By Derek Holtom /

Dauphin Kings

After coming back from a 2-0 deficit to win their first-round playoff series against the OCN Blizzard, the Dauphin Kings were simply pummeled in the second round, losing in four straight to the Portage Terriers.

While the playoff loss was disappointing, the Kings are much more focused on the future, and they are a little more than a year away from hosting the RBC championship, the year-end tournament to determine the top junior A team in the country.

The Kings lose seven 20 year olds, leaving plenty of holes to fill for the coming season. No doubt they will be looking for veteran talent from across the country, as they attempt to ice a highly competitive team built for one purpose – winning a national title.

In other Dauphin news, former King Jeff Penner has been nominated for the AHL’s American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year awards. The winner will be announced in late April.

Neepawa Natives

Not much news coming out of the Neepawa Natives camp these days.

They were swept out of the playoffs by the Winnipeg Saints. Since then, they hosted their annual awards banquet, and not much else.

OCN Blizzard

The OCN Blizzard shocked many when they opted not to continue on with Doug Hedley as their head coach, even after he got a young Blizzard squad back into the playoffs and won the MJHL’s coach of the year.

The organization which runs the Blizzard said the goal was to get into the league final this year, and the ANAVET Cup next year. When that didn’t happen, they parted ways with Hedley.

The Blizzard are currently looking for their new bench boss.

Portage Terriers

Ever since they knocked the OCN Blizzard off their perch as the most dominating team in the MJHL, the Terriers have been the class of the Sher-Wood Division, and arguably 
the MJHL.

The Terriers are headed back to the ANAVET Cup after a convincing five-game victory over the Selkirk Steelers in the MJHL final.

The Terriers are now on a collision course with the Humboldt Broncos in the ANAVET Cup, setting up a repeat of last year’s affair.

The good news continued for the Terriers off the ice as well, as the Terriers captured three of the four monthly awards from the MJHL.

Brenden Walker was named the Husky Mohawk Rookie of the Month, Bryan Mountain was named the Sher-Wood Hockey Goaltender of the Month, and Drew Ellement was named the SP Apparel Defenceman of the Month.

Swan Valley Stampeders

The Swan Valley Stampeders will have a new man behind the bench after they agreed to a three-year deal with former head coach and general manager Guy Vestby.

Vestby will now serve solely as the team’s GM. He will help the team spearhead efforts in finding a new head coach.

The franchise was also buzzing about a pair of former players who made it all the way to the Frozen Four, the NCAA’s championship semifinals.

Ian Lowe and Orlando Alamano are part of a Bemidji Beavers squad which picked up two huge wins over Notre Dame and Cornell to make it to the Frozen Four.

Other MJHL alumni on the Beavers include Ryan Adams (Dauphin Kings/OCN Blizzard) and Tyler Scofield (OCN).

Scofield was especially effective in the two wins, scoring in both games.

Waywayseecappo Wolverines

The good news for the former MJHLers on Bemidji was also bad news for another 
MJHL alumni.

Sean Collins, a former member of the Waywayseecappo Wolverines, was part of the Cornell team which lost to Bemidji with a shot at making it to the Frozen Four.

It’s still a big accomplishment for the Wolverines’ franchise to have an alumni make it to the final eight in the NCAA tournament, something they can use to help recruit players in the future.