Ste Anne, Grunthal, Mitchell return to HTJHL

For the third consecutive season, the Hanover-Tache Junior Hockey League (HTJHL) will be expanding.

Returning to the league are the Grunthal Red Wings, Ste Anne Aces and Mitchell. The Mitchell franchise will now be known as the Mustangs, changing from the previous team name of Mohawks. Those changes were locked in at the league’s annual fall meeting, held Sept. 9.

The name change follows the Mitchell minor hockey program, which made the switch in 2020.

“Part of that is creating a buzz inside the minor hockey program,” Mustangs team president Jason Fehr said.

The Mohawks left the league in 2019, the Aces in 2007 and the Red Wings in 2021.

“We’re absolutely pumped,” Fehr said.

“We have a committee here that consists of for the most part guys that have gone through the program through the years.”

The then-named Mitchell Mohawks won the league championship in 1993, needing a final day victory over Steinbach to advance through the league’s round-robin style playoffs, defeating the defending champions Ile des Chenes in the finals.

The Steinbach Huskies played some of their home games inside Ste Anne’s Maurice Chaput Arena last year as construction continued on Steinbach’s new facilities.

That taste of junior C will turn into a full course meal this season.

“We just wanted to give an opportunity to the guys that age out of U18 to play locally and continue in the sport,” team manager Maranda Lanouette said.

“I say guys because before I kept referring to them kids, and they’re not kids anymore.”

Lanouette has volunteered on the Ste Anne minor hockey board, and with strong numbers of players rising up the age ranks, she thinks the team should be solid over the next few years.
With the junior C team moving into Ste Anne, the Eastman Selects AAA U17 program is moving from the town to Garson.

“The league is growing and everyone is very excited for it,” Lanouette said.

While it was no shock for avid local hockey fans to see Ste Anne and Mitchell re-join the HTJHL ranks, Grunthal’s place in the league was a bit more of a surprise.

“It’s really exciting,” head coach Elijah Durksen said.

“I think the town is excited, I think the players are excited and we’re excited too.”

Durksen played for Grunthal in the HTJHL until the team left, and finished his career with Niverville.

Grunthal was a powerhouse franchise in the league for a time, winning their first championship in 2008. Between 2011 and 2015, the team traded league titles with Steinbach as the two franchises battled it out for league supremacy.
“It gets the town together,” Durksen said.

“I remember growing up as a kid going to the games and there was nowhere to stand in the arena. I’m looking forward to that. Hopefully people are as excited as we are and the arena is full.”

Those additions will more than make up for the absence of the Lorette Comets, which will not be playing this year for the first time since 2004.
In 2022 the Landmark Blues returned to the ice, with the St Clements Gators joining the league for their debut campaign in 2023. The Gators have changed their name to East St Paul this season as well.

Teams across the league have started skating, including some of the new clubs.

The HTJHL will enter the 2024/2025 season with 10 teams, the most since 2011/2012.

A season schedule and playoff format was also decided at the league’s fall meeting. The HTJHL will have two divisions, with East St Paul, Mitchell, Springfield, Ste Anne and Steinbach in one and Grunthal, Landmark, Macdonald, Niverville and Red River in the other.

Teams will play their own division four times and the opposing division two times, for a 26 game regular season. Playoffs will be divisional based, with the bottom two teams playing a best-of-three to see which team faces off against the top seed. The divisions will remain separate until the final.

Exhibition games are already on the schedule, with the Mudbugs hosting games in Morris Sept. 25 and 28 to kick off the pre-season.

The league will be hosting a showcase event this season in Niverville, with all 10 teams in action Oct. 19/20.