The Manitoba Junior Hockey League's East and West Division semifinals begin tonight. The Steinbach Pistons face the Winkler Flyers at the T.G. Smith Centre. The Pistons won all five games between the two teams during the regular season schedule. The Niverville Nighthawks meet the Portage Terriers at Stride Place. The Nighthawks earned a spot in the playoffs in their inaugural season in the MJHL. The OCN Blizzard host Virden. The Oil Capitals were 21-6 after the Christmas break. The Swan Valley Stampeders take on the defending Turnbull Cup champion Dauphin Kings in Swan River. The Stamps went 8-0 during the month of March on their way to clinching first place in the West Division. 
 

The St. Malo Warriors host Selkirk tonight in game two of the Capital Region Junior Hockey League's best-of-seven final.  The defending champion Fishermen beat the Warriors 2-1 in the series opener Tuesday night in Selkirk.


Connor Hellebuyck made 18 saves as the Winnipeg Jets opened their three-game California road trip with a 3-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks. Adam Lowry scored the go-ahead goal 10:47 into the third period. Mason Appleton and Kyle Connor with his 28th of the season also scored for the Jets who will face the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday and the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday. Winnipeg is three points back of the Colorado Avalanche who hold down third place the NHL's Central Division standings. 


Richard Muntain and Mike Mahon of the Granite and defending champion Randy Neufeld of La Salle are 2-0 and tied for top spot in the Asham Group while Allen Gitzel of Altona, Dave Boehmer of Petersfield and Butch Mouck of Gilbert Plains are 2-0 in the Asham Express Group heading into day two of the Provincial Senior Men's Curling Championship in Dauphin. Kim Link of East St. Paul, Joelle Brown of Charleswood and defending champion Terry Ursel of Neepawa are 2-0 and tied for the lead after day one of the Provincial Senior Women's Championship which is also in Dauphin. 


Canada’s Kerri Einarson has qualified for the playoffs despite losing her round robin finale at the 2023 World Women’s Curling Championship in Sandviken, Sweden. Einarson, Val Sweeting, Shannon Birchard and Briane Harris gave up three points in the third and fifth ends and four in the eighth and lost 11-5 to Denmark’s Madeleine Dupont. Earlier the Gimli Curling Club foursome defeated Dilsat Yildiz of Turkey 10-4. Silvana Tirinzoni of Switzerland is 11-0; Marianne Roervik of Norway and Anna Hasselborg of Sweden are 7-4, Einarson, Satsuki Fujisawa of Japan and Stefania Constantini of Italy are in at 7-5. 


Manitoba champions Kadriana Lott & Colton Lott of Winnipeg Beach have a 4-1 record at the Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Championship in Sudbury, Ontario. Lott & Lott defeated Melissa Adams & Alex Robichaud 10-3 and Lauren Wasylkiw & Shane Konings 10-5.


The Winnipeg Goldeyes announced that left-handed pitcher RJ Martinez would be returning to the ball club and that infielders Chris Burgess and Keith Torres have also signed contracts for the upcoming American Association season. Martinez joined the Goldeyes last spring immediately after completing his final year at Minot State University. He posted an impressive 8-5 win-loss record with a 4.84 earned run average. The Sun City, California native made 21 appearances, including 12 starts. A former Baltimore Orioles farmhand, Burgess spent the 2022 season with the Gary SouthShore RailCats. The 25-year-old hit .189 with a five home runs and 14 runs batted in – both career highs. Burgess played two seasons in the Orioles’ system, reaching as high as Double-A Bowie in 2021. A middle infielder, Torres finished a five-year career at California State University, Sacramento in 2022. The Waipahu, Hawaii native posted a .249 career batting average along with 38 doubles, nine home runs, and 85 RBIs. The Goldeyes now have 19 players under contract for 2023. American Association clubs may carry up to 30 players during spring training, which begins May 3rd.


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The Steinbach Huskies swept the Red River Mudbugs in the best-of-seven final. Huskies coach Ben Plett and captain Brandon Thiessen will join Clayton Dreger on the Hanover Tache Junior Hockey League Report which airs Fridays at 5:15 p.m. on AM 1250 Radio.