The Brandon Sun and the Victoria Inn present the return of International Softball to Brandon. The New Zealand Jr. Men’s team will play against the La Salle Bullets at Simplot Millennium Park on Tuesday, June 20th (7:00 p.m.). New Zealand is on a tour of Saskatchewan and Manitoba next month, a tour which also includes their participation in a tournament put on by Softball Manitoba in Portage on Father’s Day weekend. The tour is part of the preparation process for New Zealand in advance of the 2018 WBSC Jr. Men’s Championship in Prince Albert in July of 2018. New Zealand is currently #1 in the WBSC Men’s rankings, and their Jr. Men’s team claimed the silver medal at the Junior Men’s World Softball Championship last summer in Midland, Michigan. New Zealand’s opponent for the night is the La Salle Bullets, whose roster includes former Canadian National team member Brady Woods. The Bullets play out of the Winnipeg Men’s Fastball League, and will be representing Manitoba at the Softball Canada Men’s Championship in Saskatoon later this year. In addition to The Brandon Sun and Victoria Inn, the event is being put on by the Westman Softball Association, Brandon Minor Baseball Association and the Westman Softball Umpires’ Association. This is the first international softball event to be held in Brandon since Canada and the USA played at Curran Park in advance of the 1999 Pan-Am Games in Winnipeg. The game on June 20th will be the first of four major softball events to be held in Brandon in 2017. The Softball Manitoba U14 ‘A’ Girls’ Championship will be put on by the WSUA from July 21-23 at Simplot Park, the U16 Western Canadian Softball Championship will be held at the Ashley Neufeld Softball Complex from August 10-13 and Dickinson State Blue Hawks are scheduled to be in Brandon for the grand opening of the ANSC in September.

Foxx McColl registered a hat trick, and picked up an assist, to lead the 2005 Wolfpack to a 7-5 victory over the Crusaders in the 2005 final. Van Eger chipped in with 2 goals, while Jye Zawatsky and Carter McKay each picked up singles. Parker Dunn replied with 4 points (1g, 3a) for the Crusaders in the loss. Blaze Gutzke also picked up 3 points (1g, 2a) in a losing effort. The Wolfpack went undefeated over the weekend, winning all 5 of their games. The MB Bruins captured gold in the 2004 division after outscoring the Crusaders Gold 6-3 in an afternoon tilt. Stephen Arp, of the Bruins, lead all scorers with 4 (3g, 1a) points in the tournament final. Singles came off the sticks of Nolan Roberts, Carter Anderson, and Zane Dyck. The Crusaders received goals from Dawson Karol, Colton Leahy, and Declan Cosford. Nathan Braun stopped 25, of the 28 shots, he faced in picking up the win for the Bruins. In earlier tournament action, the Crusaders outlasted the Bruins 7-6, handing them their only loss of the tournament. Josh Thomson sniped twice to lead his Mallard Stars teammates to a 4-1 victory over the Sask. Nationals in 2003 action. Ryder Thompson, and Brayden Broome with an empty netter, notched singles for the Stars, who went a perfect 5-0 over the 3-days. The Stars were dominant in outscoring their opponents 28-12 over that period. Thomas Bartlett was the lone National to dent the twine and beat Stars goalie Keaton Ziprick. Earlier in the day the Nationals pounded the Norther Rage 6-1 to advance to the tournament final.

After playing in the Latino Soccer League in Brandon for several years, Brandon’s Joel Snyder felt he could build a better mousetrap. Snyder felt playing men’s soccer on a field that was meant for kids was not acceptable. “The league was run by a dictator basically, and we are a non profit board of 8 members including myself” quoted Snyder. Some of the bigger changes for this year include: Playing each game on actual regulation adult fields Updated player stats and standings Trophies and Cash Prizes courtesy of Peak Performance MVP of the Month Award from Pizza Express Snyder also thinks some of the good young players could get CIS scholarships, and maybe even NCAA teams could come to Brandon one day. Currently there are 7 teams in the league: C.D. Honduras Cinco Estrellas Double Decker F.C. F.C. Sporting Internazionale Inspire F.C. Minnedosa Triumph Royals F.C. Locally Brandon Youth Soccer will have 950 players this summer, which is about 200 players more than Hockey Brandon, to provide an example of the size of the sport at a local level. One of the major reasons of course would be cost to play either sport. One day Joel would like to see the league have their own field, perhaps using the grounds by the Riverbank Discovery Centre. But, that is a process to be dealt with through the City of Brandon. “ Bryce Wilson at the City has been great to deal with….. we just need the land and we can do the rest” Keep track of the league by clicking on this link. http://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=brandonmenssoccerleague

