#THE END OF THE SUN GAME SERIES#

He said when the city did its recreation facilities study in 2018-19, the message they received was that more ice was needed and the city should build it. Perry Roque, the City of Brandon’s director of Parks and Recreation Services, previously managed the Sportsplex and certainly understands how it operates. It’s been more impactful at the Sportsplex, but it can be argued that, in a way, the new private rink actually saved the city money.

“I think it’s just been moving some times around and some organizations around,” Schumacher said, noting there is plenty of business to share in the hockey-loving city. Westoba Place opened in 1972, while the Enns Brothers and Flynn arenas were added in 1992 during the massive Keystone Centre expansion. Jeff Schumacher, the chief executive officer and general manager of the Keystone Centre, said they went into the season considering themselves to be in a great spot with their three rinks. The two facilities that stood to lose the most from the new rink have experienced the impact differently. The U15 AAA boys and girls programs also headed to the new facility from their primary home at the Keystone Centre. Naturally, the new ice sheet has led to a massive shift in who is using ice and when, and it also increased usage because more supply is available.īrandon’s under-18 AAA Brandon Wheat Kings moved from the Sportsplex to the new facility, with the U18 team getting its own room with a coaches office and laundry facilities. “The fact that it was actually built and is in operation now doesn’t even seem real to me right now because we’ve been looking for one for so long.

“It was definitely something that has been on people’s minds for many years,” Lang said. The Enns Brothers Arena is one of two arenas in the north end of the Keystone Centre. Tim Lang serves as president of Hockey Brandon, the city’s largest ice consumer. It joined the Sportsplex, and the three rinks in the Keystone Centre - Westoba Place, Enns Brothers Arena and Flynn Arena - as the spots where hockey, ringette, figure skating and other sports can take place on ice. The J&G Homes Arena, which was built by Jared Jacobson and J&G, opened its doors last December, unveiling a state-of-the-art facility with a restaurant in one end and a massive video screen on one wall for highlights. We’ve got to make our shots, though.The addition of a fifth ice surface in Brandon last winter has quite literally been a game changer for the local hockey community. We have another chance to step out on the court and beat them again. “Once you start stressing it, they’ve already got you beat,” said DeWanna Bonner, who scored 18 points. They’ll need to go to the window one more time, peer out at the uncertain future, then step back into the moment.

#THE END OF THE SUN GAME SERIES#

The Sun believe they can win the series if they keep playing their style. The window conversation helped in the first round, when the Sun responded to a home loss with a road win at Dallas to advance.

It was there for the taking, but the Sun didn’t take it, and now they are running out of opportunities. It was the kind of game the Sun wanted, a rock fight, like Game 1, rather than the prettier basketball at which Parker and the Sky schooled them in Game 2. For nearly four minutes, neither team scored, the Sun stacking empty possessions with missed shots and turnovers, until the Meesseman’s jump shot made it a four-point game with 2:26 left. In a back-and-forth game, Chicago took the lead on Kahleah Copper’s 3-pointer with 6:14 left. For an agonizing few minutes, opportunity dangled in front of the Sun on Sunday, and then disappeared.

The end of the sun game