News

It was a busy day yesterday in Hartney as the Wildcats held their annual Hockey Jamboree in cooperation with the World Women's Hockey Day. 60+ young female players attended the event. The players ranged in age from 4 years old to11 yrs old. Each participant was on ice for 2 sessions and off ice for 1 dryland/activities session. Each player received a t-shirt and got to eat supper with the Wildcats players.

The culmination of the day's activities saw the Wildcats host the visiting Winnipeg Avros. Many of the young players and their parents opted to stay and they were in for quite an exciting home opener.

The Wildcats came out of the gate with tremendous energy in the first period and were rewarded with two goals, both of which came off of rebounds. Megan Robertson scored the first of the game with assists going to Jaycee Magwood and Ashton Bell. Kenzie Robinson made it a 2-0 game with assists going to Mackenzie Roach and Jenna Patterson. The Wildcats carried the play in the period and had the Avros on their heels.

The second period saw the flow disappear from the game as the majority of it was played with one team or the other being short handed. The game remained 2-0 through two periods.

In the third period, the Wildcats plan was to get back to the type of play that saw them have so much success in the first period. After killing another penalty early in the 3rd period, Jaycee Magwood came down the ice on a tremendous individual effort and scored on a blistering shot off the crossbar to make it a 3-0 game. Unfortunately the Wildcats continued to take penalties and completely lost any momentum they had earned back and the Avros pushed hard.

With just under 4 minutes to play Westman took a penalty in the offensive zone. The Avros pressured to get on the scoreboard and the Wildcats took another penalty in the opponent's zone. The Avros pulled their goalie to make it a 6 on 3 situation and scored on a very nice setup to make it 3-1. On the next shift the Avros, who still had the man advantage, pulled their goalie again and scored a second goal that re-directed 3 times before barely crossing the goal line. The Wildcats called a timeout and righted the ship. They were able to hold on to the 3-2 victory.

Sky Brown picked up the victory in net. The Avros outshot the Wildcats 42-20, 22-3 in the 3rd period alone when the Wildcats were forced to kill off penalty after penalty.

The Wildcats next action is Tuesday night versus Yellowhead in Shoal Lake. Game time is 7:30 PM.

Happy Thanksgiving.

We have had a great response to our Jamboree and we are looking forward to seeing you all in Hartney on Saturday October 12th.  We have split the registrations into the following groups.  The $30 registration fee can be paid on Saturday and Cheques can be made payable to “Westman Wildcats”   If you have any questions in the meantime feel free to contact 

Penny Hunt  204 858-2183  mphunt@live.com

Carole Williams 204 483-0575  svrc@mymts.net

The Westman Wildcats look  forward to celebrating World Girls Hockey Day which will be taking place this coming weekend in communities all over the world and provide the chance for females to participate and learn the basic fundamentals of the game while developing their skills in a fun, friendly and safe environment.  See you at the rink!

Group 1           Born in 2001 – 2004

1:45pm                        Registration                            

2:30- 3:15pm               On Ice

4:00 – 4:30pm             Dryland/Games

4:30pm                        Supper with Wildcats

5:15 – 6:15                  Scrimmage

6:30pm                        Dryland with Wildcats

8:00pm                        Westman Wildcats vs   Winnipeg Avros                                            

Group 2        2005 and younger

2:30pm                        Registration

3:15 – 4:00                  On Ice

4:30-5:00                     Dryland/Games

5:00                             Supper with Wildcats

6:15 – 7:15                  Scrimmage

8:00pm                        Westman Wildcats vs Winnipeg Avros

Congratulations to Melissa Hunt who was selected for Team Manitoba. Team Manitoba will compete at the National Women’s U-18 Championships held November 6-10 in Calgary, AB.

The 2013 National Women’s Under-18 Championship will take place Nov. 6-10 at Hockey Canada’s home arena, the Markin MacPhail Centre at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary.

Eight provincial and regional entries will face off at 2013 the National Women’s Under-18 Championship, including Alberta, Atlantic, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario Blue, Ontario Red, Quebec and Saskatchewan. Ontario Blue is the defending champion, winning its first gold medal at last year’s tournament in Dawson Creek, B.C.

The Wildcats finished off the weekend with an afternoon exhibition tilt versus St. Mary's Academy. From the opening faceoff the pace was brisk and the intensity was high. Jaycee Magwood opened the scoring on a wrap-around midway through the period with assists going to Megan Robertson and Ashton Bell. St. Mary's responded with a pair of goals before the end of the period.

