there are no individuals.

“It’s not about getting individual points. It’s about getting team points, so spread it out and encourage your teammate to get one, as well,” he said.

The defence continues to shine, recording its ninth shutout in a row. Sarkonak notes the girls put the work in.

“Especially when the ball is on their side. They compete hard with tackles and then counter rucking to get the ball back. And they proved it again (Thursday),” he said.

The Clippers will face the Souris Sabres, Wednesday in Souris, with first place on the line.

The Clippers boys scored a 52-22 win over the Vikings, Thursday in Dauphin.

Ronin Mouck had two tries to lead the offence, while Ryzlie Nepinak, Morgan Fleck, Tristen Fidierchuk, Julien Lopez, Alex Thompson and Blake Thacker had one each. Colten Miner added six converts.

Clippers head coach Aaron Miner was pleased to see the team produce offensively.

“We figured out our game now. We’re starting to realize where our strengths are on the field and we’re managing to get the ball out to those guys,” he said.

“You could see it was the backs that led the charge. You can’t do it without your forwards, your big guys up front, getting them the ball. But yeah, it was a beautifully played and executed game plan.”

Part of the game plan is to spread the scoring out rather than rely on one or two players for all the scoring.

“We have a substantially stacked row of backs back there that we should be spreading it out to and that’s exactly what we did. The other team didn’t know which way it was coming from in the end. It was a work of art. It was beautiful to see,” he said.

Although they allowed 22 points, Miner feels the defence is coming along, as well.

“We haven’t had to show some real intensity yet. We haven’t come across a team with experience that would tackle and try to push over us yet. I believe that is coming next week when we face the Souris Sabres,” he said.

“But I think that’s coming along. I think next week’s game will show the inexperienced players what it takes to win those battles and the experienced players will have to step it up and lead the charge in the defence of anything.”

The Clippers and Sabres meet in Souris, Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., with the winner finishing in first place in the standings.

Miner felt the team’s play suffered from taking too many penalties.

“We’re such a tall team this year. We have four or five players that are over six-two, six-three and we’re just teaching them how to get a little lower,” he said.

“We’ve never experienced a team that’s this tall. So it’s just a matter of teaching them how to get low and drive through those hits.”

With warmer weather on its way, people are eagerly waiting for spring and summer sports to begin.

When it comes to high school sports, that means rugby season will soon be upon us.

And as two-time defending league and provincial champions, the Dauphin Clippers girls team will have high expectations this season.

The girls have been working out for about a month, running weekly practices at Barker School. They are now practicing twice a week at the DRCSS, Mondays from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Wednesdays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., until they can get outside.

The girls will be coached again by Shawn Sarkonak and Kent Miner.

Sarkonak said they are a little light on numbers right now, but that is to be expected this early in the season.

“Especially with players being multi-sport athletes. We’ve been getting on average about 13 out to practice. But once spring break is done, we’ll be back at it full bore next week, we should have 19 to 21,” he said.

There will be five teams competing in the girls league - Dauphin, Vincent Massey, Souris, Crocus Plains and the Crocus Plains JVs.

Noting the Clippers have graduated a number of quality athletes who have gone on to play at the university level, Sarkonak feels there are still plenty of quality athletes within the team.

“Basically, over the next two years, we’re going to be graduating an entire starting lineup. So the recruitment has started right now and we’ve been fortunate over the last three seasons that we’ve been able to get quality athletes coming out from other sports and trying it out,” he said.

Right now, the focus in practice is on getting a feel for the ball again.

“We did have around nine girls participate in the Westman Winter Academy over the winter and there’s a few of them, right now, taking part in the Team Manitoba 7s training camp and trying to crack Team Manitoba for the Canada Summer Games this summer,” Sarkonak said.

“But right now we do have a few new girls out, so it’s just getting them up to speed and what the game is all about and getting them used to running  and passing the ball and making sure they can play the game safe. With it being a contact sport, how to have good body position and how to tackle properly and how to ruck.”

The team is looking forward to getting outside, but Mother Nature, Sarkonak said, is not co-operating at this point.

