Paul Friesen

Advertisement 1 Share this Story : Veteran skip Chelsea Carey takes over remainder of Jennifer Jones' team Veteran skip Chelsea Carey takes over remainder of Jennifer Jones' team Author of the article: Article content Team Jennifer Jones has a replacement for their retiring skip, and they didn't have to look far to find her. Advertisement 2 Article content Veteran skip Chelsea Carey takes over remainder of Jennifer Jones' team Back to video Winnipeg product Chelsea Carey will take over the world's fourth-ranked women's curling team from Manitoba for the next two seasons as they try to reach the 2026 Winter Olympics. Article content “We are thrilled,” lead Lauren Lenentine said in a statement on Wednesday. “And are so excited for the next couple of years to continue the momentum we had with Jennifer Jones. We learned so much from Jennifer these last two years and feel that Chelsea will give us that similar edge with her experience and shot-making that the transition will be seamless.” Carey, a two-time Canadian champion, is no stranger to Lenentine, second Emily Zacharias and third Karlee Burgess, as she spared for Jones in several events this past season. “I'm absolutely thrilled to be joining this incredible group!!” Carey posted on social media site X. “See you on the ice.” Advertisement 3 Article content In the team's statement, Carey called her new teammates “three of the great young stars” of the game. “They are so fun to play with and I was so impressed with their approach to each and every game when I played with them. I think we will have a very strong team and continue what they built with Jennifer the last couple of years.” Jones, also from Winnipeg, is retiring from the four-person game as one of the all-time greats, winning six national titles, two world championships and an Olympic gold medal. While her team lost the recent Tournament of Hearts final to Rachel Homan, it already has locked up its berth in next year's championship. Article content Share this article in your social network Share this Story : Veteran skip Chelsea Carey takes over remainder of Jennifer Jones' team Comments Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information. Loading... Latest National Stories News Near Elliot Lake This Week in Flyers

So, going into Game 3 of their first-round playoff series, is the Winnipeg Jets' glass half-full or half-empty?

Advertisement 1 Share this Story : 'Make them worry about us': Jets, Avs, reach series tipping point 'Make them worry about us': Jets, Avs, reach series tipping point Author of the article: Article content They won a game despite giving up six goals, then gave up four more, plus an empty-netter, and lost. Advertisement 2 Article content 'Make them worry about us': Jets, Avs, reach series tipping point Back to video They've limited the damage done by superstar Nathan MacKinnon, but their own second line is pointless. Article content They're going to Colorado, where they won both games this season, including a 7-0 romp two weeks ago, yet the Avalanche won more home games than any team in the NHL this season. So, going into Game 3 of their first-round playoff series, is the Winnipeg Jets' glass half-full or half-empty? “Half-full,” head coach Rick Bowness said before hopping a flight to Denver on Wednesday. “Because we feel good about ourselves and we feel we can go in there and win a game.” They should feel that way. That seven-goal shellacking instilled a nice veneer of confidence. But being outshot 2-to-1 in the first playoff game and dropping the second has probably chipped away at some of it. Advertisement 3 Article content As Josh Morrissey said at the airport Wednesday, playoffs are a “totally different animal.” This animal has dragged its claws across the Jets' skin and drawn a trickle of blood. How Winnipeg reacts in Game 3 is the series' first potential tipping point. We all know the old playoff proverb: You never want to lose two in a row. “We've shown that we've handled adversity well all year,” Morrissey said. “It comes throughout the season in many different ways. You follow us all of the time, you see the different things that we go through as a group. We've always risen to the occasion.” That's true. You don't finish second in the West by tucking your tail between your legs at the first sign of trouble. Morrissey's glass is clearly half-full. Advertisement 4 Article content The more he talked, the more he gave the impression that he may be just a little tired of hearing how good MacKinnon and the Avalanche are. Yeah, they have some elite talent. And yeah, they're fast, blah-blah-blah. “We have a great team, too,” Morrissey said at one point. “We had a great regular season and we know we've played well in these first two games against a great team. We know we can be more aggressive as well and definitely not sitting back and giving them too much respect.” Until now, the Avs have pushed the pace and carried the play for longer periods. That has to change. “Make them worry about us,” is what Morrissey suggested the Jets do. Taking charge of Game 3 would sure reverse the momentum. Of course, that'll be harder to do in the enemy arena, where the opposing coach has better control over who skates against whom. Advertisement 5 Article content “Every team tries to make their home arena a tough place to play and certainly, they've been able to do that this year,” Morrissey said. “We know they feel good playing at home and we've had some success playing there this year. So, we need to be a confident group going in there on Friday night.” They need to be, but are they? Morrissey says the Jets have changed their focus on the road, worrying less about who they're matched up with. That message comes straight from his coach. “They have to know who they're up against,” Bowness said. “And then play the game accordingly. You can't start yelling from the bench. No one's going to hear you anyway because the crowd noise.” There's no reason to think this is the same team that caved under adversity last season. In fact, there are multiple signs to the contrary. “We've got great leadership,” Morrissey said. “A lot of veteran players and we're a tight group.” Now is when that bond has to show. “They're going to have to rely on their trust in their teammates and their trust in themselves,” Bowness said. “And hold everybody accountable. Trust in our team game. It's carried us this far, and it's going to have to carry us the next little while.” So half-empty or half-full? Not sure we've answered the question. The pouring is still underway. And if there are leaks, it might not matter. [email protected] Twitter: @friesensunmedia Article content Share this article in your social network Share this Story : 'Make them worry about us': Jets, Avs, reach series tipping point Comments Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information. Latest National Stories News Near Elliot Lake This Week in Flyers

