– It’s called ‘biding your time’, and Kord Pankewicz is finding out exactly what that means. The 17-year old has been a healthy scratch more often than not for Brandon this season, dressing for just 23 of 47 games while contributing five assists and a plus-five rating. For more on this story and all things Wheat Kings, visit Bruce Luebke’s blog at http://luberslounge.blogspot.ca/. Brandon is back in action Saturday night as they host the Prince George Cougars.
– Artsiom Kalashnikov had a goal and three assists to pace the Virden Oil Capitals to a 5-4 victory over the Neepawa Natives in Manitoba Junior Hockey League action on Friday night. Cody Nelson and Jake Dudar added a goal and an assist apiece for the Caps, who have won three straight and are tied with the Dauphin Kings for first-place in the Sher-Wood Division. Colton Magwood had a goal and an assist in a losing cause for Neepawa. Elsewhere, J.J. Cruikshank and Cole McCaig did the goal scoring for the Waywayseecappo Wolverines in a 3-2 setback against the Portage Terriers.
– The league-leading Brandon Wheat Kings knocked off the Norman Northstars 11-1 on Friday night in a battle of first-versus-worst in the Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League. Bradley Schoonbaert and Ty Lewis had two goals and two assists each for the Wheat Kings, who sit three points clear of the Winnipeg Wild for top spot in the standings with a 33-3-0-1 record.
– Defending champion Jeff Stoughton is the top seed for the Safeway Championship. Stoughton will be looking for an 11th title when the Provincial Men’s Curling Championship begins Wednesday at the MTS IcePlex in Winnipeg. Mike McEwen, Rob Fowler, Sean Grassie and William Lyburn round out the top five seeds. For more on Friday’s Curl Manitoba announcement, click here.
– Carberry’s Braden Calvert can capture a national title with one more win at the Canadian Junior Men’s Curling Championship. Calvert will play Alberta or New Brunswick in the final with the winner to represent Canada at the World Junior Curling Championship in Switzerland next month. Calvert and Team Manitoba finished the round-robin with a 9-1 record to earn a bye into the final, which is being shown live on TSN at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday. For more on this story, click here.
– The Brandon Bobcats got a much-needed four-sets win over the Winnipeg Wesmen on Friday night in Canada West men’s volleyball action. Sam Tuivai led the way with 18 kills for the BU men’s team, who snapped a five-match skid to keep them in the playoff mix. Meanwhile, Vaovai Aiono had 12 kills for the Lady ‘Cats, who made quick work of the Wesmen in straight sets to secure a post-season spot and surpass the team’s highest win total in the program’s nine-year history. CKLQ’s Tyler Crayston has the full story here.
