U15 Wildcats poised to make a run

The Westman Wildcats may be small-town players, but they certainly bring heart in a big way.

The Wildcats U15 AAA girls club has players from tight-knit communities all over Westman — including Glenboro (4), Melita (1), Hartney (2), Reston (1), Wawanesa (2), Virden (2), Tilston (1), Medora (1), Oak Lake (1) and Deloraine (2) — which may not be the most popular hockey-centric destinations in the province but together have proved to form the backbone of a resilient, hard-working group destined to make some noise.

Just ask Lenore’s Jamie Hodson, a former Brandon Wheat Kings netminder and Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick, who’s now in his first year as head coach of the Wildcats.

“These rural areas in Westman, these girls play with a lot on their jersey,” said Hodson on Thursday. “These logos mean a lot playing for their small towns and playing in their regions and I think that’s a big part of the success for our team. They just have that buy-in, and they all play for each other.

“Overall, it’s been an excellent season so far. There was a bit of an adjustment for the players, I think, to get used to the coaching style, but we’ve now come a long way as a team.”

This year’s coaching staff is completely different with the exception of assistant coach Kaitlyn Paddock, who was also behind the bench last season beside former head coach Derek Kempthorne. Along with Hodson, Tamara McVannel — who played USports with the University of Regina with Paddock from 2016-2020 — has also joined the staff as an assistant, while Dan Averil serves as the goaltending coach with Chad Hack assisting him.

While Hodson had familiarity with more than a handful of players during his time coaching in Virden with the Jr. Oil Capitals, the number of personnel moves with the coaching staff was still a lot to take in at first, but it still didn’t take long for the team to show their true colours, that of a true contender.

Heading into this weekend Westman carries a 12-4-1 record with 25 points through 17 games, which stands as the highest winning percentage in the league: The Eastman Selects currently take up the top spot in the seven-team league with 26 points and one more game played. Last weekend the Wildcats defeated the Selects 6-3 on the road in Ste. Agathe with goals from Louelle Jasper, a pair from Hailey Davidson, and a hat trick from captain Georgia Koop — who’s tied for the team lead in points with 32 alongside Hodson’s daughter Demi — to extend their win streak to four, which is the longest run they’ve had all year.

Eastman will get a chance to settle the score on Saturday, when the two teams once again face off in Ste. Agathe for what will be another tough battle. Westman will also be in action the following day for another road game against the third-place Central Plains Capitals (11-4).

Hodson knows the next pair of games will be crucial.

“It’s a huge weekend for us,” Hodson said. “Any team in this league can beat any team on any given night, so nothing’s a for-sure thing, and Eastman and Central (Plains) are both excellent teams. They play similar games, they’re both very offensive and have strong defence, so it’s going to be a big weekend for us, and it’s going to be interesting to see how it shakes out. Our goal is to have a great weekend and hopefully Monday, Tuesday, you can come out of it smiling, but we got to work for it.”

And just like every game, they have all the tools to do it. They are fast, aggressive, hard working, and arguably have the perfect balance of skill and grit. That’s what makes the team click, according to Hodson.

“We certainly have skilled girls, but we have our grinders and our other girls that in any part of the game, we have no fear of putting out to either get a goal or to not allow a goal,” he said. “We have a lot of all-around talent, we have our grinders, our defence can move the puck and can play stay-at-home, so it’s a well-balanced team.

“It’s just a team-first attitude.”

With Koop, Demi and Lily Wells leading the surge offensively, rookie forwards Nova Hack and Hailey Davidson have also caught eyes with their tenaciousness on the puck and lightning speed, which Hodson believes is up there with the fastest in the entire league. Second-year forward Maisie Green and defender Mya Jones have brought another level to their offensive game, while the team’s lone Brandonite, Abbey Oliver, and veteran blue-liners Jasper and Jaelyn Mann have consistently stifled the opposition in preventing them from getting on the score sheet.

And in the rare case the powerful wall is penetrated, Hailey Hauser and Ivy Nelson, who patrol the crease, will have something to say about it. Both netminders have racked up six wins, with Hauser racking up a .919 save percentage and a 1.57 goals against and Nelson logging a .891 save percentage and 2.88 goals against.

“Everyone brings something to the table,” Hodson said. “Any girl can play and be successful, and that’s really what we’re going for. To win a championship, that’s what it’s going to take because you can’t have one or two or three girls, you’ve got to have a whole team. That’s how we have moulded this group.”

Now, it’s just about executing the game plan, and what goes a long way in making sure that happens is what’s happening not just on the ice, but off the ice too.

Virden’s Koop is at the helm of the Wildcats’ leadership team, while Deloraine’s Wells, Medora’s Mann, Hartney’s Jasper and Oliver serve as assistants.

Hodson said he couldn’t be happier with his decision.

“Our leadership group’s really done a phenomenal job,” Hodson said. “They all do an excellent job of dialling the team in when you need to and loosening things up when you need to and also leading by example. It’s kind of helped mould the atmosphere we’re looking for as coaches.”

Following this weekend’s tilt, Westman will close out the month of January with a road game against the Yellowhead Chiefs at Shoal Lake Arena next Saturday.

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com