Lenton, U15 girls push for bounce back

A statement win is in order.

The Wheat Kings U15 AAA girls squad are now winless in their last three contests following a disappointing road set against the Westman Wildcats over the weekend, when they got outscored 15-0 with 7-0 and 8-0 losses. Their first loss of the skid came the weekend prior, as they dropped a tight contest to the Central Plains Capitals 4-3 at Flynn Arena.

They now sit fifth in the Manitoba Female Hockey League standings with a record of 4-7-1.

Brandon first-year player Lena Lenton said her team is due for a response.

“I think we just need to bring the intensity up,” said Lenton, who’s tied for fifth in team scoring alongside Cora McBeth, who both carry six points in 12 games. “We got to be aggressive and still try and make plays quicker, make cleaner passes on the tape and communicate better. Just more aggression and intensity.”

Lenton, a 13-year-old left-shot defender, believes speed and aggression were the key reasons behind the Wheaties success near the beginning of the season, and the sooner they get back to that, the sooner they will see more results.

Brandon will have a chance to put that theory to the test on Friday, when they face the Yellowhead Chiefs at Shoal Lake Communiplex. The two clubs have split the season series through two games, with Brandon taking Game 1 on the road 4-2 in October, and then Yellowhead returning the favour in enemy territory last month with a 5-4 victory.

“We are an aggressive team that works really hard, and we’ve progressed, so we just got to continue that,” she said.

“They’re (Yellowhead) very fast and skilled, so we definitely have to come to play for that team.”

The team will also have a little more pep in their step thanks to health, as many of the girls were victims of the sick bug last week. Highlighting that list would be goaltender Alana Champagne, who, despite a 1-3-1 record, has proved to be a brick wall between the pipes in her returning season, as she’s managed a 2.16 goals against average and a .931 save percentage.

Champagne missed the pair of games on the weekend, but her team is hopeful she can make a return against the Chiefs. If not, five-foot-three netminder Amara Reichert will assume the starting role.

Regardless of who starts, though, after being shut out in back-to-back games, scoring also needs to become a priority. That’s where Lenton feels she may be of use.

“I feel like it definitely depends on which team we’re playing, but I like to be as aggressive as I can and jump into the play to get more chances and stuff for us,” she said. “Against the stronger teams, it can be difficult, but I try my best to find an open pass or an open path and just get involved. I can read the game well, pretty well, I would say, so I like to be aggressive, but just the right kind of aggression.”

Finding that balance between sitting back too much or being too assertive has not been easy for Lenton in her first-year season playing with quicker and more physical players in U15, but she feels she’s gotten the hang of it.

“There’s definitely a faster pace and definitely more pressure, so I feel like it can be a bit harder at times, but I think I’ve gotten used to it now,” Lenton said. “Sometimes I also like to visualize and look back at other games, like previous games, on how to play, and that calms me down a bit.”

After Friday evening’s tilt, Lenton and the Wheat Kings will have a 15-day hiatus to rest and reset before returning to action in Thompson, where they will have back-to-back dates with the last-place Norman Wild on Dec 20 and 21.

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com