The Best are the Best Among Manitoba's Elite AAA, Prep and Junior Teams

It was Mason Mykichuk’s week, but Jayden Ward, Kate Cairns, Keestin Danielson, Jackson Kostiuk, Chloe Nicholas and Luke Wagner all had a pretty good time themselves.

Game On Hockey Brief — November 2–8

River East’s four-game surge—powered by Mason Mykichuk’s five-goal night—was the MMJHL’s defining development. RINK Winnipeg’s U15 Prep team stretched its winning streak to 10, while Pilot Mound produced a dramatic overtime victory.

• Standings: St. James remains first at 13-2 with 26 points. St. Boniface has won five straight and sits second at 11-4, four points back. River East is third at 9-4-1 after four consecutive victories.
• River East surge: Mykichuk scored five times in a 7-2 win over Pembina Valley on November 6. The Royal Knights then defeated Charleswood 5-2 Sunday.
• St. James: Rebounded from its loss to River East by routing Transcona 9-2, then beating Pembina Valley 5-2. Tyson Buffalo scored twice in both victories.
• Other Sunday results: Stonewall beat Transcona 6-4 behind Gavin Holod’s hat trick; St. Boniface defeated the Raiders 5-3; the Twins beat St. Vital 4-1.
• Player watch: Jayden Ward leads St. James with 32 points. River East’s Mykichuk has 29; Charleswood’s Carson White has 27. Transcona’s Ryder McLure and River East’s Nolan Fielding share the goal lead at 13.
• Feature angle: “Five goals, one statement” — Mykichuk’s breakout night and how River East has become a contender while operating without Terry Sawchuk Arena.
• Secondary angle: The Riels’ five-game rise and whether they—not St. James—now possess the league’s best current form.

Sources: MMJHL official site, River East schedule. Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League

CRJHL

• The Big Game: The Big game of the week came on Friday. Nov. 6, when Beausejour went into the Hylife Centre in LaBroquerie and beat the Habs 8-7 in overtime. With less than two minutes to play, Luke Wagner scored for the Comets to tie the game at 7-7 and then 5:45 into OT scored the winner. Jackson Kostiuk, the CRJHL’s leading scorer (11 goals and 28 points) had two goals and an assist for Beausejour.
• Chasing the Comets: The Beausejour Comets still lead the CRJHL with a 9-1-0 record and 26 points. Arborg is still second at 7-3-0 and 21 points. The defending chaps from LaBroquerie are third at 5-4-1 for 16 points
• Feature angle: “Building a fan base from scratch” — how Altona is marketing Junior B hockey, attracting volunteers and establishing game-night traditions.

Source: CRJHL official site.

• Danielson’s Year: OCN’s Keestin Danielson continues to rip the league apart. The 21-year-old from Prince Albert has 16 goals and 34 points in 10 games as he’s led the defending champion Storm to a 7-1-2 start. The Norway House North Stars are next in the standings with a 6-2-1 record while Cross Lake is third at 5-3-2.

MWJHL

• Key results: Northern Stars blanked the Golden Eagles 1-0 on November 7. Manitoba Blizzard edged the Grey Owls 3-2. On Sunday, Western Predators upset first-place Polar Ice 4-3.
• Standings context: Polar entered Sunday first with 15 points, followed by Northern with 14 and Blizzard with 13. Sunday’s remaining results had not fully populated when checked, so the final table may still shift.
• Player watch: Silvertips’ Chloe Nicolas led the published scoring table with 21 points. Polar’s Maisie Duffin and Silvertips’ Raya Hrankowski followed with 19; Duffin had a league-best 11 goals.
• Team storyline: Western’s upset of Polar could be the confidence-changing result for a club that entered the weekend near the bottom.
• Feature angle: “The upset that changes a season” — how Western solved Polar and whether the performance can trigger a climb.
• Secondary angle: Northern’s defensive identity following another shutout.

Sources: MWJHL scores, MWJHL schedule and leaders. themwjhl.ca

MFHL U18 AAA

• The Best are Best: The teams our expert Ferdi Nelissen chose to battle it out all season, are the teams on top of the heap in the MFHL U18 AAA loop. The Winnipeg Avros and Westman Wildcats lead the way with equal records of 9-1-0 for 18 points. The Winnipeg Ice are next with a record of 7-1-1 for 15 points and the Eastman Selects are fourth with a mark of 6-1-1.
• The Best are Best: Indigo Stone of the Westman Wildcats is the best goalie in the league with a goals against average of 0.80 and a save percentage of .960 in five games while teammate Alana Champagne has a GAA of 0.81 and a save percentage of .964, also in five games. Georgia Koop of the Wildcats is the league’s leading scorer with six goals and 12 points in 10 games. Kate Cairns, the captain of the Ice, is next with three goals and 12 points in nine games.

CSSHL — Manitoba programs

RINK Hockey Academy Winnipeg

• U15 Prep: Extended its winning streak to 10 with a 7-1 victory over Okanagan Hockey Colorado. Defenceman Ryder MacLean scored twice, Jake Gagro had a goal and an assist, and RINK held a 57-14 shot advantage.
• U17 Prep: Avenged Saturday’s 6-2 loss to Calgary International by winning Sunday’s rematch 7-4. Sully Taylor and Grayson Speirs each scored twice and added an assist.
• Women’s U18 Prep: Beat Balmoral Hall 5-0. Captain Rowyn Street had a hat trick and an assist; Sienna Bennett stopped all 25 shots.
• U15: Jackson Ross scored a hat trick in a 5-2 victory over OHA Edmonton.
• Feature angle: “Ten straight” — the structure, depth and player development behind RINK’s dominant U15 Prep run.
• Secondary angle: Street’s continuing growth as captain, scorer and emotional centre of the women’s team.

Pilot Mound Hockey Academy

• U15 Prep: Erased a 3-1 third-period deficit and beat Pacific Coast 4-3 in overtime. Brycen Faul tied the game, then set up Dane Magwood’s winner. Magwood has 10 goals in six league games.
• U17 Prep: Earned a point in a 3-2 overtime loss to Edge. Christian Caby and Edin Korajac scored; Lucas Mills made 36 saves.
• U18 Prep: Lost 4-0 to Prairie despite 57 saves from Zach Henry as Pilot Mound was outshot 61-13.
• Feature angle: “Fifty-seven saves and no surrender” — Henry’s workload and the mental challenge of keeping an overmatched team competitive.
• Secondary angle: Faul and Magwood’s chemistry powering the U15 Prep comeback.

Balmoral Hall Blazers

Best immediate Game On leads: Mason Mykichuk’s five-goal explosion, River East thriving through displacement, RINK’s 10-game U15 Prep streak and Zach Henry’s 57-save performance for Pilot Mound.