The Brandon 13u Marlins baseball team received Baseball Manitoba's award for High Performance Team of the Year (minor) at an awards banquet last night in Winnipeg.  Coached by Dave Martine, the team finished first in the Winnipeg league with a 18-2 record prior to going 3-0 in the provincial qualifier and 5-1 at provincials.  They closed out the season by going 3-3 to finish 4th at AAA Westerns.  Martine also received an award as the High Performance Coach of the Year.

The 2018/19 Tiger Hills Hockey League season got underway with games starting on October 19.   Thirteen teams have returned to the league including the defending league champion Gladstone Lakers.  Gladstone upset the Killarney Shamrocks in last season's finals.   The Shamrocks had been a 2-time defending league champion (15/16 & 16/17) prior to last season.  Brandon Switzer, a highly sought after free agent, joined Killarney this season.  Looking to keep pace the Boissevain Border Kings added several new players for 18/19 including former Brandon Wheat King Darren Bestland and former Prince Albert Raider Devon LeBlanc. Other notable newcomers to the league looking to make an impact include Matt Greening (Deloraine), Graehme Hore (Wawanesa), Shayne Wiebe (Neepawa), Maverick Rafter (MacGregor) and Montana Tanner (Wawanesa).

For the second straight year Bobcats men's soccer coach Jesse Roziere is being recognized for his outstanding efforts being named MCAC coach of the year. The 27 year-old Brandon product is in his third season at the helm of the Bobcats and has made steady improvements in each season, this year culminating in a near-perfect 9-0-1 record and the #1 seed entering this weekend's Final Four championship. "Jesse is very deserving of this recognition. He is a dedicated coach who been patient with the process while following his plan to develop the soccer program he's created," says BU Athletic Director Russ Paddock. "The team's success is a result of Jesse's ability to improve individual skills as well as the team buying in to the system he has established," Paddock adds. In conjunction with his coaching duties, one of Roziere's goals has been to grow soccer in Brandon and the Westman region. In his role as Technical Director of the Westman Regional Soccer Association, Roziere has held a series of clinics that connects Bobcat soccer players with youth soccer players in the region. Roziere and the Bobcats take on #4 seed St. Boniface in a rematch of last March's Futsal Final. Game time is 2:15 pm at Winnipeg's Ralph Cantafio Soccer Complex. Sunday's championship final is set for 3:30 pm in Winnipeg and can be seen live on the MCAC Facebook page.

Submitted Story The Brandon Blizzard U16 ringette team won silver at the BRVRA Preseason Tournament in Winnipeg this past weekend. Brandon went 3-0 in the round robin. Brandon started the tournament with an 11-3 win over the Selkirk Stingers. Jasmine Horwood scored four times, with Jordyn Rolling and Reese Burke contributing two each. In the second game of the tournament, Brandon defeated BVRA Blaze- Henderson 11-5. Carly O’Rourke scored four and Jordyn Rolling and Jasmine Horwood each had a five point game.  In the final round robin game Emily Robb made 30 saves in a 7-1 win against BVRA - Billington. Jordyn Rolling and Jasmine Horwood each netted a hat trick. In a fast tournament final, Brandon fell behind 4-1 ,but made a strong bid for a comeback before falling 5-4. Emily Robb stopped 31 shots. Jasmine Horwood netted the hat trick and Emma Zalluski pitched in with the single. Brandon’s regular season in the Winnipeg Ringette League starts this coming weekend with a doubleheader, facing BVRA and then Lorette Royal Rage

You can feel the excitement level rising in Manitoba as the clock ticks down to the opening rocks of the 2019 Tim Hortons Brier in Brandon. Westoba Place in Brandon will play host to the Canadian Men’s Curling Championship March 2-10, and tickets are selling quickly since the launch of full-event packages. But as of Thursday at 10 a.m. CT, curling fans will have more options available to watch Canada’s best men’s curling teams play for the Tim Hortons Brier Tankard and the right to represent Canada at the 2019 World Men’s Championship in Lethbridge Alta. They’ll also see Brad Gushue’s St. John’s team don Team Canada colours in pursuit of a record-tying third straight Tim Hortons Brier victory; only Edmonton’s Randy Ferbey team has pulled off that feat, from 2001 through 2003. Here’s a look at the latest ticket offers: • Championship Weekend Mini Package ($229): Final six draws plus tiebreaker draw, if necessary. (Friday, March 8-Sunday, March 10). • Opening Weekend Mini Package ($119): First five draws on opening Saturday and Sunday • Day Packages: ⁃ Three-Draw Single-Day Packages, Monday to Wednesday: $69 ⁃ Thursday Single-Day Package, two draws plus tiebreaker (if nec.): $59 Full-event packages still available at $519 apiece; selected single-draw tickets will be available Nov. 22, wile the remainder of the single-draw tickets, subject to availability, will go on sale on Jan. 17. All ticket packages are subject to standard facility and ticket service fees, and are available at the Westoba Place Box Office, online at curling.ca/tickets or by calling 204-726-3555. With the 16-team, two-pool competition format being used for the second year, the Manitoba champions’ round-robin schedule is now set for the first few days of the 2019 Tim Hortons Brier. Once the preliminary round is complete and the top four teams from each pool move into the Championship Pool, the remainder of the schedule will be set. For now, we know Manitoba will play in the opening draw on Saturday, March 2, and also will be featured in Draws 3 and 5 (both on Sunday), 7 (on Monday), 9 and 11 (both on Tuesday) and 13 (on Wednesday). In addition to being a part of the world’s most famous curling competition inside Westoba Place, you’ll also be a part of the world’s most famous curling party, the Patch — just a short covered walk away from the arena at the adjacent Manitoba Room at the Keystone Centre, where you can check out live music, have a meal and mingle with players and fellow fans from all over Canada. Keep checking www.curling.ca/2019brier for all event updates, including volunteer signup, new ticket offers, team announcements and the event schedule when it is set. Those wishing to volunteer can register at www.curling.ca/volunteer to stay up to date on volunteer opportunities. TSN/RDS2 will provide complete coverage of every draw at the 2019 Tim Hortons Brier.