courtesy of sjhl.ca

CALGARY, Alta. — Hockey Canada, in conjunction with the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL), announced Thursday that Truro, N.S., will host the 2023 World Junior A Challenge, which goes December 10-17.

Top Canadian and international will be showcased at the eight-day event, which returns to Atlantic Canada for the fourth time and to Truro for the second time.

The list of competing nations, along with the WJAC game schedule and ticket package information will be announced in the coming weeks.

Hockey Canada also confirmed today that the Oakville Blades (OJHL) will serve as the host of the 2024 Centennial Cup May 9-19.

The 10-team Canadian Jr. A Championship will see the nine CJHL member-league title holders, along with the host Blades, vying for national supremacy.

Should Oakville capture the OJHL crown, then that league’s finalist will also participate in the Centennial Cup.

“We are thrilled to share the list of communities that will host Hockey Canada events during the 2023-24 season,” said Dean McIntosh, vice-president of strategic partnerships and community impact. “The support we have received from host committees has been outstanding and we are confident that participants, volunteers, partners and fans will have fantastic experiences at each tournament.”

Congratulations to long time golfer Jim Glynn who picked up his first ever hole in one yesterday at the Phantom Lake Golf Club.

Jim picked up the ace on hole number 9 , on the bottom tee box which was about 240 yards.

This is the first hole in one at the Phantom Lake Golf Club this year and on behalf of everyone at the golf club, once again congratulations Jim.

When the Keystone Junior B Hockey League begins their regular season this fall, there will now be 7 teams.

The KJHL announced today that they have awarded a franchise to Waywayseecappo First Nation.

The new franchise will be known as the Waywayseecappo Wild and will play out of the Waywayseecappo Arena Complex.

Laura Brandon is the team Governor and Leslie McKay is the team's General Manager.

The Wild will have more exciting announcements to come including the first Heads Coach in the team's history.

The KJHL regular season starts September the 30th and the league schedule will be announced towards the end of August.

The Norman Northstars will be hosting a  Summer Conditioning Camp later this summer.

It will take place August the 14th to the 18th and August the 21st to the 24th.

Age groups include 7 to 9 10 to 11:30 am, 10 to 12, 11:45 to 1:15, 13 to 14, 1:30 to 3:30. There will also be a goalie session for all ages 6 to 7pm and 15 plus 7:15 to 9:15pm.

You can register by sending a payment to normannorthstarsfinance@gmail.com.

Flin Flon Minor Hockey will once again begin their season with a 3 on 3 Jamboree September the 10th at the Whitney Forum.

This will be a one day exhibition tournament for all players between U-9 to U-15. There will be a  $20.00 entry fee.

This is open to all players in the Norman Region and you need to be registered with Hockey Canada for the 2023-24 season.

You can register now at flinflonminorhockey.com.

The Flin Flon Bombers will be moving to an online ticket portal for this year and will have information on how you can purchase tickets online in a few weeks.

The prices have been set for this year and they have an earlybird special happening right now for adults- $380.00, Senior- $330.00 and Youth are $180.00.

Full price tickets will be $400.00 for adults, $350.00 for Seniors and $200.00 for Youth.

There is also a Shift Workers pass for $200.00 which is good for 13 games. There will be a Family package available for $800.00 which includes two full price Adult tickets, plus $25.00 for each additional Youth season ticket.

You can get more information by stopping by the Bomber Office on Main Street.

The Phantom Lake Golf Club hosted the Ladies Open which took place yesterday afternoon with 29 ladies teeing off.

When it was all said and done, Justine McDonald was the top lady golfer yesterday afternoon shooting a 49. Jay Ginnell came second, while Audrey Murray was third and Jordan King fourth.

The rest of the Championship Flight was Sandie Davie, Ainslie McKracken, Betty Bortis and Jen McCracken.

Stacie Hyndman won the First Flight, Pat Hyndman took the second and Yvonne Davis won the Super Senior Event.

The next big event is the Senior's Open coming up on Wednesday August the 16th with a shotgun start at 10am. It is $40.00 for members and $50.00 for non members, and is open to anyone 50 and over.

Sign up at the Pro Shop at 306-688-5555. 

Congratulations to the Flin Flon Bombers Cheechoo Lathlin who picked up a Silver Medal at the 2023 North American Indigenous Games in Dartmouth Nova Scotia.

Lathlin was a member of Team Manitoba's soccer team which dropped a 3 to 0 decision to BC in the final. Manitoba beat Ontario 1 to 0 to reach the final.

