News

WILDCATS ATTEND MAC'S INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENT

The Westman Wildcats played in the Mac's tournament in Calgary for the fourth consecutive year and came away with a 1 - 3 record.

Their first round robin game put them up against the hometown Calgary Bruins and this was a fast paced game with plenty of scoring opportunities at both ends.  Calgary opened the scoring 7 minutes into the first period and then Westman's Elise Badiou tied it up at the 10 minute mark of the first period.  This was all the scoring for the opening period.  In the second period Calgary scored the lone goal of the period on the powerplay.  The third period saw the Wildcats with a few good scoring chances but could not find the back of the net.  Calgary scored 3 unanswered goals to finish the third peiod with a final score of 5 - 1.  Rachelle Lougheed was in net for Westman.  Shots on net favored Calgary 26 - 22.

Westman's second game was against the Regina Rebels, a team they always have close games with and this game was no different.  The Wildcats scored the lone goal in the first period off the stick of Jessica Vallotton.  Both teams scored 2 goals in the second period withTeagan Pringle and Amanda Coey scoring goals for the Wildcats.  The third period was another hard fought period with both teams each notching one goal.  Elise Badiou's goal in the third ended up being the game winner.  Final score Westman 4, Regina 3.  Jillian Cowan played a strong game in net for the Cats facing 29 shots.

The Wildcats third game was against a very strong team from Red Deer. At the end of the first period the score was 1 - 1, but things went downhill from there with a final score of 11 - 1 in favor of Red Deer.  Westman's lone goal was scored by Amanda Coey.  Jillian Cowan played the first two periods in net and was replaced in the third by Rachelle Lougheed.

Westman's final game of the tournament was against Okanagan and once again the Cats had trouble putting the puck in the net.  Shots on net were 26 - 18 in favor of Okanagan.  Period scores were 4 - 0 for Okanagan to end the first period, 6 - 1 to end the second and the final score was 6 - 1 in favor of Okanagan.  Rachelle Lougheed started the game for the Wildcats and was replaced by Jillian Cowan for the final two periods.  Karissa Kirkup scored the Wildcats goal.

The Wildcats next action will be an exhibition game against the Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats in the Pierson Arena on Sunday, January 9 at 12:00 noon.

WILDCATS PLAY PAIR ON WEEKEND

The Westman Wildcats played a pair of MFMHL games this past weekend.  Friday night in Hartney saw the Wildcats play host to the Eastman Selects and this was a very tight game with period scores of 0 - 0 after the first period, 2 - 2 after two periods and the final score ending in a 2 - 2 tie.  Kiara DeKezel scored both Westman goals.  The shots were very close at 28 - 25 in favor of Eastman and Rachelle Lougheed was in net for the Wildcats.

Saturday night the Cats travelled to Portage to take on the Central Plains Capitals and like the night before came away with a tie.  Period scores were 1 - 0 for Central after the first period, 2 - 1 for Central after the second period and the final score of 3 - 3.  Shots on net were 28 - 27 in favor of the Wildcats with Rachelle Lougheed in between the pipes.  Goal scorers for Westman were Jessica Vallotton, Amanda Coey and Kiara DeKezel.

WILDCATS AT THE 11TH ANNUAL NOTRE DAME SHOWCASE

The Wildcats travelled to Wilcox, Saskatchewan to attend the annual Notre Dame Showcase tournament on the weekend.  Thursday, December 9 saw the Wildcats playing the Highwood Raiders, one of Alberta's top teams, with both teams exchanging goals in the first period.  The second period saw Highwood score 3 goals to end the second period with a 4 - 1 score.  Not to be outdone, the Cats put on relentless pressure in the third period, scoring 2 goals and pulling the goalie for the extra attacker with under a minute left and had many chances but couldn't get the equalizer.  Final score was 4 - 3 for Highwood.  Wildcat goal scorers were Gina Williams, Jaycee Magwood and Karissa Kirkup.  Shots on net were 19 - 17 in favor of Highwood and Rachelle Lougheed was in net for Westman.

