The Winnipeg Jets will have home-ice advantage when they meet the Colorado Avalanche in round one of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Kyle Connor scored his 33rd and 34th goals of the season as Winnipeg defeated the Seattle Kraken 4-3 at Canada Life Centre. Nikolaj Ehlers and Tyler Toffoli also found the back of the net for the Jets (51-24-6) who have won seven straight and clinched second place in the NHL's Central Division. Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck made 20 saves while Josh Morrissey, Neal Pionk and Mark Scheifele each had two assists. The Jets play their regular season finale Thursday night at home against the Vancouver Canucks.


The defending Manitoba Junior Hockey League champion Steinbach Pistons face the OCN Blizzard tonight (7 p.m.) at the HyLife Centre in La Broquerie in the seventh and deciding game of their semifinal. The Pistons staved off elimination and forced game seven thanks to a 4-1 victory over the Blizzard Monday night in The Pas. The winner will meet the Winkler Flyers in the Turnbull Cup final. The Flyers beat the Oil Capitals 2-1 in quadruple overtime Monday night in Virden and took that series in six games. 


Roger McQueen of the Brandon Wheat Kings was among 19 players selected to wear the Maple Leaf with Canada’s National Men’s Under-18 Team for the 2024 IIHF World U18 Championship, April 25th-May 5th, in Espoo and Vantaa, Finland. The 17-year-old Saskatoon native had 21 goals and 30 assists in 53 games in his second season with the Wheat Kings. No Manitobans were named to Team Canada's roster. Prior to the start of the tournament, Canada will play a pair of pre-tournament games against Finland on April 20th and Norway on April 23rd. The quest for a gold medal begins April 25th against Sweden. Canada will also face Czechia on April 26th, Switzerland on April 28th and Kazakhstan on April 30th to close out preliminary round schedule. The semifinals are set for May 4th before the tournament concludes with the medal games on May 5th.


The federal government's latest budget has some welcome news for athletes. The government says it is increasing its contribution to the Athlete Assistance Program by seven million dollars a year. The money is for living expenses and competition costs that the governing body of an athlete's sport doesn't cover.


The Winnipeg Goldeyes announced the signing of Canadian right-handed relief pitcher Nick Trogrlic-Iverson. He becomes the fourth Canadian on the Goldeyes’ roster, joining pitchers Landen Bourassa (Lethbridge, Alberta) and Travis Seabrooke (Peterborough, Ontario), and outfielder Adam Hall (Lucan, Ontario). The Oakville, Ontario native spent the past three seasons in the St. Louis Cardinals’ system, reaching the Class-AA level with the Texas League’s Springfield Cardinals in 2023. Trogrlic-Iverson appeared in 41 games for Springfield last year, all in relief. He compiled a 4-5 record with a 4.87 earned run average in 64.2 innings. Originally drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 15th round of the 2018 Major League Baseball June Amateur Draft out of Central Arizona College (Coolidge, Arizona), Trogrlic-Iverson opted instead to attend Gonzaga University (Spokane, Washington) and was signed as a free agent by the Cardinals in June 2020. Winnipeg now has 21 players under contract for the 2024 season. American Association clubs may carry up to 30 players during spring training, which begins May 1st. 

golf_2023The U of M Bisons brought home bronze from the USports National Women's Volleyball Championship (photo courtesy Neil Noonan)

The University of Manitoba Bisons held their annual Brown & Gold banquet earlier this month. Michelle Sawatzky-Koop of the women's volleyball team joins Clayton Dreger and comments on being named the Bisons assistant coach of the year on Sportsbeat which airs Wednesdays at 5:15 p.m. on AM 1250 Radio.