With a number of players seeing their seasons end in Canadian university hockey, a few players have made the jump to the professional level to see if they can make an impact before the seasons at the higher levels finish. Every year, there are a pile of players who look to breathe new life into the hockey dream by signing a contract in one of the lower professional leagues, and we saw four Canada West players do that over the last few days. All four were solid players for their teams while skating at the university level, and they'll look to contribute to what could be long playoff runs by the teams that wanted them. Let's find out who signed contracts this week!
With UBC's shocking exit from the Canada West playoffs two weekends ago, it didn't take the Canada West Goaltender of the Year long to find gainful employment as UBC Thunderbirds netminder Brett Mirwald signed with the ECHL's Allen Americans! That contract was made official on Sunday - one week after Saskatchewan eliminated UBC - as Mirwald will head to Texas to join the Americans. Mirwald was 11-1-2 with UBC this year, posting a 2.27 GAA, a .907 save percentage, and two shutouts in his second season with the T-Birds.
The Saskatoon-born Mirwald played 19 games with Moose Jaw before landing with the Vancouver Giants where he was 38-31-8 in his two seasons with the Giants, posting a 3.13 GAA and a .912 save percentage. Mirwald showed solid improvement this season behind a very veteran Thunderbirds team, and it appears he'll be given a shot at claiming the backup netminder spot behind Americans starter Marco Costantini. Mirwald will need to play well to do that, but we saw him put in some incredible work in the UBC net this year.
Calgary's playoff run ended the same week as UBC's did, but it appears that loss will hurt them a little more as the Canada West winner of the UBC Hockey Alumni Trophy for Sportsmanship and Ability is on the move. Dinos forward Adam Kydd signed a contract with the ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones on Sunday, and he'll look to help the Cyclones in their push to claim the third- or fourth-place spot in the ECHL's Central Division. Kydd, who led Canada West in assists, should arrive in Ohio this week where he'll look to crack the lineup.
Kydd had an outstanding season this year with the Calgary Dinos, notching eight goals and adding 33 helpers to finish second in Canada West scoring. He was, by far, the best offensive player that the Dinos had this year statistically, but winning the award for Sportsmanship and Ability shows that he's talented and has great character. Those are the kinds of players that ECHL teams need in their communities, and Adam Kydd should help the Cyclones on and off the ice.
Saturday saw the Manitoba Bisons lose a promising player as forward Blake Swetlikoff made the jump to the ECHL with the Greensboro Gargoyles. Swetlikoff has six goals and eight assists for the Bisons this season, finishing seventh in team scoring. He had a couple of power-play points as the rookie skated with the advantage, but his lone minor penalty all season was proof that Swetlikoff plays at a high level without costing his team goals. Swetlikoff landed with the Bisons after playing 32 games with the Idaho Steelheads last season.
Swetlikoff split five seasons in the WHL with Spokane, Lethbridge, and Kamloops with his best WHL season coming in 2021-22 where he scored eleven goals and 18 assists in Spokane. Swetlikoff signed with the Idaho Steelheads in September 2024, and got the opportunity to attend training camp with the AHL's Texas Stars. He would be returned to Idaho where he recorded seven assists in 32 games with the Steelheads before making the move to the University of Manitoba in the fall to reunite with head coach Gord Burnett who coached Swetlikoff when he was younger as the two remain friends.
The final player in the foursome above took a bigger step than the previous three as UBC Thunderbirds captain Chris Douglas signed an amateur tryout contract with the AHL's Rochester Americans for the remainder of the season! The winger is coming off a solid campaign where he scored 16 goals, 19 assists, and 35 points to finish tied for sixth-place in Canada West scoring which were all career-high totals for Douglas. He also played 124 games for the Thunderbirds, showing his versatility, endurance, and fitness as he skated in 26-or-more games in each of his last three seasons with the Thunderbirds.
