Bagtown Bruisers take home rugby championship in their third season
After just three years in their league, Sackville rubgy team the Bagtown Bruisers took home the championship trophy in this year, with a win over Moncton’s Black Tide Rugby club at the Lorne Street field on August 10.
Bagtown Bruisers formed in 2022 after many veterans of the successful Tantramar Regional High School rugby team started looking for places to play after graduation. The team is home to girls and women in grade 11 and older, with many university-aged players.
Scott Hems in one of the head coaches for the Bagtown Bruisers, and says taking home the championship in the third year of the club is quite an achievement.
“We just had a really fortunate group of girls who were very committed, very dedicated, took the everything very seriously, says Hems. That led to an undefeated season, and then the championship this past Saturday. The players are a busy bunch, says Hems, with many having already left town to go back to university for the fall.
Hems says the sport has been popular since it first came to Tantramar High School, and though it can look dangerous, players are prepared to compete safely.
“As much as it looks rough,” says Hems, “and people, I think, are intimidated by the fact that you don’t wear a lot of padding, the reality is that it’s very technical, and you are very prepared by the time you get on the field to tackle and make a hit.”… Continue
Mounties’ Daniel Bell talks about getting drafted by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Graduating Mountie football star Daniel Bell says there were a lot of emotions at play when he saw his name appear as the 34th pick of the 2024 CFL draft, the fourth pick of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Bell is the third CFL draftee to come out of the Mount Allison Mounties football program in just two years. He heads to Hamilton for training camp this month along with his Mountie colleague, Reece Martin, who was drafted by the Tiger-Cats last year, but ended up returning to play another year for the Mounties.
Bell and Martin’s teammate, and Sackville native Lucas Cormier was drafted last year to the Ottawa RedBlacks, and made the team’s opening day roster in 2023.
Mounties head coach Peter Fraser and director of athletics Jacques Bellefleur dropped by CHMA studios last week to talk about Bell’s hard work, and the impact that the Mounties recent success in the CFL draft can have for the football program.
CHMA started off asking Coach Fraser how big of a deal it is to get drafted into the Canadian Football League.
CHMA also spoke to Daniel Bell from his home in Saint John, to hear about what comes next for the defensive back:
Mount Allison Athletics compiled a list of the Mounties history with the CFL draft, available online here.… Continue
Sackville’s Matteo Mann takes hockey’s next big step as he prepares for NHL draft
It’s almost certain that Sackville’s Matteo Mann will be one of the 217 young hockey players drafted into the NHL this year, but Mann himself is not counting his chickens before they’re hatched.
18-year-old Mann just finished his third season with Les Sageuenéens in Chicoutimi, part of the Quebec Major Junior League, also known as the Q, one of the big three major junior leagues in the country. And now he’s being written about as an NHL draft prospect for 2023.
CHMA spoke to Mann last week from Ottawa, where he was starting his training in preparation for the NHL Combine, the big draft event that takes place in June.
Now that his season is over, Mann’s attitude is calm and even keeled. “Where I go, or if I go, is kind of out of my hands at this point,” says Mann. “Whatever happens, I’m kind of just waiting for the next steps, really.”
Yanick Jean says it’s almost certain Mann will be drafted this year. The head coach and general manager of Les Saguenéens says Mann is the type of player sought after by the NHL in recent years.
Jean describes Mann as a “big, stay-home defenseman, who is really efficient when he gets physical… He’s a good skater for a big guy, and this is what a lot of the NHL teams are looking for,” says Mann. “NHL teams want bigger guys playing on defense.… Continue
Sackville’s Matteo Mann on working hard and enjoying the game as he takes hockey’s next big step
On today’s show we talk with NHL draft prospect Matteo Mann about his childhood in Sackville, and his philosophy as he makes the next big step toward a possible future in the NHL.
Plus in briefs: we take a look at the agenda for today’s Tantramar council committee of the whole meeting; Live Bait talks about the impact of the Good Friday fire; and local journalist Bruce Wark files a formal request for a locally produced health care report.
Listen to Tantramar Report for Monday, April 24, 2023:
The Three-Man Weave
Your source for major league sports news, second takes, and the kind of banter that deserves a banner. Tune in to the Three-Man Weave every Monday morning at 8:30 AM as Joe Hubley, Brian Neilson, and Geordie Miller look backwards and forwards at the world of sports. Sometimes erudite, occasionally erratic, always entertaining… Get ready for some Major League Radio on CHMA 106.9FM.
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Civic Centre ice extension makes room for a busy end to hockey season
The busy end of ice season at the Tantramar Veterans Memorial Civic Centre is underway.
Wednesday night, the town of Sackville will try to win back the trophy for the annual Town vs Gown charity hockey game starting at 6pm at the Civic Centre. The event is in support of the Sackville Food Bank, with one food item per person for entry.
Sackville recreation director Matt Pryde says the tradition continues with a slight change this year. “We decided to have a couple young folks in town, Jory Parsons and Jesse Estabrooks, put together the teams,” says Pryde. “So you can expect younger people playing and they might be a little bit faster than us old guys.” Pryde says there will also be kids activities, prizes and competitions.
This year’s ice season at the Tantramar Veteran’s Memorial Civic Centre has been extended by a few weeks to help make up for missed games and practices this winter during the strictest of public health restrictions due to the pandemic.
CHMA stopped in at the Civic Centre last week to meet some of Sackville’s minor hockey players. We spoke with a group from the U13 Sackville Rangers as they were getting ready to face off against a team from Amherst.
Veronica Locke is the volunteer manager for the U13 Rangers, and her daughter also plays on the team. She says that having the sport as an outlet was especially important during the pandemic for mental and physical health of the kids.… Continue