The Flin Flon Bombers are very proud to see one of their own compete at such a high level in another sport.

Lathlin who is from OCN,  will be one of three blue liners making his return to the Maroon and White for the up coming season.

courtesy of bombers.ca

The Flin Flon Bombers would like to congratulate, Captain, Lucas Fry on his commitment to play for the University of Manitoba (U Sports) for the 2023/24 season.

Fry is a product of Winnipeg, Manitoba and was acquired from the Steinbach Pistons of the MJHL in 2020. During his time with the Bombers, Fry played in a total of 128 games including regular season and playoffs. Over the past three seasons, he has been a vital part of the Bombers back end and played a major role in helping the Bombers get to the 2022 and 2023 SJHL Finals and the 2022 Centennial Cup. Fry finished off this past regular season with 54 games played, 1 goal and 11 assists. During the playoffs, Fry made his presence know getting 2 goals and 1 assist in 13 games. He was also awarded the Bombers Best Defensive Player of the Year.

The University of Manitoba Bison’s currently compete in the Canada West Conference and finished the 2022-2023 season with an 8-19-1 record.

The Bombers are very proud of Lucas and wish him the best of luck in the next step of his hockey career.

“We are very happy for Lucas. His hard work and commitment to being such a team guy has paid off. Every team needs a guy like Fry who buys into playing his role. The U of M is getting a great person.” – Head Coach and GM, Mike Reagan

Fry is the eighth Bomber to receive a scholarship this season.

The Creighton Kodiaks prepare for one of their most challenging seasons as they have moved to a much tougher Conference 4 and will be joining teams from Hague, Rosthern, Wakaw, Birch Hills and Shellbrook.

Training Camp will begin in August and the schedule has been released.

Thursday September 7th at Shellbrook exhibition

Thursday September 14 home vs Rosthern

Thursday September 21st at Hague

Thursday September 28th at Birch Hills

THursday October 5th home vs Wakaw

Thursday October 12th home vs Shellbrook

Playoffs begin on Thursday October the 19th with the #4 seed playing the #1 seed and number 2 VS number 3. Winners make provincials.

courtesy of bombers.ca

The Flin Flon Bombers are pleased to announce that Assistant Coach/Assistant General Manager, Cole McCaig has agreed to a one year extension to stay with the team.

McCaig played for the Bombers from 2011 to 2014. He then attended Marian University (DIII), where he played from 2014 to 2018. McCaig eventually found his way back to Flin Flon and was hired as the Assistant Coach for the Bombers for the 2018-19 Season and has been here ever since. This extension will mark McCaig’s sixth season as a part of the Bombers coaching staff.

“I’m very excited to have Cole back and feel he is a very valuable part of the team. He’s done a tremendous job with our penalty kill and our Defence. His work ethic, attention to detail and commitment to the team is second to none.” – Bombers Head Coach and GM, Mike Reagan

“We’re very happy to have Cole back in the fold for another season.  Cole has been a very hard worker for the organization between coaching and marketing and to have him and Mike back for another kick at a championship is huge, continuity is big in the success of the team.” – Bombers President, Travis Rideout

Over the past 5 years, McCaig has had a huge impact towards the Bombers success. From coaching and marketing to social media and community involvement, McCaig has been a vital part of the organization.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to continue to work with the Bombers. The last five years has been great for my development as a coach and I’m looking forward to building a championship caliber team with Mike Reagan, Chris Bortis and the rest of our staff.” – Cole McCaig, Bombers Assistant Coach/Assistant General Manager.

The PBCN Selects have scheduled their Pre-Season this year, and it includes only one home game when the Selects will host the OCN Storm at the Whitney Forum September 12th at 7:30 pm.

The Selects will return the favor when they travel to OCN Thursday September 14th. It is expected the team will make cuts after the first two games before traveling to Saskatchewan to take on 3 of the PJHL’s North Division teams.

September 21st The Selects will face-off against a familiar face as they take on Leon Natomagan and the Saskatoon Royals.

The next night they will be in Carrot River to face their cross boarder Rival the Outback Thunder. Last season saw the Outback Thunder winning both games of a home and home series.

September 23rd will be the third game in 3 nights as the Selects will play the Expansion Whitefish Flyers.

The Selects open up their Regular season at home this season September 30th at the Whitney Forum.

