McBeth ready to shine for U15 Wheaties senior night

Cora McBeth has waited a year for this moment, and now the time has finally come.

McBeth and the Brandon Wheat Kings U15 AAA girls team (12-9-1) will play their last home game of the Manitoba Female Hockey League regular season against the Pembina Valley Hawks (5-15-1) at the Sportsplex on Saturday in what will also be a night to recognize the team’s veteran players.

Brandon’s five-foot-three, right-shot forward wondered what senior night felt like for her older teammates in their major seasons last year, but now it’s her turn to experience it for herself.

“I’m really excited,” said McBeth. “I’m excited to be focused on just making sure people know that I’ve been on this team and they care that I make an impact, and how it’s gonna be being a senior because last year I didn’t know what it was like, so now I’m gonna see.

“I’m excited to see like all of my seniors as a group together and hopefully we’ll get a couple pictures together.”

McBeth, who serves as an alternate captain, will also be joined by captain Shayla Duncalfe, fellow assistants Madelyn Oldcorn and Brittyn Devlieger, and other second years in Alana Champagne, Chelsea Sun and Joee McKay. It’s a group that’s been together for a large chunk of their time in organized hockey, which means they will be extra motivated to rally together for one last win on home turf, and their first at the Sportsplex, where they are yet to play a game.

If that wasn’t enough motivation though, McBeth can also rely on some extra noise coming from the stands, as lots of family will be coming out to cheer her on, including relatives from her dad’s side who are making the trek out from Winnipeg to see her in action. She said she’s looking forward to playing the Hawks in front of the crowd.

“I’m really excited to play the Hawks,” McBeth said. “We played them on their senior night and we ended up beating them, so that was really good.

“We just really want to get as many points as we can.”

The stakes from a standings point of view in this game could be massive.

The Wheaties currently sit fourth in the standings with 25 points thanks to winning eight of their last 10 contests, which helped them jump past the Yellowhead Chiefs (11-10). Following Saturday evening’s match, they will wrap up their season the following weekend on the road in Portage la Prairie against the Central Plains Capitals (13-5), who they trail by just one point in the standings, albeit with four more games played.

They are also only two points back of the Westman Wildcats, who have three games in hand, but nonetheless, if Brandon can find a way to come out on top these next two games and extend its winning streak to six — which would be its longest of the season — it will set themselves up to be in a good position come playoff time.

Last year the Wheat Kings exited the post-season earlier than they would have hoped after bowing out to the Chiefs in Round 1, so McBeth, along with the other majors, is eager for redemption.

“We are really excited to go into playoffs this year since we’ve shown that we’ve beaten every team, and we’re excited to contribute and put up points on the scoreboard, and hopefully, we’ll do better than we did last year and make it to second round,” she said. “We’re so pumped when we’re on a winning streak, so hopefully we’ll get that again during playoffs.”

If there’s one thing McBeth said she learned from last year’s heartbreak, it’s the energy can’t falter play-to-play — it needs to be alive and well from start to finish — and she believes she can be the one to make sure it happens.

“We really need our team to stay positive and have so much more energy because when we’re all like yelling on the bench we have so much more energy and more battles happen,” McBeth said. “We just need to stay positive most of the time and not worry about the negative part of the game.

“I’m always yelling on or off the ice and making sure people know that I’m there with them or like encouraging them and letting them know if there’s someone on them or just even cheering them on and always yelling and very loud, so that’s helped.”

In addition to her energy boost on the bench and leadership in the locker room, McBeth’s also done her part on the ice carrying a point-per game average while playing alongside Ivy Beaulieu and one of Natalie Hees or Zoii Ellsworth who rotate on the wing.In 22 games, she’s cashed in six goals and 22 points, which is tied for second in team scoring along with Duncalfe, Emily Garrioch and Mila Kaktins.

Forward Fergie Bertholet leads the group with 25 goals and 33 points.

McBeth said she’s more of a playmaker, but if there was ever a time to lean shot-first, it would be Saturday.

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com