– Jayce Hawryluk was a surprise spark to the Wheat Kings’ lineup Friday night, scoring once and adding an assist in a 5-1 Brandon victory over the Regina Pats. Hawryluk was taken to hospital shortly after Game Three Wednesday, but was released at noon Friday and medically cleared to play. The victory gave the Wheat Kings a four-game sweep of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Final. Brandon will face the Edmonton Oil Kings in the second round, with that series likely to start Thursday in Edmonton. CKLQ’s Bruce Luebke has more on Friday’s win on his blog at http://luberslounge.blogspot.ca/
– Kootenay Ice forward Tim Bozon was released from the hospital Friday, nearly a month after falling ill with meningitis. Bozon was in a medically induced coma for most of his hospital stay, and says staff at Saskatoon’s Royal University Hospital went to "amazing lengths” to save his life. Doctors say Bozon is expected to make a full recovery but is likely facing months of rehabilitation. The 19-year-old Montreal Canadiens’ prospect is expected to drop the puck at Game 6 of Kootenay’s playoff series against the Calgary Hitmen Saturday night in Cranbrook.
– Jenai Buchanan scored in double overtime to lift the Pembina Valley Hawks to a 3-2 win over the Westman Wildcats in Game Four of the Manitoba Female Midget Hockey League Final Friday night. Kenzie Robinson and Megan Robertson scored for the Wildcats, who outshot the Hawks 38-35. The Best-of-Five series is now tied 2-2, with Game Five Sunday afternoon in Morden.
– The South East Prairie Thunder drew first blood in the Rathgaber Cup series Friday night, downing the Saskatchewan champion Shellbrook Elks 2-1. The Prairie Thunder are trying to return to the Allan Cup after losing in the Man-Sask series a year ago. They won the national title in 2012. Game two of the Best-of-Five series goes Saturday night in Steinbach.
– It could be a Westman double Saturday at the Canadian Senior Curling Championship in Yellowknife. Neepawa’s Kelly Robertson beat Northern Ontario 10-8 in Friday’s Senior Men’s semifinal, and will face Nova Scotia in Saturday’s championship game. Meanwhile, Brandon’s Lois Fowler earned a bye into Saturday’s Senior Women’s final by finishing in first-place in the round-robin standings. The winners will represent Canada at the 2015 World Senior Curling Championship.
– A bronze medal for Brandon’s Isabela Onyshko at the World Cup Challenge in Qatar Friday. The 15-year old member of the Brandon Eagles Gymnastics Club finished third in the final of the floor exercise with a total of 13.725 points. Onyshko did not qualify for the final in any other apparatus. You can check out Onyshko’s medal-winning performance on YouTube by clicking here.
– Ricardo Nanita hit a walk-off single to give the Blue Jays a 5-4 win over the Mets in front of a crowd of over 46-thousand at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium Friday night. It was the first baseball game played at the Big O since the Expos’ farewell in 2004. The late Gary Carter, who played for both the Mets and Expos, was honoured before the game. The evening was marred by a fan falling 10 to 15 metres onto the concourse from the centre-field stands. The man was transported to a local hospital and was in critical condition with life-threatening injuries.
– Mike Trout and the Los Angeles Angels have agreed to a 144.5 million, six-year contract that runs through 2020. The 22-year-old finished second in AL MVP voting to Miguel Cabrera the past two years.
