Friday's Sports Briefs

• Bobcats Set to Start 2nd Half
• Olympic Dream Close for Lawrence/Swiegers

- Wheat Kings' goaltender Jordan Papirny has been on quite a roll as of late.  The rookie is 5-0 with a 1.77 goals against average and .935 save percentage in his last five starts entering Brandon's weekend doubleheader against the Prince Albert Raiders on Friday and Saturday (7:30 p.m. both nights, Westman Communications Group Place).  Brandon centre John Quenneville practiced without restrictions on Thursday and should return to the Wheat Kings' lineup Friday.  Quenneville missed Tuesday's win over Red Deer with an upper body injury.  For more on the Wheat Kings, visit Bruce Luebke's blog at http://luberslounge.blogspot.ca/ - As of Thursday night, there had been 23 trades involving 41 players and 38 draft picks since the WHL's Christmas break, though the Wheat Kings were the only WHL team not to have made a deal.  Among Thursday's moves was the Lethbridge Hurricanes sending former Wheat King Corbin Boes to the Portland Winterhawks.  The WHL trade deadline is 1:00 p.m. (CST) Friday. - The Saskatoon Blades appear to be playing a waiting game for Wawanesa product Jordan Thomson.  The Blades acquired Thomson's rights from the Kamloops Blazers on Wednesday but it's still unclear whether he'll report to Saskatoon.  Blades' GM Lorne Molleken indicated yesterday that they're holding discussions with Thomson, his family and his agent about making the move to Saskatoon. - The Junior A trade and roster deadline is also Friday.  It's the last chance for MJHL teams including the Virden Oil Capitals to make any roster moves.  The Neepawa Natives made a trade Thursday, sending defenceman Ryley Pace to the SIJHL's English River Miners for future considerations. - The Southwest Cougars jumped out to a 4-1 first period lead and held on for a 5-4 victory over the Norman North Stars Thursday night.  Michael Fortin scored twice and Carter Cowlthorp added a goal and two assists for the Cougars.  The victory improved Southwest to 17-13-0-2 and leaves them in sole possession of fifth-place, two points ahead of Pembina Valley and two behind fourth-place Eastman. - Former Brandon Wheat King Eric Fehr helped the Washington Capitals end a four-game losing streak Thursday night.  Fehr scored twice including the winner with 52 seconds left as the Caps downed the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3.  Fehr has eight goals and 19 points in 34 games this season. - Former Wheat King Wade Redden retired Thursday after a 14-year NHL career.  The 36-year old Redden played a total of 1,023 regular-season games with Ottawa, the New York Rangers, St. Louis and Boston. He finished with 457 points and a plus-160 rating over his career.  He was also a two-time all-star and World Cup of Hockey gold medallist. - Former Brandon Wheat Kings' co-captain Matt Calvert is set to return to the Columbus Blue Jackets' lineup Friday night.  Calvert was activated from injured reserve Thursday after being sidelined since December 21st with a shoulder injury.  Meanwhile, former Wheat Kings' captain Ryan Craig is day-to-day because of a lower body injury and didn't practice with Columbus Thursday. - In other NHL news, former Wheat King Dustin Byfuglien skated as a forward at the Winnipeg Jets' practice Thursday.  It's unclear whether the move was permanent or just a temporary measure.  Jets' forwards Andrew Ladd and Blake Wheeler were away yesterday with the flu while Evander Kane was given the day off for health maintenance reasons.  Meanwhile, Nesbitt product Aaron Rome looks poised to return to Dallas' lineup after missing a week with an upper body injury. - There are just three undefeated teams after two days of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts Provincial Women's Curling Championship at Tundra Oil & Gas Place in Virden.  Barb Spencer is the lone 4-and-0 team in the Red Group while Darcy Robertson and Kerri Einarson are 4-and-0 in the Black Group.  Brandon's Kortney Teale is 2-and-2, Brandon's Kelsey Russill is 1-and-3 and Dauphin's Lisa Menard is 1-and-3.  Click here for a rundown at Day Two of the Scotties. - The Virden-based figure skating duo of Paige Lawrence and Rudi Swiegers could officially be Canadian Olympians by Saturday evening.  The senior pairs competition is one of the first things on the schedule at the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships in Ottawa, with the short program taking place Friday night and the free skate Saturday night.  Lawrence and Swiegers need a top-three finish to earn a spot on the Olympic team.  They've earned third-place at Nationals in each of the last three years. - The chances of Russell product Jon Montgomery getting to defend his Olympic gold medal have gotten a lot higher.  Montgomery has been promoted to Canada's World Cup team for this weekend's men's skeleton races in St. Moritz, Switzerland.  Montgomery has been racing on the second-tier Intercontinental Cup circuit this season but is switching spots with Dave Greszcyszyn for this weekend.  For more on this story, click here. - The Brandon Bobcats open the second half of the Canada West season Friday night.  The BU basketball teams are at home at the Healthy Living Centre this weekend, entertaining the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack Friday and UBC-Okanagan on Saturday.  Both hoops teams bring 2-and-8 records into the second half.  Meanwhile, the BU volleyball teams are in Kamloops to play Thompson Rivers Friday and Saturday.  The 'Lady Cats are third in the conference at 9-and-3 while the Bobcats are tied for fifth at 7-and-5.  CKLQ's Tyler Crayston has a preview of BU's second half here. - The Saskatchewan Roughriders have re-signed import defensive back Terrell Maze.  Maze will be entering his third year with the Roughriders.  Last year, the 29-year-old started 13 regular season games and registering 27 defensive tackles, five pass knockdowns and one interception.  He also started both playoff games and the Grey Cup.

Back to News