In the 2nd period, St. Mary's extended the lead to 3-1 with an early goal. The Wildcats responded midway through the period on Jaycee Magwood's unassisted marker. Amber Tilbury kept it a 1 goal game with a superb stop on a short handed breakaway. St. Mary's restored the 2 goal lead with just under 3 minutes to play in the period.

The 3rd period was full of action as both teams pushed for the next goal. Each team had their chances on the powerplay with the St. Mary's goaltender making a game changing save on a one timer off the stick of KJ Wallace. With 5 minutes to play, St. Mary's sealed the deal on the powerplay to go ahead 5-2.

Amber Tilbury suffered the loss. Shots on goal were 32-19 in favour of St. Mary's.

The Westman Wildcats traveled to Winnipeg on Saturday night to face the Winnipeg Ice. This game marked the beginning of the regular season for both squads. The two teams had faced one another last Sunday at the Central Plains Showcase with the Wildcats winning 3-2.

The first period was a very slopping one for the Wildcats as the were unable to put forward a consistent effort. The Ice got on the scoreboard first with rebound goal on the powerplay. Sky Brown, the Wildcats starting goalie, had just made 3 great saves but the puck careened off another player and slid just over the line. The period ended 1-0 in favour of the Ice. Shots on goal were 11-5 in favour of the Ice.

The Westman squad came out with a completely different effort in the second period. They pushed the pace of the game each and every shift resulting in Jaedon Cooke scoring the tying goal off a goal mouth scramble 5 minutes into the period. Assists went to Ashton Bell and Jaycee Magwood. Kenzie Robinson just over a minute later on another goal mouth scramble as the Wildcats began to overwhelm the Ice. Assists went to Mackenzie Roach and Shae Vallotton. Megan Robertson scored the 3rd unanswered goal with 5 minutes remaining in the period off a shot from the slot during a 4 on 4 situation. Assists went to Jaycee Magwood and Shae Vallotton. Jaycee Magwood finished off the scoring with 3:10 remaining in the 2nd period on a wraparound with assists going to Megan Robertson and Gina Williams. Shots on goal in the second period were 16-4 in favour of the Wildcats.

The 3rd period saw more of the same type of play as the Wildcats continued to dominate. However, the only goal came off the stick of Mackenzie Roach with 4 minutes remaining. It was a powerplay marker, assisted by Kenzie Robinson. Shot on goal in the 3rd period were 16-4 in favour of the Wildcats for a game total of 37-16 in favour of the Wildcats. Sky Brown picked up the victory.

Westman's next action is an exhibition tilt on Sunday, October 6th vs St. Mary's Academy Flames at 12:30 PM at the IcePlex.

Kirkup, Dekezel, Franklin and Phillips to lead Westman Female Hockey Team

The  Power Smart Manitoba Winter Games which will be held in the Morden, Stanley, and Winkler communities from March 5-8 will bring together some of the best female hockey players in the province of Manitoba. The Westman hockey team will consist of players from the Brandon and Southwest regions of Manitoba. For Sport Manitoba players play in the region they reside in, regardless of transfers or where they play during the season.

Players in these two regions will be scouted in the next two months by the coaching staff. There are NO tryouts being held for this team. The players who are selected for the Westman region hockey team will be informed by the Hockey Manitoba office, by December 1st. If players are not contacted prior to December 1^st  then they were not selected to represent their region.

The team will consist of 19 players. The players who are eligible are all females 16, 15, and 14 years of age as of December 31,2013 residing in the Westman area (Born in 1997, 1998 Midget  or 1999 Bantam).

The Coaching staff will include Head Coach Kary Kirkup, Assistant Coaches Dan Dekezel, Neil Franklin and Brittany Phillips. The Manager will be Penny Hunt.

There will be 8 teams competing in the games in Morden with two teams from Winnipeg, one each from Central, Eastman, Interlake, Norman, Yellowhead/Parkland, and Westman/Brandon.  

After the Power Smart Manitoba Games 40 players will be chosen to continue on with the process of selecting the Canada Winter Games team which will compete in the Canada Winter Games in Prince George, BC being held from February 13-March 1^st/2015.

If there are any questions you can contact Kary Kirkup at 204.851.6567.