Doug Zywina
Evening entertainment
Open Mic Night returned to the Watson Arts Centre’s Old Fire Hall, Friday, with several local musicians taking to the stage.
The well-attended event was the first of the new year. The next Open Mic Night takes place, Feb. 17.
Aiming for gold
Carberry’s Kevin Elliott takes a shot in the gold medal final against the Morden Hawks at the Fusion Credit Union U13 Silver Smash Hockey Tournament, Sunday.
Morden won the gold with an exciting 3-2 win over Carberry.
The host Dauphin Kings finished third, while the Fort Garry Flyers were fourth.
Other teams taking part with two teams from St. James and Brandon, Transcona and Seven Oaks.
Kings maintain hold on third place despite light schedule
The Dauphin Kings played just one game last week, but the two points picked up in the 4-3 win over the Swan Valley Stampeders on Wednesday was enough to keep them in third place in the highly competitive MGEU West Division.
Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley said the Kings started off okay for a road game.
“I think our second period was outstanding. We put pressure on and dumped with speed and just created (opportunities). I thought we played a great road game. We were very good defensively. We got some big saves from Marko (Belak) when we need them. And then played solid defensively in the third period,” he said.
It was the only game scheduled for the Kings last week due to a quirk in the schedule. Dauphin used the time off for a team building ice fishing expedition on Lake Dauphin, thanks to Scott McCallum, Dwayne Swanton and Joey Pasternak.
“We’re hoping we can improve the schedule next year. But for now it’s just the way it is,” Hedley said, adding OCN was in the same boat with no games scheduled between Jan. 7 and Jan. 17, when they host the Kings.
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Boys of summer warming up
Dauphin Minor Baseball Association is hosting baseball training sessions, Sundays at the Parkland Crossing gymnasium.
Teams in the U13 (pictured here) and U15 are hitting the gym every second Sunday to work on their skills in preparation for the upcoming season.
The U11 age group will begin its workouts in March.
Rangers grab two points off Wild on the road
They didn’t come away with any victories, but the Parkland Rangers arguably played their best games of the season, this past weekend in Winnipeg.
Kyler Swanton made 36 saves in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Wild on Saturday, then stopped another 32 shots in a 6-5 overtime loss, Sunday afternoon.
Rangers head coach Tyler Carefoot said it was arguably the most successful weekend the team has had as a group this season.
“It just came down to commitment to team defence, some guts and just competing. That’s the expectation. And after the second game, I straight up said, that’s what we’ve been looking for all season,” he said. “If we keep playing like this, as hard as it is, we’ll be a tough out, but I also think we’ll probably win a few games, too. Hopefully this can end up being the turning point for this group.”
Swanton had his best games of the season, which Carefoot said was nice to see.
“It’s safe to say, he’d be the first guy to tell you that he’s been a little off throughout the season. But for him to come back, especially after nursing an injury the week before, he was just solid,” he said.
Luke Myhre had a strong weekend, netting three goals and an assist in the two games. Carefoot said he was the best player on the ice for both teams.
“For a 15-year-old, he plays a 200-foot game. He’s a power forward who takes key faceoffs matched up against the opponent’s best. He not only produced on the game sheet, but more importantly, he had an impact everywhere in both games,” he said. “To get two points versus a championship caliber program feels great for everyone, players, coaches and parents.”
Havryil Simchuk, the Ukrainian-born player, had another strong weekend, scoring a goal in each game. He now has points in all four games he has played.
“He adds some more depth and he was good. He’s responsible and you can count on him to make the right play and moving the puck around, too,” Carefoot said. “It’s just exciting. It’s nice to be in a meaningful game and it’s nice, as a coach, to pull strings, to get the right pieces on the ice in certain times. And the players themselves, they were in a battle and I think they all felt good about it.”
Carefoot hopes the team can keep the momentum going when they host the Brandon Wheat Kings, tonight at 7:30 p.m., and the Eastman Selects, Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
“If we can just keep battling, I think we’ll be alright,” he said.
Personal bests puts Brezden in seventh place at nationals
Dauphin’s Breken Brezden finished in seventh place at 2023 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships, last week, in Oshawa, Ont.
Brezden recorded personal bests in both of her skates, posting a score of 56.06 in the short program, which had her in fifth place, before posting a score of 91.64 in the free skate program, which placed her seventh in the nation.
“Going into the competition, I just wanted to do what I’ve been doing in training and get a personal best and improve my placing. So the thing I set out to do, I accomplished and I’m pretty proud of myself,” she said.
It took a while for her seventh place finish to set in.
“At first, it didn’t really sink in yet. But the day after, I’ve been really excited and really happy about it all,” she said.
Her total score of 147.70 was another personal best and put her just .21 points out of fifth place.
“To be able to go out and do that at nationals, I’m pretty proud of myself,” she said.
Brezden hopes to keep improving as she continues her career and is thankful for the support she has received.
“I’m super thankful for my coaches in Hamilton who have helped me. My coach in Dauphin. My coaches all over, the people who have worked with me,” she said. “And then I’ve seen so many nice messages after my skates and I’m super thankful for that. As well as my parents for believing in me and allowing me to make some changes so I can achieve my goals.”
Lunch series begins
The Parkland Chamber of Commerce kicked off its 2023 luncheon series with Jordan Pernarowski of MNP LLP speaking on Business Adaptations, as well as an update from Dauphin Economic Development Manager Martijn van Luijn.
The next luncheon will take place, Feb. 14.
Rangers lineup bolstered by addition of Simchuk
It was a tough start to the new year for the Parkland Rangers.