Friday morning had the Wildcats up against Melville and they came out very flat in this contest.  Down 2 - 1 after the first, 3 - 1 after two and the final score being 4 - 1 for Melville.  Melissa Hunt was the lone goal scorer with Rachelle Lougheed in net for the Cats.

Friday evening saw our last round robin game against POE from Kelowna and the Cats played a much better game.  Period scores were 2 - 0, 3 - 0, and the final score was 4 - 1 in favor of POE.  Kiara DeKezel got the lone marker for Westman and Cassandra Hickes faced 35 shots in the Wildcat net.

Saturday afternoon had the Wildcats playing a semi-final game against the South Island Breakers from B.C.  The Wildcats started the game slowly but got stronger as the game went on.  Period scores were 2 - 0, 5 - 1, and the final score was 8 - 1.  Goal scorers for the Wildcats were Kiara DeKezel with the hat trick, Karissa Kirkup with a pair and single markers from Amanda Coey, Bailee Goodon, and Karissa Haney.  Shots on net were 39 - 16 in favor of Westman and Cassandra Hickes had another strong game in net for the Cats.

Early Sunday morning the Wildcats played their final game against the Calgary Chaos, and this was a very close game where the Wildcats came out quite slowly the first 10 minutes but played extremely hard the rest of the game.  The final score after 60 minutes was 2 - 2 and eight minutes into overtime Calgary got the winner.  Goal scorers for Westman were Jessica Vallotton and Teagan Pringle.  The shots were 29 - 23 in favour of Calgary.  Cassandra Hickes was in net for the Cats and made many excellent saves in the end to end battle.

WILDCATS PLAY THREE THIS PAST WEEK

December 1 saw the rematch between Westman and Yellowhead in Elkhorn and once again the Wildcats started the game slowly and Yellowhead came out determined to win.  Yellowhead scored the only goal in the first period and then scored 2 more in the second before the Wildcats would get their first goal only to be answered by another Yellowhead goal; 4 - 1 after two periods.  The Wildcats put on the push in the third and scored a goal to bring the score to 4 - 2 and then Yellowhead scored an empty net goal for a 5 - 2 final.  Shots were 34 - 22 in favor of Westman, Darby Peaslee was between the pipes.  Goal scorers for the Wildcats were Kiara DeKezel and Jessica Vallotton.

December 3 Pembina Valley took on the host Wildcats in Hartney and the Cats played very hard but just couldn't keep pace with a very experienced Hawks team that moved the puck well and took advantage of their opportunities, scoring 3 power play goals.  The final score was 7 - 0 for Pembina Valley with the shots in their favor 45 - 21.  Darby Peaslee made many great saves in net.

December 5 in Melita, the Wildcats took to the ice against the Westman Senior Ladies team in an evening exhibition game.  The two teams exchanged goals in the first and second period and the Wildcats scored the lone goal in the third period for the 3 - 2 victory.  Goal scorers for Westman were Melissa Hunt with 2 and Amanda Coey with a single.  Shots were 46 - 7 in favor of the Wildcats and Rachelle Lougheed was in net for the Cats.

The Wildcats head out December 9 - 12 for the annual Notre Dame Tournament in Wilcox, Saskatchewan.  The Cats are in a pool with Melville, Saskatchewan, Highwood, Alberta and POE from Kelowna, BC for 3 great match ups.

WILDCATS 1-2-1 RECORD AT THOROUGHBREDS TOURNAMENT

The Wildcats travelled to Minneapolis this past weekend to participate in the annual Thoroughbred tourney with 16 teams participating from across Canada and the U.S.A.  The Wildcats first action put them up against Alaska on Friday night and this game ended up in a 0 - 0 draw although Westman outshot their opposition 28 - 7 they couldn't find the back of the net.  Allison Rothwell got the shutout in the Wildcat net.

