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.

The annual Sports For Youth registration event will take place at the Brandon Shoppers Mall on Saturday, March 2 and Sunday, March 3.  With over ten different organizations represented, the 2-day event serves as a perfect one-stop location for parents to register their children for spring sporting activities in Brandon. As an added bonus, those who complete a registration at the event will have an opportunity to win their registration fee free or a $100 Shoppers Mall gift card. Participating organizations include: Brandon Minor Baseball Brandon Youth Soccer Association Golf Brandon Kidsport-Westman Peak Performance & Athletics Phoenix Boarding Stables Prairie Breeze Stables Prairie Football League Westman Softball Association Westman Youth Basketball Westman Youth Football Association Event Dates: March 2, 2019 – 9:30 am to 5:00 pm March 3, 2019 – 11:00 am to 5:00 pm

Curtis DeMarce, also known as ‘The Comeback Kid', will square off against Kyle Prepolec for the BTC Super Lightweight Championship.  The fight was announced February 8th and takes place in Winsdor, Ontario on March 9th.  Prepolec (11-5) will be defending the belt for the first time having won the title June 23rd of last year.  DeMarce, with more than 30 professional fights to his credit, is looking forward to going into Prepolec's back yard and putting on a show.  "I’ve been brought in to fight the home town guy my whole career. I’m coming to Windsor and leaving the crowd in tears, the belt around my waist” said DeMarce.