The Richmond, BC native had a solid WHL career with the Red Deer Rebels as he increased his point total in every season except his final year where he was limited to just 23 games. However, 43 goals and 98 points in 250 WHL games was something that UBC head coach Sven Butenschon couldn't pass up, and Douglas joined the Thunderbirds in 2021-22 where he scored 12 goals and 15 points in 20 games as a rookie. Four seasons later, he finished his career with 57 goals and 120 points, catching the eyes of the AHL's Rochester Americans.
No one will fault these four men for signing contracts that keep the hockey dream alive. That's exactly why they're still playing, and they can always return to school to finish their degrees if and when they decide that they accomplished as much as they could in the game. The one thing that can't be stressed enough is that these four men were offered the chance to play professional hockey here and now, and all four chose to answer the door when opportunity knocked.
As we saw with Blake Swetlikoff who left Idaho for Manitoba, maybe this opportunity won't be right when everything is measured. What should be clear is that Swetlikoff took another opportunity despite the first one not working out to his liking. For Swelikoff, Kydd, and Mirwald, the door to return to their university teams might still be open if they want to return. For Douglas, he's getting the biggest shot of the four after he graduated out of the Thunderbirds' program.
Where these oppotunities lead next will be determined by the effort and hard work these four men put into following those dreams. Knowing they all had that drive and dedication to both their educations and the sport could mean that one or more of these players beats the odds. And that would be awesome to see!
After a busy weekend of sledge hockey, the last thing I thought I'd be writing about today is the suspension of a professional hockey franchise. With all three top North American leagues pushing to get to 32 teams so that each NHL team had its own AHL and ECHL affiliates, one of those pillars crumbled today with the news that the Iowa Heartlanders had informed the ECHL that they were suspending operations for the 2026-27 season after a difficult campaign on the ice and at the box office this year. For a league that has rapidly been expanding to meet that 32-team goal, the Minnesota Wild and Iowa Wild will be without an ECHL affiliate next season, so is Iowa the first chip to fall?
The news of the team's suspension was posted on the ECHL website today with the release stating that "the League's Board of Governors has approved the request of the Iowa Heartlanders' Membership for a Voluntary Suspension for the 2026-27 Season". The team will review its position in the community with respect to building a stronger fanbase and a deeper sponsorship roster, and they haven't ruled out other investors who can help keep the team in Coralville, Iowa.
Through 28 games this season, the Heartlanders have drawn the fewest fans at 42,457 - an average of just 1516 fans per game. That's nearly 650 less fans per game than Trois-Rivières averages, and they're not even close to the most recent ECHL expansion teams in Bloomington, Tahoe, and Greensboro. The Utah Grizzlies, who are moving their franchise to Trenton, New Jersey after this season, are averaging 4504 fans, so it's pretty clear that the Heartlanders have a ton of work to do to make Xtream Arena a fun place to be.
Of course, having a 19-30-3 record this season while sitting as the 28th team in a 30-team ECHL doesn't point to a lot of fun despite some unique promotional nights. In five seasons, they made the playoffs just once, and that happened for the first time last season after winning 36 games, eventually falling in the opening round to the Fort Wayne Komets. Iowa looked to build on that success, but they've struggled since the puck was dropped this season.
"This was an incredibly difficult decision that followed months of careful evaluation," majority owner Michael Devlin said in a written statement. "Despite significant efforts to stabilize and strengthen the organization, we concluded that stepping back for a season is the most responsible course while we review long-term solutions."
Iowa won't be the first team to have voluntarily suspended their operations as all of the Columbus Chill (1999), Pee Dee Pride (2005), Augusta Lynx (2008), Columbia Inferno (2008), Fresno Falcons (2009), and the Las Vegas Wranglers (2014) suspended their operations, and all of the franchises ended up relinquishing their ECHL memberships within a year of doing so. I'm not saying that the Heartlanders are headed for the same fate as those six teams, but coming back from taking a year off is like starting up as an expansion team again.