Saturday had the Wildcats playing Thunder Bay, the 2010 Esso Cup National Champions in the morning contest and Notre Dame, the 2010 Esso Cup finalists in the afternoon.  Both of these proved to be very tough tests for the young Wildcats.  The morning contest saw the Wildcats lose to Thunder Bay with a 7 - 1 score, Amanda Coey getting the lone Wildcat marker and Darby Peaslee making her first appearance in net after sitting out for 2 months with an injury.

The second game had the Wildcats play the Notre Dame Hounds and again the Wildcats lost by a 7 - 1 score with Karissa Kirkup scoring the only goal with Allison Rothwell in between the pipes for the Cats.

With the tie and 2 losses that put Westman up against the Yellowhead Chiefs for their final game.  Westman came out to start the game very slowly and found themselves down 2 - 0 early in the second.  The Wildcats scored a goal at the midpoint of the second period and dominated the game from this point on, scoring 2 more unanswered goals for the victory and a 3 - 2 final score.  Goal scorers for Westman were Kiara DeKezel with 2 goals and Karissa Kirkup with a single marker.  Darby Peaslee was solid in net for the Cats.

The Westman Wildcats have 3 games this upcoming week with 2 league games, the first in Elkhorn against Yellowhead on Wednesday December 1, a home game in Hartney on Friday, December 3 at 8:00 p.m. against Pembina Valley and then an exhibition game on Sunday, December 5 at 5:30 p.m. in Melita against the Westman Senior Ladies team.

TOUGH LOSS IN EASTMAN

  The Westman Wildcats travelled to Ste. Anne on Saturday to play the Eastman Selects and came out on the short end of a 4-1 score. In a game that had very little flow to it due to numerous penalties, both teams saw their special teams play a ton.

  Eastman scored the only goal in the first period on a powerplay. The Wildcats replied with the only goal scored in the second period on a short handed goal scored by Kiara Dekezel unassisted.

  The Wildcats were forced to work on their 5on3 penalty kill a couple of different times in the third period which proved to be their undoing as the Selects scored 3 unanswered goals in the third period to ice the victory. Allison Rothwell was between the pipes for Westman.

  The Cats now practice twice this week in preparation for the Thoroughbred Tournament this upcoming weekend in Minneapolis where the Wildcats will play Alaska, ThunderBay and Notre Dame in round robin play.

WESTMAN AND YELLOWHEAD IN CLOSE CONTEST

  Tuesday evening saw the Westman Wildcats host the Yellowhead Chiefs inMFMHL league play. The teams traded goals in the first period with Yellowhead getting the first goal only to have the Wildcats tie it up before the end of the period on a goal by Amanda Coey, assists going to Dekezel and Whaley.

  Both teams were held scoreless in the second period with the Wildcats getting the go ahead goal at the 13 minute mark in the third period by Kiara Dekezel assist going to Gina Williams. Yellowhead stormed back to tie it up a minute later and then with 5 minutes remaining in third Karissa Kirkup put Westman up for good with assists going to Magwood and Whaley. The Cats put the final nail in the coffin with an empty net goal by Amanda Coey with an assist going to Jessica Vallotton.

  Rachelle Lougheed was in net for the Westman Wildcats and faced 17 shots while the Cats directed 40 shots at the Yellowhead goaltender.

  The Wildcats head off to Ste. Anne on Saturday evening to take on their eastern rival the Eastman Selects, game time is 5:30.

WILDCATS OVER CAPITALS

   Saturday, November 13 saw the Wildcats host the Central Plains Capitals in MFMHL action. The first period was scoreless as both teams felt each other out with the Wildcats coming to life in the second period scoring 4 unanswered goals. Both teams traded goals in the third period for a final score of Westman 5 Central Plains 1. Goal scorers for Westman were Karissa Kirkup with the hat trick, Melissa Hunt and Amanda Coey with singles.

   Rachelle Lougheed was in net for the Cats and shots on net were 37-11 in favor of the Westman Wildcats. Next action for the Wildcats will be on Tuesday November 16 @ 8:00 at the Hartney Arena when they host the Yellowhead Chiefs.