– A bronze medal for Canada at the World Under-18 Hockey Championship. Travis Konecny had a goal and an assist and Mason McDonald made 38 saves as Canada beat Sweden 3-1 Sunday in the third-place game. Elkhorn’s Travis Sanheim had an assist in the contest and finished the tournament with three assists in seven games. Wheat Kings’ John Quenneville, Jayce Hawryluk and Ryan Pilon were also members of the Canadian team. The United States downed the Czech Republic 5-2 in the gold medal contest.
– The host team lost for the first time Sunday night at the Western Canada Cup. Brett Boehm had three goals and an assist to lead the SJHL Champion Yorkton Terriers to an 8-6 victory over the Dauphin Kings, leaving both teams with 1-and-1 records. Kailum Gervais had two goals and two assists for Yorkton while Tanner Lomsnes had two goals and an assist for Dauphin. Sunday’s other game saw the B-C Champion Coquitlam Express win their opening game, downing the AJHL’s Spruce Grove Saints 3-1. Coquitlman and the MJHL Champion Winnipeg Blues will meet in the lone game Monday. CKLQ’s Bruce Luebke has more on Day Two of the WCC here.
– Another year, another WHL final between the Portland Winterhawks and Edmonton Oil Kings. The Winterhawks claimed their fourth straight Western Conference title Friday while Edmonton won their third straight Eastern Conference crown on Saturday. Edmonton took the title in 2012 in a seven-game series with Portland while the Winterhawks won the 2013 title in a six-game series win over the Oil Kings. This year’s battle for the Ed Chynoweth Cup begins Saturday in Portland.
– The countdown is on to this week’s WHL Bantam Draft, with the Brandon Wheat Kings holding down the #1 pick. The Wheat Kings will make their selection around 9:30 a.m. (CDT) on Thursday.
– Quite the finish at the Telus Cup National Midget Hockey Championship. Wheat Kings’ prospect Dakota Boutin scored at 18:36 of the third overtime period as the Prince Albert Mintos downed Chateauguay 4-3 Sunday to claim their third national title in the last nine years. Boutin, a third round pick of Brandon in the 2012 Bantam Draft, finished the tournament with three goals and six points in seven games.
– The Weyburn Gold Wings won gold at the 2014 Esso Cup National Female Midget Championship Saturday. The Gold Wings defeated the Edmonton Thunder 2-1 in the final.
– Nick Bonino and Devante Smith-Pelly’s timely goals helped the Anaheim Ducks eliminate the Dallas Stars from the Stanley Cup playoffs. Bonino scored with just under three minutes to play in the third, then Smith-Pelly tied it in the dying seconds of regulation before Bonino struck in overtime as Anaheim rallied past Dallas 5-4 Sunday night. The win gave the Ducks a 4-2 series victory.
– The reigning Stanley Cup champions have taken another step toward defending their crown. Duncan Keith had a goal and three assists as the Chicago Blackhawks rolled past St. Louis 5-1 Sunday to win their playoff series 4-2. Also Sunday, Henrik Lundqvist made 24 saves as the New York Rangers downed Brayden Schenn and the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 to take a 3-2 series lead.
– Brandon’s Reid Sorotsky left the Canadian Junior Racquetball Championship on a high note, winning his final match on the consolation side to finish with a 2-and-3 overall record and in sixth-place in the Boys’ 12-and-Under singles event. Brandon’s Milana Paddock and Alexandra Murray finished fourth in the Girls’ 18-and-Under doubles with a 2-and-3 record while Paddock went winless in the Girls’ 18-and-Under singles event. As for Murray, as we told you Friday, she finished second in the Girls’ 16-and-Under singles to earn a spot on the Canadian team for October’s World Junior Racquetball Championship in Colombia.
– Brandon’s Isabela Onyshko had another solid showing on the International gymnastics stage, winning a silver medal at a World Cup event in Croatia. Onyshko scored 13.575 in her floor routine to finish in second place. The 15-year old also qualified for the beam and uneven bars finals, placing fifth overall in beam and sixth overall in the bars.
– A good showing for several members of the Brandon Eagles Gymnastics Club at the Western Canadian Championships in Saskatoon over the weekend. Quinn Skrupa earned medals in each of her events to finish first all-round in the P5 Tyro Competition. Skrupa topped the vault, uneven bars and floor exercise while also earning a bronze medal as a member of Team Manitoba. Brook Bradshaw finished first all-around in the P4 Novice competition; Shea Taylor won gold in bars and was 11th all-around in the P5 Novice group; Alex Empey won silver in uneven bars and was 12th all-around in the P5 Open competition and Taylor Goodon was 15th all-around in that same division. Empty and Goodon were also part of the gold medal winning Manitoba team.
– The Brandon Volleyball Club claimed its first-ever provincial title over the weekend, running the table at the 14-and-Under Boys’ tournament including a 2-1 (22-25, 25-21, 15-12) victory over the Selkirk Royals in the final. Dayton Black was named the Tournament MVP while Liam Nohr and Reece Wilson took home all-star honours. Meanwhile, the Westman-based Storm finished second at the 18-and-Under Girls’ Provincials, losing 2-1 (24-26, 26-24, 15-13) to the Winnipeg-based Cobras in the final.
– Canada’s best university athletes will be named Monday night in Calgary at the annual BLG Awards. Brandon product Lisa Barclay of the UBC Thunderbirds is one of the four finalists for the Jim Thompson Trophy for Canada’s top female varsity athlete.
– It’s a brand new series as the Raptors return to Toronto. DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points to lead the Raptors past the Brooklyn Nets 87-79 Sunday. That win ties their Eastern Conference playoff series 2-2 after the Raps dropped Game 1 in Toronto and Game 3 in Brooklyn. Kyle Lowry added 22 points and Amir Johnson had 17 for the Raptors.
– Pro basketball’s post-season has been overshadowed by controversy. LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling was purportedly caught on tape making racist remarks to his girlfriend. The NBA is investigating the incident and several players, coaches and other owners have spoken out against Sterling.