The Colorado Avalanche's supposed Achilles heel supported a good amount of weight in Game 2 of its playoff series with the Winnipeg Jets.

Advertisement 1 Share this Story : Jets' big goaltending advantage seems to have narrowed Jets' big goaltending advantage seems to have narrowed Author of the article: Article content The Colorado Avalanche's supposed Achilles heel supported a good amount of weight in Game 2 of its playoff series with the Winnipeg Jets. Advertisement 2 Article content Jets' big goaltending advantage seems to have narrowed Back to video If that continues, the biggest advantage the Jets seemed to have going into this series may have shrunk a tad. Start the conversation Have your say Leave a comment and share your thoughts with our community. Article content After giving up seven goals in the opener, Avalanche goaltender Alexandar Georgiev was solid in his team's 5-2 win on Tuesday, out-stopping Vezina Trophy candidate Connor Hellebuyck at the other end. As always, the men behind the masks will have a lot to say as the series shifts to Denver for Games 3 and 4 on Friday and Sunday. “It's always going to come down to that,” Jets coach Rick Bowness said Wednesday. “We can get to the net harder, we can direct more shots at the net. We still pass up the odd chance to put the puck on the net and crash the net, so we have to do a better job at that.” Georgiev rebounded from an early Jets goal by David Gustafsson and settled into a groove he never found in Game 1, stopping 28 of 30 shots. Advertisement 3 Article content “I felt I played pretty good in that moment,” the Avs stopper said. “The puck was going to my right side and he gets the rebound to the left and then it bounces back to the right. Kind of a tough position. It's a long game, try and reset … and trust the process.” The 28-year-old says the fallout from Game 1 was made easier by his teammates. “They showed so much support to me over the last couple of days,” he said. “A very rough first game, obviously. I just felt so much trust in the room from everybody and I appreciate it so much. It helped me reset, to know that they have got my back. I know I'll help them out as well during this playoff. It was huge from them. I appreciate it.” The six-year NHL veteran from Bulgaria also appreciated the Jets crowds. Advertisement 4 Article content “I've seen the atmosphere here before on YouTube. It's one of the more fun buildings probably, in the playoffs, the way that they come together, and the whole crowd is white. It's super fun, even though I don't really focus on them. “But you feel the energy, you feel the atmosphere, you feel how important it is, how much fun those games are.” As much of an advantage as the playoff whiteout is for the Jets, Colorado led all NHL teams this season with 31 home wins. “It's 100-plus sellouts in a row,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said after Game 2. “Our guys really understand, truly, deeply in their heart, that we have to put our best foot forward and reward our fans for supporting us. And this was a great environment. One of the best I've been in, and I know our building is going to be rocking when we get back home.” Advertisement 5 Article content JETS KILLER STRIKES AGAIN Zach Parise's goal in Game 2 gives him four goals in five career playoff games versus Winnipeg. The 39-year-old former member of the Minnesota Wild came out of semi-retirement to join the Avs around the all-star break for one more shot at a Stanley Cup. “This is a guy that's come out of retirement, that had multiple options on teams where he could go and he decided to come to us,” Bednar said. “He's a guy that is taking one of his last kicks at the can to try and raise the Stanley Cup. We'd love to be able to help him do that.” BIRTH-CERTIFICATE BLUES With a Game 1 win, Bowness, at 69, became the oldest head coach in NHL history to win a Stanley Cup Playoff game. Not that he was aware of it. “No,” he said, laughing. “And I don't like it.” Bowness's predecessor with the Jets has also added another notch to his belt. Paul Maurice, now guiding the Florida Panthers, has become just the eighth head coach to win a playoff game in four different decades. The only one who's done it over five decades: Scotty Bowman. [email protected] X: @friesensunmedia Article content Share this article in your social network Share this Story : Jets' big goaltending advantage seems to have narrowed Comments Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information. Loading... Most Commented The following is a list of the most commented articles in the last 7 days. Latest National Stories News Near Elliot Lake This Week in Flyers

The bones of this column came to me as the Winnipeg Jets were preparing to play the pivotal third game of their series down in Denver.

