Local Sports

The Portage Terriers and the Steinbach Pistons will meet for their first matchup of the season at Stride Place on Saturday, October 19.

The Pistons enter the game off to a solid start and Portage will need a big game out of their leading scorers to be able to match the production out of the Pistons leaders.

Portage has gotten outstanding goaltending from Mitchell Kathler in the early going, and will likely need another such performance out of him in this one to compete with an annual contender for the Turnbull Cup.

The Okotoks Oilers made a strong push in the playoffs last season falling just short in a seven-game series against the always-tough Brooks Bandits.

The Green Army is probably wondering where each player from last season is playing since only six players returned this year. 

Players who are back wearing the Green and Gold are Jackson Rowland, Brett Wilson, Ryder de Nys, Kade Duell, Hunter Sawka, Brennan Hocher.

Former Oilers who are now in college/university:

Dean Spak - University of Alaska Fairbanks of the NCAA

The Swift Current Broncos, thanks to a four goal first period and a 38 save shutout from Reid Dyck (Winkler, MB), dispatched the Spokane Chiefs Friday night 5-0.

Twice in the game the Steinbach Pistons scored goals less than 20 seconds apart, using the powerful offense to defeat the Northern Manitoba Blizzard 6-2 on Friday night.

Sam Noad got the scoring started as the 19-year-old crashed net while on a power play and whacked home his first of the season. Jamie Fuchs picked up the lone assist.

The lead didn't last as the Blizzard responded just 23 seconds later, knotting the game up 1-1.

Moose Jaw, Sask. – After battling to keep it close through 40 minutes, the Moose Jaw Warriors couldn’t hold off the Medicine Hat Tigers any longer in the third period on Friday night.

The Warriors dropped their third straight, falling 6-3 to the Tigers to kick-off the weekend at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.

“We just looked slow, we looked slow in all areas of the ice and they’re the fastest team in the league and we just had a tough time keeping up,” Warriors associate coach Scott King said.

Lucas Newman had three goals and an assist as the defending Westman High School Hockey League champion Vincent Massey Vikings downed the Virden Golden Bears 10-1. Tyler Rogers added a pair of goals for the Vikings while singles went to Brady Wiltsy, Drew Young, Addax Egan, Theron McGregor and Owen Deleau. Shane Ritchie had the lone goal for Virden.

Taylor Lockhart had two goals and an assist and the Southwest Cougars defeated the Parkland Rangers 5-1. Eric Berger, Shane Elder and Connor Hoemsen also scored for the Cougars who have won five of their last six games.

Steinbach Regional won its regular season finale 51-14 over the Sturgeon Heights Huskies. Toby Plett threw for 292 yards and four touchdowns while Josiah Griener ran for 133 yards and two touchdowns for the Sabres who finished with a 5-2 record in the Winnipeg High School Football League’s AAAA South East Division.

The Garden Valley Zodiacs, Morden Thunder and Morris Mavericks were winners in the Zone 4 High School Hockey League Friday night. Rhett Peters scored the go-ahead goal with 2:49 left as GVC edged the Miller Aces 4-3. Caleb Pauls, Mark Schefer and Caleb Friesen also scored for the Zodiacs. Kaden Blair, Dawson Wiens and Gradyen Franz replied for the Aces. Sam Hildebrand recorded the shutout as the Thunder blanked Northlands Parkway 4-0. Logan Enns, Mason Frost, Mason Leite and Carter Dyck did the goal scoring for the defending champions. Nighthawks goaltender Hayden Janzen made 51 saves.

The Richardson Pioneer Weyburn Red Wings extended their win streak to six with a 2-1 win over the Flin Flon Bombers. An unusually low scoring affair for the Red Wings, as in each of their previous five games they’ve scored six or more goals. The Red Wings don’t mind however, as this win now moves them into fifth place in the SJHL standings.  

The Shaunavon Shadows are off to the SHSAA 4A Nine-Aside provincial quarterfinals after their rushing game shredded the Moose Jaw Vanier Vikings defence Friday evening.

Shadows quarterback Kaleb Little put on an offensive clinic rushing for a season-high five touchdowns and throwing for two more in his team's 54-14 rout over Moose Jaw at Shaunavon's Smith Field. 

"We came out, just wanted to run the ball lots and I got the ball into my hands and it seemed to work so we just stuck with it," Little told Country 94.1 post-game.