Exciting news as Virden's Bryn Chyzyk was named USHL GM of the Year.   Bryn, whom is only 30 years old, was a former Southwest Cougar, Dauphin King, Fargo Force, UND Fighting Sioux forward and then signed a two way contract in the AHL with Rockford. Chyzyk scoring for UND Fighting Sioux ( now Fighting Hawks ) Grand Forks Herald ( photo credit () Chyzyk's Waterloo Black Hawks won 40 games this year a huge step up from only 28 the previous season. More details from The Rink Live in Fargo North Dakota. https://www.therinklive.com/junior-and-prospects/ushl/waterloos-bryn-chyzyk-named-ushl-general-manager-of-the-year The USHL is the top league in North America for providing opportunities for players interested in playing NCAA D1 or D3 hockey.

Week 2 of the 2023 AAA Hockey Challenge wrapped up in Brandon over the weekend. Twenty Eight teams took to the ice, competing in three different age groupings. Of note, all three championship games on Sunday were decided by one goal. 2008-09 Championship Following an overtime period, the 2008-09 final required a shootout to settle the game. The Jawbreakers (pictured above) ended coming out on top, scoring a 7-6 win over the Cougars. Luka Gosselin held the hot hand for the Jawbreakers racking up 3 goals and 1 assist in the championship tilt. Crosby Harrison, Ryan Cox, and Jaxon Green also scored for the Jawbreakers. Kai Kriekle, Carson Park, Blake Haygarth, Chase Lekivetz, Rhett Weichel, and Burke Regehr replied with goals for the Cougars. 2010 Championship The Dakota Warriors Blue squad eked out a narrow 7-6 victory over the Wheatlead Wild in overtime to claim the 2010 title. Beau Raschke scored at the 4:37 mark in the overtime frame to secure the win. The Warriors were led offensively by Eason Eggert (3g,2a), Landin Slind (2g), and Reese Frykman (4a).  Liam Vancaeseele (3g), Merrick Wilhelm (2g), and Mason Schmidt (1) tallied goals in the loss for the Wild. 2011 Championship Nixon Gaudet scored his 4th goal of the game in overtime to lead the Southeast Beast to a hard fought 6-5 win over the PV Heat in the 2011 title game. Gaudet racked up an impressive 17 goals and 5 assists in his 5-games played over the weekend. Also scoring for the the Beast were Liam Beaudeete and Reed Sherry, while Nikco Fontaine stopped 36 Heat shots. The Heat received 2 goals from Mattix Unrau and single markers from Gavin Gacutan and Shane Pethybridge.

For many young and upcoming athletes the process to playing any NCAA D1 sport is well a confusing and interesting process. Major NCAA schools look for 1 - Good students 2 - Excellent athletic skills 3 - Quality family background that will cause no issues Boissevain's Danika Nell has done what many seek and that is going to school at Boston University plus as an added bonus playing Softball for the Terriers. BDNMB had a chance today to fire some questions at her. BDNMB - How does the process work to play softball at the NCAA level Danika - So, my college recruitment process started a few years ago which is later than most American players. I was in ninth grade when I began playing for Nebraska Gold, a travel softball team that competes at a high level. With the team, I have travelled all over the states and had the opportunity to play against elite athletes that I will most likely face again at the collegiate level! One of my Team Manitoba teammates played for the travel team and mentioned my name to her coaches which resulted in a phone call and ultimately playing with them. Other than playing in front of coaches at tournaments in the states, I’ve had to be active on Twitter by posting videos of my skills and updates on my journey and performances. I would send emails to coaches on a regular basis to keep in touch with them up until September 1 of my Grade 11 year, which marked the day D1 coaches could finally actively recruit my graduating class. BDNMB - Did you get many offers? Danika - I was very fortunate to have various universities express their interest in me from that day on and kept an open mind throughout the process. Being from Canada disconnected me from the process to an extent as I wasn’t able to go to as many tournaments or attend as many college camps as my American teammates and opponents. When I received the amount of interest I did, I was thrilled, and took several months to get to know coaches and programs and figure out what was the best fit for me academically and athletically. In the end, I mainly narrowed it down to Boston University and University of California Santa Barbara. BDNMB - Why Boston? Danika - I was extremely surprised to receive the offer from Boston University as Coach Waters hadn’t seen me play in person and still hasn’t seen me play in person. She came across a video of me pitching on Twitter and continued onto my Sportrecruits page to watch more clips and game footage. We instantly connected during our first phone call and I’m very grateful to have the opportunity she has given me! BDNMB - Major in school? Danika - I plan on majoring in Health Sciences on Pre-Med track to eventually follow in my dad’s footsteps of pursuing a career in Medicine. It’s a long road ahead but I couldn’t be more excited! Good luck Danika and thank you for your time today.

Brandon softball player Zara Pople is about to head to Blue Springs, Kansas to participate in a 12A softball tournament at the end of the month. The 12 year old will be a member of the RSDA Manitoba Softball team, a squad consisting of twelve players including 5 from the Interlake, 4 from Winnipeg, one each from Eastman and McDonald Lasalle. Zara tried out in September for the Academy and was selected for the intermediate program and had 2 sessions a week (Friday and Saturday) since mid January in Winnipeg. In addition to the Academy, there were tryouts for the travel team and she was selected out of the 20 girls who wanted to travel for the travel team. This will be Zara's 4th year playing softball and she while she plays most positions her preference is first base and left field. She is looking forward to playing in the States and competing at a different level against players she doesn't know. The tournament will take place in Blue Springs, Kansas at the Hidden Valley softball complex from April 28th- 30th. A link to the tournament page can be found here.

Week 1 of the 2023 AAA Hockey Challenge concluded over the weekend with champions being crowned in 4 different age groups. Forty one teams participated including teams/players from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Alberta & North Dakota. Week 2 of the tournament goes April 27th - 30th and the schedule of games & teams participating can be found here. 2013 The Pembina Valley Heat received goals from Jory Harms and James Pritchard en route to upending the Brandon Ice Kings 2-0 in the 2013 final. Jude Friesen made 13 saves in net to pickup the win for the Heat who went undefeated (6-0) over the weekend. 2015 Jory Warrener registered a hat trick, in the 2015 final, as the Brandon Ice Kings toppled the River City Rebels 3-2. Brody Woodmass chipped in with 2 assists for the Ice Kings. Evan Okapiec replied with 2 goals for the Rebels, in a game played at the J&G Homes Arena. 2014 The WCHA Wolves receives goals from 6 different players in their 9-1 victory over the Dakota Warriors in the 2014 title game. Lucas Moncrief, Trey Warburton (2), Bentley Crowe, Yi Chen Liu (2), Carson Chartrand, and Easton Adams (2) all managed to find the back of the net Sunday afternoon. Isaac Emard was the lone goal scored for the Warriors. 2012 The MB Force picked up their 6th win of the weekend Sunday defeating the WCHA Wolves 6-1 to claim the 2012 title. Scoring for the Force were Holden Andrews (2), Carter Livingstone, Zach Mangin, Nathan Simon, & Jett Edwards. Oliver Marvin scored for the Wolves. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS FROM CHAMPIONSHIP SUNDAY (Photos by: Scramble Studio)