The Fort William Gardens is set to host six days of elite curling competition in December.
16 men’s and 16 women’s teams from around the world will gather in Thunder Bay for the Grand Slam of Curling (GSOC) Open. Thunder Bay last hosted in 2018 at the Tournament Centre.
“For us at the Grand Slam of Curling, returning to Thunder Bay was an easy decision. This is a community that truly understands and embraces elite sporting events,” said Nic Sulsky, CEO of The Curling Group. “The knowledge, the energy, and the appreciation for high-performance curling in this community make Thunder Bay a special stop for our athletes.”
The GSOC Open is the fourth stop on a five-event Canadian tour. It is scheduled for December 1-6, 2026. Curlers will arrive from the GSOC National in Sydney, Nova Scotia and depart to the GSOC Players’ Cup in Kingston, Ontario for the final event. More details regarding participating teams and full event schedules will be announced in the coming months.
“Sport tourism is a major economic and social contributor to Thunder Bay, and attracting more events to the city, particularly in the winter months, aligns with the new CEDC Strategic plan to grow Thunder Bay into a true year-round visitor destination,” said Paul Pepe, Thunder Bay’s Manager of Tourism. “The Grand Slam of Curling brings athletes from around the world to Thunder Bay and has a significant media element, generating global awareness of our community to other sport and leisure enthusiasts.”
Early-bird full-event and weekend passes for the GSOC Open are on sale today at purchase.thunderbay.ca.
Payton Hu took home the Jim Wright Memorial Most Valuable Player award Saturday night at the Dryden GM Ice Dogs annual banquet. He finished the regular season with a league leading 76 points so also accepted the hardware for Top Scorer.
Team members, executive members, billet families and sponsors turned out to honour the outstanding achievements of the Ice Dog players this season and to also celebrate 25 years as an organization in the Superior International Junior Hockey League. Dryden native and former NHL superstar Chris Pronger sent a video message that was played for the crowd congratulating the organization on the achievement and encouraging the team to bring the Bill Salonen Cup home.
Captain Elias Eisenbarth was named the top defensive forward as well as the coach’s choice award. In his final year of eligibility the native of Medicine Hat, Alberta netted 45 points in 47 games.
CKDR GM Scott Pettigrew presents the Community Service Award to Tegan Kerr / PHOTO: ACADIA BROADCASTING
Tegan Kerr won the CKDR Community Service Award as well as the Resilience and Integrity Award.
Other winners: Rookie of the year: Adrian Mendoza Most Sportsmanlike: Ryder Wolfe Top Local Player: Reidar Paquette Most Improved: Carter Welke Top Defenseman: Nicholas McCallen Fan Favourite: Mavric Welk
The GM Ice Dogs, who finished the regular season in 2nd playce, are getting ready to open their quarter final best of seven playoff series at home against the Red Lake Miners on Sunday March 22nd at 7:00 p.m.
Canada is heading to the Para hockey gold medal game after a hard-fought 4-2 win over China on Friday at the Milano Cortina Paralympics.
Captain Tyler McGregor gave Canada the early spark with two first-period goals, but China battled back to tie it and hand the Canadians their toughest test of the tournament.
In the third period, Dominic Cozzolino scored the go-ahead goal and Liam Hickey added insurance, sending Canada to another showdown with the United States for gold on Sunday.
This final will also make history, marking the first time Canada and the U.S. have met in the men’s Olympic, women’s Olympic and Paralympic hockey finals in the same year.
If you thought the score was satisfying, wait until the commentary kicks in.
Thunder Bay’s young skiers had the chance to compete in their own backyard as the U16 provincial championships took place at Mount Baldy.
They delivered standout performances on the familiar snow. Four Thunder Bay locals will move on to represent Ontario at the Eastern Canada Championships in Quebec two weeks from now.
“Our local athletes are doing very well at these races,” said Port Arthur Ski Club head coach and program director Dave Bradley. “It’s nice to have home hill advantage, because we’ve been training hard on these hills and they’re taking advantage of it.”
Port Arthur Ski Club head coach and program director Dave Bradley at Mount Baldy for the U16 Provincial Championships (Jacob Henriksen-Willis/March 12 2026)
Over 160 of the top 14-16 year old skiers across the province were invited to the five-day event.
In the boy’s category, William Gerry finished 9th, Hudson Freeburn finished 7th and Reid Jones finished 3rd in the Giant Slalom event Thursday. All three will qualify for the next level.