Some of the best female hockey players in the province converged on Brandon this weekend for week 2 of the Source for Sports AAA Summer Challenge. In total 17 teams participated, in three different age divisions, held over 3-days. Over in the U10 girls final, the Girls of the North survived a late scare to defeat the Grrrowl Thunder 4-3. The Grrrowl carried a 2-1 lead into the second period before The Girls of the North erupted for 3 early third period goals. Jordyn Cooper, of the Grrrowl, scored with 13 ticks left on the clock , to narrow the gap to one, but time eventually ran out on any further comeback hopes. Makenna Williment paced the Girls of the North with 4 pts (2g,2a), while shifty Maddie Kaser chipped in with 3 pts (1g, 2a). Devyn Laba paced the The Jr. Wildcats with 2 goals, as they shutout the Southwest Blades 5-0, in the U12 final. Kasey Fouillard, Brooklyn Hramalak, and Abby McKinnon also tallied singles for the Wildcats, while Levi Derkatch & Alyssa Mattews each picked up 2 helpers. Sidney McMullan made 12 stops to earn the shutout. Earlier in the week the two teams had battled to a 3-3 draw. In the U14 final at Westman Place, Mckiya Mazur netted 2 goals, as The West toppled The SK Grrrowl 3-0. Jersey Sexton also bulged the twine for The West, who had lost to the Grrrowl 4-2 in earlier tournament action. The West followed up their opening game loss by rattling off 4 straight wins to capture the title. Geneva Penner stood tall between the pipes stopping all 21 shots she faced.

The Western Hockey Leagues Bantam Draft goes this Thursday in Calgary, with the Brandon Wheat Kings holding down the 8th overall pick. Things have been relatively quiet since the Wheat Kings were eliminated back on March the 30th, so we here at bdnmb.ca thought we would try to provide a little insight into who the Wheat Kings might target with their 1st round pick. Topping the list would have to be Winnipeg's Seth Jarvis, a 5'8”, 148 lb forward who played this season for the Rink Hockey Academy out of Winnipeg. Seth put up 66 points in 30 games, including 42 goals. He is ranked as the 5th rated prospect heading into Thursdays draft by Western Elite Hockey Prospects. Their latest newsletter suggests Seth may drop some from his top 5 ranking due to not yet having committed to the WHL, citing the Wheat King organization as having the ability to get him to select the WHL route. Seth Jarvis – Rink Hockey Academy - Elite offensive abilities, elite skill, elite competitiveness, understands the game exceptionally well and is a competitor. Seth is a student of the game who really listens to input and is constantly learning and incorporating new things in to his game. Seth could use his team-mates more and work on his play away from the puck.   Local product Daemon Hunt also has to be high on the Wheaties wish list. An offensive defensemen he registered 60 points in 38 games for the Brandon Wheat Kings, of the Winnipeg AAA Bantam Hockey League. He has been described as being both very big (6'0”, 190 lbs) and very steady. Ranked 13th overall by Western Elite Hockey Prospects, many wouldn't be surprised if the Wheat Kings jumped at the chance to land another local skater. Daemon Hunt – Brandon Wheat Kings – WPG AAA - Daemon is a big defensemen who is very patient and steady. Very solid defensively and can contribute offensively. Had a fantastic year playing in the Winnipeg AAA league by far leading all defensemen in scoring and finishing near the top overall in scoring. The thought is Brandon may select Daemon within the top 10 picks. One of the top offensive defensemen available. Other candidates for consideration in the first round could include: Joel Sexsmith, a defensemen from Edmonton, who was teammates with Seth Jarvis at the Rink Hockey Academy this season. Kyle Crnkovic, a high scoring (79 pts, 30 gms) forward out of the Pursuit of Excellence in British Columbia. Jake Neighbours, another gifted offensive forward (68pts, 30 gms) out of the Pursuit of Excellence program in BC. Manitoban's to watch in later rounds include: Ty Thorpe, forward, Brandon Jakob Brook, forward, Roblin Evan Herman, forward, Oakville, Carter Loney, forward, Winnipeg Nolan Ritchie, forward, Brandon, Landon Roberts, forward, Southwest Cougars Reese Richmond, defensemen, Forrest Bray Rookes, defensemen, Elkhorn Previous First Round Selections 2016 – D – Braden Schneider – 12th overall 2015 - F - Caiden Daley - 22nd overall 2014 – F – Stelio Mattheos – 1st overall 2013 – F – Nolan Patrick – 4th overall 2012 – F – Brayon Shmyr – 12th overall Previous 11 Bantam Drafts Average Selection – 12th overall Highest Selection – 1st in 2014 -Stelio Mattheos 8 forwards, 4 defence, 1 goalie BC – 1, AB – 5, SK – 4, MB – 4 Players eligible for the 2017 WHL Bantam Draft will be 2002 born players who reside in Alberta, BC, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, Yukon, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.