The Dauphin Kings moved back into a playoff position following a split of a home-and-home with the first-year Niverville Nighthawks.

Niverville scored a controversial 3-2 shootout win, Friday in Dauphin.

In the five-minute overtime, the Kings thought they had scored the winning goal, but the referee had blown the play dead before the puck crossed the line.

In the shootout, Josh Paulhus, Niverville’s second shooter, skated in and made a shooting motion, missing the puck. He made another shooting motion and scored on the second try, which the on-ice officials counted, giving the Nighthawks the victory.

According to Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley, the referees stated Paulhus faked a shot, before he scored.

“He shot twice. There’s no doubt about it,” he said. “We asked if we could appeal a shootout decision, but we can’t. The league has no process in line to appeal a referee’s decision on a shootout goal. There’s nothing else, it’s just a judgement call.”

Dauphin got a measure of revenge two days later with a 7-4 win in Niverville.

“I’ve been really proud of the guys and the way they’ve been playing, because since we beat Steinbach on the Friday at home, we’ve had that urgency, that compete level. Sure we’ve gotten some tough breaks, but we played well enough,” he said. “We stuck to the process in Niverville and we bent a little bit, but found a way to get it done. So that’s the biggest thing, is finding that resolve, that rebound ability and that push back that makes a team tough to beat in playoffs.”

Sunday’s win was the 349th of Doug Hedley career as Kings head coach, moving him one ahead of his former assistant, Marlin Murray.

For Hedley, it is just a number. What is more important to him is the people and players he has worked with over the years.

“Obviously, it’s been an honour and priviledge to coach them. But it’s just a number to me. What it does make you do, is reflect on the players and coaches I’ve worked with in Dauphin,” he said. “It’s more about who I’ve worked with and what they’ve gone on to do later.”

One of the things Hedley has focused on over the years is developing players to get to the next level.

“Hockey is such a great sport. There’s so many life skills to learn in a team sport like hockey, whether it’s being a teammate, whether it’s getting a long with guys, whether it’s learning how to commit to getting better every day,” he said. “All those things are life lessons and a lot of players that I coached have gone on to have successful careers. That means the most to me.”

While he is grateful for the opportunities to coach the Kings on three different occasions, winning, Hedley said, is about more than the success of players and coaches on the ice, noting the board of directors and scouts put in a lot of work, as well, making it a true team effort in building a winning culture.

With three points over the weekend, the Kings improved to 28-21-2-2 for 60 points, moving into the fourth and final playoff spot, one point ahead of the Waywayseecappo Wolverines.

The Kings can widen the spread from the Wolverines tonight when the two teams meet in Waywayseecappo at 7:30 p.m.

On the weekend, Dauphin faces the Centennial Cup host Portage Terriers, Friday in Portage and Saturday in Dauphin. Both games begin at 7:30 p.m.

Hedley feels the younger players will benefit from playing such tightly contested games this late in the season, adding the Kings have beaten Portage in both games they’ve played this season.

“They’re rolling right now, so it’s going to be a great test for us, a good challenge. That’s the kind of team you want to be playing down the stretch because you don’t want to be taking anything for granted,” he said.

Kings court:

Defenceman Aidan Brook was a finalist for the Brian Kozak Memorial Award as Top Defenceman, which went to Winkler’s Trent Sambrook.

Selkirk’s Lucas Brennan won the Steve “Boomer” Hawrysh Memorial Award as Most Valuable Player.

The Ed Belfour Top Goaltender Award went to Swan Valley’s Kobe Grant, while Carter Cormier of Selkirk won the Kim Davis Rookie of the Year Award.

Ryan Botterill of Portage won the Frank McKinnon Award for hockey ability and sportsmanship and Virden’s Tyson Ramsey won the Muzz McPherson Memorial Award as Coach of the Year.

The Northwest Métis Region hosted a consultation meeting with its citizens regarding the Red River Métis Self-government Recognition and Implementation Treaty, Saturday in Dauphin.

The meeting gave Métis citizens as chance to add their input to the coming changes as a result of the Treaty, which was agreed to in July, 2021.

Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) vice-president and Health and Early Learning Child Care Minister Frances Chartrand said commitment made by the government of Canada will give the Red River Métis their inherent rights back.

“We’ll have access to our harvesting rights. We’ll have access to housing, education, economic development,” she said. “The commitment that was made with the federal government when they first fought. And we then we went to the Supreme Court with our land claims. In 2013, we won our land claims.”

Minister Chartrand said the treaty is for the next generation, adding it is history in the making.

“This will be the first time that the Métis are recognized and we have the new land treaty entitlement. So with the Red River Métis government, our citizens tell us what they want. They pave the path,” she said. “It’s our jobs as politicians to go out there and make it happen.”

About 200 people attended the meeting, which included a team of lawyers, one of whom is a Red River Métis citizen.

MMF president David Chartrand spoke about what the treaty means and the change for the next generation.

“And the impact it will have for the future and where we should have been 153 years ago,” he added.

