Vikings on verge of championship repeat

If the Vincent Massey Vikings were nervous entering a pressure-packed match with a trip to a second consecutive provincial championship at stake, they weren’t apparent.

The Brandon-based juggernaut looked every bit of a squad with designs on extending its reign Wednesday evening.

The Vikings showed few cracks in their collective armour as they cruised to a 3-0 (25-23; 25-18; 25-8) victory over the Sturgeon Heights Huskies in the first semifinal of the AAAA varsity girls volleyball provincials at Investors Group Athletic Centre.

“This season, we’ve been starting pretty slow, so our goal was to have a great start, and it really showed,” said left side Hannah McGregor, who was named the No. 1 player in the province by a panel of coaches last week.

All-Manitoban final in the making at boxing nationals

Victor Cheung has the confidence — and the hands — to strike gold this week.

There is no shortage of belief in the 18-year-old’s corner as he prepares to fight adults for the first time in a competitive setting at the Boxing Canada national championships.

Cheung, who will fight in the men’s 50-kilogram class, is one of 18 Manitobans who will enter the ring at Sport Manitoba from Wednesday to Friday.

“It’s full confidence that I’m going to win, because I know what I’m capable of, and I train so hard, and I know nobody trains more than me,” Cheung said. “I know no one sacrifices more than me in this sport, in this country.”

Mancer cruises to No. 1 on top volleyball list

Liam Mancer expected nothing less of himself.

So when the 17-year-old heard he was voted the top high school volleyball player in the province by a panel of coaches, an obvious sense of elation ensued — Mancer immediately called his mom to tell her the news — but there was also a feeling of validation. Mancer knew he was capable of receiving this distinction all along.

“I definitely did put that pressure on myself, but I tried to keep it as a second-hand thing, and ignore it,” said Mancer, a Grade 12 left side for the St. Paul’s Crusaders.

“The only thing that really matters to me is the team’s success, and then my success is second. So the pressure that I put on myself, I would say I used it in a positive way, and I didn’t really let it affect me negatively. Even if I had a bad game, I realized it happens, and I’m a good player, and I’m gonna bounce back.”

Mission accomplished in Austria for Winnipeg pair

It wasn’t just that their first senior competitive performance had gone very well that had pair skaters Ava Kemp and Yohnatan Elizarov smiling and joking with their coach as they awaited their short program scores in Austria earlier this month.

Their jubilation also signalled relief that they had been able to compete at all after Elizarov’s luggage — and his skates packed within — failed to land with him in Graz.

Ever since 9/11, figure skaters have been required to pack their skates in their checked luggage. When that bag goes missing, so do the custom-fit tools of their trade.

Elite-level figure skaters travel the globe for competition. Inevitably, many have suffered the “missing skates” fate, but it was the first time Kemp and Elizarov had been thrown that curveball.

Vikings’ McGregor growing into all-around player

Hannah McGregor went from fearful to fearless in a matter of weeks.

The 16-year-old confessed that she was timid about playing a bigger role for the reigning provincial champion, the Vincent Massey Vikings, at the beginning of the season.

With the program’s star outside hitter, Jersey Hansen-Young, graduated and off to play for the University of Manitoba Bisons, McGregor — who was already important to the Vikings’ success in Grade 10 — would command the spotlight as the go-to hitter on a team with major expectations.

“At the start of the season, I was scared because I did have moments where I wasn’t at my best, and I felt like that never really happened with Jersey,” McGregor said Friday.

Bisons believe they can weather early storm

The issues currently plaguing the University of Manitoba Bisons are concerning, but head coach Kirby Schepp called them fixable.

The Bisons men’s basketball team has been oddly slow out of the gates by the program’s standards. They hold a 4-3 record in Canada West despite having yet to face any of the top teams in the conference.

Shooting has been the glaring issue. Manitoba has fired at a 42.9 per cent clip from the field — that ranks eighth out of 17 teams — and 30.3 per cent from beyond the arc (12th), while the club’s dismal 59.3 per cent efficiency from the free throw line (second-worst) — something Schepp called mystifying — has certainly capped the offence.

Overall, the level of play hasn’t matched the aspirations of a team that believes it can compete for a national championship at the end of this season, but it remains too early to panic.

Botterill quick to salute all who made an impact on her storied career

TORONTO — Jennifer Botterill hit all of the right notes.

After the Winnipegger made her way to the podium on the night she was officially inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, Botterill delivered an eloquent, 12-minute speech that perfectly expressed the gratitude she feels for the sport she loves and the people that made a remarkable impact on her journey.

Botterill was quick to salute and share her admiration for others in the class of 2025, which included fellow players: Zdeno Chara, Joe Thornton, Alexander Mogilny and Winnipeg-born and Fort Frances, Ont., raised Duncan Keith, along with builders Jackie Parker and Danièlle Sauvageau — who was the head coach when Team Canada won the Olympic gold medal for the first time in 2002 in Salt Lake City.

