The junior varsity playoffs begin today at the Provincial High School Badminton Championships at Sport Manitoba in downtown Winnipeg. Qualifying for the round of 16 are Zach Pritchard of Carman and Koen Bleznuk of Garden Valley in boys singles; Dani Grenier of St. Jean in girls singles; Tyson Mullin & Kiru Griffin of Morden and Carson O'Connor & Linden Findley of Carman in boys doubles; Logan Speers & Rylee Thiessen of Morden and Sophia Cox & Presley Wolfe of Carman in girls doubles and Kaden Dyck & Alexi Gerbrandt of Northlands Parkway in mixed doubles. The varsity playoffs begin Saturday morning. Qualifying for the round of 16 are Sean Aguinaldo of Morden and Griffin Carnellley of Carman in boys singles along with Cade McCallum & Ryder Wolfe of Carman and Liam Klassen & Raiden LeGall of Morden in boys doubles. Pool play wraps up today in girls singles, girls doubles and mixed doubles. 


Canada defeated Latvia 4-0 and will face Sweden on Saturday in the semifinals at the 2024 World U18 Hockey Championship in Espoo, Finland. Carter George turned aside all 23 shots for his second shutout. Gavin McKenna had one assist, tying Macklin Celebrini (2023) and Tyson Jost (2015) for the single-tournament points record by a Canadian with 15. The United States will meet Slovakia in the other semifinal. 


Hockey Canada has announced the host locations for Canada’s 2025 U18 national club championships. The Esso Cup will be held in Lloydminster, Alberta, and the Telus Cup will return west to the Fraser Valley in British Columbia. From April 20-26, the Lloydminster Steelers of the Alberta Female Hockey League will welcome five regional champions to compete for Canada’s Women’s U18 National Club Championship at the Centennial Civic Centre, marking the fifth time the Esso Cup has been hosted in Alberta and the first in the Border City. The Fraser Valley Thunderbirds of the B.C. Elite Hockey League will make their national championship debut at the Telus Cup from April 21-27 at Chilliwack Coliseum, with Canada’s Men’s U18 National Club Championship returning to British Columbia for the first time since 2017. 


The Winnipeg Goldeyes play their first of five exhibition games today (4 p.m.) against the Canaries in Sioux Falls. The Fish will open the 2024 American Association season on May 9th in Texas against the Cleburne Railroaders. Winnipeg's home opener is Tuesday, May 21st versus the Chicago Dogs.