Four Thunder Bay skaters are in the hunt for the Manitoba Junior Hockey Leagues (MJHL) Turnbull Memorial Trophy.

The Winkler Flyers feature a pair of defencemen, including rookie Jacob Sargent as well as Cole Mackenzie.

“I knew (Jacob) for a few years before he came (to Winkler) and he’s rooming with me too, which is good,” Mackenzie mentioned when asked about his teammate. “He’s gotten better throughout the whole season which is great to see. He works hard, coaches love him and he’s going to be a big part of the team next year.”

Mackenzie has one more year of junior hockey eligibility while the same can’t be said for Rainy River’s Jackson Arpin, who will wrap up his time in the MJHL once the season is over for the Flyers.

Forward Travis Hensrud and the Steinbach Pistons face off with the Selkirk Steelers in the opening round of the playoffs.

“We just have to focus on what’s in front of us and stay in the moment,” stressed Hensrud, when asked about outside predictions of the series outcome. “(We) can’t worry too much about where we are in the standings or who we are playing. That can get to a lot of teams and in a lot of people’s heads so we just have to worry about what’s at hand and just run with it.”

The Turnbull Trophy winners will join the host Estevan Bruins (SJHL) and the eight other league champions in the revised Centennial Cup, which will begin May 19th.