One of the best years for a Midget team in Pinawa came to a close on March 20 at the Orville Acres Arena. It was the final playoff series, and the brooms were out again -- but not in favour of the home side.

Landmark/IDC sent the Panthers packing with back-to-back wins.

Game Summaries
Mar. 16: Landmark/IDC 4, Pinawa 2
Mar. 20: Landmark/IDC 7, Pinawa 3

A 6-2 victory in front of the largest and loudest crowd at the Orville Acres Arena in Pinawa this season, gave the club both league and regional Bantam AA banners.

The win capped an amazing comeback, clinching the best-of-5 series after losing the first two games.

The Knights stormed out to a 3-0 lead and never looked back, in the most lopsided game of the finals.

Series Recap
Game 1: Ice Hawks 2, Knights 1 (OT)
Game 2: Ice Hawks 2, Knights 1
Game 3: Knights 3, Ice Hawks 1
Game 4: Knights 5, Ice Hawks 4 (OT)
Game 5: Knights 6, Ice Hawks 2

Yes, the Pinawa Panthers opted to take part in the Rural A Midget provincials, pitting themselves against the best teams in their age group.

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The Knights found themselves on the wrong side of a defensive battle, where both goals in regulation came less than a minute apart.

The Knights are now 4-2-2 vs the Ice Hawks this year, and hope to improve on that record as the series shifts to Springfield.

Game Summary

They hosted a very successful provincial tournament in which they defeated league rivals Seine River, Springfield and Southwest, before losing to the Macdonald Lightning in their final round robin game.

The gold medal final was a rematch of that game, and while the Knights fared better this time around, the result was still the same, giving the Lightning gold and the Knights silver.

Game Summaries
Feb. 29: Knights 6, Seine River 1
Feb. 29: Knights 4, Springfield 1
Mar. 1: Knights 8, Southwest 3
Mar. 1: Macdonald 6, Knights 1
Mar. 2: Gold Medal: Macdonald 5, Knights 3

The Pine Falls Paper Kings were swept in two straight, by scores of 8-2 in Pinawa and 4-2 in Pine Falls.

Christoph Froese played his game of the year, allowing the Panthers to rack up the points in a game that was much closer tan the scoreboard indicated. Steve Guimond, who was kept relatively quiet again Steinbach, caught fire for 4 points in a victory full of scoring and hits.

Ine Pine Falls, it was Wesley Fontaine's turn to shine in net, improving his record on the year to 12-0-2. Pat Scarlett and Colin Kovachik traded goals that came off exciting odd-man rushes to give Pinawa a 2-1 lead after one. That score would hold up until the third, when Pat Scarlett appeared to put his club up by two, only to have the goal disallowed. Ryan Flood ripped one home that counted, giving his team some much needed insurance late in the third. Pine Falls responded two minutes later on the power play. With 1:27 to go, Pinawa found itself down a man again. The Paper Kings pulled their goalie for a 6-on-4 advantage, which was extinguished when Clay Litke broke freely into the Paper Kings zone and put home an empty netter, while being hauled down, with :25 to go.

The Panthers now move on to face number 2 ranked Landmark/IDC.

Before that series begins, Pinawa travels to the Midget A Provincials in Holland this weekend.

Game Summaries
Feb. 28: Pinawa 8, Pine Falls 2
Mar. 1: Pinawa 4, Pine Falls 2

Almost as soon as the puck went in the net, Musey's entire line met in a jubilant, jumping huddle against the side boards.

Musey's second-period powerplay marker -- the third Knights goal scored over a span of 2:01 -- gave the team a 3-1 lead. The goal would stand out as the eventual game winner.

Brent Wold would add a goal three minutes later, giving the Knights 4 goals in 5:01. All four goals were scored on special teams -- two with the man advantage, and two shorthanded.

The win came one night after defeating the Snipers in Ile des Chenes. The Knights dropped the first game of their series in Lac du Bonnet. With the series win, the Knights advance to the league finals against Springfield.

