The Carman Beavers opened their South Eastern Manitoba Hockey League (SEMHL) season with a split weekend, following up a dominant win over Red River with a tough road loss in Morden.
Carman kicked off its home opener with an 8–3 win over the Red River Wild on Friday night, led by a four-goal performance from Kale Ilchena.
After trading early goals — with Aiden Sotas scoring in the first period to tie the game 1–1 — the Beavers pulled away in the second and third. Ilchena netted his first midway through the second, assisted by captain Tyler Park and Noah Skorpad, to give Carman the lead.
In the final frame, the Beavers exploded for four goals in just over four minutes. Jackson Reimer put Carman ahead at 8:21 before Ilchena scored the eventual game-winner at 12:29. Everett Bestland added a goal 25 seconds later, and Ilchena completed the natural hat trick at 16:14 before capping his night with a fourth tally late in the game.
Bestland and Reimer each recorded multi-point nights, while goaltender Luke Zacharias turned aside 26 shots for the win. Red River’s Jayden Catellier faced 50 shots in defeat. Both teams went scoreless on the power play.
The following night, the Beavers ran into a sharp Morden Bombers squad that piled on the offence in a 15–3 result.
Carman’s Dane Halstead and A.J. Nychuk scored in the opening period, and Park added another in the second, but Morden’s top line took control as Jory Mullin and Tyler Campbell each netted multiple goals. Goaltender Aaron Brunn stopped 41 of 44 shots for the Bombers, while the Beavers used both Brock Moroz and Dan Wenham in net.
Despite the lopsided score, Carman’s power play generated several strong chances, finishing 0-for-3, while Morden went 0-for-1.
Through two games, the Beavers sit in the middle of the nine-team SEMHL standings with a 1-1 record, even with Morden, Warren and Ile des Chênes, each at .500. Springfield leads the league with five points from three games, followed closely by the undefeated Notre Dame Hawks at 2-0. Winkler has also won its lone game to start the year, while Portage and Red River remain winless.
Carman returns home for back-to-back games this weekend, hosting the Notre Dame Hawks on Friday, Nov. 7, at 8 p.m., followed by a rematch against Morden on Saturday, Nov. 8, at 7:30 p.m. The Beavers then visit Portage on Wednesday, Nov. 12, for a 7:30 p.m. puck drop.