Prior to the start of the regular season, the Clippers will take part in the annual John Keogh Memorial Tournament, Apr. 26, in Brandon.

Sarkonak likes the tournament because it gives teams a chance for every player to see some playing time, which helps veteran players get the rust out and new players get to see what a game is really like.

“And they’re able to go out there, make mistakes and it’s not going to matter, because there’s no points. It’s just about getting used to the game,” he said.

The Clippers girls start the season, May 1, when they host the Plainsmen at 5:30 p.m.

The Clippers boys team will be coached by Aaron Miner and Gerald Lopez.

Miner said the team started practicing at the same time as the girls.

There were 46 boys signed up to play rugby this season.

“Which is a great sign for high school boys rugby. It’s a great sign and a bad sign. It’s hard to make a team with 46 players. It’s not quite enough to make two teams,” Miner said.

“So we decided to go with one large team and try to pick up a lot of exhibition games and tournaments so that everybody gets a good chance to get a lot of reps in for the team.”

This year will see four boys teams competing for the league title, with the Clippers entering as two-time defending champions.

While the team is confident going into the season, Miner noted they did lose 12 seniors to graduation.

“We’re down to just two or three Grade 12s this year. It’s definitely a younger team this year, but we are gearing up towards what we like to call a harvest year for next year. Not taking anything back from this year’s team, I think we’re still probably ranked number one in the Westman league,” he said.

The boys are looking amazing so far, Miner said., adding of the 46 players that signed up, more than 25 are rugby veterans that have come up through the Parkland Pirates youth program.

“And have now graduated into the high school program and then will hopefully graduate on to the Dauphin Mavericks,” he said.

“This is what Gerald and I dreamed of 15 years ago when the youth program first started. It’s starting to come to light now and we’re starting to see all the benefits. Without guys like Codi Harrigan and Jordan Campbell taking over the reigns of the youth program and keeping it so active and so popular, these things wouldn’t come to fruition as they are. Things are looking so good on the rugby front in Dauphin, not only at the youth level, but at the senior men’s level now.”

Like the girls, the boys will start the season, May 1, hosting Crocus Plains at 6:30 p.m.

The Dauphin Kings are two wins away from returning to the Manitoba Junior Hockey League final for the first time since winning the Turnbull Memorial Trophy in 2022.

The Kings lead the Portage Terriers two-games-to-none in their best-of-seven semifinal series.

Dauphin opened the series with a 3-1 win in Portage, Friday, before scoring a 4-2 win, Sunday in Dauphin.

Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley said goaltender Cole Sheffield has played well in the first two games.

“He made some key saves when he had to. And (Portage goalie Mitchell) Kathler is a real good goaltender and you have to get to the paint. We’re starting to do that better,” he said.

“We’re getting second shots and we’re getting people in front of his eyes and a few deflections and a few good sticks in front of the net. The biggest thing is we’re getting pucks to the paint. We’re getting pucks to the net from the point. We’re getting them through. They’re not blocking them. And the power play was good tonight.”

The Kings scored three times on four tries with the man advantage, while killing off three of Portage’s four power plays.

Hedley said the power play has had good puck movement, but no success.

“But tonight pucks got through and it was good to see,” he said.

Portage controlled the play for much of the first period and had a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes in both games.

Dauphin rebounded in the second of each game to take the lead. In both games, the Terriers pressed to make a game of it, but Sheffield shut the door.

Its when the Kings are struggling that Sheffield comes up with some big saves until the team can turned its play around.

“You’re always going to get tested on your resilience. You’re aways going to get tested on trust in teammates. You’re always going to get tested on your belief. You’re always going to get tested on your work ethic. Right now we rebound, we push back. When teams come at us hard, we push back and have good efforts and the next line that’s coming on the ice have good shifts,” Hedley said, adding the line of Joshua Schmidt, Rylan Gage and Sheldon Shyiak played a big role in turning the team’s play around based on their forecheck and work ethic.

Hedley feels the team can play better defensively, noting they tend to stand and watch when they get in trouble.