Freeburn’s time of 35.95 in his first run topped the field, but he fell down the rankings after a slow finish in his second run. Bradley says it’s a valuable learning experience for him.
“You’ve got to look ahead and really stay on your line or you can lose a lot of time all of a sudden, which is what happened to Hudson,” Bradley said. “That can be really hard to deal with.”
Freeburn, 15, is a student at Westgate High School and races for Norwesters Alpine Ski Club in Thunder Bay.
“Second run I got a little late at the bottom, things got a little fast,” Freeburn said. “This event’s really fun though because it brings people from all over Ontario here. It’s very exciting because you see people you’ve never raced against and it’s a very high level.”
“There’s so many things I could say (to a novice skier), but the most important would be to just go out and ski and have fun. Stay in the sport. It’s really meaningful.”
Thunder Bay’s Hudson Freeburn finished 7th in the Giant Slalom Thursday (Jacob Henriksen-Willis/March 12 2026)
Reid Jones, 16, races for TB Fast ski club. He says young skiers should keep working hard through any adversity.
“I just try to get down as fast as I can,” Jones said.
Thunder Bay’s Reid Jones finished 3rd in the Giant Slalom Thursday (Jacob Henriksen-Willis/March 12 2026)
In the girl’s category, Ella Nichols of Thunder Bay finished 2nd in the Slalom event on Monday and will qualify for the Eastern Ontario Championships. She wasn’t available for interview.
Thunder Bay skiers and friends Madeline Hooke and Sophie Lechto, both 15, said they had fun and are happy with how they skiied.
“We’re hoping to continue on with this next year and see how this goes,” Hooke said.
As for advice to novice skiers, Hooke said not to let any negativity get to them.
“People chirp a lot. Don’t let the drama get to you,” she said. “Don’t get involved with it.”
Thunder Bay skiers Sophie Lechto and Madeline Hooke (Jacob Henriksen-Willis/March 12 2026)
Bradley says these athletes shouldn’t be too focused on results at such a young age.
“One thing about skiing, as in a lot of sports, is that every child is on a different growth curve,” Bradley said. “The playing field doesn’t really even out until adulthood. So right now some of the smaller skiers have to be patient and keep working because they’re going to catch up in strength, and some of the big guys that are winning now have to be ready to be challenged in a little bit.”
“Just keep your confidence. Keep working on your skills and having confidence that you’ll be competitive down the road.”
Kenora’s own Sophie English has claimed her third record in paraswimming.
The 15-year old phenom swims in the S6SB6SM6 class. She posted a time of 15:28 in the 800m freestyle short course at a Winnipeg meet last month, the best junior paraswimming time in her class in Canadian history.
English captured the paraswimming provincial record for her class in the 200m backstroke last year, breaking a mark that stood for over 14 years. She also holds the provincial record in the 200m breaststroke for her class.
English is a member of the Kenora Swimming Sharks club.
“I’ve watched Sophie show up every single day and give everything she has,” said Swimming Sharks head coach Janet Hyslop. “For that dedication to be recognized with a Canadian record, it means the world to her, to our club, and to everyone in Kenora who has supported her along the way. This is her moment.”
Special Olympics officials are praising Westgate Collegiate & Vocational Institute for their Unity Cup, a month-long basketball tournament of teams mixed with special needs and mainstream high school students.
Student volunteer Nathan Vispert poses with Unity Cup athletes (Jacob Henriksen-Willis/March 5 2026)
Students packed the stands for the gold medal game Thursday afternoon.
“The Unity Cup is about bridging the gap between mainstream students and special needs students,” said Westgate special needs classroom teacher David Workman. “The idea is that unified partners can play as hard as they want against each other, but also facilitate gameplay with the Special Olympics athletes.”
The final game was a buy‑in event for Westgate students, featuring a $5 entry fee, with all proceeds donated to the Special Olympics.
“The growth we’ve seen in the students in just four weeks has been phenomenal,” Workman said. “(The athletes went) from not knowing how to clear or check the ball to now you saw people guarding each other in a way we didn’t even see last week.”
“We’ve got mainstream students and special athletes working together, building friendships, building social connections, being accepted as part of the school.”
The 2026 Westgate Unity Cup Champions (Jacob Henriksen-Willis/March 5 2026)
The game doubled as a banner ceremony for the school’s 2025 Special Olympics Ontario School Championship in basketball.
