News

It was the  night before Xmas and all the Cats were packing for the bus, cause off to Calgary we were in a Xmas rush. Yea once again the Westman Wildcats were off to the Mac Tournament, This year we found ourselves in in a pool with some familar teams. First up  the Regina Rebels this like previous games was a close affair with the Rebels coming out on top 2-1. The second game was our weakest effort as we could not seem to find our rythme against a Calgary Chaos team who we had beaten earlier in the year. Our third game was against Alberta league leading Edmonton Thunder, this was a strong effort for the cats and was 3-2 late inthe game with the cats pushing hard short handed when the Thunder were able to take advantage and put them ahead 4-2. The final game for the Cats was an up and down affair  with the Fraser Valley Phantoms of B.C and ended in a 3-3 tie. It is important to note that the final of the tournament was played by Regina and Edmonton with the Rebels winning 3-2 in overtime.

Ah back home to the happy confines of the Hartney Arena and three league games on tap. First up the Parkland Panthers a new member of the league. Friday evening saw the Cats and Panthers face off, the cats finally found their scoring touch that had gone missing in Calgary witha a number of different players picking up points in a 15-2 win.

Saturday was a better effort by the Panthers as they forced us to play a little more defensive for a period and a half before the cats started clicking again, final score 9-1 Wildcats. Sunday found the Cats preparing to take on the east division leading Winnipeg Avros, this would be the second meeting of the two teams as the cats had met and beat them 2-1 in a exhibition match in November. This game was no different then the first as both teams battled hard and traded goals over the sixty minutes with the Cats coming out on top 5-4. The Wildcats had a good weekend picking up all six points avaiable in league play, and are looking forward to playing Pembia Valley next Friday and the Winnipeg Avros next Saturday on the road.

This past weekend the Westman Wildcats took part in the Notre Dame Showcase with teams taking part from all over western Canada. The cats first game Thursday was against the St. Albert Slash with the Cats coming out on top with a 3-2 win. Friday saw two games with the first being against the Weyburn Gold wings , this was a close game for most of the way until a break down with 4 minutes remaining in which the Cats gave up 3 goals while pressing the result was  a 6-2 loss. Friday evening saw the Wildcats meeting up for a rematch against the Okanagan Hockey Academy who they lost to in Minniapolis in a 1-0 game, this one started out as a carbon copy of the first meeting until  OHA pumped in two goals in the start of the second period. This caused a huge breakdown with OHA ending the period up 5-1 the cats were able to regroup for the third and held them to a single goal for the second loss in a row 6-1.

Saturday found the Cats facing the Regina Rebels, once again a very tight game with the score being 0-0 until the 16 minute mark of the third when Regina scored a goal the rest of the game saw the wildcats battle but unable to score while getting plenty of opportunities, meanwhile the Rebels snuck in another couple of goals, final 3-0. Sunday game saw the Cats taking on St. Mary's Academy of Winnipeg, this game saw th Cats come out skating and shooting and taking period leads of 2-0, 4-1 and a final score of 7-3 for the win, Rachelle Lougheed played net for all 5 games. Next action is in Thompson Dec. 17th and 18th against the Norman Wild in league action.

The Westman Wildcats played two games at home this weekend with the visting teams from the league. First up were the Pembina Valley Hawks, this game started fast and saw a 0-0 score at the end of the first and remained that way until 8 minutes into the second when PV beat Rachelle Lougheed on a man advantage, then scored another 3 minutes later. The Cats replied shortly after then each scored another before the end of the 2nd period which ended in a 3-2 score. The third saw the Wildcats give up two more as they let PV take over the game and were unable to pick up the play which had created more success earlier. the game ended 5-2 in favor of the Hawks, they also held a slight shot advantage 34-28. Goal scorers in this game for the Wildcats  were Teagan Pringle and Melissa Hunt.

The second game took place Saturday evening against  the Estman Selects, the Cats came out firing as they had rededicated themselves to work hard for 60 minutes. Two goals were scored in the 1st and both were by the Cats, Haney and Badiou both scored as the Cats outshot  the visitors 9-3. The second saw more of the same with shots being 15-5,the only goal was  Kesia Robertson picking up her 1st goal of the year. The third witnessed only one goal as Magwood scored at the 14 minute mark to finish out the scoring, final score 4-0 Cats with shots being in their favor 35- 14. Rachelle Lougheed picked up her second shutout of the year.

Next action is at the Notre Dame Hounds showcase Dec. 8th to the 11th.

The Wildcat program rings in the Xmas holidays with the help of their alumni.  The wildcats will once again  host their annual

Wildcats Alumni vs Westman Wildcats game  

Hartney Arena

Wednesday, December 21^st

7:45pm.

Whether you are still actively playing the game or not we hope you are able to join us.  With many of the Alumni returning from their university/college teams for the holidays it is a good way to get old and new together to catch up on everyone’s activities for the first half of the season or for the opportunity to reconnect with some of those old teammates/coaches you have not seen for years.