The regional U18 AAA hockey team dropped a pair of games to the Winnipeg Bruins, 10-4 on Saturday, and 6-2 on Sunday.
Both games were in Swan River.
With the addition of Ukrainian-born center Havryil Simchuk, Rangers head coach Tyler Carefoot had hoped the team would have an increased energy level and new-found excitement.
“And the first period of the first game, I thought we performed really well. I liked our energy. I liked our pace. There were a lot of good things to like,” he said. “But when they have a team that deep, you almost have to have a pretty much perfect game. And our management was below average.”
Winnipeg scored five times in the opening period and added a pair in the second.
“It was one of those games that just got off the rails for us,” Carefoot said.
Carefoot felt Sunday’s score flattered the Bruins as he didn’t feel it was a 6-2 game.
The difference in the game was a stretch in the second period where the Bruins scored three times in a span of 1:06.
“One of the things we’re trying to focus on is trying to have better team defence. I thought in the first game, we were just too easy to play against. Overall, there was a lack of being good defenders,” Carefoot said. “That was something for the second game I thought we needed to do a better job of and just focus on going forward, having that mindset of just being really good defenders. And I thought we did a much better job of that in the second game.”
Carefoot added it was a much better effort overall in Sunday’s game. Things don’t get any easier for Parkland this weekend as they travel to Winnipeg for games against the Wild, Saturday and Sunday.
“We’re going through a tough stretch here. Somehow if we can weather this storm, maybe focus on the process instead of the results,” he said.
Simchuk, Carefoot said, adds some depth to the lineup. He had been practicing with the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Dauphin Kings prior to joining the Rangers and had an assist in each game against the Bruins.
He is on a line with Dru Mushumanski and Cash Clarkson.
In moving Mushumanski to the wing, Carefoot hopes he can focus on finding some holes.
“And Simchuk has the ability to move the puck around. He’s got that awareness. He’s a very high skilled player,” Carefoot added. “But he was out of shape. He wasn’t in game shape. He didn’t have the stamina. But that will come.”
Comeback nets Kings a split, move into third place
Alex Senf’s goal 2:29 into overtime lifted the Dauphin Kings to a come-from-behind 6-5 win over the Winnipeg Blues, Saturday, salvaging a split for the local junior A hockey club.
The Blues had scored a 6-4 victory, Friday in Winnipeg, spurred by a three-goal outburst in a span of 3:05, early in the second period.
Kings head coach and general manager Doug Hedley said the Kings were a better team on Saturday.
“They got a point out of it, but I don’t think they deserved it. I thought we had so many chances in the second period,” he said.
Three power-play goals kept the Blues in the game and allowed them to take a 5-3 lead early in the third period. Both goals came on a five-on-three advantage.
“The fact that we got down 5-3 in the third period and found a way to come back and get two points out of it is huge for the guys’ confidence. I really think we have a good group in there,” Hedley said. “We’ve got size, we’ve got speed, we’ve got talent, we’ve got skill. We’ve just got to learn how to work and work smart.”
The Kings enter the week in third place with 41 points, two back of the Waywayseecappo Wolverines and one behind the OCN Blizzard. Dauphin is also one point ahead of the Swan Valley Stampeders.
Virden swept OCN in a pair of games over the weekend and sit in last place, but only 10 points behind the Wolverines.
Having the division so close will make for an exciting stretch drive.
“Especially right now. We’ve got some big games. We’ve got Swan. We’ve got OCN. We’ve got Wayway. So it’s all in our division now. It’s going to be playoff hockey from here on in,” Hedley said.
Teams will be looking to solidify their rosters with the Jan. 10 trading deadline.
Hedley said it would be great to find a top six forward to help the team offensively.
“Having said that, I really liked (Carter) Zalischuk tonight. He was outstanding. You know that kid is always going to give you hard work,” he said, adding the trio of Rylan Gibbs, Logan Walker and Ethan Williment was the best line on Friday. “They practiced all week that way,” Hedley said. “We’re starting to finally get those three guys that can come out there and get a big goal at the right time.”
Hedley tinkered with the power play, using defenceman Aidan Brook as a forward to plant himself in front of the net.
Most of the Kings moves, Hedley said, were made at the Dec. 1 deadline.
“But a puck moving right handed D-man would be great. A top three forward, left handed shot would be ideal,” he added.
Given how tight things are in the West Division, Hedley doesn’t see much movement from among the six teams.
The break allowed the Kings to bring back a healthy lineup, but goaltender Cole Sheffield left Saturday’s game after he was hit in the head in a collision at the side of the net. Hedley said he will be day-to-day.
Hedley planned to talk to Sheffield and fellow tender Marko Belak about the team carrying three goaltenders with the addition of Dmytro Kubritskyi.
The 20-year-old has been playing with the Ukraine national team against Canadian university squads in a series of exhibition contests and has shone in his outings.
Hedley said Kubritskyi has the capability to provide the kind of goaltending Carson Cherepak gave the Kings last season.
“We’re hoping Dmytro can come in here and really solidify (the goaltending),” he said, adding Sheffield and Belak’s numbers are almost identical. “We’ll see what happens,” Hedley said.
The Kings have just one game this week, traveling to Swan Valley on Wednesday to face the Stampeders.
Milestone reached
Dauphin and District Community Foundation members Sherrie Volk, left, and Rita Dupley, right, were on hand when fellow board member Darren Eddie marked another milestone on the foundation’s thermometre, last week.
DDCF recently hit the $4.75 million mark.