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Friday, March 28, 2025

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The Virden Collegiate Institute JV boys basketball team’s successful season included a Zone 9 championship.

As well as the zone title, the Golden Bears also won the Roblin tournament. In the western provincial qualifying tournament, the squad finished fourth out of eight teams. It defeated the No. 8 ranked team in the province before falling to the second ranked squad by eight points. They finished the event with a win.

“I enjoyed coaching every one of those kids on that team,” VCI head coach Roger Branum said. “They all had great attitudes, worked hard and I watched the team improve as the season went on. I was very fortunate to have great support from the parents, grandparents, family and friends.”

He said the team featured “hard working, dedicated young men.” Regarding the team’s strengths, Branum praised their “ excellent defensive skill” and noted “We had a deep bench that all played as a team.”

VCI Varsity Boys Basketball

The Virden Collegiate Institute varsity boys basketball team had a strong campaign.

The team went undefeated in the zone regular season. Coach Cody McPhee said, “The highlight of the regular season was making a large comeback to beat Souris by four.”

The season started with the squad finishing around the middle of the 32 teams at the BSSI Tournament in Brandon. The December event drew teams from the A through AAAA ranks.

In the zone playoffs, VCI beat Wawanesa in the semifinals. It fell to Souris in the championship. The Virden team entered the provincial qualifier in Dauphin ranked 15th. It lost in the first round to Neelin, which went on to claim the AAA provincial title.

VCI Hockey

The Virden Collegiate Institute hockey team concluded its season in the Westman High School Hockey League quarterfinals. It fell, 2-0, to Vincent Massey in the best-of-three series. During the regular season, the Golden Bears posted a 21-16-2-2 record. Coach Doug Roach said he was pleased with the growth the team had.

“Not only individual players but the team as a group,” he said. “Mistakes were made but the players worked at improving. Also the ‘keep going’ attitude. There were many

games that we fell behind in but the team picked up their play, winning many of these games.”

The VCI crew beat Crocus Plains, 2-1, in the opening round of the playoffs. Roach described it as “a physical series with each game being decided by a goal.” VCI won game one, 2-1. It fell 6-5 in overtime in game two and triumphed 4-3 in the third contest.

“Strong goaltending by Owen Charles was a big part of the series win over Crocus,” Roach said. “After letting game two get away from us losing in OT and then falling behind in game three, the ‘keep going’ attitude found in the regular season helped us out for the win. All players played their part doing the little things that make a team successful.”

Englot Top Scorer

After the Virden Oil Capitals’ season wrapped up, Noel Englot was presented with the McNeill Harasymchuk McConnell Top Scorer Award. The second-year forward paced the Manitoba Junior Hockey League team with 44 points in 58 games. As well, he led the Oil Capitals with 20 goals and 24 assists.

U11 Stewart

The Virden Stewart hockey team won the bronze division of the Parkissimo U11 Hockey League. It defeated the Miniota Hawks in the finals.

“It was a really good series and they are a very good team,” head coach Brett Stewart said. “We relied on team play, hard work and effort to be successful. The kids played their hearts out all season and it was nice to see them get rewarded for all of their hard work.”

Oil Caps Volunteers Recognized

Each month the Virden Oil Capitals team up with Manitoba Liquor and Lotteries to recognize a Volunteer of the Month. In March, it honoured Joel Charles. He has been volunteering in various roles with the team since it moved to town. This season Charles has been a dedicated penalty box attendant.

In February, the Oil Capitals recognized Digger the Gopher - the team’s mascot. The squad posted on Facebook that he is “Known for his energetic presence and unwavering support for the team, Digger spreads lots of joy during our games!”

VCI JV hoops squad earns zone title

By Robin Wark