It would be interesting to see what the ECHL brass thinks of Coralville, Iowa. For those who don't know the city, its population was 22,318 people in 2020, making it the 23rd most populous city in Iowa. To fill the 5100-seat Xtream Arena, the Heartlanders would need more than 20% of their total population to attend games regularly. If the Heartlanders are going to be successful, attracting more people from Cedar Rapids would be extremely helpful with that city's population sitting near 138,000 people just 30 minutes away.
Being that I don't own any part of the Heartlanders, the easiest way to get people to come to Coralville's Xtream Arena would be to ice a winning team. Ownership would need to spend wisely with the ECHL salary cap, but putting a winning team on the ice would be something that Heartlanders fans have only seen once in their five seasons of existence. Icing a winning team wouldn't solve all their problems, but fans are more willing to travel for winning squads. That should be a priority if or when the Heartlanders plan to return to the ECHL.
As it stands, the ECHL will jump back up to 30 teams next season with the New Mexico Goatheads joining the circuit, and we already know the Utah Grizzlies are heading to the east coast to become the Trenton Ironhawks. 2027-28 will see another team put down stakes in Augusta, Georgia, pushing the number of teams in the ECHL to 31. With the Heartlanders on the sidelines and the NHL holding onto the dream of 32 affiliated pro hockey franchises, there will need to be some tough decisions made about their viability moving forward.
When it comes to the 2026-27 ECHL season, it seems there will be a distinct lack of Heart(landers) in it compared to this season.
There was no guessing nor any surprises to be found as the final games of the Canada West season played out this weekend. Both the UBC Thunderbirds and the Manitoba Bisons were headed to the U SPORTS National Championship in Elmira, Ontario where they'll be looking to bring home the conference's first gold medal since 2023. The only paperwork needed to be done is which team would go as the champion of Canada West, earning a Canada West championship banner in the process. Let's see who gets the higher seeding for Nationals between UBC and Manitoba this week on The Rundown!
FRIDAY: It had been a while since these two teams met in any fashion, but this meeting carried more weight as the Canada West championship hung in the balance. UBC was 11-1-0 against Manitoba at home in the previous five seasons so things didn't look good for the Bisons as they arrived in Vancouver, but there's a reason why they play these games. Could the Bisons keep the magic going against the Thunderbirds or would the top-ranked team in the nation end the fairytale run by the Herd?
Bisons goals: Dana Goertzen (3)
Bisons assists: Sophia Anderson (2), Kelsey Huibers (2)
Bisons netminder: Emily Shippam (20/24)
SATURDAY: UBC handled Manitoba's attack in Game One, but we saw the Bisons drop the first game against Mount Royal before bouncing back in Game Two. Manitoba would need to make adjustments in the same fashion if they hoped to play on a third-straight Sunday while UBC looked to close out the series and capture their fourth banner in five seasons with a win!
No highlights yet? I'll mark this spot as "Coming Soon".
There are no standings to worry about per se, but there is one image that needs to be posted when it comes to how the west was won.
Outside of the poor framing for the photo, UBC will hang another banner in their arena next season. With fourteen players graduating or moving on from the program, this veteran team made it clear that they were the team to beat all season long, and only two teams can claim they've done this this season: Alberta and Mount Royal. Neither of those teams will be going to Ontario as UBC sits three games away from something that has eluded them for the past four seasons: National Championship gold. Will this finally be their golden year?
Honour Roll
Each week on The Rundown, I highlight the best performances from the weekend's games. It won't always be the top scorer or the best goalie, but I'll have a reason for who gets picked each week. She didn't Canada West Goaltender of the Year honours this season, but it's hard to argue with results when you consider that she's lost just 11 games in regulation time and 17 times total in her entire five-year career. She's been a big part of every UBC banner in the last five years including this year, and that's how UBC Thunderbirds netminder Elise Hugens added her name to The Honour Roll this week!
There's a case to be made that Hugens should be considered to be one of the best netminders to ever suit up in Canada West, but this season was proof that she's one of the greatest. Her 0.87 GAA is among the lowest in Canada West in a single season, her .943 save percentage was only down .003 from last season's career-high, and her six shutouts ties a season-high. However, her work in the playoffs was even better as she allowed two goals in four games as she stopped 68 of 70 shots she faced. Hugens is a big reason that UBC is both the top-ranked team and the Canada West champions in 2026.