Advertisement 1 Share this Story : GOTTA HAVE HEART: So much at stake in Jets-Avs series GOTTA HAVE HEART: So much at stake in Jets-Avs series Author of the article: Article content The bones of this column came to me as the Winnipeg Jets were preparing to play the pivotal third game of their series down in Denver. Advertisement 2 Article content GOTTA HAVE HEART: So much at stake in Jets-Avs series Back to video What strikes me is what's at stake. Article content Not just what was at stake in Game 3 late Friday night, but in this Jets postseason, overall. This isn't a young, rebuilding team that's just happy to be here, with anything beyond the first round being pure gravy. It's not a team stacked with graybeards wearing championship rings, hanging on for one more shot at glory. It's a much more complex storyline, one that involves a coach who set aside retirement to take on a challenge near and dear to his heart and a core group of players yet to show they have the required mix of talent and heart. These two not-insignificant issues are set against the backdrop of a fan base in decline: It wasn't unusual to see a couple thousand empty seats at home games this season. Advertisement 3 Article content Co-owner Mark Chipman going public with his concerns only hammered the point home. You get the sense this team needs a deep playoff run to recapture its city's heart. So at what point would we label this season a success, beyond the obvious step of winning it all? Let's look at the possible outcomes and their potential ramifications. A FIRST-ROUND EXIT Not even the most accomplished public-relations whiz could find a positive way to spin this one. Yes, the Avalanche have some elite talent, but the matchup in goal alone should swing this series Winnipeg's way. If Connor Hellebuyck can't beat Alexandar Georgiev, it'll take all the shine off the Vezina Trophy he'll probably get when they hand out the individual hardware. Advertisement 4 Article content Hellebuyck and No. 1 centre Mark Scheifele signed identical, seven-year contract extensions in training camp, and they'll begin to face identical, difficult questions if they can't take the Jets further than this. The fallout of another early exit will likely be felt behind the bench, too. Rick Bowness doesn't have a contract for next season, the Jets holding the option for a third year. If they bowed out of the playoffs without a fuss like they did against Vegas 12 months ago, why would GM Kevin Cheveldayoff bring Bowness back? Based on what we've seen from this team so far, it's more likely the Jets at least go down swinging, having tapped into a vein of heart and habits they lacked last season. “We go back to the first day of training camp, they knew they had something to prove, they knew they had to be better,” Bowness told reporters in Denver before Game 3. “And that's the attitude we played the whole year with. When things didn't go our way, we lost a couple in a row, we bounced back pretty quickly because of that resiliency and because of that commitment. Advertisement 5 Article content “So the team's far more committed for 82 games, playing the right way, how we want to play, than we were last year.” A hard-fought, seven-game ouster, coupled with the strong regular season, would provide enough reasons for a third year for Bowness. But it wouldn't erase the questions about the core of his team. A SECOND-ROUND APPEARANCE This is the bare minimum for anyone to even whisper the word success The deals Cheveldayoff pulled off at and before the trade deadline made his team deeper than it's been in years. But what kind of accomplishment, really, is winning one round? This team's core has already been to a conference final, albeit in its youth. That promise from six years ago has been squandered, with just one series win since. Advertisement 6 Article content It needs more. Reaching Round 2 sets up a potentially juicy plot: Another run-in with the Golden Knights. Winnipeg would play the winner of Vegas-Dallas in the next round. If the Jets are intent on proving anything, that would be their chance to do it. ROUND 3, AND BEYOND We've said it before: This is the bar set by this very core. And while several of the faces have changed, Scheifele, Hellebuyck, Josh Morrissey, Kyle Connor, Adam Lowry and Nik Ehlers remain, bolstered by the likes of Gabriel Vilardi, Nino Niederreiter, Dylan DeMelo, Brenden Dillon and, more recently, Sean Monahan and Tyler Toffoli. Reaching another conference final, and making some noise in it, would go a long way to answering all of the questions posed above, about the head coach, the core group and the highly-paid stars signed, long-term, It would also rekindle the romance of the 10-year honeymoon that saw fans pack the rink every game. Get through this round and compete in a Stanley Cup Final and Mark Chipman won't have to personally call anyone to convince them to come back. So much at stake, on and off the ice. For the coach, the core, the clientele. Hearts to discover, and hearts to win back. [email protected] X: @friesensunmedia Article content Share this article in your social network Share this Story : GOTTA HAVE HEART: So much at stake in Jets-Avs series Comments Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information. Latest National Stories News Near Elliot Lake This Week in Flyers

They said they had something to prove after what happened last year. Article content This was the game to prove it. Article content

Article content Article content Any paying customers wondering about making a commitment for next season will see first-hand what this team is made of.

