Brandon University will host free viewing parties this weekend, giving hometown Bobcats fans a chance to watch live as the men’s volleyball team pursues a national championship. Bobcat fans have been enthusiastic this season, filling the Healthy Living Centre for home games and cheering loudly as the Bobcats went on a record-setting season. The free viewing parties will bring fans together as the Bobcats make their run at a national championship. All attending the viewing parties are encouraged to wear their Bobcats gear and to bring Bobcat noisemakers to create a fun and fan-friendly atmosphere. The number-one ranked Bobcats are in Quebec for the USports nationals after winning the Canada West title at home last weekend. The Bobcats play first against the eighth-ranked Montreal Carabins, with the match scheduled for a noon start (Brandon time) on Friday, March 15. The Friday game will be livestreamed to the big screen in the Healthy Living Centre. Bleachers will be pulled out for a fan experience, and the canteen will be open, with food and drink available for purchase. Brandon University staff, faculty and students are all encouraged to attend, if they are able. Friday match event post | Facebook event Saturday semifinals event post | Facebook event Sunday finals event post | Facebook event Depending on the results of Friday’s game, the Bobcats could play at different times on Saturday and Sunday. Brandon University is planning to stream both Saturday semifinals on dual screens set up in Harvest Hall, the university cafeteria. The first semifinal starts at 5 p.m. on Saturday, and is when the Bobcats are most likely to play. The second semifinal will play at 7 p.m. On Sunday, the Harvest Hall screens will again show a pair of matches, with the bronze-medal game set for noon and the USports national championship final set for 3 p.m. Harvest Hall can accommodate up to 500 fans, and will offer food and drink for purchase. On Saturday and Sunday, Harvest Hall will also feature a modified Prize Patrol for fans, as well as a kids table. Entry to all livestreamed viewing parties will be free. Those who can’t make the viewing parties can also stream all championship games from USports.live for a small fee.

Yesterday concluded the final weekend of play for 2018/19 in the Brandon Senior Men's Basketball League. Each of the leagues four teams played an eleven game regular reason schedule, followed by two weeks of playoff action. Bronze Medal Game: Extreme Clean 96 vs Vern's Pizza 77 Championship Final: Royal LePage 86 vs Beezkneez 79 Beezkneez had won the title in the previous two seasons. Top Scorers Sunday, March 10 Mada Philly 28 Points 10 Rebounds 2 Steals 1 block Jorel Eitmontas 28 Points 10 Rebounds 3 Steals 2 Blocks Earl Ezzy Thompson Jr. 24 Points 5 Assists 2 Steals Trevor Winter 23 Points 4 Assists 20 Rebounds 1 Steal Eric Davis 19 Points 2 Assists 11 Rebounds 1 Steal 2 Blocks Kevin Phillip 18 Points 12 Assists 19 Rebounds Scott Matheson 17 Points 2 Assists 4 rebounds Adam James 17 Points 6 Assists 8 Rebounds Graeme Matheson 16 Points 3 Assists 8 Rebounds

The Brandon Ringette Association achieved a new milestone on Saturday as the U12 Brandon Blizzards became the first BRA team to win a Winnipeg Ringette League championship. The U14 Blizzards were also medal winners in the WRL playoffs, earning bronze on Friday. The U12 Blizzards capped a perfect record in the playoffs by defeating the Selkirk Stingers 10-4 in the A4 division final. Brandon goalie Lauren Leslie held off an early push by the Stingers, and the Blizzards built momentum by scoring five times in the final 8:13 of the first period. Ainsley Speirs and Gracie Blatherwick both scored three times for the Blizzards. Bella Penner added two goals for Brandon, with Jordan Will and Caitlyn Erickson scoring one goal apiece. On Friday, Brandon finished third among the 12 teams in the U14B division, falling 9-5 to the Steinbach Panthers in the semifinal game. Yelana Jaffray scored twice for the Blizzards, with Lauren Hallson, Alyssa Newitt and Erin Remillard adding singles. This is the third season that BRA teams have played in the WRL and the second year that Brandon teams have taken part in the playoffs. The U14 and the U16 Blizzards, who narrowly missed out on a medal by finishing fourth in the WRL playoffs, are now preparing for the Ringette Manitoba provincials this week in Winnipeg. (Submitted Story)

