Local Sports

The CobraCats hit the road to Calgary this weekend for the Icebreaker, the annual high school rugby tournament hosted by the Irish Athletics Club.

It’s a marquee early-season event, drawing top squads from around the Calgary region.

The CobraCats head into the tourney after a mixed bag in their home openers against the West Island College Wolves.

The girls dominated with a commanding 53-7 win, while the boys came up short in a tighter 24-7 loss.

Three Swift Current Judo Club athletes and one of its coaches will represent Judo Saskatchewan next month at the 2025 Open Nationals Judo Championships.

Talon Moen, Eliot Perrault, and Blake Rempel will be flanked by coach Nancy Filteau from May 15-18 at Calgary's Olympic Oval.

Filteau, the head instructor with the Swift Current Judo Club, said she will be there to help and encourage Moen, Perrault, and Rempel as they battle against the best judo talent from across the country.

The regular season is in the books, and the Saskatchewan Rush are off to the playoffs! 

The Rush will face the Georgia Swarm in the single-elimination quarterfinal game on Saturday, April 26. Rush broadcaster Cody Janzen is looking forward to an exciting matchup. 

“I would expect a goaltender’s duel,” Janzen said. “It’s two of the best goalies in the game with Frank Scigliano and Brett Dobson going head-to-head.” 

The Richardson Pioneer Weyburn Red Wings are in a must-win situation now as they’ve dropped Game 4 of the Canterra Seeds Cup Finals against the Melfort Mustangs 5-1. The Melfort Mustangs go up 3-1 in the best-of-seven series and look to clinch their second straight SJHL championship on home ice Sunday night. Casey O’Brien, assistant coach for the Red Wings, comments on the loss.  

The Winnipeg Jets were humbled in St. Louis last night as the Blues blasted them 7-2. The Jets lead in that series cut to two-games-to-one.

The Toronto Maple Leafs took control of their first round series against Ottawa, beating the Senators 3-2 in overtime. The Leafs lead three-games-to-none.

The Florida Panthers tripped Tampa Bay 2-0, taking a 2-0 series lead and the Minnesota Wild took a 2-1 series lead with a 5-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights.

THURSDAY, APRIL 24TH

NHL
Playoffs - Round 1
Game 3
Winnipeg 2 at St. Louis 7
Winnipeg leads series 2-1

Playoffs - Round 1
Game 3
Toronto 3 at Ottawa 2 (Overtime)
Toronto leads series 3-0

Playoffs - Round 1
Game 2
Florida 2 at Tampa Bay 0
Florida leads series 2-0

Playoffs - Round 1
Game 3
Vegas 2 at Minnesota 5
Minnesota leads series 2-1

In mid-March Brandon resident, Grant Hamilton and his wife travelled to Europe for Grant to get a taste of what cycling the terrain of the Tour de France might look like.

Hamilton is the only Canadian to participate in Tour 21, a fundraising initiative by Cure Leukemia, the official charity partner of the Tour de France.  Tour 21 follows the exact same route as the Tour de France to be held just one week prior to that iconic race.

Winkler's own Kam Thomas wanted to be a Flyer and when he got his chance, full time, he didn't let it slip as he won the hearts of fans and the trust of coaches throughout a very strong rookie season in the MJHL.

"It was awesome," Thomas says with his trademark energy and enthusiasm. "Great group of guys this year, I had a really, really good time with them. It was just cool to have my first full season with the Winkler Flyers."

The U17 Wildcats are primed and ready to head into another season and Pat Tetrault says the group is talented, excited and they all can't wait to get going. 

"We've been at it since tryouts back in September of last year," explains Tetrault. "The girls have been working hard, tirelessly throughout the winter, they've been hitting balls inside, fielding balls in the gym but now it's time we get out there and do what they love to do. We're all very excited to get going."

The Winnipeg Jets suffered a lopsided 7-2 defeat in St. Louis on Thursday night, as the Blues rode early pressure and a playoff hat trick from Pavel Buchnevich to claw back into the series.

The loss trims Winnipeg’s series lead to 2-1 heading into Game 4 on Sunday.

Buchnevich shines, Blues dominate from the start

Heading into the game, the Jets were well aware of the challenge ahead. Mark Scheifele had said earlier in the week that playing in St. Louis’ building would be a difficult test, and he was proven right in emphatic fashion.