Advertisement 1 Share this Story : FRIESEN: All eyes on Jets' heart FRIESEN: All eyes on Jets' heart Author of the article: Article content It's fitting a potentially fateful Game 5 for the Winnipeg Jets against Colorado will be in downtown Winnipeg on Tuesday. Advertisement 2 Article content FRIESEN: All eyes on Jets' heart Back to video Any paying customers wondering about making a commitment for next season will see first-hand what this team is made of. Article content After all, nothing reveals character like playoff adversity. Has anything changed from a year ago, when in this same scenario the Jets folded like a lawn chair against Vegas? That was enough to leave a couple thousand empty seats most games. This team was different, we've been told. Not fractured. More committed. Is this new-found team unity strong enough to produce their best game of the playoffs – or was it just lip service? Players facing elimination will always say the right things. Rick Bowness has no doubt heard more of the backs-to-the-wall cliches than most of us. “We can all say all the words in the world and say all the right things … tell you everything you want to hear,” the coach said on Monday. “But everything will be decided on what our eyes tell us. Not our ears.” Advertisement 3 Article content Through four games, the Jets have failed the eye test more often than not. Our ears tell us the player-coach relationship might be starting to show signs of strain. Again. It's not the full-out player uprising that marked the stormy end to last season, but it seems Bowness still has his hands full. When your No. 1 centre, the franchise's first-ever draft pick and poster boy, says the other team is making adjustments and your own isn't, it's notable. That was Mark Scheifele after Game 4. Nino Niederreiter added: “We've got to change our game plan.” Those may have been innocent enough comments not specifically directed at faulty X's and O's. Heaven knows players say things that shouldn't always be dissected or taken literally without some follow-up context. Advertisement 4 Article content At the very least, though, the comments show this team, so confident in its game going into the playoffs, has quickly lost its way. It's a ship without a rudder in the middle of a storm. The man at the wheel says all the X's and O's in the world, like words, won't mean a thing if more players don't show more heart. Bowness didn't use the word “heart,” but he didn't have to. “It's got to start with each individual's intensity and battle level,” is how he put it. He pointed to turnovers and discipline, too, but eventually came back to intensity. “You can make all the adjustments you want,” the coach said. “But if it comes down to the players and one-on-one and the battles and you're losing them, then that kind of defeats the purpose.” Advertisement 5 Article content Strategy tweaks? Absolutely he'll make them. He already tried, it turns out. “We thought we did it before the game (Sunday),” Bowness said. “But that's okay. We tried to address them, and it didn't follow through. So we'll keep tweaking. “If the intensity and everything else isn't there, again, it's going to go for naught.” The coach's words aren't all falling on deaf ears. Defenceman Neal Pionk, who doesn't mince many, echoed them in his own economical way on Monday. “Little victories start with the body check, start with compete level and go from there,” Pionk said. “Things will fall into place once those things come back. We've got to look in the mirror at ourselves as players and compete harder first, and then we'll go with the strategic things later.” Advertisement 6 Article content There's no arguing the Jets are being outworked. But that doesn't mean they aren't trying. It just means the peak level of some players' effort isn't at the level of Colorado's. That begins with the so-called star players. Bowness didn't single anyone out, but he plans to shake up his lineup for Tuesday, and not just because of injuries. “Performance related,” he said. So we may find out whom he's sending the strongest possible message to. Which brings us back to the conclusion we've all but reached in this space: The Jets, with all their regular-season success, just don't have the makeup of a good playoff team. The captain, Adam Lowry, insists they still believe, even if history would show there's little reason for anyone else to. The last five times they have faced elimination, they have been the lawn chair. “There's certainly going to be a narrative,” Lowry said. “And the history backs it up.” But it's just that – history. “If you just live in the past,” Lowry added. “You lose sight of the present.” The present arrives downtown, with bells on, Tuesday. If the Jets are history, those will be alarms, yet again. [email protected] X: @friesensunmedia Article content Share this article in your social network Share this Story : FRIESEN: All eyes on Jets' heart Comments Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information. Loading... Latest National Stories News Near Elliot Lake This Week in Flyers