News briefs for Thursday, October 20, 2022

A goal and an assist from Connor Geekie lifted the Winnipeg Ice to a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Giants in Western Hockey League play on Wednesday.

Geekie scored the game winner for Winnipeg 9:51 into the third period, adding to goals from Skyler Bruce, Owen Pederson and Matthew Savoie.

Mazden Leslie, Zack Ostapchuk and Carson Haynes scored for Vancouver (1-4-3).

Daniel Hauser made 17 saves for the Ice (9-1-0) and Jesper Vikman stopped 44-of-48 shots for the Giants.

Conor Geekie’s club-leading sixth goal of the season at 11:36 of the third period proved to be the winner as the visiting Winnipeg Ice edged the Vancouver Giants 4-3 in WHL action Wednesday night.

Skyler Bruce, Owen Pederson and Matthew Savoie also scored as Winnipeg improved its record to 9-1-0-0.

Mazden Leslie, Zack Ostapchuk and Carson Haynes with goals for the Giants, who were outshot 48-20. Vancouver dropped to 1-4-1-2overall.

The Ice completes its B.C. Division road trip with games Friday in Kamloops and Saturday in Kelowna.

Local police are holding a press conference to share details about the guns and gangs unit’s “largest methamphetamine seizure to date.”

Early Thursday, the Winnipeg Police Service announced it is hosting an 11 a.m. event. Exhibits will be on display, according to WPS.

“Please note that some of the seized items that will be on display may have a strong chemical smell. You may wish to bring a mask,” the advisory notice states.

COVID-19 hospitalizations have increased in Manitoba.

Manitoba recorded 103 new COVID-19 hospitalizations and six additional COVID-19 deaths last week, an increase from 73 hospitalizations the previous week, according to the latest provincial epidemiology report published today for the week of Oct. 9 to 15. There were also six deaths recorded in the previous week.

On average, 304 people per day were tested for the virus using PCR tests, resulting in 402 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases and a test positivity rate of 29.6 per cent.

Today’s report retroactively adds 166 hospitalizations and nine deaths to provincial pandemic totals.

The Winnipeg Jets will sport a new ‘old’ look a few times during the 2022-23 NHL season.

The Jets unveiled their Retro 2022 jerseys today, which honour the team’s 1990 era.

Featuring the team’s current Aviator blue, the jerseys have a bright, white colour base which pays homage to the storied Winnipeg Whiteout. The “Goals for Kids” patch worn in the 90s is updated to reflect the team’s current support of the organization’s True North Youth Foundation.

The Jets will don the jerseys for the first time on Saturday, Nov. 5 when the Chicago Blackhawks come to town. Game time is 2 p.m. Other November ‘retro games’ include the Hall of Fame Game on Thursday, Nov. 15 against the Anaheim Ducks when Teemu Selanne and Teppo Numminen will be added to Winnipeg’s hall of fame, and Monday Nov. 21 when the Carolina Hurricanes pay a visit to Canada Life Centre.

The new jerseys will be available in-store at Jets Gear and online at TrueNorthShop.com as of Nov. 15.

Police are searching for an 18-year-old male inmate from the Manitoba Youth Centre who escaped while participating in supervised community programming and is considered dangerous by authorities.

In a release Thursday, the Winnipeg Police Service announced an 18-year-old fled from a program around 8 p.m. on the previous evening. WPS’ major crimes unit is probing the incident.

Devren Michael Ponace, did not return to the Manitoba Youth Centre on Oct. 19, as required, per the release. Ponace is described as six-foot-tall and approximately 200 lbs.

WPS said he is considered dangerous and members of the public are cautioned not to approach him. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call 911 while others with details that may assist investigators can call 204-986-6219 or Crime Stoppers at 204-786-TIPS (8477).

“Although this male is now an adult, investigators obtained a court order authorizing the release of his identity as his original charges occurred when he was a youth,” according to the release.

Two men from Alberta are facing drug charges after police seized $6.3 million worth of methamphetamine from an apartment on Sterling Lyon Parkway.

Members of the Winnipeg Police Service’s guns & gangs unit raided the apartment in the 800 block of Sterling Lyon Parkway on Oct. 12. It’s the most meth the WPS has ever seized in one raid.

Police seized 63 kg of methamphetamine along with smaller amounts of fentanyl, cocaine and GHB, with estimated street values of $15,000, $13,000 and $4,000, respectively. 

Bryan Arnold, 47, and Dennis Bobko, 35, are charged with multiple counts of drug possession for the purpose of trafficking and a single count of possession of the proceeds of crime over $5,000.
 They were detained in custody.

A child was shot when a rifle fired as a man in a neighbouring home was showing it off, police said.

The incident happened in a four-plex residence in Sandy Bay First Nation on Saturday. The Manitoba First Nations Police Service said a man was showing off the gun while trying to sell it. The gun went off, and the shot went through a wall and hit a five-year-old child in the leg. 

A 30-year-old man is facing four charges, including possession of a firearm when unauthorized and weapons trafficking.

The police service is asking anyone with information about the case to call them at 1-833-978-0048 or Manitoba Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).

A man found dead in a house fire in a small community north of Swan River on Monday was the victim of a homicide, RCMP says.

Swan River RCMP responded to the fire on Lorne Avenue in Birch River at about 4:40 p.m., where firefighters found human remains. Major crimes investigators have since identified the victim as a 68-year-old Birch River man.

On Tuesday, Lincoln Chartrand-Flett, 21, of Birch River, was arrested. He was charged with second-degree murder.

Chartrand-Flett next appears in court Oct. 25 in Dauphin. The fire’s cause is still under investigation.

LAS VEGAS — The Winnipeg Jets will once again be without dynamic winger Nikolaj Ehlers as they close out a road trip tonight in las Vegas.

Ehlers is suffering from a lower-body injury and also missed Wednesday’s game in Colorado, which the Jets won 4-3 in overtime.

Winnipeg is 2-1-0 on the year, while Vegas is 3-1-0.

Backup goalie David Rittich is expected to make his first start of the year tonight. The rest of the lineup is expected to be the same, with defencemen Logan Stanley and Kyle Capobianco the two healthy scratches.

Puck drop is 9 p.m. CT.