“The good thing about it is we kept them to the perimeter for the most part. So at times, we’ve got to be more aggressive and get there faster for support,” he said.

Game three is tonight in Portage and Hedley expects the Terriers to come out hard.

“This will be their biggest push. For sure, they’re going to come at us hard, we know that. They’re a good hockey team and they’re well coached. You don’t win 40 games in this league and not be a good hockey club,” he said.

“We’ve got to stay the course. We’ve got to just make sure we’re tough on pucks, hard on pucks and separate guys. Be first to races a lot of the time. When we’re doing real well, we’re creating speed through the neutral zone from behind the puck. And we have to continue to do it. We know this will be Portage’s biggest push, for sure.”

Game four will be in Dauphin, Friday, at 7:30 p.m.

Kings court: Forward Ethan Stewart remains day-to-day and might be ready to return to the lineup for tonight’s game after going through the seven day protocol.

The Dauphin Kings are one point away from clinching the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s MGEU West Division title entering the final week of the regular season.

After dropping a 1-0 decision to the Northern Manitoba Blizzard, last Tuesday, the Kings won both games over the weekend, beating the Portage Terriers, 2-1, Friday in Dauphin, before handing the Swan Valley Stampeders a 3-1 loss in Swan River.

Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley is pleased with the team’s defensive play of late, noting that is to be expected come playoff time.

“We’re trying to be consistent. We talk about the process, not really the result. We want to get those consistent habits going into the last part of the regular season and into the playoff stretch,” he said.

“So it’s good to see. The D side of the puck battles in the low D zone are getting good. Guys are coming back hard. Guys are working hard. Stick battles, 50-50 stick battles, we’re winning. Faceoffs are getting better. So it’s definitely a process going in the right direction.”

The Kings have three games remaining and all three are meaningful games as two are with the Waywayseecappo Wolverines, who are trying to lock down the final playoff spot in the West Division, sitting three points ahead of the Virden Oil Capitals.

Dauphin is in Waywayseecappo tonight at 7:30 p.m.

On Friday, the Kings make their final trip to Neepawa to face the Titans at 7:30 p.m. And on Saturday, the Kings host the Wolverines, also at 7:30 p.m.

Those meaningful games will benefit the Kings as they prepare for playoffs.

“Playing teams that are in the same position as we are and getting ready for playoffs is a good thing,” Hedley said.

“Sheff (goalie Cole Sheffield) is locked in right now. It’s his 20th year, obviously, and he wants to play at the next level. Everybody we’re playing now is a good thing to get pushed, so we can push back and just find out what we’re about. The only way to get experience like this is through games and our young guys are getting some good experience right now.”

Hedley noted Ethan Stewart and Declan Hoad have their own playoff experience they can lean on, having won a championship with the U18  Brandon Wheat Kings, last season.

“They’ve been in games like that. They can rely on their experience on what it takes to get the job done. And with the vets, Gloves, (Cayden Glover), Willi (Ethan Williment), Hofe (Naaman Hofer), Sheff, and then you put Hauner (Matthew Haun) in there that is playing well, the 20 year olds lead and the rest  of the guys follow,” he said.

Kings court: Defenceman Naaman Hofer was named the winner of the Brian Kozak Memorial Award as Top Defenceman. Connor Paranuzzi of the Steinbach Pistons won the Steve “Boomer” Hawrysh Award as MVP, while Winkler’s Liam Ernst won the Ed Belfour Award as Top Goaltender. Portage netminder Mitchell Kathler won the Kim Davis Award as Top Rookie. Brody Beauchemin of Winkler won the Frank McKinnon Memorial Award for Hockey Ability and Sportsmanship and Matt Melo of Winkler was named the winner of the Muzz McPherson Memorial Award as Coach of the Year. Hofer and teammate Cayden Glover were selected to the first all-star team along with Northern Manitoba’s Miguel Bouvier and Paranuzzi, Winkler defenceman Isaiah Peters and Ernst. Cole Sheffield was selected to the second all-star team along with Grandview’s Jayce Legaarden of Winkler, Cam Bullinger of Portage, Adam Vigfusson of the Niverville Nighthawks and defencemen Noah Szabo of Steinbach and Parker Scherr of Portage. The rookie all-star team consists of Kathler, defencemen Maxime Lavoie of Winkler and Reece Gault of Steinbach and forwards Koy Funk of Portage, Rohan Guevarra of the Selkirk Steelers and Kam Thomas of Winkler.