The Knights also participated in Brandon's Tournament of Champions, going 2-2 over three days, and missing the playoffs by a single point.

Game Summaries
Feb. 21: Brandon 9, Knights 1
Feb. 22: Macdonald 8, Knights 3
Feb. 22: Knights 6, Knights 1
Feb. 23: Knights 5, Moose Mountain 1
Feb. 26: Knights 3, Seine River 1
Feb. 27: Knights 4, Seine River 2

Sunday was a shocker as the Panthers racked up at 12-1 win against the Millers. The goals scored would have been tough for any top goalie to stop, while, meanwhile, Wes Fontaine kept the Millers at bay, with his shutout broken just 36 before the game ended.

A day later, three third period goals, two on the powerplay, lifted the Panthers to a 5-2 road victory.

Round one could end as late as Feb. 27, at which time Pinawa will know its next opponent.

MIA: Jesse Kaminski was out for game 2, with a suspension, after a dust up with Brian Saindon. He will return for the next series. Trent Krupka is out day-to-day with a lower body injury.

Game Summaries
Feb. 17: Pinawa 12, Steinbach 1
Feb. 18: Pinawa 5, Steinbach 2

The series shifts to Steinbach's T.G. Smith Arena the next night at 6:45pm. Game three, if necessary, will be back in Pinawa on Tue. Feb. 26 at 7pm.

The Northern Knights closed the book on their provincial qualifyer with Springfield, doubling the Ice Hawks 8-4.

The win came under trying conditions, as the Knights amassed 16 penalty minutes over the game, while the Springfield penalty box was cold and empty the entire 50 minutes of the game.

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A 5-2 victory over the Springfield Ice Hawks means the team is that much closer to qualifying for the annual tournament.

Game two between the Eastman rivals is Monday night.

Game Summary

Clutch performances by Trent Krupka (2G), Justin Evenden (1G, 1A) and Pat Scarlett (1G, 1A) weren't enough in a clash of two high-scoring teams, as Niverville downed Pinawa 8-4.

Robby Musey (1G, 3A), Pat Scarlett (2A) and Steve Guimond (2A) stood out a Lac du Bonnet Lightning lineup bolstered with the addition of Bantam AA All-Stars Brent Wold (2G, 1A) and Stuart Brincheski (1G, 3A). The two teams played to a 5-5 tie in the final game of both teams' regular seasons.

The top three places have been decided in the Midget B standings, with Landmark/IDC (1st, 12-2)
and Niverville (2nd, 12-2) having also completed their seasons.

The playoff format will be decided on Mon. Jan. 12.

Game Summaries
Jan. 25: Niverville 8, Pinawa 4
Jan. 27: Pinawa 5, Lac du Bonnet 5

That seemed to be the Northern Knights, who found the net just 3:18 in to the game, en route to a 5-0 victory over Seine River.

Stuart Brincheski had a three-point night, followed closely by Brent Wold, Brett Hanson and Nicholas Kolbeka, who had a pair each. Cole Cote, Tyndall Fontaine and Tyson Lodge -- who hooked up for the team's final goal of the game -- all registered a single point.

Tough defence kept the Snipers shooting blanks, as Justin Kroker recorded his first shutout of the season.

Game Summary

Stuart Brincheski (2G, 2A), Nicholas Kolbeka (1G), Kody Kennedy (1A), Brent Wold (1A), Brett Hanson (1G, 1A) all picked up points, while Evan Raugust surrendered just two goals in his one period of play. Cole Cote and Bradley Bruchanski used their size and skating skills to put up a great effort defensively.

WHL and Jr. A Scouts were in attendance to take in the afternoon of high-quality hockey.

The Knights were split up amongst the two teams, with Brincheski, Kolbeka, Kennedy, Wold and Raugust suiting up for the home side, while Hanson, Musey, Cote and Bruchanski were part of the visiting team.

