High-scoring Wildcats saved by the Bell

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/10/2016 (3528 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Westman Wildcats were the highest-scoring team in the Manitoba Female Midget Hockey League last season and they hope to repeat that this winter.

There’s one big reason for that: Ashton Bell. The Grade 12 student from Deloraine was a part of the silver-medal winning Manitoba team at the Canadian under-18 women’s hockey championship last season and then the national team at the worlds. She will captain the Wildcats this season and is quickly brought up when her coaches and players are asked about the team’s strengths.

“Whoever plays with Ashton Bell would be our biggest strength,” said head coach Guy Williams.

“We have speed. We have Ashton Bell, which adds to our team,” added defenceman Shaelyn Vallotton. “Our passes are good and we’re good and have the focus. We have very good control of the play.”

Bell led the league in goals (29) and points (43) last season despite playing in 21 of 28 regular season games. She missed some time for the U18 events and will again this season as she has been named to Manitoba’s U18 squad along with Wildcats teammate Andrea Sanderson.

However, some of Westman’s support system up front is gone. Kenzie Robinson, who was second in league scoring with 26 goals and 38 points, graduated along with Jaedon Cooke (13 goals, 19 points in 16 games).

Kaitlyn Crowe and Courtney Ganske, a pair of defencemen who combined to put up 60 points last season, also aged out, meaning five of the team’s top-six scorers from last season aren’t returning. Three of those players were among the league’s top 15 point earners.

That doesn’t bother Williams as he watched his team post 26 goals in seven pre-season games.

“I think we’re going to be able to put some pucks in the net,” said Williams, whose team went 5-2 in exhibition play. “Our goal will be to score more than the other team. We’ll take care of our end the best that we can, but you always have to score. The challenge in girls’ hockey is usually goal scoring.”

Defensively, the team should be solid when it opens the regular season against the Winnipeg Avros in Hartney on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The Wildcats return both goalies from last year — Kaitlyn Slator, who led the league with a 0.82 goals-against average in 11 games last season and a .955 save percentage, and Jenna Marshall (1.93 GAA, .886 save pct.) — as well as a trio of defencemen.

Vallotton, a six-foot Killarney product heading into her fourth season with Westman, is one of the players ready to step up and lead the way on the blue-line.

“It will be tough losing them; they were leaders also,” Vallotton said. “You kind of do what you have to do. We have some good defencemen this year and three vets, so we’ll all have to step in and put in a good effort.

“I hope to help improve our team and push every player and push myself on the ice. For sure (I have to step up). You have to be a role model and show your teammates the effort that has to go into it and the focus that has to go into the game. For sure I have to step up.”

Westman had a decent season last year, finishing fourth in the regular season with an 18-5-5 mark before falling in the semifinals to the eventual champion Yellowhead Chiefs.

Williams thinks it may take a bit for his team to find its groove this campaign, but that the Wildcats’ play will improve as the season goes on and they’ll push for their first league title.

“It’s about the process,” he said. “We want to continue to get better and we think if we do that and last year we ran into significant injuries and if we can avoid that then we’ll be right there in the mix at the end of the season. That’s our goal to consistently get better.”

» cjaster@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @jasterch