The Thunderbirds will need Hugens at her best as they head to Ontario, and she's certainly been that this season and in the Canada West playoffs. She's a combined 20-0-0 this season with her four wins in the playoffs, and she hasn't allowed more than two goals in any of those 20 games. That's the kind of elite goaltending that wins championships as Hugens proved with her efforts this weekend, and that's how UBC Thunderbirds goaltender Elise Hugens made the list!
Ontario's Teams
It took until today, but we're down to the finalists for the McCaw Cup in Ontario as we know which two teams will represent Ontario at Nationals. Ontario Tech squared off against Guelph in one semifinal while Ottawa and Wilfred Laurier battled in the second semifinal.
The Guelph Gryphons may have sent a message to teams heading to Elmira that they're coming to win. Guelph defeated Ontario tech 3-0 in Game One of their series before following that up with a 2-0 win in Game Two as Martina Fedel, fresh off her Olympic run with Italy, stopped all 36 shots she saw in the two games to help Guelph down Ontario Tech. Guelph will play the winner of Ottawa and Laurier.
That Ottawa-Laurier series needed three games to decide a winner with Game Three being decided earlier today. Ottawa won 4-1 over Laurier on home ice in Game One before the series shifted to Laurier for Games Two and Three. Game Two saw Laurier bounce back with a 3-2 win, setting up Game Three today. Thanks to an Angélique Proulx overtime goal, the Ottawa Gee-Gees will play in the McCaw Cup Final as Ottawa downed Laurier by a 3-2 score in the extra time.
Ottawa and Guelph will now meet in the one-game McCaw Cup Final on March 14 with Ottawa travelling to Guelph for the game as Guelph is the higher-seeded team. Both teams will be in Elmira, Ontario for the U SPORTS National Championship, and we'll see which of the teams gets the higher seed as the OUA champion on March 14!
Quebec's Teams
We already knew that Concordia and Montreal were heading to Elmira for Nationals, but we needed to see which team would have the higher ranking from the RSEQ teams. It should come as no surprise that the Concordia Stingers will likely be the second-seeded team when Nationals open as they downed Montreal 5-3 on Thursday before closing out the three-game series with a 2-1 win yesterday to capture the RSEQ championship. If Concordia is the second-seeded team, expect Montreal to be the fifth-seeded team at Nationals.
Atlantic's Teams
As we know, the AUS has one berth at the 2026 U SPORTS National Championship, and last week saw four teams still in contention for that opportunity. We found our finalists this week as two teams were eliminated from the postseason this past week, so let's see which two teams will battle for the AUS championship and the right to go to Ontario for Nationals as one of the top-four teams in Canada.
When we last checked in on UNB and St. Thomas, the Reds held a 2-1 series lead over the Tommies and were looking to close out the series last Monday with a win. Despite a furious push in the third period from St. Thomas, the UNB Reds would hold on to the lead in Game Four, locking down a 4-3 win to take the series 3-1 over Tommies. UNB will play the winner of the UPEI-StFX series on Monday.
The StFX X-Women held a 2-1 series lead over the UPEI Panthers as they met on Monday night, and the Panthers would use their home-ice advantage to score a 3-1 win over the X-Women to force Game Five. That game went on Thursday night in Antogonish, and the X-Women would close out the series with a solid 3-0 win over the Panthers to return to the AUS Final as the defending champions.
The best-of-three AUS championship sees StFX holding home-ice advantage with Game One scheduled for Monday, Game Two in Fredericton on Wednesday, and Game Three, if necessary, back in Antigonish. Again, the winner of this series will move on to the U SPORTS National Championship. The silver medallist goes home.
Famous Last Words?
"This group is going to go down in history," Thunderbirds head coach Graham Thomas said following the Game Two 1-0 win over Manitoba, and he unfortunately might be right for all the wrong reasons.