The men in black were a special teams force, taking the Southwest by storm. Gary Mroz, Brent Wold and Tyson Lodge all scored on the powerplay, while Kody Kennedy finished off the scoring with a shorthanded marker, in the Knights 9-4 victory over the Jets.

Scoring was scarce on Sunday, as Brett Hanson's first-period goal, combined with tough defence and solid goaltending from Evan Raugust, would earn the Knights a 1-1 tie against the Springfield Ice Hawks. The tie kept the Northern Knights one point ahead of Springfield in the standings. The Ice Hawks have two games in hand.

Game Summaries
Knights 9, Southwest 4
Knights 1, Springfield 1

.

The two teams played a hard fought game in their last meeting, which saw Pine Falls emerge with a 3-2 victory in a shootout.

A packed Sagkeeng Arena Multiplex, with lots of support for both sides, witnessed a shootout of a different kind Sunday night, as both teams lit it up en route to a 9-6 Pinawa win.

Evan "Soft Hands" Seymour led the way with a hat trick and a helper -- including two beautiful backhanders in the second period, where the Panthers forward skated end-to-end, deked in on net, looked like he might pass it back to the trailer, only to slip it past Brendan Gogo himself.

The Paper Kings opened the scoring with a trickler, only to have their lead erased a minute later on a similar Pinawa goal.

Pinawa took a 2-1 lead on a one-timer powerplay goal with 1:07 left in the first. Alex Simard ripped one past Gogo, off a feed from Calvin Bueckert, who picked up the puck fresh off a faceoff win by Ryan Flood.

The Paper Kings got the equalizer early in the second, but Seymour's sweet goals put Pinawa back up by two late in the 2nd. Clay Litke added another just 13 seconds later, making it 5-2 Panthers.

Pineview came out flying in the 3rd, tying the game just 2:16 in to the final frame. The teams traded goals, with Pat Scarlett and new Paper King Andrew Nault finding the net, before Seymour's final goal of the night put Pinawa ahead for good. Scarlett and Steve Guimond gave the Panthers some insurance down the stretch.

(Game Summary)

The Pinawa Panthers headed off to Dauphin for a tournament on the final weekend of Christmas break. It was the first chance this year for the team to see how it would fare against A level squads.

The opening game against Beausejour was perhaps the best of the tournament. Pinawa started off the game playing tentative, obviously a little aprehensive heading in to a tournament stacked with fierce competition. Once the guys realized they were able to play competitively, the team settled down.

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The Northern Knights had 8 games over the Christmas break, starting with a tournament in Winnipeg that kicked off just after Santa's visit.

The Knights opened with a 5-1 loss against the MacDonald Lightning -- a similar result to a Dec. 7 exhbition game between the two sides that saw the Lightning win 4-1. The Knights bounced back, tying the Selkirk Fishermen 5-5, and beating the Seine River Snipers 7-5, before dropping their final two games 11-4 and 4-1 at the hands of the Portage Terriers and Assiniboine Park Rangers.

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The men in black rode in to Steinbach, where they were downed 6-3 by the Millers, before the Thistles thwarted them 3-1 at home.

The Knights missed Brent Wold in both games of the weekend, as well as Gary Mroz who continues to miss action. Garrett Flanagan was out for the Kenora game.

Brett Hanson finished the weekend with 3 points, while Kody Kennedy and Brady Musey picked up a pair each. Cole Cote scored his first goal of the season, after missing the previous game.

The Knights went exactly 3 weeks without playing a regular season game, and now have the next two weeks off for Christmas break, which features the Billy Monseiko tournament.

The two losses, combined with a couple wins by the Springfield Ice Hawks, narrows the Knghts' hold on first place in the league to a single point.

Game Summaries
Steinbach 6, Knights 3
Kenora 3, Knights 1

The Panthers downed the Steinbach Millers 6-4 Saturday afternoon, despite missing 9 players. The win came 13 days after the Millers stunned Pinawa at home. Clay Litke, Robby Musey and Ryan Flood lit it up, and Pinawa held off a 3rd period charge by Steinbach, which saw the Millers score 4 goals in 12 minutes.

