Curling champs rule the headlines

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/12/2020 (1751 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

You might think this isn’t an ideal year to roll out a top 10 list.

Considering how the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown a nearly unhittable knuckleball at the sports scene, at both the amateur and professional levels, yeah, that might be a fair point.

But even though there was a never-ending list of cancellations, including the CFL season, this year was far from a writeoff as Manitobans, and people with ties to the province, still managed to accomplish great things in 2020.

Although, it was also far from a normal year, with no better example than the Winnipeg Jets playing playoff hockey in a bubble — not for long as the Calgary Flames beat them 3-1 in a best-of-five opening-round series — in August inside Rogers Arena in Edmonton with no whiteout in sight. The sting of an early playoff exit was nothing compared to what would happen less than two weeks later when arguably the greatest Jet of all-time, Dale Hawerchuk, died of stomach cancer at 57.

There’s no doubt this year saw more negatives than positives and the stories that made up these pages are proof. Despite that, I wanted to start a new Free Press sports department tradition where we unveil the Top 10 Manitoba Sports Moments of the Year. After coming up with a long list of nominees, I tasked my colleagues Steve Lyons, Jason Bell, Mike Sawatzky, Mike McIntyre and Jeff Hamilton to rank their top 10 moments. Everyone’s top choice received 10 points, the second-ranked moment earned nine points, etc. After adding up all the points from our six ballots, the official top 10 was decided. Like any list, it’s extremely subjective, but these are 10 moments our department believes should be highlighted from this challenging year.

10. Eric Loeppky wins U Sports Men’s Volleyball Player of the Year

The 22-year-old from Steinbach is one of the most promising athletes in the province.

The outside hitter, who now plays professionally in Italy, led the Trinity Western University Spartans men’s volleyball team to the No. 1 ranking in the country and a Canada West conference championship. He likely would’ve capped off his career with his third national championship in four years, but nationals, which was scheduled to be held at the University of Manitoba March 13-15, was cancelled at the last minute owing to COVID-19 concerns.

Loeppky was second in the conference with an average of 3.89 kills per set and claimed the all-time Canada West career service aces record with 153. Loeppky was named the U Sports men’s volleyball player of the year and was a finalist for the Canada West male athlete of the year.

9. Garth Pischke’s retirement

Speaking of the cancelled volleyball nationals at the U of M, it was supposed to be the perfect sendoff for Bisons head coach Garth Pischke.

He led the Herd for 38 seasons, winning nine national titles en route to becoming the all-time winningest men’s university volleyball coach in North America. The Bisons, who were the host team, would have had their hands full as they were scheduled to open the tournament against Loeppky and the Spartans. The game was expected to be a sellout and it would’ve been a memorable finale for Pischke, who announced prior to the season that it would be his last.

It wasn’t the final chapter Pischke envisioned, but he assured the Free Press in an interview at the time that it didn’t put a damper on his career. If anything, he was more concerned about his players not getting a chance to play at nationals. With or without the event, Pischke will be forever remembered as someone who played a massive role in the province becoming a volleyball powerhouse.

8. Rick Forney leads Goldeyes to impressive season away from home, named manager of the year

The Winnipeg Goldeyes had no business being contenders in the American Association in 2020.

Sure they had talent, but considering how they didn’t step foot into Shaw Park once all season, the odds were stacked against them.

With the Canadian-U.S. border closed, the Fish spent the entire summer on the road and playing their ‘home’ games at Newman Outdoor Field in Fargo., N.D., in front of dismal crowds.

Even though they were living out of a hotel and never got a taste of home cooking, manager Rick Forney never made excuses. His baseball club sat atop the standings in mid-August and looked like a team capable of claiming the league title. That didn’t end up being the case, as life on the road eventually took its toll on the Fish and they went on a franchise-record 11-game losing streak. They finished the shortened season at 29-31, three games back of cracking the top two and having a spot in the championship series.

It was still an admirable run, and the rest of the league agreed, as Forney was named the AA manager of the year. It was a well-deserved honour, especially considering how Forney coached with a heavy heart. His oldest son, David, died in February.

7. Wesmen, Bisons and Bobcats unite to fight racism

On the field of play, the Winnipeg Wesmen, Manitoba Bisons and Brandon Bobcats are rivals, but when it comes to standing up to racial inequality and injustice, they’re all on the same team.

In September, athletes from the three universities made a video talking about the importance of people uniting together to end racism. The video, initiated by Wesmen Athletics media relations co-ordinator David Larkins, caught the attention of ESPN, leading to the major American sports channel interviewing a pair of basketball players featured in the video. Joshua Gandier of the Wesmen and Bobcats player Anthony Tsegakele were part of a panel discussing activism among university student-athletes in a segment on ESPN’s Outside The Lines.

6. Joel Hofer backstops Canada to World Juniors gold

He didn’t start the tournament between the pipes, but when the games mattered most, the team turned to the Winnipeg netminder.

It paid off big time.

Joel Hofer never looked back after he replaced Team Canada starting goaltender Nico Daws midway through a 6-0 round-robin loss to Russia at the world junior hockey championship in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Hofer went 5-0 with a .932 save percentage and 1.60 goals-against average and was named the tournament’s top goalie.

Most importantly, the former Portland Winterhawks netminder who was drafted by the St. Louis Blues in 2018, helped Canada to a 4-3 win over Russia in the gold-medal game on Jan. 5.

5. Sheldon Kennedy inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame

Sheldon Kennedy was one heck of a hockey player, but his impact on the game has much more significance than scoring a big goal or winning a championship.

In May, Kennedy was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame as a builder for his work as an advocate against sexual abuse and bullying.