Source: BU Bobcats BRANDON, Man. – The No. 1 Brandon Bobcats capped a remarkable season with the program's second Canada West conference title and first on home court in front of a capacity crowd, beating the defending No. 2 Trinity Western Spartans 3-2 (25-23, 18-25, 25-21, 22-25, 15-12) on Friday night. The Bobcats and Spartans lived up to the hype and provided a match for the ages in front of 1,800 fans that were lively from the first serve. The energy in the Brandon University Healthy Living Centre was electric and both coaches noted how it played a role in the match. "That was a pretty special night. Being able to host that match here in our home gym for the first time and to have the fan support that we had, that's a once in a lifetime experience. I'm just real proud of my guys," said Bobcats coach Grant Wilson. "Brandon was just a couple points better than us and maybe that was the crowd," said Spartans coach Ben Josephson. "Incredible support by the Bobcat Nation tonight and the fans were awesome. They were classy, they were excited, I mean that's what university sport is supposed to be about. They supported their team and their team fed off it and they ended up getting the victory." The two hour and nine minute match had the feel of a championship fight from the first touch. Trinity Western had the Bobcats under pressure with their serve but Bandon on had an answer on serve receive late in the set, playing dynamic defence which set up a .320 attack efficiency despite registering less kills that the Spartans. Brandon fell to an early 7-1 deficit in the second and couldn't find an answer as Trinity hit .407 in the frame and put up 17 kills to the Bobcats' .000 clip and just six kills. The two teams traded the third and fourth sets making a fifth set for the ages. Neither team backed down as the two teams were locked up 11-11 until Brandon ended the match on a 4-1 run. Brandon was led by hometown fourth-year outside Seth Friesen's 16 kills while conference Rookie of the Year Robin Baghdadyfinished with 15 kills and Canada West Player of the Year Elliott Viles had 13 kills. Playing in their final match at home, fifth-year co-captains Brady Nault and James Weir had nights to remember as Nault had a match-high 11 digs and Weir had a match-high five blocks. Steinbach, Man. product and Spartans' first-team all-star Eric Loeppky looked comfortable playing in his home province as he led all scorers with 24 kills. Loeppky was one of three Spartans to finish in double-figure kills, as Jacob Kern finished with 18 and Jackson Howe had 11 on just 14 swings. Derek Epp finished with a match-high 59 assists while libero and Manitoban Carter Bergen had seven digs in what will be his final match in his home province. The two teams switch focuses as both begin preparations to head to the U SPORTS national championship tournament next weekend. Université Laval hosts nationals March 15-17 in Quebec City.

This past weekend, March 1-3, Hockey Manitoba held the Peewee Rural A2 Provincials in Steinbach, MB.  This years champs are Brandon's own, Guild Insurance Penguins! In the round robin the Penguins won 5-2 vs Springfield, 2-1 vs Morden, and 9-0 vs MacDonald before defeating Niverville 8-1 in the the semi finals to advance to the final against Winkler.  The Penguins came out strong in the championship game, jumping out to a lead before shutting the door and relying on some great goaltending to earn the shutout and the championship with a 3-0 win. The Brandon Guild Insurance Penguins are: #5 Sage Hall-Vermette, #6 Ashton Hamm, #7 Ruben Janse Van Rensburge, #8 Dante Lenardon, #9 Myles Scramstad, #10 Ulrich Moller, #11 Zos Giordani-Gross, #12 Rylan Dean, #14 Landon Dreolini, #16 Cole Ericson, #17 Tyler Rogers, #19 Brock Eastman, #20 Hunter Andronick and #30 Micky Giordani-Gross.  Coaches: Jason Hamm, Devin Scramstad and Derek Gross. Story Submitted