“Special Olympics has been a part of Westgate’s curriculum for as long as I can remember, 20-plus years,” Workman said. “It matches really well with the goals of the students, things we’re working on.”
Senior student and Special Olympics volunteer Nathan Vibert was a major organizer, referee and coach for the tournament.
David Workman and Nathan Vispert pose with Westgate’s 2025 Special Olympics Provincial Championship banner (Jacob Henriksen-Willis/March 5 2026)
“It was perfect,” Vibert said. “I’ve heard nothing but positive things from the athletes and the students that helped volunteer.”
Vibert has been a Special Olympics volunteer his entire high school tenure. He says the idea for an integrated sports tournament came from him and Workman.
“Everyone had such a fun time, and hopefully we can get more kids to do it next year,” Vibert said. “Maybe we grow the teams, or maybe other schools will catch on and we can start a league between schools.”
He will travel with Westgate’s special needs basketball team to London, Ontario in May as they defend their provincial title at the 2026 Special Olympics Ontario School Championships.
Westgate also hosts integrated Unity Cup tournaments in soccer, floor hockey and track and field.
There may still be snow on the ground in northwestern Ontario, but all seven SIJHL teams are thinking about the playoffs and the right to go to Summerside, Prince Edward Island for the 2026 Centennial Cup.
The defending champion Kam River Fighting Walleye has just three games remaining in their regular season:
Tuesday March 3 @ Sioux Lookout Bombers Thursday March 12 @ Thunder Bay North Stars Friday March 13 @ Thunder Bay North Stars
The highest the Fighting Walleye can finish is second place, which would mean a quarterfinal match-up with the Red Lake Miners.
They started play this week tied in points with the Dryden GM Ice Dogs. The Ice Dogs, coming off an 8-0 win last night against Ironwood, have five games remaining and all are against teams in the bottom half of the standings.
Tuesday March 3 vs. Ironwood Lumberjacks Friday March 6 vs. Sioux Lookout Bombers Saturday March 7 vs. Sioux Lookout Bombers Tuesday March 10 vs. Red Lake Miners Friday March 13 @ Sioux Lookout Bombers
The Ice Dogs find themselves six points behind the Fort Frances Lakers for the regular season crown and the first-round bye to the semifinals. The Lakers have four remaining games:
Friday March 6 @ Red Lake Miners Saturday March 7 @ Red Lake Miners Thursday March 12 vs. Ironwood Lumberjacks Friday March 13 vs. Ironwood Lumberjacks
The Thunder Bay North Stars will look to hold off the Sioux Lookout Bombers and clinch home ice in the quarterfinals. The North Stars are nine points ahead of the Bombers.
North Stars remaining schedule:
Friday March 6 @ Ironwood Lumberjacks Saturday March 7 @ Ironwood Lumberjacks Tuesday March 10 vs. Ironwood Lumberjacks Thursday March 12 vs. Kam River Fighting Walleye Friday March 13 vs. Kam River Fighting Walleye
Bombers remaining schedule:
Tuesday March 3 vs. Kam River Fighting Walleye Friday March 6 @ Dryden GM Ice Dogs Saturday March 7 @ Dryden GM Ice Dogs Thursday March 12 vs. Red Lake Miners Friday March 13 vs. Dryden GM Ice Dogs
The Red Lake Miners have seven games remaining in their season:
Friday March 6 vs. Fort Frances Lakers Saturday March 7 vs. Fort Frances Lakers Monday March 9 vs. Ironwood Lumberjacks Tuesday March 10 @ Dryden GM Ice Dogs Thursday March 12 @ Sioux Lookout Bombers Monday March 16 @ Ironwood Lumberjacks Tuesday March 17 @ Ironwood Lumberjacks
The top team in the regular season advances directly to the semifinals while the quarterfinal matchups will look like this:
2nd seed vs. 7th seed 3rd seed vs. 6th seed 4th seed vs. 5th seed
The Bill Salonen Cup Playoffs are scheduled to begin on Friday, March 20.
Two of Lakehead University’s brightest student athletes are being recognized with RBC Athlete of the Month honours.
Lakehead Athlete of the Month Haley Florell (Jacob Henriksen-Willis/March 3 2026)
Second‑year Nature-Based Therapy student Haley Florell won a silver medal at the national wrestling championships hosted at Lakehead last weekend. She competed in the women’s 76‑kg division, the same category in which she won gold last year.
She said the energy from the home crowd at Lakehead was incredible.
