The Turnbull Cup champion Steinbach Pistons selected forward Brady Turko of Brandon with their first pick (12th overall) in the 2023 Manitoba Junior Hockey League Draft. The Pistons also took forward Blake Farthing of Stonewall & defenseman Kasen Mateychuk of Dominion City in round two; defenseman Tate Dolinsky of Winnipeg in round three; goaltender Brant Catellier of Winnipeg in round four; forward Wyatt Stinton of Flin Flon & forward Ben Brambilla of East St. Paul in round five; forward Hayden Turner of Souris in round six and forward Matthew Gard of Winnipeg in round seven. Forward Noah Oughton of St. Laurent was selected first overall by the Winnipeg Freeze. The Niverville Nighthawks chose forward Gavin Holod of Stonewall with their first pick (5th overall). The Nighthawks also selected forward Calyb Moore of St. Adolphe in round two; defenseman Nathan Forster of Lorette in round four; forward Luke Ross of Winnipeg in round six and goaltender Quinn Burfoot of Winnipeg in round eight. Forward Remy Hlady of Tyndall was picked by the Selkirk Steelers with the third overall pick. Defenseman Reece Gault of Oakbank went 13th overall to the Portage Terriers; forward Cameron Sylvester of Oakbank was chosen by Neepawa Titans and forward Archer Ives of Kleefeld went to the Dauphin Kings in round five. Forward Owen Martin of Oakbank was selected by the Winkler Flyers in round six.
The Carillon Sultans and Elmwood Giants split a doubleheader Sunday at Koskie Field. Elmwood starter Tyler Smith went five innings, allowed just two hits and struck out 10 as the defending Manitoba Junior Baseball League champions won the opener 6-1. Carillon plated six runs in the top of the fifth inning and took game two 11-5. Sultans catcher Cody Gunderson was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle as he singled, doubled and homered. Gunderson and centre fielder Brady Papineau drove in three runs each. Carillon is 4-6 and will face the first place St. James A’s Tuesday at Optimist Park.
The Winnipeg Goldeyes losing streak has reached six games. The Fish gave up five runs in the third and sixth innings and fell 14-5 to the Lake Country DockHounds. Winnipeg third baseman Dayson Croes singled twice and extended his hitting streak to 18 games. Max Murphy homered for the Goldeyes who begin a six-game homestand Tuesday night when they face the Chicago Dogs at Shaw Park.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers open the 2023 CFL season Friday night at home against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The Bombers first practice session of the week is today from 11:50 a.m. – 1:15 p.m. at IG Field.
Braxton Kuntz of Breezy Bend, Addison Kartusch of St. Charles and Blair Neal of Rossmere captured Golf Manitoba’s Provincial Match Play Championships Sunday at the Glendale Golf & Country Club in Winnipeg. Kuntz shaded Marco Trstenjak of Elmhurst 1-up in the men’s final. Kartusch defeated Clara Peake of Binscarth 2 & 1 in the women’s final. Neal beat Dwayne Heinrichs of Bel Acres 1-up in the senior men’s final.
The 25th Manitoba Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Banquet took place Saturday in Morden. Robert Smith will join Clayton Dreger and talk about his father T.G. Smith’s induction into the Hall of Fame on Sportsbeat which airs Mondays at 5:15 p.m. on AM 1250 Radio.