The treaty, president Chartrand said, will truly change the essence for the next generation.

“It will set the foundation of assuring that there is not a doubt of the Red River Métis, of all the northwest. The agreement we signed in 2021, of July 6, removed the boundary lines. There are no provincial boundary lines that apply to us anymore. The northwest is ours,” he said. “So our citizens can join us no matter where they live in the world. And we have an obligation to protect our people’s rights as a government.”

It also sets the foundation for the future, Chartrand said, of where Métis fit in when it comes to a relationship with Canada.

“And Canada has the legal obligation that they’ve been avoiding for over 100 years. And it’s time that they come to the table and this will lead them to the table, force them to the table,” he said.

Chartrand hopes the treaty will help change the way people look at the Red River Métis.

“It’s to change the ideology of the people in the way they look at you. If they look at you as a corporation, as an organization, then they will treat you like that. But if they look at you, as you would hope they would look at, for example, the respect they have for municipalities, the respect they have for the premier, the respect they have for the prime minister,” he said. “So we’re a government. And we’re expecting that people will start to see that, within that respect, within that whole phraseology of reconciliation, comes a pattern or a modern change in this country where they will look at us as a government representing our people.”

That change, Chartrand hopes, will change the very fabric of the relationship between the Métis and Canada.

“It will really change the essence of clarity, without question. And that should have been done many, many, many moons ago,” he said.

Parts of the treaty are still being negotiated, such as child welfare, health legislation and land claims.

“So all these things that are happening are really a transition,” Chartrand said. “It’s not something that has come up overnight. This is decades and decades of struggles. A century of struggles. And it’s really setting us on a pathway to where we should have been. I look forward to a change where our people can really now know that they matter and that no one can step on them ever again.”

A three-game losing skid has the Dauphin Kings on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoff race in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s MGEU West Division.

Dauphin lost both ends of a home-and-home with the Virden Oil Capitals, beginning with a 4-1 setback at Credit Union Place on Friday.

Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley said Virden outworked his team.

“And it’s something to learn from. But we’re going to be okay,” he said.

On Saturday, Virden carried a 2-0 lead into the third period, when goals from Owen Wareham and Mason Smith 59 seconds apart pulled the Kings even with 3:22 left to play.

But the Oil Capitals ended up netting the winner with 1:11 left and sealed the win with an empty-net marker with 32 ticks left on the clock.

Despite the loss, Hedley liked what he saw from the Kings in that game.

“Basically, the game was decided in about two minutes. I thought we played really well. We did a lot of real good things. We started focusing on the task at hand and every shift guys got better,” he said. “After fighting back and making it 2-2 and then getting scored on with just over a minute left, it was really tough. But I think it’s going to make us stronger. I think we’re going to learn from it and move on from here.”

The Kings have a tough stretch to close out the season and it begins, Wednesday, when they face the Swan Valley Stampeders at 12:30 p.m., where a lot of school children will be in attendance.

The early start will not have an effect on the Kings, however.

“At this time of year, I don’t think it will bother us at all. We practice every day at that time anyway. So we should be fine,” Hedley said.

The Kings will face the Niverville Nighthawks in another home-and-home on the weekend.

Niverville will make the trek north to Dauphin, Friday for a 7:30 p.m. date with the Kings. Then Dauphin will head south, Sunday, for a 3 p.m. game.

With eight games left and the Kings sitting in fifth place, Hedley said they have to start finding points somewhere.

“We need to find a way to get some points,” he said, adding the disappointing thing about Saturday’s loss to Virden was the Kings had a point wrapped up until letting it slip away late. “It’s still right there for us. There’s a couple other teams in our division have real tough schedules, too. So it’s a matter of us focusing. It’s all in our own hands. We don’t have to rely on anybody. We just have to make sure we go out and play and try and get as many points as we can,” he said.

Kings court:

Dauphin sits in fifth place with 57 points. OCN is in first with 63 points, followed by Swan Valley with 62, Virden with 61 and Waywayseecappo with 59. Neepawa is in sixth place with 49 points.

Kings coach and general manager Doug Hedley still needs just one win to surpass Marlin Murray as the winningest coach in Kings history.

About 80 snowmobile enthusiasts braved the cold and windy conditions, Saturday, at the SKO Club drag races.

There were nine race classes, including a kids class for 120 and 200 stock, with a 100 per cent payout, as well as first and second place trophies for all stock, improved and pro mod classes.

It may not have been the coldest night of the year, but it wasn’t far off.

However, with windchills of -30C and below, it was enough to have Dauphin’s edition of the Coldest Night of the Year walk cancelled for this year.

So instead, participants gathered in the back hall of the Dauphin Friendship Center for a presentation and enjoyed chili and a bun. Participants are still encouraged to walk whenever they see fit and to post photos and videos online.

As of Saturday evening, the event raised $23,701 or 133 per cent of its $20,000 goal.

This year marks the first time in the event’s seven-year history in Dauphin that the fund-raising goal has been surpassed and donations will still be accepted until Mar. 31.