This Thunderbirds group will have gone to Nationals in five-straight seasons, and all they have to show for their efforts is a bronze medal won in 2023, the same year that Mount Royal brought home the gold medal. They have been one of the top-four seeds in three of four years, and look like they'll be the top-ranked team going into Nationals this season. In each of the three seasons where they didn't medal at Nationals, they finished the tournament in fifth-place.
UBC is 2-3 against RSEQ teams in the last five seasons, defeating McGill in 2022 and Montreal in 2023. They've lost to Concordia, Montreal, and Bishop's, so they've had their struggles against the Quebec conference as the RSEQ has ended their gold-medal run in each of the last three seasons. The only non-RSEQ team to defeat them was Nipissing in 2022 and they claimed the silver medal.
Here's why UBC's run has been historic for all the wrong reasons: in all four seasons, they've been defeated by a team that medalled. In three of the seasons, they've been defeated by a finalist. In none of the seasons has UBC been a finalist. Will the trends continue? If it does and UNB doesn't win the AUS, UBC could be the first team to go to Nationals in five consecutive seasons and not play in the final.
Only three teams have gone to four-straight National Championships and not played in the gold medal final: StFX (1999-2002), UNB (2022-26), and UBC (2022-26). UBC could make history this season.
The Last Word
The eight teams are nearly set as we know that all of UBC, Manitoba, Ottawa, Guelph, Concordia, and Montreal have qualified through their respective conference playoffs. Waterloo will go as the host team and may have the pleasure of playing UBC first based on how their season ended. Of course, we'll wait to see which of UNB and StFX will join the seven teams already named, but we've very close to having a full field for the 2026 U SPORTS National Championship!
Ottawa will make their first appearance at a tournament since 2009 where they finished in sixth-place, and it will be their first appearance since the field increased to eight teams in 2015. Their best finish came in 2004 where they lost to Alberta 2-0 in the gold medal game, earning their only medal at the National Championship.
Guelph's last appearance was in 2019 where they won the gold medal in Charlottetown after downing Manitoba, Montreal, and McGill in their games. This will be the Gryphons' seventh appearance at the U SPORTS National Championship, and that 2019 gold medal is the only medal they have won in their previous six tournaments.
I'll look at more of the teams coming up in the U SPORTS National Championship preview that will come out next week, but it's nice to see a handful of new teams at Nationals this season with Manitoba, Guelph, and Ottawa finding their ways back. There aren't any first-timers like Bishop's last season, but a little diversity among the teams should make for a fun and interesting tournament!
I have no idea why anyone makes a big day out of Trade Deadline Day any longer. Everyone was making a big deal about how the Nazem Kadri trade from Calgary to Colorado was a "blockbuster", yet all I did was shrug my shoulders because Colorado added a third-line centerman. Yes, Kadri likely could play higher up in the lineup, but Colorado's lineup doesn't need him in the top-six forward group. For as much as TSN, Sportsnet, and the NHL Network make Trade Deadline Day a thing, it's not. And it shouldn't be moving forward.
As we've seen in past years, the best or most intriguing trades were made in the days leading up to the deadline. In the salary cap era, seeing star players switch teams at the deadline rarely happens now, and this year's new set of rules made it even harder for teams tight against the salary cap ceiling to find any sort of wiggle room. Even in the years before the salary cap, some of the biggest trades weren't made on deadline day. How did Trade Deadline Day become notable?
You can argue that 1994 may have been the year when the "excitement" started. That was the year that the New York Rangers loaded up for their Stanley Cup run by trading away Mike Gartner, Tony Amonte, and Todd Marchant to bring in Glenn Anderson, Brian Noonan, Stephane Matteau, and Craig MacTavish in three deals. 1994 also saw Al Iafrate join the Boston Bruins in exchange for Joe Juneau who went to Washington, and St. Louis acquired Craig Janney from Vancouver for Jeff Brown, Bret Hedican, and Nathan Lafayette.