September 12th vs OCN 7:30 pm

September 14th @ OCN 7:30 pm

September 21st @ Saskatoon Royals 7:30 pm

( Rod Hamm Arena)

September 22 @ Carrot River Outback Thunder

September 23rd @ Whitefish Flyers

The Flin Flon Bombers held their AGM, earlier tonight at their office on Main street.

It was a very good turn out and another very successful season for the entire organization.

President Travis Rideout opened up the meeting by thanking all the sponsors, volunteers, coach's, staff and everyone that has contributed to the success of the team.

Rideout also introduced Austin Mattes as the team's new Director Of Game Day Operations and Social Media. The Bombers are excited about Mattes's enthusiasm and knowledge and will be a great addition to the organization.

Rideout mentioned that the Bombers have never been in a better position fiancially  and are regarded as one of the top organizations in the entire SJHL.

Head Coach and GM, Mike Reagan also addressed the club and recognized all the hard work  from many people that have led to the success of the team. 

Reagan said they will be announcing some trades very soon and have added a scout in Alberta and a new scout in Manitoba.

He is very proud of the fact that they have been to the league final in 4 of the last 6 years and were able to get back there this past season despite losing 10 players from their squad that took Estevan to 7 games the year previous.

Recruitment has gone well and the Bombers should be competitive once again this season.

Janice Slipp, who is the treasurer summed up the meeting by saying the team had a profit of over $100,000.00 due in large part on getting back to the league final.

They were able to pay the City Of Flin Flon an outstanding bill for ice time during the Covid shut down and received $30,000.00 from Hockey Canada for travel costs for the Centennial Cup.

The night concluded with elections for President and 5 Directors for two year terms.

Travis Rideout is back as President by acclamation.

The 5 Directors are: Matt Morrison, Adam Ricard, Tim Babcock, Billy Williamson and Kelly Mansell.

Rideout  is excited about coming back for another two year term. "It is one of those things that you look at a little selfishly, Mike is always close and if I wasn't part of a Championship , I think it would be tough for me personally.  I really wanted to come back as I like what we have going with this board and how the organization is going. It has been a lot of hard work and I have been on the board for 7 years now. I thought I would step away but then I thought I would miss it to much and the winters are long and where else would I be than the Whitney Forum."

The Bombers are expected to make an announcement on their Season Ticket Blitz in the next few days.

The OCN Blizzard have finally hired their new Head Coach and GM, with the announcement of Eric Labrosse this past Monday.

Now the Blizzard have to take care of the next order of business and start to fill out their roster for the up coming MJHL season.

OCN will host a Player Identification Camp in Winnipeg July the 23rd and 24th at the Canlan Arena.

This is open to all 2003 to 2007 born players who would like to attend. There is a fee of $175.00 per player and that will include two hours of ice time each day with dryland training.

The deadline to register is next Thursday July the 20th. You can fill out the registration form on the OCN Blizzard website and email it to  ocnblizzard.camps@hotmail.com.

Any questions can be directed to Head Coach and GM, Eric Labrosse at 514-690-3534.

Second year Flin Flon Bomber and local product Joey Lies had an incredible opportunity , where he was able to represent his country at the World Ball Hockey Championships in Czechia.

Lies was one of 7 Manitobans to crack the National squad and help bring a Bronze medal back to Canada this past weekend.

Joey joined us on yesterday's Norman Sportsline Program and was able to share the experience and talked about how this opportunity came about.

You can listen to yesterday's interview in full right here. https://flinflononline.com/podcasts/nor-man-sportsline

The OCN Blizzard have hired Eric Labrosse as the teams new Head Coach and General Manager ahead of the 2023-24 season.

Labrosse has a wide variety of experience that started in 2015. Working with teams in France2 and Usports leagues, and most recently serving as the Assistant Coach for the Moncton Wildcats in the QMJHL.

The longest running hockey school in Northern Manitoba will be making it's return to the Whitney Forum in August.

The programs for Juniors 6 to9, Intermediates 10 to 13, Skill Development 12 to 15 and the Conditioning Camp will all take place August the 21st to the 24th.

The Specialty Camps which will focus on Power Skating, Shooting and Stickhandling will take place August the 26th and 27th.

The instructors include the Flin Flon Bomber Coach's Mike Reagan and Cole McCaig as well as a bunch of Flin Flon Bomber players both past and present.

It all kicks off with a registration skate on Sunday August the 20th and you can register by contacting Mike at 204-271-1407 or email mikereagan39@hotmail.com.

