The Eastman Selects won their season opener Saturday night at Hockey for All Centre. Daniel Banman made 22 saves and Jeremiah Warkentine had a goal and an assist as the Selects defeated the defending Manitoba U18 AAA Hockey League champion Winnipeg Wild 4-2. Luc De Gagne, Hayden Kochen and Mario Gagnon also scored for the Selects who play their home opener Sunday afternoon against the Kenora Thistles at the Sun Gro Centre in Beausejour.
The Eastman Selects open the 2023-24 Manitoba Female U18 AAA Hockey League season Sunday (11:30 a.m.) against the Yellowhead Chiefs in Niverville. The Selects played six exhibition games and recorded three wins, two losses and a tie.
The Niverville Nighthawks suffered their first loss of the 2023-24 Manitoba Junior Hockey League season Saturday night in OCN. Mathew Langdon scored 2:41 into overtime to lift the Blizzard past Niverville 3-2. Michael Debrito and Matthew Healey did the goal scoring for the Nighthawks who began the season with three straight wins.
The St. Malo Warriors play their season opener Sunday against the defending Capital Region Junior Hockey League champion Selkirk Fishermen. The Fishermen beat the Warriors in five games in last years final.
Rylen Roersma had a goal and an assist and Carson Bjarnason made 34 saves including 15 in the first period as the Brandon Wheat Kings defeated the Swift Current Broncos 6-3 at Westoba Place. Kayden Sadhra-Kang, Dominik Petr, Jayden Wiens, Charlie Elick and Brett Hyland also scored for the Wheat Kings.
The Winnipeg Jets reduced their training camp roster by 10 players. Goaltenders Thomas Milic and Oskari Salminen; defensemen Tyrel Bauer, Artemi Kniazev, Dimitri Kuzmin & Simon Lundmark and forwards Nikita Chibrikov, Brad Lambert & Daniel Torgersson were assigned to the American Hockey League’s Manitoba Moose. The Jets also released defenseman Dean Stewart of Portage la Prairie from his professional try-out.
Three Manitoba curling teams will play in the finals of the 2023 PointsBet Invitational in Oakville, Ontario. Matt Dunstone will face Reid Carruthers in the men’s final. Dunstone defeated Carruthers in the final of the 2023 Viterra Championship. Four-time reigning Canadian champion Kerri Einarson will take on Rachel Homan of Ottawa in the women’s final.