The South Eastern Manitoba Hockey League's 73rd season begins tonight in Carman as the Beavers host the Morden Bombers. The league will operate with 10 teams again this season. The Springfield Winterhawks have joined Carman, Morden, the Winkler Royals, Notre Dame Hawks, Portage Islanders, Warren Mercs, Red River Wild, Ile des Chenes Northstars and defending champion Ste. Anne Aces. The Altona Maroons, who had a team in the SEMHL since the inaugural season in 1951, have taken a one-year leave of absence.
The Winnipeg Jets have extended their franchise record season opening win streak to seven games. Nikolaj Ehlers scored 1:26 into overtime to lift Winnipeg past the Seattle Kraken 4-3. Nino Niederreiter had a pair of goals in regulation for the Jets while the other went to Gabriel Vilardi. Connor Hellebuyck made 29 saves. Winnipeg is the sixth Canadian team in NHL history to record a season-opening winning streak of at least seven games, joining the 1993-94 Toronto Maple Leafs (10 games), 2015-16 Montreal Canadiens (nine), 1934-35 Maple Leafs (eight), 1983-84 Edmonton Oilers (seven) and 1985-86 Quebec Nordiques (seven). The Jets wrap up their three-game road trip Saturday night when they meet the Flames in Calgary.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have added American defensive back Nick Taylor and American linebacker Cam Bright to the practice roster. The Bombers (10-7) play their regular season finale Saturday afternoon against the Alouettes in Montreal. Winnipeg will clinch first place and a bye to the West Division final with a win over the Alouettes. The defending Grey Cup champions have already clinched top spot in the East Division.
The Canadian men's soccer team is up three positions to number 35 in the latest FIFA world rankings. Canada beat Panama 2-1 earlier this month in Toronto. Canada was ranked 49th in the world when Jesse Marsch took over as coach in mid-May.