Winnipeg, MB – The Winnipeg Monarchs battled to the very end against the Eastman Selects, emerging victorious after a shootout in their first game of the MTS Showcase Challenge on Friday.

“I thought it was a great game. It was really back and forth with lots of chances for both teams. I think Eastman has a really big, strong, physical team…and it was a hard-fought game,” said Monarchs head coach Stewart Thiessen.

To prepare for the tournament, Thiessen said his team has been working hard, putting in a lot of hours both on the ice and off, preparing mentally and physically as the season begins. “We hope [the tournament] will be a good challenge for our team. We’ll play against some strong competition that we can push ourselves up against and see where we match up.”

Theissen said the tournament will bring out the chemistry between his players and show which roles his players will fit into. “Our team has one goal: we want to come away [as] provincial champions. We’re gonna have to push ourselves every day in order to do that because there’s lots of great competition throughout the league.”

The Hockey Winnipeg Bantam AAA playoff champion will face-off against the Rural Bantam AAA Provincial champion in a 3-game series to determine the Provincial champions and representative at the 2014 Western Canada Bantam Championship.