“(Competing in front of a home crowd) definitely came with a different level of pressure,” Florell said. “For me personally, coming from a small town, I’ve never competed in front of a home crowd ever. I thought I was going to be a lot more nervous about it, especially with everyone asking questions and getting excited for me, but really it just added to it and I got to give a little bit of a show.”
Florell says she has struggled with nerves in the last two years, but she’s developed pre-match routines to keep herself centered.
“Usually the night before or the morning of, I’ll write down everything I know about myself in ‘I am’ statements. I am strong. I am balanced. I am confident. I do breath work just to really feel myself in my body and be present in the moment. And then, of course, for my warm-ups I also dance around. Just as a reminder to have fun with it,” she said.
Her advice to young wrestlers is to let loose.
“Don’t be scared of failure and embarrassment in trying things for the first time. You’re going to fail. Just have fun with it. Find the joy in what you do, and others will be gravitated towards that. People will want to hop on that ride with you.”
Lakehead Athlete of the Month Stephen Hudec (Jacob Henriksen-Willis/March 3 2026)
Third year nursing student Stephen Hudec broke the school’s record in the 200m on Valentine’s Day.
Hudec ran the 200m in 21.99 seconds at the David Hemery Valentine’s Invitational at Boston University.
He said the first thing that crossed his mind when he finished was how he could have improved.
“I thought I could have been a bit more relaxed in my upper body before I came through,” Hudec said. “I could have had a slightly better time. (Laughs). I shouldn’t think that way (…) I’m still happy with it either way.”
Hudec has a tightly regimented training schedule to improve form and speed.
“The most important part is really every single day that you train, you should be thinking, ‘What am I focusing on today?’ What am I really trying to improve?’ so you’re not just going through the motions, but you’re consciously thinking about what you’re doing in training,” he said.
Hudec’s advice for young athletes is not to lose sight of their goals even if they feel improvement has stagnated.
“Even if it feels like you’re not improving, you’re always improving in one way or another,” Hudec said. “Hard work always leads to results.”
The Saint John Sea Dogs have made a change behind the bench.
The team released a statement Thursday evening, announcing head coach Travis Crickard and assistant coach Mark Lee were “no longer with the team.”
“We appreciate all the work that both Travis and Mark put into our team during their time in Saint John,” Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie said in the statement.
Brian Casey has been named head coach for the remainder of the season.
Casey has more than eight years coaching experience at the U Sports, U18 and Junior A levels.
He won back-to-back Atlantic University Sport championships as an assistant coach with the St. Francis Xavier University X-Men in 2016 and 2017, along with a national silver medal in 2016.
Casey was also the head coach of the Maritime Junior Hockey League’s Fredericton Red Wings from 2019 to 2021.
“We are pleased to welcome Brian to the Sea Dogs,” Georgie said. “He brings experience and a fresh perspective to our team.
“We look forward to helping us maximize the opportunity in front of us down the stretch.”
Casey said he was grateful for the opportunity.
“I am highly motivated and committed to bring passion to the Sea Dogs organization,” he said.
Crickard had been with the organization since joining as an assistant coach on Gordie Dwyer’s staff during the 2021-22 season.
After Dwyer was fired following a disappointing first-round exit in the 2022 QMJHL playoffs, Crickard remained behind the bench with interim head coach Gardiner MacDougall as the Sea Dogs claimed the Memorial Cup on home ice.
Crickard was promoted to head coach for the 2022-23 season.
He was named general manager on Oct. 4, 2024, following the firing of Anthony Stella, but was removed from the position in December.
Crickard leaves the organization with a record of 80-158 as head coach.
The Sea Dogs next play Friday night in Halifax, before returning home Saturday for a game against Charlottetown.
The team currently sits 15th in the QMJHL with a 20-30-5-0 record, and nine games to play.
Exactly when Villeneuve makes his NHL debut is up in the air.
The NHL is in the midst of an extended break while the Winter Olympics continue in Italy.
The Leafs don’t play again until Feb. 25, when they head to Tampa, Fla., to face the Lightning.
Villeneuve was drafted in the fourth round of the 2020 NHL draft by the Leafs.
He’s spent the last four seasons with their AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. In 205 games with the Marlies, Villeneuve has 12 goals and 96 assists.
Villeneuve was a Sea Dog from 2018 through 2022, putting up 21 goals and 132 assists in 216 regular season games, and was an important part of the Memorial Cup-winning team in 2022.
