The final Female Bantam AAA Showcase of the year wrapped up with the Westman Wildcats claiming the title as the Larocque Divisional Champions.  The Wildcats finished the weekend with a 4-1 record.  Other divisional champs included: Central Plains Capitals (Botterill)  Interlake Lightning (Small). Wildcats 3 - St. Vital Victorias 1: Shootout goals by Hayley Kolosky and Aly Samels helped the Wildcats to their first victory of the weekend. Brynn Tosh and Paige Kozak scored in regulation for the Wildcats while Grace Glover picked up the win in net. Wildcats 0 - Interlake Lightning 2: Despite peppering the Lightning goalie with 36 shots, the Wildcats dropped a narrow 2-0 decision in suffering their only loss of the weekend. Wildcats 5 - Parkland Rangers 1: The Wildcats rebounded with a decisive 5-1 win in their third game of the weekend. Hayley Kolosly dented the twice twice while Sophia Anderson, Brynn Tosh and McKenna Beard chipped in with single markers. Wildcats 7 - Winnipeg Titans 0:  Game four saw goalie Sidney McMullan stop all 16 shots she faced on her way to recording the shutout.  Aly Samuels scored twice for the Wildcats while Brooklyn Franklin, Jaeda Clayton, Brynn Tosh, Emma Ramsey and Emily Planetta each scored once. Wildcats 5 - Assiniboine Park Rangers 3: The Wildcats ended the weekend by toppling the Rangers 5-3.  They received goals from five different players: Emma Ramsey, Paige Kozak, Aly Samels, Shae Murray & Emily Planetta.

The second and final weekend of the 50th annual Brandon A&W Tournament of Champions concluded today with bragging rights being decided in three different divisions.  Thirty-six teams competed over the weekend including teams from Minot, Winnipeg. Steinbach, Estevan, Regina and more. The Moose Jaw Warriors had an easy time of it in the Atom A final with a lopsided 10-2 victory over the Souris Elks. Carter Hudyma had a big game for Moose Jaw tallying 5 goals and adding an assist. Brodyn Pladson added 3 goals for Moose Jaw. Ivy Perkin and Slater Anderson each resisted a goal and an assist in a losing cause for Souris. The days second championship final saw the Brandon AA Wheat Kings score a narrow 6-5 decision over the APHA Winter Hawks Tuxedo to claim the Atom AA Division. Daylan Duncalfe and Jonah Lemoine each dented the twine twice for the hometown Wheat Kings. Cole Dupuis chipped in with a goal and two assists in securing the win. David Sudoski and Adrian Braun each pick up 3 points (1g, 2a) for the Winter Hawks. Nicholas Cullen and Ashton Cuvelier had two goals and two assists each to pace the Killarney/Boissevsin Stars to a convincing 6-0 win over the McCreary Mustangs. McCreary was the defending Bantam A champions. Killarney/Boissevsin stormed through the division outscoring opponents 27 to 5 overall in the 4 games they played.

Grant Hamilton has been named as the first head coach of the Wheat City Whiskey Jacks.  Hamilton has previous assistant coaching experience with the Montana State University Billings Yellowjackets.  Last season he was an assistant coach with the Spearfish Sasquatch. Prior to coaching, Hamilton played for Butler Community College in El Dorado as well as stints in a summer collegiate league and the Northwoods League (NWL). The organization also announced that Dustin Kerns will be joining the team as an assistant coach.  Kerns is in his third season season as the hitting coach with the Wenatchee Valley Community College Knights in Wenatchee, Washington. Like Hamilton, Kerns spent several seasons playing baseball at the collegiate level. The Wheat City Whiskey Jacks begin their inaugural season in the Expedition League on May 24, 2019.

The Norway House Bruins, Ste. Anne Aces and the Southeast Prairie Thunder will be competing for the opportunity to represent Manitoba at this year's Allan Cup being held in Lacombe, Alberta.  Ste. Anne will play Norway House in a best of three series starting this Saturday.  Both teams feature a number of players with ties to the Westman region.  Former Wheat King Brenden Walker is a member of the Ste. Anne Aces as is former Neepawa Native defensemen Brennan Ritchie.  Steven Later and Rene Hunter are both listed on the roster of the Norway House Bruins. Sat Feb 16 6:30 PM Norway House at Ste-Anne Ste-Anne Arena Sun Feb 17 7:30 P.M. Ste-Anne vs Norway House at Sagkeegn Arena Fort Alexander Mon Feb 18 6:30 P.M. Norway House at Ste-Anne Ste-Anne Arena The winner of this series will advance to face the Southeast Prairie Thunder in another best of 3 series for the right to represent Manitoba.

The 2nd annual Micheal Ferland Hockey School will take place in Virden, MB at Tundra Oil and Gas Place. The camp (July 11-14, 2019) will be open to the following age groups: Novice, Atom, Peewee and Bantam. Last year's event proved to be very successful with each age group selling out. To register online for the Micheal Ferland hockey school please visit the website.  Some of last year's guest instructors included Ryan Pulock and Zack Whitecloud. The former Brandon Wheat Kings player player started a hockey school last year as he wanted to give back to the kids in Brandon and surrounding areas.  After playing several seasons with the NHL's Calgary Flames, he is now a member of the Carolina Hurricanes.