U18 AAA weekly roundup: Wheat Kings sweep Northstars in Thompson

The Wheat Kings swept the Norman Northstars in Thompson this weekend, winning 6-1 and 5-2; Kevin Knee scored twice on Sunday.

The Wheat Kings swept the Norman Northstars in Thompson over the weekend in Manitoba U18 AAA play. Brandon won 6-1 on Sunday and 5-2 on Saturday, adding to a strong run in the standings. Several other league teams recorded a mix of wins and losses across their schedules. Upcoming fixtures for many clubs are listed for the coming days. Key results: - Wheat Kings (26-6-0-1), tied with the Winnipeg Bruins for second place, beat Norman Northstars (2-32-1-2) 6-1 on Sunday and 5-2 on Saturday in Thompson. Kevin Knee had two goals on Sunday; Benjamin Sveistrup, Matthew Dupuis, Cole Dupuis and Crew Elder also scored in the 6-1 game, and Hudson Champagne had two goals and an assist in the 5-2 result. Goaltending: Cooper Dryden made 19 saves for Brandon on Sunday and Urijah Moosetail made 12 saves on Saturday; Norman’s Westyn Hlady stopped 34 shots both days. - Southwest Cougars (18-13-1-1) lost 3-0 to the Winnipeg Thrashers on Saturday and 5-0 to the Westman Wildcats on Friday, but beat the Yellowhead Chiefs 4-1 on Wednesday. Noted goaltending: Tate Barnaby made 27 saves for the Thrashers in the 3-0 game; Brady Shields made 30 and 27 saves in two appearances for Southwest. - Yellowhead Chiefs (14-21-0-0) played a home doubleheader against the Eastman Selects and lost 3-2 on Sunday and 4-3 on Saturday despite a late third-period comeback. Nolan Kozak scored multiple times; Landon McGregor made 32 saves in both games. - Parkland Rangers (16-11-4-0) were on the end of heavy losses to the Winnipeg Bruins, falling 8-1 on Sunday and 7-1 on Saturday; Dayson Martin and Noah Hanneson scored the Rangers’ goals across those games. Carter Sigurdson made 31 and 34 saves in the two starts noted. - In Manitoba Female Hockey League U18 AAA action, the Yellowhead Chiefs (9-8-2-2) lost 2-1 in overtime to the Winnipeg Avros on Sunday after Presley Hodson opened the scoring, and beat the Eastman Selects 3-2 in overtime on Saturday with Emma Pollock scoring the winner. - Westman Wildcats (10-6-0-4) defeated the Interlake Lightning 5-1; Ivy Perkin recorded a hat trick and Shannon Hees made 29 saves. Summary: The weekend featured a clear highlight with Brandon’s Wheat Kings sweeping Norman and several other clubs posting mixed results across the Manitoba U18 AAA schedule. League goaltenders and individual scorers were notable in several games, and teams have scheduled matchups through the coming week and weekend, including games for Brandon, Southwest, Yellowhead, Parkland and Westman.