By all accounts, it’s been a memorable season for Anya and Linnea Misner. The pair of sisters from Springfield suited up as teammates throughout the entire season for the Balmoral Hall Blazers, and stayed teammates for Team Manitoba at the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships (NAHC) in Winnipeg.

“It’s an amazing experience, and a really proud moment for both of us, to be able to represent our Metis heritage and our province in this tournament,” Anya said after a 9-0 victory over Team Atlantic.

The Metis sisters aren’t the only Eastman players donning black-and-yellow Team Manitoba jerseys at the championships. Niverville’s Ginger Fast is also playing for the female team, with La Broqueire’s Eric Cote playing for the male side.

It was Linnea’s first season suiting up for the Blazers, a prep school team based out of Winnipeg which plays at an elite level.

“It was really awesome to get to play a season with my sister before I graduate,” Anya, who has committed to Carleton University, said.

“It was a really good experience.”

Anya said she is aiming to make a great first impression in the early season at Carleton, and is hoping to show her strong fitness in early season training with the team. Linnea is a couple years away from following in her sister’s footsteps, but has the same goal.

“I want to get a scholarship, and go to university and continue playing,” she said.

The pair even got a chance to share the ice surface together at the same time, with Linnea, a defender, scoring a powerplay goal with her sister on the same unit during Manitoba’s victory over Team Atlantic.

“It’s awesome, I love it,” Linnea said on taking the ice with her sister.

The Blazers also boast St Adolphe’s Avery Pickering, who helped Team Canada to an U18 gold medal earlier this year.

The championship games at the NAHC will take place at 4 p.m. (male) and 7 p.m. (female) on May 13. The quarterfinal games begin on May 11. There are seven teams competing in the female division, with two pools of four in the male division. A full schedule and scores can be found at nahc2023.ca.