The next day, at home, a much healthier bench knocked off the Lorette Comets 3-1, despite giving up the game's first goal.

Four nights later, the Panthers shut out the Springfield Ice Hawks 6-0, scoring one goal for each player missing from the Pinawa bench. Ryan Flood, Alex Simard, Trent Krupka and Pat Scarlett all had two-point games. The team also welcomed back Brent Berry, who left the Remembrance Day game with an injury.

Game Summaries
Pinawa 6, Steinbach 4
Pinawa 3, Lorette 1
Pinawa 6, Springfield 0

The unbeaten Pineview Paper Kings and the second-place Pinawa Panthers played an intense gold medal final, which needed 5 minutes of overtime and two shootout rounds to decide a winner.

Matt Reimer opened the scoring on the powerplay, midway through the first, only to be answered back six seconds in to the middle frame, by Cole Wark, also on the powerplay.

Ryan Flood put his team up with 4 minutes left in the period, but the Paper Kings tied it with just over a minute left on a goal from Jesse Johnston.

Neither team could find the net in the third or overtime periods. Strong goaltending by Justin Kroker and Scott Watling kept both teams at bay. Both teams' defensive units kept a strong presence in front of their own net, often spoiling some great set-ups that looked to be sure goals.

That led to something not often seen in minor hockey: a shootout.

Matt Reimer once again found the back of the net, keeping his team in it, after Pineview struck first. The Paper Kings would slip another one past Justin Kroker, giving Pineview the gold and the Panthers silver.

Also on Sunday:
5th place: Beausejour 3, Lac du Bonnet 0
Bronze Medal: St. Boniface 1, East Selkirk 0

Game Summaries
St. Boniface 3, Pinawa 2
Gold Medal: Pineview 3, Pinawa 2 (SO)

Only one other team, the Pineview Saints (2-0), has a perfect record heading in to the tournament's final day.

Also on Saturday:
Pineview 4, St. Boniface 1
Lac du Bonnet 7, East Seklirk 3
East Selkirk 5, St. Boniface 4
Pineview 7, Beausejour 5

Game Summary

The host team Pinawa Panthers defeated the Lac du Bonnet Lightning 10-2 in front of a huge crowd.

All cylinders were firing for the Panthers, with 12 players registering at least a point.

In other tournament action, Pineview defeated Lac du Bonnet 5-1 and East Selkirk let a 4-0 lead slip away, but managed to edge out Beausejour 5-4 with a late third-period goal.

Game Summary

The top two teams in the league -- Pinawa and Niverville -- combined for two powerplay goals and two shorthanded goals, as the Panthers edged the Clippers 4-3. Pinawa jumped out to an early 3-0 lead on goals from Pat Scarlett, Alex Simard and Clay Litke. Steve Guimond added one in the third, giving the home side a 4-1 edge. Pinawa silenced several of the league's top guns until Niverville's Josh Koop made the game close, scoring a pair of goals with 4:36 and :28 respectively.

Steinbach gave the Panthers a rough start in Pinawa Sunday, jumping out to a 3-0 lead 4 minutes in. Goals by Ryan Flood and Alex Simard seemed to put the team on the road to recovery. However, some tough penalty calls, and non-calls, that left many in attendance bewildered, kept the home side short-handed for nearly the entire second half of the game. The Pinawa penalty box routinely held three or more Panthers, as minors, 10-minute misconducts and game misconducts were sprinkled out over the game's final 28 minutes. Steinbach was sent to the box just 9 times over the whole game -- each of them two minute infractions.

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Pat Scarlett and the Pinawa Panthers played strong through some tough calls, but fell to the Steinbach Millers 6-2 Sunday. The loss came one day after beating Niverville 4-3, which gave the Panthers top place in the league standings.

