– Manitoba’s Chelsea Carey had a productive Tuesday at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Montreal. Carey beat the Territories’ Sarah Koltun 10-4 and Newfoundland & Labrador’s Heather Strong 5-3 in her two games Tuesday, improving her record to 5-and-1. Carey is tied for second-place with Saskatchewan’s Stefanie Lawton while defending champion Rachel Homan leads the way with a perfect 6-and-0 record. Manitoba will play Quebec and New Brunswick on Wednesday.
– They’re down to the final four at the Provincial Golden Gals Curling Championship in Swan River. Brandon’s Joyce McDougall and facing Dauphin’s Norma Johnson and Hamiota’s Linda Wilson is taking on Rita Van De Vyvere of Winnipeg in the semifinals on Wednesday morning. The winners will play in Wednesday afternoon’s final.
– The Brandon Wheat Kings look for their ninth win in 11 home games Wednesday night when they entertain the Medicine Hat Tigers (7:00 p.m., Westman Communications Group Place). The Wheat Kings will be without top centre John Quenneville for the sixth straight game, although he did practice in a no-contact jersey on Tuesday. Brandon enters the game tied with Swift Current for first-place in the East Division and three points behind Medicine Hat for fourth-place in the Eastern Conference. For more on the Wheat Kings, visit Bruce Luebke’s blog at http://luberslounge.blogspot.ca/
– The Winnipeg Jets continue to close in on a playoff spot. The Jets won for the ninth time in 11 games Tuesday night, downing the Carolina Hurricanes 2-1, with Chris Thorburn scoring the winning goal with 1:03 left in the third period. Andrew Ladd also scored for the Jets while Ondrej Pavelec stopped 30 shots in the Winnipeg net. The victory leaves Winnipeg two points behind Vancouver for eighth-place in the Western Conference. The Jets finish their pre-Olympic schedule by visiting Washington Thursday and St. Louis on Saturday.
– Canadians will soon get a lot more NHL games on TV. Starting next fall, Rogers says it will air about 500 regular season games in Canada as part of its 5.2-billion-deal with the NHL. It’s still unclear if Rogers will keep "Coach’s Corner,” and co-hosts Don Cherry and Ron MacLean. Rogers says it will likely announce its list of hockey commentators in early May.
– The Yellowhead Chiefs will be trying to make the Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League playoffs without their top defenceman. Tanner Kyle has been lost for the season because of a broken thumb. Kyle was leading all Chiefs’ blueliners with 29 points and was named a first-team all-star back in January. Yellowhead is currently in ninth-place, three points behind Kenora and Pembina Valley for the final two playoff spots. The Chiefs will visit Parkland Friday before closing their season by hosting Kenora on Saturday and Pembina Valley on Sunday.
– Braeden Ostepchuk stopped 38 shots to pace the Selkirk Steelers to a 3-1 win over the Virden Oil Capitals Tuesday night. Corey Haverstick scored Virden’s only goal with 3:11 left in the third period. The loss leaves Virden four points behind the first-place Dauphin Kings in the MJHL’s Sher-Wood Division.
– The Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Player of the Month is Parker Thomson of the Selkirk Steelers. Thomas had five goals and 23 points in 13 games in January, helping the Steelers go undefeated for the month. Other players honoured for solid January’s were Selkirk’s Joel Messner as Defenceman of the Month, Steinbach’s Zach Rakochny as Goaltender of the Month and Portage’s Tyler Jeanson as Rookie of the Month.
– The WHL Goaltender of the Month is Winnipeg Jets’ draft pick Eric Comrie. The Tri-City Americans’ netminder had an 8-2-1 record with a 1.35 goals against average and .962 save percentage in 11 appearances last month. The WHL Player of the Month is Todd Fiddler of the Prince George Cougars. Fiddler amassed 16 goals and 29 points in 14 games in January.
– Paige Thomson is headed to the West Coast. The Neelin Spartans’ basketball star has committed to the Victoria Vikes basketball team for next season. The 6-foot-0 Thomson is averaging 19 points and 12 rebounds per game for the Spartans this year.
– The Brandon Bobcats held steady in this week’s CIS volleyball rankings. The Lady ‘Cats remain #2 in the country behind UBC while the Bobcats are still ranked ninth. Both BU teams conclude their Canada West regular seasons by visiting the Calgary Dinos this Friday and Saturday.
– It appears Weston Dressler has found his new home in Kansas City. The Saskatchewan Roughriders released their all-star receiver last week allowing him to sign in the NFL, with Dressler agreeing to a reserve-futures contract with the Kansas City Chiefs Tuesday. The deal is a futures contract because the NFL’s "new year" doesn’t begin until March and that’s when Dressler’s deal will begin.
– Henry Burris couldn’t turn down a chance to help build a team from the ground up. The 38-year-old quarterback has signed with the expansion Ottawa Redblacks, six days after being released by Hamilton. Burris says he also had a strong offer to join the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, but said the temptation to put his finger prints on the CFL’s ninth franchise was too strong.
– The CFL hands out its coach of the year award Wednesday in Ottawa. This year’s finalists are Hamilton’s Kent Austin, Saskatchewan’s Corey Chamblin, and Calgary’s John Hufnagel. Austin won the award in 2007 as head coach of Saskatchewan. Hufnagel won it with Calgary in 2008.