The Dauphin Clippers varsity boys basketball team punched its ticket to AAA provincials, this past weekend as they finished second in a AAA provincial qualifying tournament on their homecourt.

The Clippers opened the eight-team tournament with a 79-51 win over the St. Maurice Patriots, Friday evening.

Dauphin then defeated the Elmwood Giants, 86-54 in the semifinals to clinch a berth at provincials as the top three teams advance to championship tournament.

In the final, the Clippers dropped an 85-66 decision to the Neelin Spartans. Elmwood went on to beat the St. James Jimmies, 120-72, to claim the third spot at provincials.

Clippers coach Steven Hudyma was pleased with the team’s play over the course of the weekend.

“We came together and showed a lot of grit. We really played well as a team and our attitude was spot on,” he said.

The team entered the tournament confident they would qualify for provincials, which was a key to their success.

“We had some work we’ve been putting in at practices and it translated to the court,” Hudyma said.

Hudyma expects to be ranked in the top four entering provincials, which will lead to high expectations entering the championship.

“Expectation is that we’re going to work hard these next two weeks so that we can be very successful at provincials,” he said, adding the team appreciates the support of their fans during the tournament.

The provincial championships will be held, Mar. 20 to 22, in Winnipeg, hosted by Westwood Collegiate.

The Parkland Chamber of Commerce is looking for a new executive director after it was announced Stephen Chychota would be stepping down from that position.

Chychota’s wife Nicole, was recently hired as the city manager in Portage la Prairie and he will be joining her there.

“I gave the board up to May 2. But it could be sooner if they find someone,” Chychota said.

Chychota joined what was then known as the Dauphin and District Chamber of Commerce about 10-1/2 years ago.

Among the highlights for Chychota is the rebranding of the organization to what is now the Parkland Chamber of Commerce.

“And that transition was a big moment for myself, for the board, for the business community in the region. It really meant a lot for many different things,” he said.

“That was a big transition that we went through and it’s really exciting to see where that leads us.”

Year after year, there are different events that need planning, such as the Dauphin Street Fair, which he said is really special.

“We had the fortunate luck of having great weather and the ability to pull that event off and make it bigger and better every year. It’s one of those community events that everyone looks after and looks forward to. So I’m really honoured that I could be a part of that and make that event happen. That means a lot.”

Another highlight for Chychota was the implementation of the State of the District to the Chamber’s lunch series, allowing community groups from across the region to share their message and bring awareness of what is happening throughout the region.

“To try and bridge those gaps and represent that we are stronger together as a region,” he said.

From a personal aspect, Chychota has been part of several boards and he’s been involved in a lot of projects outside of the chamber.

“You don’t expect to be as busy or working that hard, but opportunities present themselves and you keep working towards our goal. These boards and organizations and things that I’ve been a part of outside of the chamber that complement it all has been a lot of fun,” he said.

The milestone awards, which recognizes businesses membership within the chamber, as well as the chamber awards were an opportunity to make more of a flagship event with more regional recognition.

“We wanted to make things a little bit more fun and exciting, especially for the nominated awards and get the community really involved and aware of more of that process and understand that there’s some fantastic organizations and individuals out there that are doing some really hard work and we’ve got to showcase those,” he said.

“We have that coming up and we’re really looking forward to pulling that event off.”

Chychota said it is not easy to leave.

“But there’s an end that has to come once in a while. I think leaving the Chamber in good shape and someone incredibly talented can come along and take it and make it even better,” he said.

Chychota is not leaving the chambers world, however, as he is involved with the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce.

“I’m looking forward to supporting this chamber and others across the network in that capacity,” he said.

The first ever Dauphin Lake Walleye Dash was a tremendous success, with 68 fishers trying their luck just offshore at Ochre Beach, Saturday.

