December 6, 2022
Grundahl, Pletz at International Biathlon races
Regina biathletes Janice Grundahl and Logan Pletz were in action over the weekend at the IBU Cup in Sweden.
Pletz finished 28th in the men’s 12.5-kilometre pursuit, 45th in the men’s 20-km individual, 50th in the men’s 10-km sprint and 60th in another men’s 10-km sprint.
Grundahl best performance was in the women’s 15-km individual, where she finished 47th. She also had results of 52nd in the women’s 7.5-km sprint, 59th in the women’s 15-km individual and 62 in another women’s 7.5-km sprint.
The pair will now turn their focus to more IBU races on Dec. 15-18 in Italy.
More at Biathlon Canada
Deck at the FINA World Junior Diving Championships
In her first-ever international event, Regina diver Presley Deck finished with two top-10 performances at the FINA World Junior Diving Championships in Montreal
In the women’s 14-15 age group, Deck finished in a tie for fourth place in the 1-metre springboard. She followed that up with a fifth-place finish in the women’s 10-m platform. She also placed 11th in the 3-m springboard event.
Deck is coached by Saskatoon’s Mary Carroll, who also works with Calgary-based diver Luc Goertzen. In his two events, Goertzen finished seventh in the men’s 3-m springboard and 10th in the men’s 1-m springboard.
More at Diving Canada
Sask. duo at the WBSC Men’s Softball World Cup
Saskatchewan products Justin Laskowski and Zach Pierce, along with the rest of the Canadian men’s national softball team, are bringing home a silver medal from the Men’s Softball World Cup in New Zealand.
In the final, Australia beat Canada 5-1 to claim the gold medal, leaving the Canadians with silver. Canada now has 13 medals, including four gold, six silver and four bronze, making the country the most successful team in men’s softball World Cup events.
Saskatoon product Devon McCullough was previously named to the team but was not able to attend.
More at Softball Canada
Schmitz, Taylor on top at Skate Canada Challenge
At the Skate Canada Challenge in Winnipeg, Saskatchewan figure skating duo Ashlyn Schmitz and Tristan Taylor put together a first-place performance in the junior pair event, with a score of 128.03, which was 20 points clear of second place.
Fellow Saskatchewan skaters Caidence Derenisky and Raine Eberl placed fifth in senior pairs, while Damien Bueckert finished 21st in the junior men event and Rhea Renwick placed 38th place in junior women’s skate.
More at Skate Canada
Puto in action with the national bobsleigh team
After being named to Canada’s national bobsleigh team, Humboldt’s Luke Puto put together a fifth-place finish in the two-man bobsleigh event with partner Orion Edwards at the North American Cup in Lake Placid on the weekend.
The Canadian duo put up a time of 1:57.26, finishing 2.30 seconds back of first place.
More at Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton
Neufeldt races at skeleton World Cup
Saskatoon’s Evan Neufeldt finished in 17th place in the skeleton event at the IBSF World Cup in Park City over the weekend.
Neufeldt put up a time of 49.51 in his first run and 49.54 in his second run, to finish 1.38 seconds back of first place.
More at Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton
Canada at the Para Hockey Cup
At the Para Hockey Cup in Bridgewater, N.S., Team Canada is coming home with a silver medal after losing 5-1 to the United States in the gold medal game on Saturday.
After keeping the game close through the first two periods, the Americans pulled away in the third, scoring four goals to claim its seventh-straight gold medal at the tournament. Canada has lost to the U.S. in the last six years of the event.
Regina’s Kyle McDonald is the team’s mental performance consultant.
More at Hockey Canada
Pair of Sask. products named to World Junior selection camp
Davidson’s Nolan Allan and Saskatoon’s Kevin Korchinski have earned invites to Team Canada’s national junior team selection camp ahead of the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship, which begin on Dec. 26 in Halifax and Moncton.
This season, Allan has 14 points in 22 games combined between the Prince Albert Raiders and Seattle Thunderbirds, while Korchinski has 28 points in 20 games for the Thunderbirds. Allan was previously traded to Seattle in November.
Also earning a selection camp invite was Regina Pats forward and the league’s leading scorer Conner Bedard.
The coaching staff features Prince Albert product Kelly Guard, who is the team’s goaltending consultant.
More at Hockey Canada
Clark set for more action with women’s national team
Saskatoon product Emily Clark will once again be wearing the maple leaf for Canada’s women’s hockey team when they take to the ice this month against the United States in the Rivalry Series.
Eighteen returning players, including Clark, who was part of the first three games of the series, will join six new players on the roster for the next two games, set for Dec. 15 in Henderson, Nev. and Dec. 19 in Los Angeles. Canada is still looking for it’s first win of the series after dropping three straight.
More at Hockey Canada