Blaine Weyland

The first month for goaltender Dazza Mitchell with the Humboldt Broncos has been a successful one and that was reaffirmed on Tuesday as he was named the Canterra Seeds Saskatchewan Player of the Month for the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League for the month of January.  

Mitchell was traded to the Broncos from the Weyburn Red Wings on January 3rd. Since joining the green and gold, the Regina product started in seven of the nine games Humboldt played in January. 

Hockey is truly a global sport and one player who’s gotten to experience that firsthand is former Humboldt resident Reid Gardiner.  

After a minor hockey career in Humboldt, Gardiner moved up the ranks, first in the U18 AAA league with the Saskatoon Contacts, then in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Prince Albert Raiders and the Kelowna Rockets.  

The SJHL weekly award winners had a Humboldt Broncos theme to them following their weekend sweep of the Battlefords North Stars.  

Humboldt won both games by a combined score of 15-5, and as expected, were recognized by the league for their efforts.  

Forward Jacob Strizzi was named the SGEU MVP of the Week. The last two games, Strizzi had 9 points (3G-6A), including a hat-trick in Friday’s 5-2 win in Battlefords.  

The Senior hockey league playoffs got underway this past weekend.  

Long Lake Hockey League

In the Long Lake Hockey League, the three first round matchups began with the road teams earning victories. 

The Lanigan Pirates beat the Wynyard Monarchs 5-1 on Saturday night. Lanigan will have the opportunity to sweep the best of three series at home on Saturday.  

Following a week-long break, the Humboldt Broncos are back in action tonight as they kick off a home-and-home set with the Battlefords North Stars. 

The Broncos hope the pause in their schedule doesn’t slow down their recent momentum after beginning January going winless in their first three games (0-2-1), Humboldt has rattled off a five-game point streak (4-0-1).   

As January comes to a close, the weather story of the month continues with blowing snow and cold temperatures in the area.  

A blowing snow advisory has been issued for the Humboldt area on Friday. 

Lead forecaster with Environment and Climate Change Canada Brad Vrolijk says conditions will deteriorate later today.  

As the community of Lanigan continues to growth, a new daycare facility will be constructed to aid their growth.  

During the recent Town Council meeting in Lanigan, the council passed a resolution to approve an agreement in principle with Lanigan Daycare Cooperative to construct a new daycare facility inside of Lanigan.  

The Wheatland Hockey League playoffs will get underway tonight.  

First-round matchups include the St.Brieux/Lake Lenore Rivals meeting the Kelvington Wheat Kings and the Jansen Jets taking on the Hudson Bay Hunters.  

St.Brieux/Lake Lenore finished in first place with 28 points (14-2) and will have home-ice advantage through the playoffs.  

With the regular season now finished in the Long Lake Hockey League, the first-round playoff matchups are settled.  

Third place of the standings went down to the wire, in the final regular season game, the Leroy Braves defeated the Wadena Wildcats 4-2. With the victory, the Braves leapfrogged both the Wildcats and the Drake Canucks to grab third place.  

The SJHL-MJHL Showcase wrapped up on Wednesday in Winnipeg.  

Following the first day of action with the three SJHL squads combining for a pair of wins and an overtime loss, the MJHL rebounded on the second day sweeping the three games including a shootout victory.  

The opening game of the day saw MJHL Black defeat the SJHL Gold 5-1 in a U20 battle.