Photo & Story: USports The Tantramar Trophy is heading to a new home for the first time. Liam Pauls (12 kills), Riley Grusing (11), and Tom Friesen and Phillip Lauter (10 each) all tallied double-digit scores as the No. 8 Brandon Bobcats won their first-ever national title over the defending champion and No. 3 Alberta Golden Bears with a 3-1 victory (25-20, 22-25, 28-26, 25-17) Sunday evening. Pauls added three aces and both he and Grusing had five digs apiece, while Lauter recorded nine block assists and a .588 efficiency to take home Championship MVP honours of the 2025 U SPORTS Men's Volleyball Championship Presented by Sunrise Credit Union. J.J. Love rounded things out with seven digs and 40 assists. The upset run by the Bobcats marked the first host team to capture the national title at home since Laval in 2013, and denied Alberta a chance at repeating as gold medalists, winning their third title in four seasons and breaking a three-way tie to claim sole possession of the most championships all-time. Instead, the Golden Bears settle for silver, marking their 22nd medal in program history. Two-time U SPORTS Player of the Year Isaac Heslinga was a force for Alberta, with 25 kills and eight digs, while Liam Espedido and Trent Cherewaty each had nine kills, with Cherewaty tallying a .900 efficiency. Luke Weddell chipped in eight digs and 42 assists. Brandon recorded a .369 hitting percentage in the match, compared to Alberta's .252 The Bobcats end their season as champions with an overall record of 13-12, while the Golden Bears finished at 21-6. Mikasa Players of the Game Brandon: J.J. Love Alberta: Isaac Heslinga  Championship MVP: Phillip Lauter Championship All-Star Team Jonathan Portelance, Sherbrooke Emmett Graham, Saskatchewan Isaac Heslinga, Alberta Trent Cherewaty, Alberta Phillip Lauter, Brandon Liam Pauls, Brandon R.W. Pugh Fair Play Award: Windsor Lancers

The Precision Toyota Blazers (pictured above) captured the Division 1 title in the Wendy's Winter Hockey Leage for the first time in 7-years as they swept their best of 3-series against the East 40 Icemen. On March 15, Brandon's Nolan Wright picked up the first win in his young college baseball career for the Dakota Lumberjacks, Wright tossed 2.1 innings in relief as the Lumberjacks outscored Minnesota North College-Rainy River 14-9. The Brandon University Bobcats are not only the host of the 2025 U SPORTS Men’s Volleyball Championship, they will now be participating in the championship game. The team punched their way into today's final (6pm) against the defending champion Alberta Golden Bears, following a reverse sweep against the gritty Saskatchewan Huskies on Saturday. The Crocus Plains hockey team have found themselves in the B-side Final in the Westman High School Hockey League where they will tangle with the GBC Wildcats. Game 1 Sunday March 23 530 Flynn Arena Game 2 Monday March 24 630 Carberry Arena Game 3 (if needed) Wednesday March 26 630 Westoba Place ***all times are warm up time*** Over in the A-Side final, the Vincent Massey Vikings hockey team will battle the winner of the Dauphin & Swan River series for league supremacy. That series is presently tied at one game a piece with the deciding game scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Swan River. Goalie Kristen Campbell is one of two Manitoban's named to the Canada’s National Women’s Team roster for the upcoming the 2025 IIHF Women’s World Championship. Campbell, from Brandon, plays for Toronto in the PWHL. Ste. Anne's Jocelyne Larocque was also named to the team. The Killarney Shamrocks have jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in their best of five series against the Virden Oil Kings for the THHL title. Game three is that series takes place Monday evening in Killarney. In the Manitoba AAA U 18 Hockey League final, the Winnipeg Wild scored a decisive 6-1 victory in game one in their best of five series against the Brandon AAA U18 Wheat Kings. Game 2 goes Monday evening in Winnipeg at the Hockey For All Centre with puck drop at 7:15 pm.  

The race to crown a new WHL Champion kicks off shorty, as the WHL playoffs are just around the corner. Due to the annual Royal Manitoba Winter Fair in Brandon, the Wheat Kings announced earlier today that the team will taking to the ice in Virden for Round One - Games Three & Four at Tundra Oil & Gas Place. With regular season games remaining, the team is still waiting to find out who they’ll be facing. Tundra Oil & Gas Place Game 3: Tuesday, April 1st Game 4: Wednesday, April 2nd Puck drops at 7:00 PM Tickets - $30 Each

Curfew Breach leads to Drug Charge At 4:04am, on the 22nd, Police conducted a traffic stop in the 800 block of Pacific Ave. A passenger in the vehicle was found to be on an Undertaking with a curfew condition. Search of the subject after arrest, revealed him to be in possession of a number of Xanax pills without having a prescription for them. The 30yr old was lodged in cells to appear in Court in the morning. Warrant of Arrest Just after midnight on Saturday, March 22nd Police were called to the 1600 block of Princess Ave for a belligerent, intoxicated male, who had thrown a brick at someone. The 36yr old male was located and found to have 3 outstanding Warrants for his arrest. He was lodged at the Bps cells to appear in Court in the morning.

The final round matchup has been finalized  in the THHL In the West Division Final, the Virden Oil Kings swept  their best on 5 series against the Hartney Blues. Over in the East Division Final, the Rivers Jets won the first 2-games in their best of 5-series against the Killarney Shamrocks before Killarney came storming back to win the next 3. BU Bobcats basketball player Sultan Haider Bhatti was named to the U SPORTS Second Team All-Canadian team. Brandon resident, and former Brandon Wheat Kings U18 AAA goalie, Mason Lobreau won his 100th MJHL game this past week. Lobreau is in his third and final season with the Neepawa Titans. The MJHL playoffs kick-off this coming weekend. The East Division will feature a matchup between the Dauphin Kings and Waywayseecappo Wolverines, while the Northern Manitoba Blizzard will tangle with the Neepawa Titans. The U SPORTS Men's Volleyball Championships takes place in Brandon at the Healthy Living Centre, starting on March 21. The host Brandon University Bobcats will face the top-ranked Winnipeg Wesmen starting at 6pm on the 21st. Assiniboine Cougars volleyball athlete, Kylee Peake, has been selected as an all-Canadian by the Canadian College Athletic Association. This is the first time that an Assiniboine athlete has been recognized as an All-Canadian. (Assiniboine College News). Assiniboine Cougars Rachel Halldorson was selected the goalie for the 2025 @ACHAWomensD2 All-Athletic First Team. The Brandon AAA U18 Wheat Kings eliminated the Southwest Cougars from post-season action Saturday night as they swept the best of 5-series. The Wheat Kings will now prepare to face the winner of the Winnipeg Wild/Winnipeg Bruins series in the league final in the Manitoba AAA U18 Hockey League. In the annual EishockeyNews awards,  Brandon's Nolan Ritchie was named Player of the Year in the Oberliga South, a  second level of pro ice hockey in Germany. Nolan capped off his first season in Germany with 84 points in 45 games, making him both the top scorer and leading goal scorer of the Oberliga South. He was also selected for the All-Star Team. Another Brandon resident Calder Anderson also had a fantastic season, finishing just behind Ritchie in second place on the top scorers’ list with 81 points in 43 games. His performance was good enough to earn him a spot in the Oberliga South All-Star Team. Both skaters were members of the Heilbronner Falken team.