The Lorette Comets have clinched first place in the Hanover Tache Junior Hockey League. Cole Dekoninck and Noah Keating each had a goal and two assists as Lorette downed the Clippers 7-3 in Niverville. Jesse Mistelbacher, Blake Noble, Troy Beauchemin, Liam Foster and Jack Payment also scored for the Comets who have 32 points and one game remaining in the regular season schedule. The second place Springfield Xtreme have 28 points and two games left. Lorette took the season series from the Xtreme winning three of four games. Jaxsen Friesen, Caleb Funk and Elijah Durksen replied for the Clippers who will meet the Red River Mudbugs in the opening round of the playoffs. The Steinbach Huskies will face the Macdonald Swarm in the other series. The Comets and Xtreme have a bye to the semifinals. The regular season schedule ends this weekend.

 

The Eastman Selects gave up six third period goals and lost 10-0 to the Manitoba Female U18 AAA Hockey League leading Winnipeg Avros at the Seven Oaks Arena, The Avros outshot the Selects 37-15.

 

The Canadian Women’s Hockey team won its preliminary round opener 12-1 over Switzerland at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. Natalie Spooner had two goals and three assists while Deloraine's Ashton Bell had a goal and an assist for the Canadians who face Finland on Friday night. Mixed Doubles curling also got underway Wednesday. John Morris and Rachel Homan lost their opener 6-4 to reigning world champions Bruce Mouat and Jennifer Dodds of Great Britian.

 

Round robin play ends today at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Thunder Bay. Defending champion Kerri Einarson has a 7 and 0 record and will finish first in Pool B. Mackenzie Zacharias will meet Laura Walker of Alberta at 8 a.m. Zacharias, Kerry Galusha of Northwest Territories and Christina Black of Nova Scotia are 4 and 2 and tied for second place. Zacharias will play her final round robin game at 6 p.m. against Kerri Einarson. Team Fleury, with Selena Njegovan throwing skip rocks, will play their round robin finale at 1 p.m. against Krista McCarville of Northern Ontario. Team Fleury has a 6 and 1 record and has clinched a playoff spot in Pool A. The top three teams in each pool advance to the playoffs.

 

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have agreed to terms on one-year contract extensions with receiver Rasheed Bailey and defensive back Mercy Maston. Bailey started all 14 regular season games for the Blue Bombers in 2021, posting career numbers with 52 receptions for 629 yards and five touchdowns. He added six more catches for 116 yards in the playoffs, including a touchdown in the Western Final and a critical two-point conversion in overtime of the Grey Cup win. Maston returns to the Blue Bombers for a third season after suffering a torn achilles tendon injury in training camp and spending all of 2021 on the injured list.