U15 Wildcats looking to make more noise in post-season

The Westman Wildcats have a chance to make history for the second time this post-season.

Westman (2-0) continues its trek through the playoffs as it begins its best-of-three Manitoba Female Hockey League U15 AAA semifinal matchup against the Eastman Selects (2-0) this afternoon in Ste. Agathe at 2:30 p.m.

The Wildcats enter this series following a triumphant first-round sweep of the Pembina Valley Hawks following a 3-2 win on Feb. 27 and a 5-2 win last Sunday, making it the first time the organization has ever advanced to Round 2.

They’re riding an all-time high and assistant captain Jaelyn Mann is all here for it. She’s now hoping her team can do the same against Eastman.

“It would mean a lot for us,” said Mann, a defenceman in her second season with Westman. “We’ve been working for this all year and we’ve pushed each other to our full limits.

“We’re all just super excited. Eastman will be really tough, but we’ve been preparing for this all year and our goal is just to make it to the championship. It’s going to be a very good battle because they’re very tough, but we’re ready to take them on.”

The Wildcats ended the regular season just one point back of the Selects in third place with a 17-6-1 record through 24 games, but still got the better end of the season series. Westman took down Eastman three out of four meeting this year following a 4-2 win Oct. 25 in Deloraine, a 3-2 victory Nov. 16, which was also at home, a dominant 6-3 performance Jan. 17 in Ste. Agathe, and then a 7-2 loss on Jan. 24, also on the road.

The two have been quite level all season, but the Wildcats appear to be more battle tested heading into Game 1 today.

While Westman came away unscathed after a few close calls against Pembina Valley in the first round, Eastman’s path to the semis was a bit more of a cake walk after playing the Norman Wild, who hadn’t won a game all year. That didn’t change last week either, as the Selects put them in an absolute tailspin en route to 15-0 and 13-1 victories.

They haven’t had much of a challenge yet when play gets ramped up in the post-season, which could be an advantage for the Wildcats, although only time will tell.

Mann believes the key to this matchup will be neutralizing the opponent’s speed.

“They’re a very fast-paced team and they move the puck very well, so they’re always using each other, so we just have to be very defensive and shut them down,” she said. “ I feel like my game’s very defensive, I’m a very defensive D-man, but I always just try and give my team as much as I possibly can to stop the puck from going in the net.”

Mann will throw her body on the line to block a shot, but she’s also no slouch offensively either. She tallied four goals and 15 points this campaign and helped her squad rack up the most goals in the league with 148, which was 28 more than Eastman.

It all plays into head coach Jamie Hodson’s coaching philosophy that “the best defence is offence,” and it’s seemed to work.

Westman not only produced the most offence in the league, but also allowed the second least with just 56 goals against.

The only team with less?

Eastman gave up just 42 goals, which makes sense considering they were by far the least penalized team this season with 144 minutes in the box. The Wildcats’ 206 penalty minutes was the second least across the seven-team league.

On attack, the Selects are led by Bryelle Muntain, who amassed 29 goals and 55 points, which was 24 more than any other player on her team. She also registered six goals and 14 points in Round 1 against Norman, which was six more than the second highest scorer on her team.

She clearly drives the bus for Eastman’s attack, and Westman is prepared to suppress it, but is focusing on its game.

“Like any of our strong players within the league, we are for sure aware of them,” said Wildcats assistant coach Kaitlyn Paddock. “We know what to look out for, but it doesn’t necessarily change the way we approach the game.

“We’re just focusing on our game and not necessarily our opponent because when we’re our best team and playing together, I truly think we can do something really special. We just need to play as a team, which we have done all year.”

Captain George Koop and Demi Hodson — whose 34 goals proved to be the second most in the league behind Central Plains’ Hailey Terrace — both led the team in scoring with 55 points each, which ranked third in the entire league, but they’ve also had a big supporting cast around them.

Second-year forward Lily Wells also cracked top-five in league scoring with 23 goals and 43 points, while Hailey Davidson, Abbey Oliver and Nova Hack have also collected at least 28 points this season.

In total, Westman has 12 players who have reached at least double digits in scoring and seven players who’ve buried at least 10 goals. That depth also shined through in the first pair of post-season games against the Hawks, as nine players got on the scoresheet, with Hodson leading the way with six assists.

“They (Eastman) have skilled players, but so do we, and I think that’s the biggest thing, is our depth,” said Paddock. “We have a very strong team and unit all throughout the lines and when we’re playing our game, we’re unstoppable right from our leadership group down to our first-year players.”

Now it’s time to go prove it in a position they’ve never been in before: Luckily, there’s a first time for everything. Mann is ready to soak in all in.

“It’s way more intense now,” she said. “It’s going to be a lot more physical and a lot louder. The arenas are very loud and everyone’s cheering and there’s lots of people there, so it’s very intense and will be lots of fun.”

Following today’s contest, the two teams will head to Deloraine for Game 2 on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com