Barry Wright/The Independent

LCCVI entertains its perennial foes from Chatham-Ursuline to open the LKSSAA girls’ rugby season on Tuesday, April 21. Game time is 1 p.m.

Meantime, the track and field season also opens the same day at Great Lakes and the SWOSSA badminton finals are set for next week at St. Francois Xavier and in Chatham.

The seniors participate on Tuesday at the Sarnia school and the juniors play at the St. Clair Healthplex on Thursday.

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Sarnia Sting captain Alessandro Di Iorio and London Knights defenceman Caleb Mitchell have been named to the preliminary roster for the 2026 IIHF U18 Men’s World Championship in Slovakia.

The second overall pick in the 2024 OHL Priority Selection was limited to 12 goals and 31 points in 45 games in a just completed shortened OHL season.

Mitchell had five goals and 24 points in 61 regular season and playoff contests for the Knights.

Following two pre-tournament games this weekend, Canada opens the IIHF event against the host team on April 22.

Another Sting with international experience, Beckham Edwards was not named to the preliminary roster.

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Garrett Rutledge and his Athens (Georgia) Rock Lobsters head to the Federal Prospects Hockey League playoffs this weekend with a regular season banner to their credit.

The Rock Lobsters won the Continental Division championship with a record of 44-11-1.

Rutledge, a Wyoming native and former Petrolia Jet, took the Carolina Thunderbirds to the FPHL league final in 2023 before capturing a Memorial Cup as an assistant coach with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit a year later.

This is his first season as coach and general manager in Athens. He was hired for the dual position last June.

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Grand Bend’s Heath Bogart scored his first career OJHL playoff goal in Collingwood’s 5-2 win over Toronto on Monday.

The best-of-seven Western Conference final, now tied at three games each, will be decided in Toronto on Wed., April 15.

Ex-Sting defenceman Nathan Omeri is also on the Collingwood roster.

The Wednesday winner will play Newmarket in the league championship series.

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Walpole Island’s Tre Altiman has been named the goaltender of the year in the Ontario Junior Hockey League.

He won 27 regular season games with the Leamington Flyers this season with a 1.78 goals-against average and a .942 save percentage.

He also won five playoff contests with a 2.14 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage.

The Flyers lost to Collingwood in the second round of the playoffs.

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Mike Weir had a much improved round last Friday but an opening round 81 was too much to overcome at the 2026 Masters.

Weir, the 2003 champion, had a 73 in round two but missed the cut by six strokes.

Rory McIlroy won the green jacket for the second straight season.

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Kyle Jackson made his final National Lacrosse League game in Philadelphia a memorable one.

The Aamjiwnaag product and graduate of Sarnia Minor Lacrosse had two goals, including a highlight-reel tally, and four assists in an 11-5 win by the Wings over Vegas last weekend.

The Wings will close out the regular season in Vancouver Friday.

Jackson has eight goals and 29 points in ten games this season split between the Wings and the Oshawa FireWolves this season.

Philadelphia has announced they will cease operations after the upcoming game on the coast.

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Dylan O’Rae has begun the Southern League AA baseball season on an eight-game hit streak with the Biloxi Shuckers.

The Mississippi-based Shuckers are the secondary farm club for the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Point Edward product is hitting .367 through the first two weeks of season with an on-base percentage of .933. He has a triple, three RBI, six walks, a hit by pitch and six stolen bases out of 10 attempts.

In the field, O’Rae has had 24 opportunities without committing and error.

He was a third-round draft choice by the Brewers in 2022.