The Hanson-Brincheski-Lodge line connected for all of the Knights' five points.

The two teams were locked at 1 after the first period, on goals from Brett Hanson and Caden Kulcsycki.

Stuart Brincheski put the Knights ahead early in the third, with Brett Hanson icing the victory late in the game.

The Knights were without Cole Cote and Gary Mroz. They also lost Brent Wold to injury during the game.

Game Summary

After going undefeated (4-0) in the pre-season, a hot opposing goaltender, and a short Pinawa bench helped hand the Panthers their first loss of the year, by a score of 4-2.

Landmark/IDC Blues goalie Carson Penner kept his perfect season (4-0-0) alive, while knocking the Panthers (7-1-0) to second place. In top spot are the Niverville/Ste. Agathe Clippers (7-0-0), who travel to Sagkeeng to play Pinawa tomorrow.

Alex Simard had a pair of assists in the losing cause, on an even-strength goal from Clay Litke, and a short-handed marker from Robby Musey.

Pinawa played a disciplined game, collecting just four minors, but were unable to capitalize on the many Blues powerplays.

Not dressed for the game were Brent Berry, Steve Guimond, Matt Reimer and Mike Parcey.

Game Summary

Fontaine made huge saves all night long -- including a late third period stop, where he grabbed a puck out of mid-air that was inches away from crossing the goal line.

A relatively calm game melted down a couple minutes after Pinawa scored its final goal in the 3-0 victory. With 3:10 left, Steve Guimond and Cole Kyne got in to a fight near the Panthers bench. Both players were gone for the game, and everyone else on the ice received 10-minute misconducts for not heading off to their benches.

On Sunday, the Panthers overcame an early 2-0 defecit, racking up eight straight goals -- six in the second period -- en route to an 8-3 win over the Springfield Ice Hawks.

Jesse Kaminski led the way with 4 points on the afternoon (2 goals 2 assists), vaulting him in to the team's regular season scoring lead.

Brent Berry missed both games, out with a knee injury he suffered against Landmark/IDC on Rememberance Day.

His #4 was good to two players in his absence. Brady Musey, called up from the Northern Knights, collected an assist in the Lac du Bonnet game, while newcomer Cody Fontaine scored two goals in his debut against Springfield.

Game Summaries
Pinawa 3, Lac du Bonnet 0
Pinawa 8, Springfield 3

Jesse Kaminski had a monster week. He scored the game-winner in the Panthers' 3-0 win over Lac du Bonnet, and added four points (2G, 2A) against the Springfield Ice Hawks just three days later.

The Knights rattled off a 4-2 victory Saturday night in Grunthal versus the Southwest Jets, before blanking the now 2nd place Southeast Blizzard 8-0 in Pinawa the next afternoon.

Evan Raugust collected the team's first shutout of the season, as Kayla Farias, Brady Musey, Stuart Brincheski and Brent Wold racked up three points each in the matinee. Musey continued his powerplay excellence -- finding the net with the man advantage late in the third. Five of his six goals this season have come with the extra man.

The pair of wins puts the Knights (8-1-1) four points up on the Blizzard (6-2-1) in the league standings, although Southeast does have a game in hand.

Game Summaries
Nov. 17: Knights 4, Southwest 2
Nov. 18: Knights 8, Southeast 0

A quartet of Knights celebrate during their 8-0 romp of the Southeast Blizzard in Pinawa. The win helped give the Knights a four-point edge over the Blizzard in the league standings.

The Knights had called up Christian Gmiterek to replace the injured Gary Mroz, but learned too late that this was not allowed, since the Knights had 16 healthy regulars.

On the ice, the Knights defeated Seine River 6-3 thanks to a trio of 3rd period special teams goals. Brady Musey scored a powerplay marker, and Brent Wold added a pair -- one on the penalty kill and one with the extra man, to give the Knights the extra boost they needed.