The 1999 trade deadline saw a few more big names on the move as the Detroit Red Wings acquired Chris Chelios, Bill Ranford, Wendel Clark, and Ulf Samuelsson in four deals that saw Anders Eriksson, Kevin Hodson, and six draft picks shipped to three different teams. Vincent Damphousse was traded to San Jose by Montreal for three picks, and a trade that sent Peter Zezel from Vancouver to Anaheim was nullified days later after Zezel refused to join the Ducks.
The 2002 NHL Trade Deadline saw the New Jersey Devils acquire Joe Nieuwendyk and Jamie Langenbrunner from Dallas for Jason Arnott, Randy McKay and a first-round pick. The Devils also acquired Stephane Richer from the Penguins for a seventh-round pick, and then Pittsburgh traded Darius Kasparaitis to Colorado for Rick Berry and Ville Niemenen. However, the number of "big names" being moved was starting to dwindle as star players were dealt earlier.
2008 saw a few known stars dealt on the deadline as the Pittsburgh Penguins acquired Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis from the Atlanta Thrashers for Colby Armstrong, Erik Christiansen, Angelo Esposito, and a first-round pick. Shortly thereafter, the Dallas Stars acquired Brad Richards and Johan Holmqvist from Tampa Bay for Jeff Halpern, Jussi Jokinen, Mike Smith, and a fourth-round pick. Buffalo traded Brian Campbell and a seventh-round pick to the San Jose Sharks for Steve Bernier and a first-round pick. Aside from a few big-name players who were past their primes when they got moved later in the day, 2008 had some NHL stars that changed addresses.
2013 had a few big trades happen on deadline day as the New York Rangers sent Marian Gaborik, Blake Parlett, and Steven Delisle to Columbus for Derek Dorsett, Derick Brassard, John Moore, and a fourth-round pick. Tampa Bay sent Cory Conacher and a fourth-round pick to Ottawa for Ben Bishop. Washington dealt Filip Forsberg to Nashville for Martin Erat and Michael Latta. In the days leading up to the deadline, all of Jaromir Jagr, Jay Bouwmeester, Robyn Regehr, and Jarome Iginla were traded, but why worry about those details?
As stated above, most of the stars were dealt to their new teams prior to the final day of swaps in the NHL over the past thirty years. Don't tell network television producers that, though, because they're already blocking off eight hours and booking three dozen analysts to sit in their studios and break down the deal that sent the fourth-line center to a new team for a mid-round pick for an hour. They can review the bigger trades that happened earlier in the week, but it's not thrilling TV if those analysts aren't breaking blockbuster deals.
It might be time to retire "Trade Deadline Day" when it comes to network television. A one-hour recap with a couple of analysts would be more than enough based on how few "blockbuster" trades there are on the actual deadline day, but we know that won't happen because anyone who doesn't break the biggest trade of the day will lose status as an insider. And none of the personalities want that.
I stopped watching years ago. There aren't the big deals that everyone hopes there will be, and the TV just isn't that good. Maybe next year's deadline will be different, but I wouldn't count on it.
I spent my Friday evening in a rink once again, but this game was a little different in that we had the radio gear out, we were broadcasting a game, and we were having a blast! As you may have heard on The Hockey Show over the last few weeks, Jason and I were looking forward to this weekend's set of games featuring Team Manitoba parahockey and the Minnesota Wild sled hockey team in a series being called the Cross Border Classic! Tonight saw Game One of the three-game set kick off the weekend, and we were treated to an incredible display of skill, speed, and talent from both squads as the Wild and Team Manitoba hit the ice! Would we see a Manitoba win?
I'll be honest in saying that, win or lose, seeing sledge hockey getting more attention in this province is vital for the sport's growth, and UMFM through The Hockey Show is proud to be part of this. Jason and I are happy to volunteer our time to give these incredible athletes a brighter future that includes better funding and sponsorships and more opportunities to play, so expect us to continue to work with and partner with Sledge Hockey Manitoba whenever we can.