The event was hosted by the Kin Club of Dauphin and Toba Outdoors.

Prize winners were Fred Boychuk, $2,550; Orville Brown, $1,190; Kashtin Wilson, $850; Nathan Sichewski, $340; and Nathan Bassingwaite, $170.

The walleye dash is one of several events the Kin Club of Dauphin will be involved in after stepping away from the Parkland Business Expo.

“We had wanted to do a few different things just this year, after we put our Kin Clubs together. So we’ve melded with the men and the women. So we wanted to try some new fund-raisers. So we thought that putting on a fishing derby would be the way to go,” said Kin Club of Dauphin president and event chair Becky McGregor.

Considering it was the first time for this event, McGregor was pleased with the response, adding  it was a learning experience for everyone involved in organizing the derby.

“I’m pleased with the amount of people out here and everyone is happy,” she said.

More than 40 fish were caught during the six-hour event, including 27 walleye. McGregor added the first 10 fish were caught within the first 20 minutes.

The Kin Club of Dauphin has stepped away from organizing the Parkland Business Expo because of a lack of volunteers to get them through the planning stages.

“And the event stage, we felt. It was just time to try something new and fund-raise in the community in a different manner,” McGregor said.

At this point, the amount raised, or where the proceeds will go, has yet to be determined.

Overall, McGregor was pleased with the event.

“It was a great day. The weather is great. Everyone is happy. Organizers are happy. The food tastes good. Fish are caught,” she said.

Twenty-five teams took to the ice at the Parkland Recreation Complex curling rink, this past weekend for the Dauphin Curling Club’s annual men’s bonspiel.

Nick Ogryzlo’s rink with Glenn Toews skipping, won the first event, sponsored by Embroidery by Design, beating Brad Edwards. Ogryzlo’s team includes Nick Solomon and Reid Procyshyn.

Darcy Todoruk was third and Paul Scinocca was fourth.

Doug Fisher and his team of Lorne Orpin, Mike Zazuliak and Ryan Zazuliak needed an extra end to beat Jared Nimegeers in the second event, sponsored by McMunn and Yates Building Supplies.

Regan Hedley was third and Glenn Rozak was fourth.

Chad Sahulka won the third event, sponsored by Parkland Source for Sports.

Sahulka’s team includes Terron Stykalo, Tyson Gillis and Tere Stykalo.

They defeated Ken Levandoski in the final, while Morley Bourns was third and Jeff Campbell was fourth.

The fourth event, sponsored by Baker Computers, was won by the team of Brian Freiheit, Dan Hudson, Keegan Freiheit and Kai Schettler.

They defeated Logan Devos in the final, while Greg Thompson was third and Kyle Forsyth was fourth.

This weekend will see the Royal Canadian Legion Dauphin Branch No. 20’s annual mixed bonspiel, Mar. 7 to 9.

The Dauphin Clippers varsity boys basketball team moved one step closer to provincials after completing a sweep in the zone playoffs against the Swan River Tigers, Feb. 24, with a 101-50 win in Swan River.

Clippers coach Steven Hudyma said the team played well despite missing one of their key players due to illness.

“And some other players stepped up, so it was a good win for us,” he said.

“The key to that victory was our tenacious defence and sharing the ball on offence.”

After a loss in game one, the varsity girls forced a third and deciding game with a 74-50 win in game two, Feb. 24.

But their season came to an end, Wednesday, when they lost 52-44.

The varsity boys will now host a provincial qualifer tournament this weekend, with their first game, Friday, against the St. Maurice Patriots.

Playing on their home court in the provincial qualifier should give the Clippers confidence heading into the tournament.

“The boys are very excited about that. To have a little more support from your crowd and just to do things at home and sleep in your own bed at night will make a big difference,” Hudyma said.

Eight teams will take part in the qualifier, with the top three teams advancing to provincials, in Winnipeg, Mar. 20 to 22, hosted by Westgate Collegiate.

Hudyma likes his team’s chances, with the way they have been playing of late.

“The mindset of the players has been where it needs to be,” he said.