Abby Ryplanski '11, Bailey Bram '08, Jenelle Kohanchuk '08 will all be vying for a coveted spot on a Hockey Canada roster.  Ryplanski '11 is one of six goaltenders left for a chance at a roster spot with the National U-18 team while Bram '08 and Kohanchuk '08 will both be looking for a chance to wear the maple leaf for the National U-22 team.  BH wishes them all the best!

> Hockey Canada U-18 release
> Hockey Canada U-22 release

Each year the Balmoral Hall Blazers hockey program aims to provide student-athletes with a high-performance hockey experience that will help ensure a smooth transition to post-secondary athletics. The BH Blazers hockey program supports a skills development program and two competitive teams at the Junior Varsity and Varsity Prep level. Ten members of the Varsity Prep hockey team graduated this year as part of Balmoral Hall’s Class of 2010. This is the largest group of student-athletes to date moving on from the program to post-secondary academics and athletics. Each received numerous offers to pursue post-secondary athletics on academic and/or athletics scholarships.

Full article (PDF)

Over 60 young aspiring young women hockey players descended on Dakota Community Centre for the 2nd annual BH Blazers Summer Showcase.  With NCAA and CIS coaches on hand, along with BH Alumnae, Manitoba female hockey showed well!  It was another exciting weekend of hockey with round-robin placings coming down to the final game.  In the end it was Team Zacharias taking home the "BH Summer Cup" by holding off Team Wilson in the final seconds in the championship game.  In the inaugural "Summer Alum Challenge", the BH Alumnae faced off against the challengers, BH recent and upcoming graduates, with the BH Alum taking the inaugural challenge in a fast paced game.

It was a great weekend for female hockey in Manitoba and plans are already underway for the 2011 BH Showcase.  Visit our Showcase page for more information.  

> Showcase picture slideshow
> Showcase home page

It's a beautiful day for a showcase camp! Over 60 excited players and 10 well-equiped coaches are gathered at Dakota Arena for the Blazers Summer Showcase underway this weekend July 16-18. The camp is now in full swing and promises to be both fun and competitive. The camp gives players a chance to play in front of as well as take tips from college-level coaches. It'll be a busy weekend for the participants who get to have a practice, three games and a scrimmage. Another popular attraction of the weekend is the Alumnae Game on Sunday featuring some of Balmoral Hall's finest hockey alum in a heated battle with current and graduating players. With all the activities and opportunities it's bound to be a fantastic weekend! 

This is Kristin Cockerill '09, signing off. Cheers!

Balmoral Hall School, MTS, and True North Sports & Entertainment Limited are pleased to announce that the MTS ICEPLEX will be the new home of the Balmoral Hall Blazers hockey program. > Full Article

Blazers hockey was proud to recognize individuals on the Varsity Prep and Junior Varsity teams this past Wednesday at Balmoral Hall's annual Athletic banquet.

The Varsity Prep team recognized Tess Dusik as the teams Most Valuable Player and Tatiana Rafter as the Most Improved Player for the 2009 - 2010 season.

Tess Dusik '10, was a strong, domineering presence that in combination with her hard shot and skating speed make her very dangerous to play against. Dusik '10 was a member of the Varsity Prep for all of her three years at BH and was recognized as co-captain for her senior year.  She will continue her academic and athletic career at Bemidji State University in the fall on an athletic scholarship.  Though her goals and aspirations for herself in the sport of hockey were a driving force, she never lost sight of the importance of TEAM.

Tatiana Rafter '10 committed herself to four years in the BH Hockey program, the last three playing on the Varsity Prep Team. She was able to play both positions equally well and by the end of this season she had become one of our most reliable offensive players. She demonstrated dominating performances filled with power moves and goal line drives. She also had some of the best goal celebrations ever!  Rafter '10 will continue her academic and athletic career at the University of British Columbia next year.

The Junior Varsity team recognized Rikki Meilleur and Cassandra Taylor as the teams Most Valuable Players and Rachel Dyck as the Most Improved Player for the 2009 - 2010 season.

Rikki Meilleur '13 led the Junior Varsity team in all offensive categories and was a runner-up for the divisions MVP award. She has an incredible ability to change the momentum of a game with a single shift and is an incredible asset to any team.

Cassandra Taylor '12 demonstrated determination every time she steps on the ice and has tremendous work ethic and desire to improve. Consistently, she is the first player on the ice and the last one off, always finding the time to dedicate herself to improving.

Rachel Dyck '13 had an incredible season with the High School team. In her first year with the Blazers, she was selected for the Junior Varsity All-Star game and won the WWHSHL Rookie of the Year Award. The coaching staff could not be more proud of Rachel's progress this season, and we will look to Rachel to lead the team towards another playoff run next season. Congratulations Rachel!

Lischynski '11 was recently featured in The Red River Valley Echo for her performance at the recent National Aboriginal Championships held in Ottawa, ON.  Where she participated along side with fellow BH student-athletes: Tori Williams '11, Lesley St. Godard '10, and BH Alumnae Rachele Bosc '09 where they brought home the GOLD medal.

> Full Article

4 BH Blazers (1 current & 3 Alumnae), of 109 players have been invited to participate in Hockey Canada's Summer Strength and Conditioning Camp to be held May 25-30 at the University of Calgary.  BH congratulates them and wishes them all the best!!

Congrats to:
Abby Ryplanski '11, Bailey Bram '08, Jenelle Kohanchuk '08, and Caitlin MacDonald '09

> Hockey Canada release

The Showcase combines a learning experience providing an elite development opportunity for players with exposure to university scouts. This program brings together players with aspirations to play at the university level.  In just it's second year the Showcase is attracting more and more attention from university / college scouts, as well as players from both Canada and the US.

Visit our Showcase link for more information and registration form or email our Hockey Office for more information

11-May-10 - BH Announces Steven Macdonald as Director of Hockey & Head Coach Varsity                            Women's Hockey Team

Balmoral Hall School is pleased to announce that Steven Macdonald has been selected as the Director of Hockey and Head Coach Varsity Women's Hockey Team. Formerly the Development Program Coordinator, Coach Macdonald will continue to oversee all aspects of the skating, development, Junior Varsity and Varsity hockey programs with expanded responsibility for all program management/operations at BH. -> read more

The High School Hockey Team attended the League Awards Banquet on April 13, with four of our BH girls representing our school as Finalists for league awards in the Top Division in Womens' High School Hockey. Rikki Meilleur (Most Valuable Player), Chantal Lischynski (Top Goalie), Michela Esposito (Most Sportsmanlike), and Rachel Dyck (Rookie of the Year) were all voted as Finalists by the league. While there was extremely strong competition for all of the awards, the highlight of the night was when Rachel Dyck was announced as the League's Rookie of the Year Award winner. Rachel had an excellent first year with the team, and she definitely deserves the recognition she received from the league. While Rikki, Chantal, and Michela did not win their awards, they represented our school extremely well and should all be very proud of their nominations.