Canadian Tire Wickfest is the biggest girls hockey tournament in the country. So much so that it takes two weekends to complete.
Yellowknife had some skin in the game this past weekend with two teams on the ice in the U13 division. And they both came home with the big prize.
The Summit Air Spitfires claimed victory in the U13 Bronze Division 1 thanks to a tight 2-1 win over the Medicine Hat Wildcats in the final on Sunday. The win capped off a perfect weekend for the Spitfires as they went a perfect five-for-five in the win column, which included four wins in the round-robin.
Head coach Ryan Nichols said it was a balanced effort from top to bottom.
“The girls played great defence and made sure we cleaned up things in our own zone,” he said. “That meant we could get into the offensive zone with some speed and have confidence on the other end.”
The ladies kicked off proceedings on Nov. 29 with a 6-0 win over the Milestone Flyers from Regina in their opening contest and followed that up with a 6-1 triumph against the Regina Royals later that evening. The first meeting against Medicine Hat ended in a tight 1-0 win with Schuyler Greening scoring the only -and game-winning - goal in that contest. They ended the round-robin with a decisive shutout victory over the GHC Junior Inferno from Calgary to clinch top spot and the rematch with Medicine Hat.
“We played Medicine Hat in Leduc (Alta.) two weeks ago and we knew they would be a challenge,” said Nichols. “We hadn’t seen the other teams before the tournament, but we knew Medicine Hat had a real good goalie, so that was always going to be tough.”
If you’ve been keeping score, you’ll notice the Spitfires gave up a grand total of two goals in those five games. That’s because Hayden Wray stood tall all the way through and Nichols said it was an impressive performance considering Wray had been injured leading up to Wickfest.
“She was hurt up until about a week ago and we didn’t know how she would do,” he said. “Our defence made sure we kept things clear for her and she played great.”
Kaylee Fowler was the team’s most valuable player in the tournament and Nichols said it all came down to consistency.
“She was consistent all weekend and never gave up,” he said. “Our whole team had balanced scoring and the defence was there to keep us in it. Just a great tournament and I’m proud of the girls.”
The other team from the capital was the Yellowknife Wolfpack and they were in the U13 Bronze Division 2. And just like the Spitfires, they had a perfect round-robin with four wins out of four. They began against Northwest District out of B.C. on Nov. 29 and won by a score of 5-4 and followed that up later in the day with victory over the Greater Trail Wildcats from B.C. by that same 5-4 scoreline.
Head coach Abby Webster said there were some definite nerves due to the fact that the team included some young ladies from Hay River.
"They were really nervous at the start and you could tell because they don't all play together," she said. "It takes a bit of time for the lines to jell, but once they got that first goal, they seemed to pick up the pace and the nerves were definitely disappearing."
A 4-0 win over the GHC Junior Inferno Club preceded a 1-0 shutout win over the Ukraine Selects, a team of players from the country who travelled more than two days from Ukraine to Poland and eventually to Calgary for the tournament.
Webster said playing a team from so far away was definitely the highlight for the girls.
"They were really excited about playing them," she said. "It's just an experience to play a team that travelled so far to come and play. Sport North gave us some Team NT hats to give as souvenirs and they seemed to really like those."
Not to mention a certain Hayley Wickenheiser, for whom the tournament is named, was on the bench to provide some tips and pointers during the game, added Webster.
The perfect record meant a rematch with Greater Trail in the final and it would go the way of the Wolfpack as they emerged victorious, 5-4, to claim the gold medal. But it had some excitement as it took a shootout for the Wolfpack to claim the win. It was Scarlett Robillard, one of the Hay River players, who would score in the fourth round of shooters to seal the deal.
"They were a happy bunch in the locker room afterward," said Webster. "Lots of pictures and lots of dancing. Just a great weekend."
