The Olde English Road Hockey League (OERHL) welcomed its newest team Saturday, January 9, with the announcement that the Brookwood Bombers will join the league for the 2021 season. The Bombers, owned by Mason Kaspick, are looking forward to their inaugural season in the competitive OERHL. "We're extremely excited to be a part of the OERHL. When I heard about the possibility of expansion, I knew after my short stint in the league last season I needed to bring my younger core of guys into the league," said an ecstatic Kaspick. "Just having Brookwood in the OERHL expands our footprint in Brandon and grows our game in so many ways,” Linden Lanes Knuckles owner Cole McCaig tells bdnmb.ca. “This is a monumental step for the OERHL.” "We believe Brookwood's close proximity to our other teams combined with a new world class facility, ideally suited for the OERHL, will capture the interest of sports fans in Brookwood," added McCaig. The Bombers will be the league's fourth team, joining the Linden Lanes Knuckles, Green Acres Grimace, and the East Side Kings. Team colors and full roster are expected to be announced in the weeks leading up to the start of the season.

Calgary, Alta. – The Western Hockey League announced today the WHL Board of Governors have made a commitment to play a WHL 2020-21 Regular Season. The start date for the season will be determined once final approval has been received from the Health Authorities in each provincial and state jurisdiction and it is anticipated the approvals will be received soon. All models and schedule formats are being considered by the WHL to ensure a WHL season is provided for the players. The 2020-21 WHL Regular Season will consist of 24 games. “The Western Hockey League is committed to providing a season for WHL players,” commented WHL Commissioner Ron Robison. “This commitment ensures WHL players will receive the opportunity to compete at the highest level in the system and continue to pursue their hockey goals in the world’s finest development league for junior hockey players.” (WHL News Release)

Brandon, MB – The City of Brandon’s Parks & Recreation Services is pleased to announce that Brandon’s outdoor skating oval located immediately west of the Parks Complex on McGregor Avenue will open for the season as of 4 p.m. today, Friday, January 8, 2021. Hours of operation at the oval will be 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. through the course of the winter season, weather permitting.  As there are still some fringe areas of the oval under development, please use the oval at your own risk and with extreme caution.  All users are asked to respect the signage and barricades which remain in place at this time.    Benches will be provided for skate changing, fire pits and firewood will be coming within the next few days to cook on or warm up around.  There will be no warming shacks or portable washroom facilities as per Public Health orders.  In addition, the Manitoba Hydro Waterfall of Lights is also lit until 11 p.m. each evening so the public can skate around the oval and take in the brilliant, festive displays.  The public should note that while use of the skating oval is FREE, it is unsupervised, with no sticks, pucks or pets allowed on the ice surface. The public is encouraged to park in designated areas on McGregor Avenue or Hilton Avenue, as NO public vehicles are allowed in the direct area of the Manitoba Hydro Waterfall of Lights display or the skating oval. The public is also asked to enjoy all lighting displays at a safe distance and not to walk in areas where power cords are directly present.  The City of Brandon stresses that anyone using this space must follow the Manitoba Public Health Orders, which can be found at manitoba.ca/covid19/restartmb/prs.  Persons must maintain a separation of at least two metres from each other, unless they reside in the same residence.  Persons must not engage in recreational activities as part of a group of more than five persons, unless all persons in the group reside in the same residence.  The re-opened status of these facilities will be monitored and re-evaluated if maintaining public safety becomes problematic.  (City of Brandon PSA)

Robins inks deal with San Jose, Brandon's Tristen Robins has signed his three-year ELC with the the San Jose Sharks. Robins had 33 goals, 40 assists last season in 62 games with the Saskatoon Blades. He was selected 56th overall (second round) in the 2020 NHL Draft Tristen Robins SJ #Sharks 2020 56th overall selection3 year Entry-Level Contract$859,167 cap hit$925,000 AAV$80k minors$10.5k junior salary in years 1 and 2https://t.co/HPCHdKlkaI— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) December 31, 2020 Whiskey Jacks sign Manitoban The Wheat City Whiskey Jacks continue to fill out their roster for the upcoming season, signing Winnipeg's Nathan Fulcher. Fulcher, 6'3 195 lb, is a right handed pitcher who attends the University of Lethbridge. He joins Jordan Peck (Winnipeg, Will Hlady (Dauphin) and Arlen Peters (Schanzenfeld) as other Manitonans signed for the 2021 season.

Brandonites are eager to get outdoors and stay active in this mild weather but the shortage of available ice rinks in the City has left people scrambling. While the City run skating oval is not officially open, dozens of skaters are beyond the barricade each day and night, navigating the cracked and rough ice. The uneven surface, with exposed rocks and bubbles is not ideal for pleasure skating. The area itself, however, is a very popular attraction thanks to the beautiful holiday light display hosted by Manitoba Hydro each year.  Some Community Centres including Valleyview (on Whillier Drive) did recently open for public skating and are quite busy. Warm up shacks and washroom facilities are not open due to Covid-19 restrictions. Others centres, like Green Acres, have not yet opened. Posted today on the Green Acres Community Centre Facebook page was an update on the delay citing recent vandalism and equipment breakdown as the reasons for not yet being open to the public.  With few alternatives for public skating, and all indoor hockey leagues on pause, homeowners have turned to building backyard rinks for their own personal use.  Local builder, Rona, and the Brandon Wheat Kings have co-hosted and sponsored a contest for backyard rinks. Dozens of entries can be seen on their social media pages. The contest hashtag is #ronarink.  The local East Side Mario’s franchise is also hosting a backyard rink contest. Entries can be submitted to their Facebook page by December 31st.