2007: Manitoba athletes and teams had plenty to cheer about
Hockey, quite naturally dominated the local amateur sports scene the past year.
But there were highlights in just about every sport you could name in Manitoba.
First, Jonathan Toews had the type of year that most hockey players would never dare to dream about. The exciting young forward became the first to win gold medals at both the World Junior and World hockey championships in the same season. Not only that but he led the national junior team in scoring with four goals and seven points in six games and that did not even include the three goals he scored in the shootout to beat the U.S. 2-1 in the semifinal.
Toews, who was selected to the tournament all-star team, was picked as the youngest player to ever compete for Team Canada at the senior world championship where he scored two goals and seven points in nine games.
QUADRUPLE OVERTIME
Toews played alongside Darren Helm of St. Andrews at the World Juniors. The forward scored two goals in six games there, then led the Medicine Hat Tigers into the Memorial Cup tournament, losing to Vancouver in the final.
Selkirk goalie Cody Didychuk was named MVP as he led the MJHL champs to the ANAVET Cup championship when the Steelers dramatically defeated Humboldt 4-3 in quadruple overtime.
Then there were Delaney Collins and Jennifer Botterill, who helped Team Canada win the World Women’s championship right here in Winnipeg.
Collins, who was named an all-star defenceman, also helped the Calgary Oval X-treme win the national gold medal. Botterill scored three goals and five points in five games at the Worlds and led the Mississauga Ice to the bronze medal at the nationals.
The University of Manitoba’s Leanne Kisil was named both a Canada West second-team all-star and the CIS Most Sportsmanlike Player after leading the Bisons to the bronze medal with nine goals and 20 points. The Manitoba Under-18 Girls hockey team also won the silver medal at the Canada Winter Games.
VANIER WIN
In football, the U of M Bisons capped off a perfect season with their first Vanier Cup victory since 1970.
Volleyball also made its mark on the Manitoba amateur scene. The University of Winnipeg’s Dustin Addison-Schneider was named the CIS Tournament MVP as he led the Wesmen to their record-tying 10th CIS men’s volleyball title. The U of M’s Ashley Voth was named both CIS and Canada West Rookie of the Year.
In curling, the Jennifer Jones team won the women’s Players’ Championship, Canada Cup, provincial championship and led both the money and Canadian Team Rankings System points standings. The only thing Jones didn’t win was the national championship where she lost the semifinal to the eventual champ.
In golf, Brad Kirton was named Manitoba Golfer of the Year after capturing both the provincial amateur and mid-amateur championships while Jill Hardy was an honourable mention. Kaitlin Troop, who won the women’s amateur, was also a finalist.
http://winnipegsun.com/Sports/OtherSports/2007/12/31/pf-4746443.html
Golf the Lake Manitoba Narrows
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