I was at the rink early today to get things setup, and there already was electicity in the air as a handful of Team Manitoba players were already there to get the raffle table setup alongside the coaches and volunteers. Team Manitoba head coach McKenna Wild said that her team was dealing with nerves as they felt pressure to play well with the added media coverage. We agreed that the pressure they felt was a privilege as the players had a chance to show off the skills and talents they had acquired through practice and hard work.
I had the privilege of chatting with photographer Dan of Ice Wave Media, who captured the image above, as he arrived soon after I began setting up the radio broad cast, and he was just as excited as I was to see how Team Manitoba would fare against the Minnesota Wild. Dan's an outstanding photographer and I'm glad he was there to capture the action from tonight's game. Ice Wave Media will be at all three games to take photos, so make sure you follow them!
It wasn't long before the players took the ice, and it was clear that both sides were fired up based on the pace seen during warmups. Shots had extra zip on them, the players were flying around the ice, and the goalies stood tall. It appeared that we were going to be in for one heckuva game as the teams sent players out for the face-off!
I'm not here to recap the whole game, but let's just say that Minnesota Wild goaltender Ben Schmitz should probably playing in Hockey USA's camps if he'snot already on their list. Manitoba had the ice tilted for most of the first period, but Schmitz came up big on all but one shot as Manitoba peppered him throughout the period. Elijah Armbruster was the only player to beat him as Manitoba took a 1-0 lead into the break despite outshooting the Wild by an 8-1 count.
If there were any nerves from a young Minnesota Wild team, they seemed to shake those off when the second period began. Both sides had chances as plays developed, passes were made, and shooting lanes were found, and it was clear that we had a game on our hands. Manitoba built on their lead to go up 3-0 before Minnesota responded with two quick goals to make it 3-2. Manitoba would add another goal in the dying second of the frame to make it a 4-2 contest, but it was clear both teams ratcheted up intensity in the second period!
The third period saw Manitoba lock down the defensive zone while getting outstanding goaltending from Paul Hamm, and they would add three more goals in the final frame to win Game One by a 7-2 score. Don't let the score fool you in that Minnesota had great opportunities throughout the game, but Hamm made a number of key saves while the Manitoba defence cleared pucks from danger quickly. Hamm seemed to have Zayden Inselman's number all evening as he stopped Inselman on a number of good chances, giving Manitoba the goaltending they needed to be successful as they took Game One!
Players of the game were Minnesota netminder Ben Schmitz and Manitoba forward Cohen Klassen, and seeing the two teams hang out on the ice and chat while showing the friendships they forged was awesome. Manitoba's Isaac Zint, at one point, was chatting with three Wild players, and there were lots of smiles shared among the two teams despite the furious competitiveness they showed.
Even more encouraging was the fact that Team Manitoba featured two women in Alyssa White and Petyon Vergie, but the Minnesota Wild featured two women as well! Adaylia Borgmeier and Kaia Bollmeier were solid in their efforts tonight, and it seems like the women's side of the game is gaining momemtum with these four women suiting up tonight. We know that both White and Vergie are already part of Canada's national women's team, but perhaps Borgmeier and Bollmeier are the next wave for the American team?
If you missed tonight's action, Game Two will be played at 5:15pm tomorrow at the Hockey For All Centre while Game Three goes at 9:15am on Sunday morning. If you can't make it down and you want to hear the action, you can catch Jason and I calling the games on the UMFM Second Stream all weekend long. We'll be on the air for the remaining two games after calling tonight's action, so set your watches and alarms to tune in for that fun! We do encourage you to get down to the rink for the games, though, as admission is free and there are all sorts of raffle prizes being offered to help raise funds for Team Manitoba and Sledge Hockey Manitoba this weekend!
If you're not busy, you know where you should be. Even if you are busy, your internet-connected devices can stream the action via the UMFM stream. Don't miss out on the best parahockey offered in this province because, as we saw tonight, it was an amazing game between two very talented teams who deserve more attention!
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