Wildcats ready to pounce down stretch

The Westman Wildcats may not be the most experienced group, but they’re every bit as ready.

The Manitoba Female Hockey League’s U18 AAA club features just three seniors, with more than half of the team in their Grade 10 year and even a pair still in Grade 9. However, that hasn’t stopped them from being the fierce, apex predator they have etched on their crest.

Under first-year head coach Karissa Kirkup — a former Wildcat from 2009 to 2013, a U Sports athlete with the University of Manitoba from 2015 to 2019, and head coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings U18 AAA girls last season — Westman has proved to be a true contender all year, notching a 13-7-4 record through 24 games for 30 points, which ranks third best in the eight-team league, only trailing the Eastman Selects (21-1-2) and Winnipeg Ice (21-1-1).

Kirkup’s been satisfied with what she’s seen from her group so far, but with only a handful of games remaining before the post-season hits, she knows there’s still plenty more work to be done.

“It’s a really great group to work with,” Kirkup said. “We’re really proud of how our team has consistently developed over each day and each week and each month of the season, and we are truly building towards something that we want to look back on and remember and be proud of how we played as a team.

“It’s been a great experience for us as a coaching staff with the team we have this year and the core of our team being very young yet, but I’m glad we still have lots of meaningful hockey left to play here. We just keep chipping away until playoffs, and we’re excited for the run here.”

On Saturday, the Wildcats may get a taste of what’s to come down the road in the playoffs when they head on the road to face the Winnipeg Ice, who they haven’t played since October 24, when Westman got blanked 3-0 in Hartney. The two teams did, however, see each other over the weekend at the Female World Sport School Challenge hosted by Balmoral Hall School, where Winnipeg once again ended up on top in a 6-3 semifinal victory. The Ice ended up winning the tournament after edging the Rink Hockey Academy club 3-1 in the gold-medal game.

En route to its semifinals game, Westman also ousted Balmoral Hall 2-1, which was a huge accomplishment and confidence boost for Kirkup’s squad, who have also participated in other tournaments in Calgary, Saskatchewan, and Portage this season.

Following Saturday’s tilt, the Wildcats will host the Pembina Valley Hawks (7-14-1) and then will wrap up their season the following weekend at home against the Interlake Lightning (2-20-2) and have one last hurrah with the Hawks.

“You kind of have your Eastman (Selects) and your (Winnipeg) Ice at the top, but the rest of the league is so tight all the time, you have to come ready to play,” said Kirkup. “Just consistently being consistent hockey players, very tough to play against, and winning those one-on-one battles all over the ice.”

Alongside assistant bench bosses Jarrod Franklin and Kirkup’s father, Kary, she has Westman fully bought into playing a fast game that is known for grit, tenacity, hockey IQ and most importantly, balance throughout the lineup.

“We can rely on any line and any D pairing and any goalie on any given night, and we’re super proud of that,” she said. “Everybody has their own role, and we are consistently preaching to them that if they’re able and willing to compete and fulfill their role at 100 per cent every time that we have a game, whether it’s a league game or in one of the showcases that we’ve attended, then we’re going to find short-term success, and we’re going to find long-term success as well.

“I’m very happy that each and every player has found some type of success on the ice this year.”

And that all starts with Elgin’s Ivy Perkin, who is leading her team on and off the ice as team captain and leading scorer with 20 goals and 47 points, which is more than a country mile past any other player on her team. She also leads the league in points — Eastman’s Delainey Rigaux, who holds the second-highest point totals, trails her by nine points — and has been from the very first week of the season. But that certainly isn’t to Kirkup’s surprise.

“The puck is like a magnet on her stick and regardless of if there’s a play to be made or there’s a goal to be scored, one of the things that I’m most impressed by is she’s consistently using her linemates to make plays,” she said. “There are always those certain players that a high percentage of your team wants to play with, and lots of our forwards really strive to be playing with her and playing on her line because of her speed and her playmaking skills and her hands. She creates those opportunities, game in and game out.”

Her skills off the ice come just as natural. Albeit more on the quiet side, Perkin has proved to be a positive, team-first person that teammates can always rely on outside of the rink, and it’s a big reason why everyone is super close as a team.

“She’s all those real qualities of a captain and something that the rest of our younger players really look up to,” said Kirkup. “She’s very highly respected on our team and obviously, we definitely appreciate having her and what she’s brought to our team offensively.”

Kirkup also gave tons of credit to assistant captains Charlie Shearer and Kadence Mann, who’ve also helped shape the group to be more of a family than just a group that shares the ice. After all, she knows win or lose — relationships are what stand the test of time.

“At the end of the day, we just want them to be really good people and to learn some things along the way,” Kirkup said. “It sure helps that they’re really great human beings to work with and they’re kind people who are always striving to better and to be better people for those around them, and that’s what makes our team really great.”

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com