The North Central Hockey League season officially gets underway tomorrow with three games on tap.  All nine teams will return to the league for 2018/19 including  the defending North Central Hockey League champion Grandview Comets.  Each team play a single home-and-home schedule against each of the other teams for a total of 16 games. Th Miniota-Elkhorn C-Hawks appear to have added some additional firepower to their lineup including Dustin Fisher, Bradley Bowles  and Taylor Sanheim.  Brad Cole, who played 3 seasons in the AHL and numerous seasons of pro hockey in Europe, is also listed on the roster of the C-Hawks. Other new faces looking to make an impact are Rylee Zimmer (Russell), Jordan McCausland (Shoal Lake), Derek LeBlanc (Virden), Corey Rae (Moosomin), Layne Anderson (Rivers) and Brock Nixon (Russell).

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