Kennedy, who grew up in Elkhorn, Man., was a victim of sexual abuse during his junior hockey career in Moose Jaw and Swift Current, Sask. He has spent more than two decades trying to make sure no one goes through what he did.

In 2004, he co-founded a company called Respect Group that helps schools, sports organizations and workplaces recognize and prevent bullying, abuse, harassment and discrimination through interactive online certification. Over the years, Kennedy has helped Hockey Canada, Sport Manitoba, the NHLPA, and the International Olympic Committee develop valuable programs to help improve sport culture.

Kennedy was also inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in July as a builder and athlete. After captaining the Swift Current Broncos to a Memorial Cup championship in 1989, Kennedy went on to play 310 games in the NHL.

4. Kerri Einarson wins Scotties Tournament of Hearts

It came down to the final rock.

Gimli’s Kerri Einarson had a 7-3 advantage over Ontario’s Rachel Homan in the Scotties final in Moose Jaw, Sask., after eight ends, but Homan roared back to tie the game at 7-7 and force an extra end.

To avoid heartbreak in the 11th, Einarson needed a draw for the win. With the Canadian women’s curling championship on the line, Einarson came through in the clutch and hit the button perfectly.

Einarson, Val Sweeting, Shannon Birchard and Briane Meilleur erupted in a joyous celebration as they had secured their spot in the women’s world championship, which was set to take place in Prince George, B.C., March 14-22. Unfortunately, the team’s chance to compete for a world title was dashed three weeks later on the even of the event as it was abruptly cancelled owing to the pandemic.

It was a disappointing pill to swallow, but it doesn’t take anything away from Einarson’s thrilling victory over Homan. If there’s a Scotties in 2021, Einarson will return as Team Canada.

3. Connor Hellebuyck wins Vezina

This year saw a Winnipeg Jet win a major individual NHL award for the first time since Teemu Selanne’s 76-goal rookie season earned him the Calder Trophy in 1993.

Connor Hellebuyck’s spectacular 2019-20 season led to the Jets star being awarded the Vezina Trophy in September. It’s the first time a Jet has named the NHL’s top goaltender. Out of the 30 ballots, Hellebuyck received 19 first-place votes.

The 27-year-old from Michigan had his work cut out for him all season as key blue-liners Dustin Byfuglien, Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot were no longer with the team. Despite a shaky defensive unit playing in front of him, Hellebuyck led the league with six shutouts and boasted a 31-21-5 record with a 2.57 goals-against average and .922 save percentage.

2. Kelsey Wog named U Sports Female Athlete of the Year

Kelsey Wog is one of the greatest Manitoba Bisons of all time.

It was announced in June that the swimmer from Winnipeg had won the U Sports Female Athlete of the Year award for her remarkable season in the pool.

In her fourth season swimming for the Herd, Wog won four gold medals at the national championships (50-metres, 100-metres, 200-metre breaststroke and 200-metre individual medley), two of which, the 200-metre breaststroke and 200-metre IM, broke U Sports records. The 22-year-old went on to travel to Hungary in October for a couple of weeks to compete in the International Swimming League (ISL). Wog excelled in her signature event, the 200-metre breaststroke, winning the race four times throughout the ISL season against the world’s best.

Wog is only the second Bison to be named the nation’s top female university athlete; basketball star Terri-Lee Johannesson won the honour in 1997.

1. Manitoba junior curling teams rule the world

Manitoba cemented itself as the curling capital of the world in 2020.

Winnipeg’s Jacques Gauthier and Altona’s Mackenzie Zacharias became world junior curling champions in Russia in late February.

According to Curl Manitoba, it was a history-making feat as it was the first time two Manitoban teams had won world junior gold in the same year. Both teams went 7-2 in round-robin play before finishing the event on top.

Gauthier, third Jordan Peters, second Brayden Payette and lead Zack Bilawka beat Switzerland 7-2 in the final to claim the gold medal. Zacharias, along with her younger sister Emily at second, third Karlee Burgess and lead Lauren Lenentine, defeated South Korea 7-5 in the championship game.

It was a whirlwind of a season for Gauthier, who was in his first year as a skip. His new-look team had growing pains at the start of the year and were upset in the Manitoba provincial final by Brett Walter. But with Nunavut and Yukon unable to send teams to junior nationals, Gauthier’s rink got the call and they made no mistake on their second chance as they only lost once on their way to the Canadian title.

For Zacharias, it was pure domination from the start. At junior nationals, her team didn’t lose a game.

The Free Press called both skips to inform them that their championship seasons was voted the top Manitoba sports moment of the year.

“I think Mack and I can both agree that when we got back, we didn’t realize how significant it was, but over time, we’ve been able to digest what we did… When we got back, everyone in the curling world this year was congratulating us and that was awesome, but just in general in the sports world, you never think curling is that significant,” said Gauthier.

“Connor Hellebuyck winning the Vezina, you think a lot more people know that and a lot more people are going to assign more significant weight to that. So for us to be at the top of that list, it’s very, very humbling. I’ll say that, for sure.”

Zacharias was shocked, and thrilled, to receive the honour. Becoming a world champion is obviously something she’ll never forget, but what made it extra special was the people she got to experience it with.

Sharing the spotlight with Gauthier never gets old, apparently.

“It was absolutely incredible to have the opportunity to go to Russia and have the opportunity to go with a bunch of other people from Manitoba. They’re also some really great friends of ours, too. It was basically travelling across the world with eight of my best friends and we just got to do what we love in curling and hang out and meet a bunch of new people together,” said Zacharias.

“It was something I’ll cherish forever and it was absolutely incredible. I wouldn’t have wanted to experience it with anybody else.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31