Local Sports

The Blackfalds Bulldogs opened up their 2024/25 BCHL campaign with a pre-season loss.

The Bulldogs fell 5-2 at home Tuesday night to the Okotoks Oilers.

Blackfalds found themselves down 3-0 early in the second before Porter Byrd-Leitner got the Bulldogs on the board at 2:52 to cut the lead to 3-1.

Ben Rakowski would cut the lead to 3-2 at the 8:33 mark of the second.

That would be all the scoring for the Bulldogs as Okotoks would add two more in the third including an empty netter.

Portage is gearing up for an exciting new season of the Special Olympics program, set to begin this fall. The program will resume its activities starting Monday, September 23, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the École Arthur Meighen gym.

Deanna Talbot, the head coach of the Portage Special Olympics program, is excited about the upcoming season. 

"We're looking for athletes of all ages, so any children or adults who want to get involved in the program, regardless of their abilities, are welcome."

The Richardson Pioneer Weyburn Red Wings opened the scoring just 2:22 into the first period last night against the visiting Notre Dame Hounds and never looked back. The Wings, thanks to a hat trick from Keenan Ingram, would put the Hounds in the dog house with a 9-0 preseason win.  

The Manitoba Junior Baseball League's 2024 season is in the books. MJBL president Mike Garlinski will join Clayton Dreger on Sportsbeat which airs Wednesdays at 5:15 p.m. on CJRB Radio 1220.

The Elecs endured a challenging start to their season, falling 92-6 in their home opener against the Greenall Griffins on Saturday.

Head coach Chris Bayerle acknowledged the result was far from what the team had hoped for but emphasized the need to push forward.

"Greenall came in strong from a higher division, and we really fell short," Bayerle said.

Despite the lopsided score, there were moments of promise. The team made gains in yardage, an improvement from previous seasons.

There are a lot of new faces around the dressing room this year, as the football season gets underway for the Lacombe Composite High School Rams who play in the Central Alberta High School Football League.

The Rams lost their opening tilt of the season 20-0 last Thursday against Thurber.

Head Coach Garner Kolybaba says on a roster of 49 players, about 28 of them are new to the team, either new to football or graduated from the Bantam Raiders.

The Manitoba Junior Baseball League's 2024 season is in the books. MJBL president Mike Garlinski will join Clayton Dreger on Sportsbeat which airs Wednesdays at 5:15 p.m. on CFAM Radio 950.

Four members of the Moose Jaw Warriors will be heading to NHL training camps this week, including Brayden Yager with the Winnipeg Jets, Kalem Parker with the Minnesota Wild, Vojtech Port with the Anaheim Ducks, and Rilen Kovacevic with the Colorado Avalanche. 

The rest of the team continues to prepare for their preseason matchup against the Broncos, Friday in Swift Current. The Warriors will host the Broncos Saturday night at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

The Virden Oil Capitals scored six second period goals en route to an 8-4 victory over the Portage Terriers at Stride Place. Campbell Epp and Marshall Light had two goals each for the Oil Capitals while singles went to Maddox Shindle, Ty Plaisier, Jack Ross and Carter Polanski. Brett Sabel chipped in with three assists. Austin Kindrat and Gavin Renwick combined to make 24 saves. Virden will face the Dauphin Kings at Credit Union Place on Saturday and then play its final pre-season game Sunday at home against the Terriers.

The Board of Directors of the Golf Manitoba Scholarship Fund has announced that Matthew Penner is the recipient of the 2024 Craig Yahiro Memorial Scholarship Award. Penner has worked the last three seasons at Quarry Oaks on the grounds crew and inside the pro shop. He is active in junior golf competing on the Maple Leaf Junior Tour, Quarry Oaks Club Championship, Manitoba High School Championships and the Junior Boys Championship presented by the Alex & Peggy Colonello Foundation. Penner is enrolled at Red River Polytechnic taking Business, Accounting & Management.