– The Brandon Wheat Kings winless streak hit five games Saturday night with a 5-2 loss to the Kootenay Ice. Jaedon Descheneau had a goal and three assists for the Ice, who jumped out to a 4-2 first period lead and then completed the scoring with an empty-net goal in the final minute. Ryan Pulock and Jens Meilleur scored the goals for the Wheat Kings, who played with four of the top seven scorers in Jayce Hawryluk, John Quenneville, Richard Nejezchleb and Rihards Bukarts. 20-year old defenceman Rene Hunter also missed the game because of an upper body injury. For more on the Wheat Kings, visit Bruce Luebke’s blog at http://luberslounge.blogspot.ca/
– The Virden Oil Capitals have fallen nine points out of first-place in the MJHL’s Sher-Wood Division. The Oil Caps fell 4-3 to the Winkler Flyers Saturday night, their fifth loss in seven games. Artsiom Kalashnikov and Corey Haverstick had a goal and an assist each for Virden. Meanwhile, Dylan Butler scored twice as Dauphin doubled Swan Valley 4-2; Jared Sprink’s goal with 7:11 left in the third period lifted Waywayseecappo past Portage 3-2 and Luke Karakas scored twice for Neepawa in the Natives’ 5-2 win over OCN.
– The first round of the Tiger Hills Hockey League playoffs came to an end Saturday night. Gladstone edged Swan Lake 8-7 in the third and deciding game of their Eastern Division Quarter-Final. All three games of the series were decided in overtime. Hartney and Neepawa also advanced to the second round with victories Saturday night while Boissevan had already moved on.
– The BU basketball teams both closed out their seasons on losing notes Saturday night. The Bobcats dropped a 69-66 decision to the Regina Cougars, with senior Jordan Reaves scoring a team-high 21 points in his final game. Brandon finishes with a 6-and-16 record. The Lady ‘Cats also finished at 6-and-16 after dropping an 88-63 decision to Regina. Cassie Cooke had 34 points for Brandon, and finished the season with a CIS-best 23.6 points per game average.
– A fierce Olympic hockey rivalry played out in Sochi Saturday, where the United States beat host Russia 3-2 in a shootout. T.J. Oshie of the St. Louis Blues instantly became a household name across the U.S., connecting on four of six times in the shootout, including the winner in the eighth round. Canada concludes the preliminary round on Sunday against Finland. Both teams are 2-and-0.
– Speedskater Denny Morrison won Canada’s only medal of the day Saturday, and his second of the Winter Games, taking the bronze in the 1.500 metres. Canadians have won a dozen medals at the midway point — four gold, five silver and three bronze. Canada is tied for fifth with Germany in the medal race, three behind Russia.
– Canada’s Jennifer Jones clinched a semifinal berth in women’s curling. The Winnipeg skip improved to 7-and-0 after downing Japan 8-6 and Russia 5-3. With the wins, Jones also cemented top spot in the round robin. In the men’s draw, Brad Jacobs improved to 5-and-2 with a 7-5 win over Britain, leaving the teams tied for third.
– It was a disappointing day at the Olympics for Canadian Charles Hamelin. He was a presumed lock to win a medal in the 1,000 metre short-track speedskating after winning the 1,500. But Hamelin fell in the quarter-finals in what he considers his favourite event.