In the Sunday game, The Southwest Jets jumped out to an early 2-1 lead with goals 5 seconds apart. The Jets wouldn't be able to find the net again, however, and goals by Garrett Flannigan and Brady Musey gave the Knights the lead for good. They took the game 6-2.

Game Summaries
Nov. 9: Seine River 1, Knights 0 (forfeit)
Nov. 11: Knights 6, Southwest 2

Friday night in Pine Falls, the third line lit it up, with
Brent Berry (3A), Trent Krupka (1G, 1A) and Daniel Moneyas (2G) all having huge nights in a 6-5 win over the Pineview Paper Kings. Moneyas potted the game-winner just 17 seconds after Pineview tied it 5-5 late in the third. In a tense final 43 seconds, Pinawa found itself on the wrong end of a 6-on-4 situation, with Jesse Kaminski in the box and Paper Kings netminder Scott Watling watching from the bench. The Panthers were able to continue their rock-solid penalty-killing they're known for, having given up just two powerplay goals all season, preserving a win for netminder Christoph Froese.

Sunday in Pinawa, the Panthers' balanced attack and strong defence continued, earning them a 3-1 victory over the Landmark/IDC Blues. Brent Berry's third period goal from Trent Krupka and Alex Simard at :55 of the third period was the game-winner.

Rough stuff broke out for the second straight weekend, with 63 minutes in penalties and 2 game misconducts--both going against the Blues--in the final 9 minutes. Alex Simard and Brent Berry were both injured in their own end during the penalty-laden portion of the game, but were able to return later in the game.

Game Summaries
Pinawa 6, Pineview 5
Pinawa 3, Landmark/IDC 1

There was plenty of rough stuff to cap off another perfect weekend for the Panthers. Pinawa edged out the Pineview Paper Kings Friday night, by a score of 6-5, and staked themselves to a 3-1 victory over the Landmark/IDC Blues.

The night started right for the men in black, who held an early 3-1 lead before giving up four straight goals. The Knights were determined not to let this one slip away, and, on the strength of third period goals from Brady Musey and Brent Wold, tied the game with 9:16 to play.

Wold struck again 5 minutes later, giving his team the edge it needed to maintain an unbeaten record of 5-0-1.

Game Summary

Saturday night, the Panthers rode a three-goal first period to a 6-2 road victory over the Lorette Comets. One of the cleanest games officials had ever seen turned nasty in the final two and a half minutes of play, with 42 penalty minutes handed out -- 40 of those going to the Panthers.

Penalties were once again a concern Pinawa when they faced the Beausejour Comets on home ice Sunday afternoon. While they were only charged with 7 infractions -- all minors -- the whole game, the Panthers killed off every powerplay, including a 5-on-3, en route to a 4-2 win.

The Panthers have only surrendered two goals in each of their three games played this season -- an extra impressive feat Sunday given that defencemen Matt Reimer and Alex Simard were serving suspensions, while Pat Scarlett, who normally patrols the blue line, was called on two take several face offs in the game.

Game Summaries
Nov. 3: Pinawa 6, Lorette 2
Nov. 4: Pinawa 3, Beausejour 2

Pinawa defeated the Beausejour Comets 4-3 in their home opener. The Panthers are off to a perfect 3-0 start, after a pair of wins against Beausejour, and another against the Lorette Comets.

Full schedule

Game Summary

Pinawa 3, Beausejour 2

Knights 6, Seine River 4
Knights 9, Kenora 1

They join the four teams they defeated, along with the Lac du Bonnet Lightning, Landmark/Ile des Chenes Elks, Lorette Comets and Pineview Saints.

League play began this weekend with the Panthers travelling to Beausejour. They take on Lorette next weekend before their home-opener versus Beausejour, Sunday, Nov. 3 at 3:00pm.

(full season schedule)

The Saturday tilt was a nailbiter that saw the Knights give up an early 1-0 lead, to eventually find themselves down 3-2 with 5:25 to go in the game. The Knights rebounded with two goals in the final two minutes, to take the game 4-3.

