myWestman.ca weekend sports wrap: Krzyzaniak helps Canadian U-18 women win second straight gold medal

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The following is a complete look-back on what transpired in local sports over the weekend . . .

Krzyzaniak helps Canadian U-18's win second straight gold medal

Neepawa's Halli Krzyzaniak won a second consecutive gold medal at the World under-18 women's hockey championship over the weekend.

The 17-year-old blueliner and her Canadian teammates defeated the United States 2-1 in overtime on Saturday in Heinola, Finland.

Karly Heffernan scored 58 seconds into overtime to give Team Canada the victory. Catherine Dubois gave Canada a chance at victory when she scored with just 13 seconds left in regulation to send the game into an extra period.

Krzyzaniak, who finished the tournament with two goals and seven points, was named the tournament's best defenceman at the event.

It's the second straight title for Canada, who finished the tournament with a perfect 5-0 record. Krzyzaniak was a member of the Canadian squad that defeated the U.S. in last year's gold medal game in the Czech Republic.

Brandon's Ashleigh Brykaliuk and Bruxelles' Cassidy Carels were also members of the Canadian squad.

Natives fall to Stamps, Blizzard

The Manitoba Junior Hockey League's Neepawa Natives took to the road and ended up dropping both of their games over the weekend.

On Friday night, Dylan Favell scored the game-winner in the third period as the host Swan Valley Stampeders defeated the Natives by a score of 4-3.

Stampeders' blueliner Landon Peel opened the scoring at the 3:18 mark of the first period before Natives' forward Derrick Brooks tied the game with a power play marker approximately six minutes later.

The Stamps would eventually re-take the lead with less than a minute to go in the first as Mitchell Eisenberg scored on the power play.

The Natives would rebound in the second period as Sam Briscoe and Brayden Cuthbert netted tallies to give Neepawa a 3-2 lead before Justin Valentino of the Stamps would tie the score at three apiece at the 15:33 mark.

Landon Noel picked up the win between the pipes for Swan Valley, while Jeff Stallard took the loss in net for Neepawa.

On Saturday, the Natives fell to the league-leading OCN Blizzard 6-2 in The Pas.

The Blizzard took a 1-0 lead into the dressing room after Darien Cardinal netted the opening tally of the game in the first period.

Thomas Ward-Cardinal and Jack Petrino would give OCN a 3-0 lead in the second period before Craig Fournier would score Neepawa's first goal of the game at the 17:06 mark.

Neepawa's Brayden Cuthbert scored early in the third before Roger Tagoona netted back-to-back tallies for the Blizzard. Brady Constant would finish the scoring on the night with a goal late for OCN.

Former Native Alex Henry got the win between the pipes for OCN, while Jeff Stallard took the loss in net for the Natives.

The Natives now sit with a record of 9-23-5 on the season and remain in last place in the Sher-Wood Division. The club sits seven points back of the Waywayseecappo Wolverines for fifth place.

Here are the rest of the scores from the MJHL over the weekend:

Friday:
Winnipeg 4 OCN 2
Dauphin 4 Waywayseecappo 3
Portage 4 Selkirk 1
Steinbach 5 Winkler 4 (OT)

Saturday:
Winnipeg 4 Swan Valley 2
Dauphin 4 Waywayseecappo 3 (SO)
Portage 4 Winkler 0
Steinbach 4 Virden 2

Sunday:
Virden 4 Selkirk 2

Natives deal Koop

The Natives pulled the trigger on a trade on Sunday, shipping its No.1 goaltender Corey Koop to the Steinbach Pistons for future considerations.

Koop was a busy netminder for Neepawa as the 20-year-old faced the most shots in the league while with the Natives with 1147 shots.

He had a 7-21 record with 3.42 goals against average and a .921 save percentage.

The Squamish, B.C. product was acquired by Neepawa last May in a deal with the Winkler Flyers.
Wheat Kings lose to Tigers, Pats

Wheat Kings playoff hopes take hit

The Brandon Wheat Kings' playoff aspirations took a hit over the weekend.

The WHL club dropped a 4-2 decision to the Medicine Hat Tigers on Saturday night at Westman Communications Group Place in Brandon.

Curtis Valk of the Tigers scored early in the third to snap a 2-2 tie.

Tim McGauley and Jason Swyripa scored for the Wheat Kings in the loss.

On Sunday night, the Wheat Kings travelled to Regina to take on the Pats and wound up falling by a score of 3-1.

Tim McGauley scored the lone goal for the Wheat Kings, who now sit with a 14-24-2-2 record and are now eight points back of the Pats for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Manitoba Midget AAA Hockey League weekly update: Chiefs defeat Thrashers, Selects

The Yellowhead Chiefs have taken sole possession of first place in the West Division after two wins over the weekend in Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League action.

Brock Paddock scored the shootout winner, helping the Chiefs defeat the host Winnipeg Thrashers 3-2 on Saturday.

On Sunday, Bradley Bowles netted the overtime winner as the Chiefs edged the Eastman Selects 5-4 in Beausejour.

With the two wins over the weekend, the Chiefs improved to 23-9-0-2 and currently sit one point ahead of the Pembina Valley Hawks for first place.

The Brandon AAA Wheat Kings meanwhile, sit in third place with 46 points after falling to the Hawks 4-2 on Saturday and following that up with a 10-2 win over Interlake on Sunday.

The Southwest Cougars sit in fourth place with 36 points. The Cougars defeated Interlake 3-1 on Saturday and on Sunday, dropped a 2-1 decision to the Winnipeg Wild.

Tiger Hills Hockey League: Farmers edge Nordics

The Neepawa Farmers squeaked out a 6-5 win over the Glenboro Nordics on Saturday night in Tiger Hills Hockey League action.

With the win, the Farmers improved to 9-3-0 on the season and are now six points back of the Carberry Plainsmen for first place in the East Division.

The Souris Elks meanwhile, defeated Boissevain 6-3 on Friday and currently sit in first place in the West Division with a 12-0-1 record.

NHL lockout over

It looks as though the NHL lockout has come to an end.

After 113 days and a 16-hour negotiation marathon that concluded at four in the morning on Sunday, a tentative deal has been reached on a new 10-year collective bargaining agreement between the National Hockey League and the NHL Players' Association.

The deal needs to be ratified with the start date and number of games in the 2012-13 season still to be announced.

According to various reports, the NHL Board of Governors will meet in New York City to vote on the new CBA on Wednesday.

Pauls wins Turtle Mountain Curling League title

Manitou product Steve Pauls has taken home this year's Turtle Mountain Curling League title. Pauls defeated Deloraine's Murray Warren 5-3 in the championship final on Saturday. Meanwhile, Russell Shackel beat Ryan Couckuyt 5-2 in the consolation final.

Provincial junior curling championship to wrap up on Monday

The provincial junior men's and women's curling championship is taking place at the Brandon Curling Club.

Pembina's Daniel Birchard has earned a bye into the men's final, while St. Vital's Shannon Birchard earned a spot into the women's final.

Kyle Doehring of West Kildonan will take on Matt Dunstone (West Kildonan) in the men's semifinal, while Salena Kaatz of St. Vital will battle Beth Peterson of Victoria in the women's semifinal. Both semi's will take place on Monday morning with the finals taking place in the afternoon.

In photo: Krzyzaniak and Team Canada celebrate moments after defeating the U.S. in the championship final at the World women's under-18 hockey championship in Finland. Photo courtesy of Hockey Canada.