Botterill’s long list of thank you’s began with her mother, Doreen, who represented Canada at the Olympics in speed skating back in 1964 and 1968.

Botterill takes her place among hockey legends

Jennifer Botterill was doing her best to be present and soak in the scene inside the hallowed halls.

Oak Park captures high school football glory, denies Dakota three-peat

The Oak Park Raiders finally got theirs.

After their last two seasons ended in heartbreak at the hands of the Dakota Lancers, the Raiders narrowly escaped the same outcome for the third year in a row, triumphing 22-17 over the Lancers to capture the Winnipeg High School Football League AAAA tier 1 varsity championship at Princess Auto Stadium on Thursday.

A fumble by the Raiders, deep in their own territory with 18 seconds remaining, gave the Lancers late hope, but Oak Park’s defence stood tall one last time to end an 11-year championship drought for the program and end Dakota’s two-year reign.

“It’s amazing,” said two-way player Amyas Furst, who had a long touchdown run in the second quarter and secured an interception in the late moments of the contest. “We’ve grinded all year for this. The bond we have with this group, you can’t break it. We had some struggles at the start of the year, but we really found it. We found our click, and now, you can see we won it now — beautiful.”

Winnipeg Wesmen seek to recapture last season’s magic on the court

If the Winnipeg Wesmen are going to build on their historic run from a season ago, it will be by committee.

The reigning Canada West men’s volleyball champions returned with heightened expectations but admittedly less star power than last campaign, as all-conference outside hitter Isaiah Olfert and Ben Traa, the underrated but not under-appreciated setter, have graduated and left behind two significant holes on the court.

Several players were asked to step into more prominent roles, while head coach Chris Voth has implemented some philosophical changes to diversify his attack.

“I think what’s cool about this year’s team is that we’re super well-rounded, and I think that’s going to give us a different look as well,” said Voth, whose team is preparing for a weekend series in Saskatoon against the Saskatchewan Huskies.

Skate Canada gold has extra meaning for Stellato-Dudek

SASKATOON — Standing atop the medal podium Saturday night after clinching a third consecutive Skate Canada International gold, Deanna Stellato-Dudek was moved to tears as she took in the pageantry.

Two hours earlier, the history-making 42-year-old pair skater and her partner Maxime Deschamps had defended their Grand Prix title with a hard-fought, come-from-behind victory (213.40) over first-round leaders, Minerva Hase and Nikita Volodin, of Germany (207.18.)

As the Canadian flag rose to the rafters at SaskTel Centre, the 2024 world champions sang O Canada with gusto.

“This one holds a lot more weight having it be an Olympic year, and us having had such a difficult year last year,” Stellato-Dudek said, thinking back to their frustrating 2024-25 season when they slipped to fifth globally.

Overtime heartbreak for Bisons in Canada West semifinal

On a day that five of their members were named conference all-stars, the stars ultimately didn’t align for the Manitoba Bisons football program.

A heartbreaking 32-29 overtime road loss to the Regina Rams spelled the end of the Bisons’ season in the Canada West semifinal on Saturday evening at Mosaic Stadium.

Ty Gorniak connected on a 38-yard go-ahead field goal on Regina’s second possession in extra time. An ensuing 23-yard tying attempt by Maya Turner hit the left upright and dropped short.

“I’m proud of the way the kids played,” said head coach Stan Pierre, who did not take solace in going 4-4 and reaching the playoffs in his first season as the program’s bench boss. “We were really trying to win the game, and there’s no second place. I’ve been through so many things at this level in football… and as I continue forward as a coach, I really, really do hope the kids get to experience some of those things.”

Oak Park to face Dakota for high school football supremacy

The Oak Park Raiders had their way on Friday evening.

A dominant three-phase performance saw the Raiders rattle off 37 unanswered points and leave with a 46-7 victory over the Vincent Massey Trojans in the Winnipeg High School Football League AAAA tier 1 varsity semifinal at Princess Auto Stadium.

Oak Park will play in the ANAVETS Bowl for the second year in a row and try to capture its first championship since 2014.

“It’s a whole new team this year,” said head coach Chris Ollson. “We kind of lost our identity with (running back) Onan Furst and all those guys graduating last year. You could tell in the beginning it wasn’t Oak Park football, but talking to our guys a couple of weeks ago, you could tell it clicked.

Olympic dream on the horizon for history-making pair

Two years ago, Canada’s pairs figure skating champions Deana Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps claimed their first Skate Canada International title, kick-starting a glorious season that culminated with world championship gold.

Langelaar’s Olympic quest receives boost from the Jets

Tyson Langelaar is all about speed. Now, the 26-year-old long-track speed skater has received a significant boost from his hometown Winnipeg Jets in his quest to reach the 2026 Winter Olympics.