Sunday's contest was a different story. After scoring the opener, only to give up the early lead, the Knights poured it on in the final half of the period to regain the lead. They never looked back, and chalked up two wins against the Kenora Thistles.

This came after edgeing the Seine River Snipers in exhibition action 2-1.

The Snipers and Southeast Blizzard also swept the opening two games of their season last weekend.

The Knights and Snipers hooked up in Île des Chênes Friday night, and will host the Kenora Thistles Sunday in Pinawa, and the Springfield IceHawks on Halloween in Beausejour.

Game Summaries
Knights 2, Seine River 1 (exhibition)
Knights 4, Kenora 3
Knights 7, Kenora 3
Knights Stats | League scoreboard | Standings

That was the Pinawa Panthers' phrase of the weekend, when asked what it would take to qualify for the A league this season.

With 14 teams each playing four games over four days, trying to predict what record was necessary to earn the team a spot in the top division was nothing short of brain surgery with an added helping of rocket science.

Rather than worry about all the possibilities, the Panthers played with one goal in mind: a sweep in St-Pierre.

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This year's Bantam AA schedule has all of the six teams playing each other three times before the middle of February. That means seeing a lot of the same faces over a short period of time.

Three of the Knights' first four games are against the Kenora Thistles. The Northern team was in Lake of the Woods for two games this weekend, and will wrap up the early season series with the Knights home-opener Sunday at 12:30pm in Pinawa.

Next month the Knights play the Southwest Jets three times in seven days.

(Full Knights schedule)
(League opening weekend schedule)

Several first-year Midgets from Pinawa and Beausejour made their presence felt as the two teams kicked off their pre-season at the Orville Acres Arena.

The young guns proved they belong in the league, sharing the spotlight usually reserved for 17-year-olds.

Every goal scored in Pinawa's 4-3 victory came off the stick of a 1992-born player -- the youngest guys eligible for full-time duty on a Midget roster.

The Panthers, a team stockpiled with speedsters, came out flying -- scoring early, and hitting often.

Pat Scarlett put Pinawa on the board, with a rocket from the blue line, just under five minutes in.

The Panthers got themselves into penalty trouble midway through the opening period. Stellar defense and goaltending allowed the Panthers to kill off one penalty, but Brad Dillabough burned Pinawa the second time around, tying the game at 1 late in the first.

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It was the first time the teen had been home
since being taken to hospital in Winnipeg on
July 15, where he was later diagnosed with
the most severe form of West Nile Virus.

A crowd of over 300 crammed in to the town's
high school gym for a supper to benefit his rehab
fund. Mike was greeted with applause as he arrived
in his new wheelchair. Once the tables were cleared,
hundreds more packed the place for a social,
featuring local bands Dog Pound and Tinnitus.

The region united in support for Mike. Stores
donated the main course of the meal, with
diners themselves bringing salads, sides
and deserts. The bands played for free,
silent auction prizes poured in, and
table settings were designed by a local gardener.

Community members donated their time to setup,
cook and serve supper and drinks, take tickets
and clean up.

Silent auction tickets were snapped up by the
capacity crowd, leaving organizers astounded.

The support was so overwhelming that people
looking to buy tickets and offer volunteer support
had to be turned down.

Mike is back in hospital in Winnipeg, where he
continues to recover from the virus.

Leave Mike a message.
Read the Winnipeg Free Press' front page story
from Aug. 10 that featured Mike.

PRACTICE SCHEDULE
Squirts - Monday 5:30-6:30pm and Wednesday 5:00-6:00pm
Novice - Tuesday and Thursday 6:00-7:00pm
Atom - Monday 6:30-7:30pm and Wednesday 6:00-7:00pm
Pee Wee - Tuesday and Thursday 7:00-8:00pm
Bantam AA - Wednesday 7:00pm-9:00pm in Pinawa (plus practices in other towns as scheduled)
Midget - Tuesday and Thursday 8:00-9:30pm