 We hope you are able to join us on December 21.  We have tried to connect with all former Wildcats but please pass this on as we do not have all addresses for former Wildcat players.  If you could let us know if you will be attending and what you have been doing since graduating that would be appreciated.

You can respond to us at svrc@mymts.net or mhunt@westman.wave.ca

Hope to see you at the rink on December 21st. 

    A Memorable Weekend

The Westman Wildcats and the Pembina Valley Hawks played a home and home exhibition series this past weekend. Game 1 took place in Hartney friday afternoon with PV drawing first blood 12 seconds into the game. The cats taken by surprise at the quick start were able to battle back and scored a goal at 2:10 of the first by Karrisa Haney. PV once again jumped out in front at 16:08 0f the second and held the lead until 14:06 of the third when Jessica Vallotton tied the game, the rest of the game was an end to end battle with neither team able to score and ended in a 2-2 tie with Kristen Campbell playing solid in the net.

The second game of the series took place in Holland with  the Wildcats playing a solid game. The first was similiar to the previous game with the Cats breaking out with 2 goals in a span 60 seconds on goals from Magwood and Hunt at the end of the first.The Hawks came back with a goal partway through the second with the Cats replying shortly after on a goal by Kirkup, who also added an empty net goal late in the third to cap the win. Rachelle Lougheed played a sound game in net.

The third game of the weekend was against the Winnipeg Avros at the MTS Center. The Cats once again gave up a goal before getting one of their own  when Kirkup redirected a point shot to tie the game in the first. No one from either team was able to score with multiable chances at each end of the ice until Whaley fired a puck past the Avros goalie with 43 seconds remaining, Kriten Campbell got a well deserved win in net. 

                             Cats 2 for 2 This Past Week

The Wildcats played two league games this past week and came out the winner in both. Wednesday saw the cats playing Yellowhead in Hartney, with Yellowhead coming out hard in the first and keeping the Wildcats off balance even while outshooting the Chiefs'. After regrouping the cats came out and played a good aggressive 2nd and third to take the game 10-0 and putting 47 shots on net. Goaltender Kristen Campbell got the shutout facing only 5 shots.

Sunday found the Wildcats in Gilbert Plains to take on the newly formed Parkland squad. Parkland battled hard but were unable to overcome the Wildcats attack, Parkland was able to score 3 goals on Rachelle Loughheed who had 20 saves in 23 shots, thge Parkland tender made 55 saves while allowing 8 goals. Wildcat scoring was spread around with all lines contributing.

The Westman Wildcats travelled south to play the Wisconsin Superior Yellowjackets on October 22 and the College of St. Scholastica on October 23. The coaches in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) announced their annual coaches poll and the Yellowjacket women find themselves in the same place as the men, picked to finish as the league runner-up in the conference for 2011-112. Only UW-River Falls was picked ahead of the Yellowjackets. Current Yellowjackets who are alumni of the Westman program include Sheryl Kaskiw (Souris, Manitoba), Teal Crosson (Alexander, Manitoba) and Kiara De Kezel (Deloraine, Manitoba).

2011-12 NCHA Women's Coaches Poll
1) River Falls (10)
2) YELLOWJACKETS (1)
3) Adrian
4) St. Norbert
5) Stevens Point
6) Lake Forest
7) Eau Claire
8) ST. SCHOLASTICA

9) Concordia-Wisconsin
10) Finlandia
11) Marian

The Westman Wildcats were up against a very strong Yellowjacket team and had difficulty adjusting to the tempo and the intensity of the game and ended up with a score of 9 – 0. Following a tour of the University the Wildcats had an opportunity to watch UMD vs Wisconsin. Brigette Lacquette a former Westman Wildcat now suits up for UMD. The UMD and Wisconsin women’s ice hockey programs are aligned with the revered Western Collegiate Hockey Association, a NCAA Division I circuit.

On Sunday the Westman Wildcats were up against St. Scholastica. The College of St. Scholastica  upgraded women's hockey to varsity status, beginning with the 2010-11 school year and is part of the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA). Again the Wildcats found themselves up against a very strong team but were able to play with much more intensity than in the previous game. The score in this game ended up 5 to 1 with the lone goal scorer being Teagan Pringle with an assist to Megan Robertson. The weekend was a great opportunity for the girls to see the level of play at the University and College level and the chance to talk with former teammates. The team now looks forward to their next league game which will be played Wednesday, October 26 , at 8:00pm in the Hartney arena against Yellowhead.

                                                         Kirkup and Vallotton

Congratulations from all the Wildcats to Karissa and Jessica on successfully earning a spot on Team Manitoba  U18 team. They will be taking part in a national tournament from November 2nd to the 6th in Quebec. We all wish them and Team Manitoba good luck.