NHL Exhibition Game Coming To MTS Centre

The Phoenix Coyotes and Edmonton Oilers will play an NHL exhibition game at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg on Sunday, September 17th, 2006. This will be the third time since 1996 the NHL has been back to Winnipeg for an exhibition game, however it will be the first pre-season contest ever played at the MTS Centre. Back on September 19th, 2002, the Oilers dropped a 3-2 decision to the Vancouver Canucks in front of 13,223 fans at the Winnipeg Arena. Then on September 18th, 2003, the Minnesota Wild beat the Canucks 1-0 in front of 10,214 at the Winnipeg Arena. In conjunction with the game, the Coyotes will donate $50,000 to the KidsSport organization of Manitoba. KidSport is national charity administered by Sport Manitoba that helps to remove barriers and assist less fortunate children in participating in sport.

Russia, Belarus, Germany and Slovakia will compete in the first ever World Junior "A" Hockey Challenge this November in Saskatchewan. Pool A will consist of Canada West, Russia and Belarus, while Pool B will have Canada East, Slovakia and Germany. Games will be held in Yorkton and Humboldt from November 6th to the 12th. The World Junior "A" Challenge is planned to be an annual event that will expose additional top Canadian junior-aged players to international competition.

The Hanover Strikers dropped a 4-2 decision to Lions F.C. in the third division of the Manitoba Major Soccer League Monday night in Steinbach.

The Northern Baseball League's Winnipeg Goldeyes opened their seven game Alberta road trip with a 9-4 win over the Vipers in Calgary. The Goldeyes scored five runs in the third inning thanks in part to Fehlandt Lentini's two-run single. Infielder Keith Maxwell, who joined the ballclub just prior to the road trip, had two hits and drove in three runs. Josh Beshears got the win as improving his record to 3 and 0 on the season.