Manitoba Miracle tops poll Perfetti’s series-saving goal against Blues Manitoba’s No. 1 sports story of 2025 By: Taylor Allen Posted: 5:49 PM CST Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025

Welcome to the Free Press sports department’s sixth annual Top 10 Manitoba Sports Moments of Year list.

Sports Editor Grace Anne Paizen and reporters Jeff Hamilton, Mike McIntyre, Josh Frey-Sam, and yours truly voted on the most memorable stories of the past 12 months featuring athletes and teams with ties to our province.

It’s never an easy process as there’s never a shortage of contenders, but without further ado, here are the results.

---

10. Potter dominates pro hoops scene in Serbia

Emily Potter further established herself as one of Manitoba’s greatest basketball players of all time in 2025.

The 6-4 centre helped Crvena Zvezda put a stamp on a perfect 27-0 season with a league championship and national cup title while also bringing home a finals MVP award. The Glenlawn Collegiate product averaged 13.3 points and 8.3 points per game for her Serbian team.

9. Manitoban in the MLB

A Manitoban made it to the big leagues for the first time since Anola’s Corey Koskie played his last game in 2006.

Winkler’s Tristan Peters made his MLB debut with the Tampa Bay Rays in August after earning a promotion from the Durham Bulls of the Triple-A International League.

Peters, a former Manitoba Junior Baseball League standout with the Pembina Valley Orioles, went on to appear in four games while going hitless in 12 at-bats. The 26-year-old hit .266 with 15 home runs and 76 RBI in 136 games with Durham.

Last week, the Rays traded the outfielder to the Chicago White Sox for a player to be named later or cash considerations.

8. Bombers fail to reach the Grey Cup for the first time since 2018

After five consecutive Grey Cup appearances, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers finally ran out of gas.

They were an inconsistent bunch that went 10-8 in the regular season which forced them to cross over to play the East semifinal against the Montreal Alouettes.

The Blue and Gold went down swinging by starting the second half with three touchdowns in six minutes, but it wasn’t enough as the Als escaped with a 42-33 victory.

To make matters worse, the Bombers had to sit back and watch the Saskatchewan Roughriders hoist the silver mug under the bright lights at Princess Auto Stadium just two weeks later after Trevor Harris and Co. outduelled Montreal 25-17.

“I just wish it could’ve been next year that we could’ve lost,” said Bombers running back Brady Oliveira after the loss in Montreal. “The Grey Cup, this year at home, it’s all I wanted, man.”

7. Scott’s final cap in red and white

The final chapter of Desiree Scott’s legendary international career was written in her hometown.

The midfielder played one last game for the Canadian women’s national team on May 31 in a 4-1 decision over Haiti in a friendly at Princess Auto Stadium.

More than 9,000 fans packed the stands to pay their respects to “The Destroyer” who retired with 188 career caps for her country which ranks fourth all-time in Canadian women’s soccer history.

Scott, 38, got the start and was subbed off in the 55th minute to a standing ovation.

6. Stilwell’s storied career recognized

Michelle Stilwell, the only Canadian female to win Paralympic gold in two separate summer sports, was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in October.

Growing up in Winnipeg, Stilwell became a quadriplegic at 17 when she fell from a friend’s back while piggyback riding. She initially starred in wheelchair basketball where she helped the Canadian women’s team win their first-ever gold at the Sydney 2000 Paralympics. Complications with her spinal cordy injury led to her taking up wheelchair racing where she went on to capture six golds and a silver between the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Paralympics.

Stilwell, who now resides in Parksville, B.C., was inducted into the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 2017 and the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.

5. Tuttosi on world stage

The pride of Souris, Emily Tuttosi, and the Canadian senior women’s team thrust themselves into the national spotlight by taking down New Zealand 34-19 to meet No. 1-ranked England in the 2025 Women’s World Cup of Rugby final.

In front of a record-setting crowd of 81,885 at Allianz Stadium in London, the Canadians were forced to settle for silver after falling 33-13.

Tuttosi, who plays the hooker position, was honoured for her strong play and was one of three Canadians named to the World Rugby Women’s 15s Dream Team of the Year.

4. Bisons win it all

The Manitoba Bisons women’s volleyball team won the national title with a 3-1 victory over the Montreal Carabins in front of a capacity crowd of 3,300 at the Investors Group Athletic Centre in March.

It was the program’s eighth Canadian crown and their first since 2014. The third-seeded hosts, who went 22-5 in the regular season, got the job done after earning bronze the year prior.

Superstar left side attacker Raya Surinx was named the tournament’s MVP as well as the U Sports Women’s Volleyball Player of the Year.

3. Brandon shocks the nation

No one saw this coming.

The Brandon Bobcats men’s volleyball team went 10-10 in conference play but got a spot at U Sports Nationals in March as the No. 8 seed thanks to being the tournament hosts.

They swept the No. 1-ranked Winnipeg Wesmen in straight sets in the quarterfinals and rode the momentum from that and their home crowd all the way into the gold-medal final where they knocked off the defending champion Alberta Golden Bears in a 3-1 outing.

It was the first men’s volleyball national championship in program history for the Bobcats.

2. Botterill’s hall call

Jennifer Botterill became the first Manitoba woman to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame last month.

She wore the maple leaf at four Olympic Games where she won three gold medals and a silver. The 46-year-old who grew up playing at Wildwood Park Community Club was also a two-time tournament MVP at the world championships, an event where she captured five golds and three silver.

In four seasons at Harvard, she scored the overtime winner in the 1999 national championship and was the first two-timer winner of the Patty Kazmaier award for the top player in NCAA women’s hockey.

“It starts to really sink into your heart, the magnitude of all this and the recognition,” Botterill told the Free Press at the induction ceremony in Toronto. “It’s beyond what I dreamed about as a kid.”

1. Manitoba Miracle

No one will ever forget the Manitoba Miracle.

Winnipeg Jets forward Cole Perfetti scored with 0:1.6 seconds on the clock in the third period to tie Game 7 against visiting St. Louis Blues in the opening round of NHL playoffs.

Perfetti’s late-game heroics was arguably the biggest story in sports that week with the play going viral.

It didn’t go to waste, either.

In double-overtime, captain Adam Lowry tipped a shot past Blues netminder Jordan Binnington to send the Jets to Round 2. That’s where their magic ran out as the Presidents’ Trophy winners fell to the Dallas Stars in six games.

It’ll take another miracle for the 2025-26 edition of the Jets to even make the post-season.

winnipegfreepress.com/taylorallen