The Phantom Lake Golf Club is once again offering Youth Golf Lessons for the month of July.

The lessons will take place July 24th, 25th,26th and 27th.

Here are the times.

11am- Ages 7 to 9

11:30- Ages 10 to 11

noon- Ages 12 to 13

12:30- Ages 14 and up.

There is a maximum of 10 kids per group and you can register at the Phantom Lake Golf Club by calling 306-688-5555.

Meet at the driving range.

Congratulations to Flin Flon's Joey Lies who went over to Czechia and won a Bronze Medal in the World Ball Hockey Championships.

Lies. who will be entering his second season for his home town Flin Flon Bombers this fall was one of seven players from Manitoba to make the Canadian squad.

Lies was a big part in the Bronze Medal win over the United States as Team Canada was able to come back from a 3 to 1 deficit to win the game 4 to 3. Lies scored the game winner with less than a minute remaining in regulation.

Canada finished with an over all record of 3-3 which included two wins over the US.

Joey will be our next guest on the Norman Sportsline Program next Tuesday July the 11th at 3:30 on 102.9 CFAR  to talk about this once in a lifetime experience.

courtesy of sjhl.ca

The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League Board of Governors are pleased to announce they have signed Commissioner Kyle McIntyre to a new multi year deal.

“The SJHL Board of Governors are extremely excited to announce this new contract extension with Commissioner McIntyre. After the first year under his leadership, we felt it was extremely important to continue with the vision and goals for the future. This new deal will provide stability in the role moving forward and allow us to continue pushing forward in making the SJHL Canada’s Premier Junior A Hockey League in Canada,” shared Chairman Kyle Adamson.

This year the SJHL improved overall broadcast standards for both the fans and saw significant improvements in followership on all the league’s social media channels. Attendance levels over the season averaged 674 fans per game with over 222,498 fans for the season. In playoffs the average attendance was 1137 per game and the league saw over 38,641 fans attend playoffs gains. The league also saw a record number of NCAA and USport player commitments.

“I look forward to continuing to work with Chairman Adamson, our Management Committee, our Board of Governors , our twelve member franchises, our players and our coaches. I am proud of the work that we have all collectively done this year to make the SJHL Canada’s Premier Junior A Hockey League known for its excellent player development; there is more to do and more to come,” stated SJHL Commissioner Kyle McIntyre.

The SJHL training camps will open August 25th and the SJHL will open its 2023-2024 season on September 22nd. For more information please contact Commissioner Kyle McIntyre commissioner@sjhl.ca

Congratulations to Flin Flon's Gianna Watt who has been selected as the MHSAA'S Athlete Of The Year for 2023.

Watt has had one of the most successful years in Hapnot Athletics history.

Watt, who is a multi sport athlete helped her school win Silver medals in Provincials in volleyball and basketball and a Bronze in soccer.

She also won the Zone 11 Girls singles title in badminton and advanced to Provincials and was named an All Star in all three Provincial Championships earlier this year.

Watt capped off her year with success in the classroom where she was awarded the school Academic Distinction Award for achieving over 90 % the past three years.

courtesy of bombers.ca

The Flin Flon Bombers have officially signed 2005-born defenceman Ethan Andrews.

The product of Victoria, British Columbia, has played the last three seasons at the Pacific Coast Academy. The 5’10”, left-handed shot blueliner produced 6 points (1G, 5A) in 33 games this past season.

“Ethan is a very solid defenceman with a high compete level. I have always been impressed with his IQ on the ice. He is a very consistent player that can be relied on because he shows up to play every night.” – Bombers Head Scout & Director of Player Personnel, Jon Klassen

The Flin Flon Bombers would like to welcome Ethan and his family to the Bombers organization.

The Trout Festival Golf Tournament took part for the Nation's 156th birthday this past Saturday,  and over 50 golfers made their way out to Phantom Lake for the historic event. 

It was a hot muggy afternoon, but it didn't stop many golfers from picking up some great scores on the afternoon.

When it was all said and done, Darcy Sal was able to hold off Neil Goodman and Jeff Woods and took the Championship Flight with a 67.

Woods and Goodman both shot a 70.

Here are the rest of the results:

First Flight- Ryan Bortis

Second Flight- Jamie Edworthy

Third Flight- Wayne Bailey

Ladies

Championship Flight

First Sue Murray, Second- Jordan King, Third Suzie Reid and Fourth Judy Freeborn