Proceeds are earmarked for the Food for Thought  program. Next year’s walk will be held, Feb. 24, 2024.

These young skaters rock out to the 1950s classic song “At the Hop” by Danny and the Juniors as part of Skate Dauphin’s Skating through the Decades ice show, Monday afternoon.

The afternoon included three performances by provincial champion Breken Brezden, as well as other local performers and the entire class of youngsters learning to skate.

The Parkland Rangers ended the 2022-23 season with wins in five of their last seven games.

The week began with an 11-0 loss to the league-leading Brandon Wheat Kings, Wednesday in Brandon.

Luke Lepper recorded five assists for Brandon in their win, while Ethan Stewart had two goals and an assist.

Nine other players recorded two points each, including Kaeson Fisher, Keenan Skrupa and Cole Temple who had two goals each. Brady Turko, Declan Hoad and Skylar Ramsey added singles.

K.C. Couckuyt made 26 saves to post the shutout. Kyler Swanton and Chase Glover combined to stop 31 shots in goal for Parkland.

The Rangers rebounded in a big way in their season finale, Saturday in Swan River.

Cash Clarkson scored three times and added a pair of assists to lead Parkland to a 12-4 win over the Norman North Stars.

Tavyn Boychuk and Dru Mushumanski each had a goal and three assists and AP callup Trace Langan had two goals and an assist, while Connor McKay chipped in with a goal and two helpers.

Andrew Pidskalny, Havryil Simchuk, Hayden Seib and Wesley Gryba-Smith added singles and Swanton made 31 saves in recording the win.

Daylin Monias scored three times for Norman, with Logan Marr adding a single. Paxton Moore made 39 saves in the loss.

Parkland finishes the season with a 12-25-7-0 record for 31 points, 11 points out of a playoff spot

Five players - Gryba-Smith, Bo Eisner, Madden Murray, Skyler Carriere and Swanton - graduate from the Rangers program.

The Dauphin Kings and Steinbach Pistons split a home-and-home weekend with each team winning on home ice.

On Friday in front of 770 fans at Credit Union Place, the Kings scored a 6-4 victory, sparked by a two-goal performance from captain Owen Wareham.

Hunter Degelman opened the scoring 2:36 into the game, giving Steinbach an early lead.

It didn’t last long however, as the Kings scored three straight off the sticks of Wareham, with his fourth of the season on a power play, Myles Yearwood with his ninth and Blake Boudreau with his 12th.

Landon Roberts made it a one-goal game just 13 seconds after Boudreau gave the Kings a 3-1 lead.

Dauphin then increased its lead in the second period with Jakob Brook netting his seventh and Deepkaran Hans finding the back of the net for his 13th of the campaign.

Travis Hensrud and Dawson Milliken scored 40 seconds apart in the first five minutes of the third to make it interesting, but the Kings kept the Pistons at bay the rest of the way with Wareham netting his second of the game and fifth of the season into an empty net with 55 seconds left to seal the Kings victory.

Cole Sheffield made 26 saves for the Kings, which chased Pistons starter Dominik Wasik with their fifth goal of the game in the second period. He was credited with 17 saves, before giving way to Cole Plowman, who stopped all 14 shots he faced.

On Saturday in Steinbach, the Pistons scored four goals in the third period, including three in a span of 1:36 to escape with a 5-4 win.

The teams traded goals in the first period, with Mathew Gough scoring his 21st of the season for Dauphin, while Davin Griffin replied for Steinbach.

Alex Senf’s 15th of the season with 15 seconds left in the second gave the Kings a 2-1 lead entering the third period, where Nolan Wickham’s power play goal, his seventh of the season, increased Dauphin’s lead to 3-1.

The Pistons began their comeback at 6:13 when Ian Amsbaugh scored to make it a one-goal game. Brett Kaiser tied the game at 7:02 and Steinbach took the lead at 7:49 when Warren Clark beat Kings netminder Dmytro Kubrytskyi.

Dauphin’s Marco Bodnarski’s second of the season tied the game at four at the 12:01 mark, but Steinbach scored what proved to be the winner 24 seconds later when Hensrud scored.

Wasik earned the win in goal with 22 saves, while Kubrytskyi stopped 29 shots in taking the loss.

The Kings have another home-and-home weekend ahead of them, this time with division rivals, the Virden Oil Capitals.

The two teams hook up, Friday in Dauphin, with the rematch, Saturday in Virden. Both games begin at 7:30 p.m.

The Kings enter the week tied for fourth place with Virden in the MGEU West Division with 57 points each.

The OCN Blizzard hold down top spot with 61 points, followed by the Waywayseecappo Wolverines with 59 and the Swan Valley Stampeders with 58. The Neepawa Titans are still alive, but fading as they are sixth with 49 points.

Dauphin hosted its final two minor hockey tournaments over the weekend, with 13 teams joining the host Dauphin Kings Gold and Silver teams.

The Swan Valley Stampeders won the Dauphin Home Hardware Gold Showdown, while the Carman Cougars won the Dauphin McDonald’s Silver Division.