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Ashton Bell scored the lone goal at the 17:50 mark of the opening period to lead the Westman Wildcats to a 1-0 victory over the Yellowhead Chiefs in Hartney on Friday night. Bell retrieved the puck behind the net off the cycle from Courtney Ganske, swung out on her forehand and beat the Chiefs goalie on the blocker side to give the Wildcats the lead that they would not relinquish.  The Wildcats outshot the Chiefs 9-7 in the opening period and each team had 2 penalties.

The Wildcats had 3 powerplay opportunities in the 2nd period but were unable to hit the net on some great chances. The Wildcats goalie, Kaitie Slator, had to be sharp as an errant pass by the Wildcats at the end of one of the powerplays led to a clear breakaway that she was able to turn aside.  The Chiefs outshot the Wildcats 6-4 in the period.  Yellowhead had 4 penalties and the Wildcats had one penalty.  

The Wildcats started the 3rd period on the powerplay but were unable to cash in on a couple of chances. Yellowhead subsequently received two powerplay chances of their own as the period progressed. They pressed hard for the equalizer but Slator again stood tall and the Wildcats blocked a number of shot attempts to preserve the victory.  Shots on goal in the 3rd period were 11-3 in favour of Yellowhead. The Wildcats received 3 of 4 minor penalties in the final frame.

Kaitie Slator picked up the shutout victory in net, stopping all 24 shots she faced.

Game 3 of the series is Sunday afternoon at 4:00 PM in Shoal Lake with Game 4 slated for Wednesday night at 7:30 PM in Hartney.

Mar. 02, 2016 Women's Hockey

Jaycee Magwood's big week continued, as the first-year forward was named the Canada West women's hockey Rookie of the Year on Wednesday.

Just two days after receiving second-team all-star and all-rookie honours, the Killarney, Man. product was recognized as the conference's top rookie.

"We were very impressed with Jaycee's rookie season, but we weren't surprised," head coach Sarah Hodges said. "We knew what we were getting as a player, and her transition to the CIS level was seamless."

Magwood led Canada West first-year players in scoring by a wide margin, as her 26 points in 28 games were 10 points more than the second-highest scoring rookie. Magwood started off her Canada West career in style, notching a goal and an assist in her first game before adding two helpers on the following day. Her 11 goals and 15 assists were good for fourth overall in the conference scoring race and second in the CIS amongst rookies, behind only Melodie Bouchard of Ottawa who had 32 points.

"I expect her to keep growing as a player, she's a very hard worker and will be demanding of herself to improve her game," Hodges added. "Obviously she was a big part of our success this season and she'll definitely help build the program moving forward."

Magwood will represent Canada West as nominee for the Rookie of the Year award at the CIS level.

The Westman Wildcats were defeated 2-0 last night in Gm 1 of their semifinal series againts Yellowhead in Shoal Lake. 

Despite being outshot 12-4, the Wildcats played a solid road game through the 1st period, not allowing the Chiefs any quality scoring chances. Neither team picked up a penalty.

In the 2nd frame, the Wildcats held the territorial edge in play until McKenna Paddock sent a soft writer to the net that hit a Wildcats defender and changed direction, finding its way to the back of the net. That gave the Chiefs a bit of life and they pushed for the two goal lead. They were rewarded when with just under six minutes to play in the period a Chiefs player threw a puck to the net which hit another Chiefs player in the back and bounced straight out to the slot where Sam Geekie fired a shot to the high blocker to make it 2-0. The Chiefs outshot the Wildcats 9-8 in the period. Again, there were no penalties called. 

The Wildcats were unable to generate any quality scoring chances in the 3rd period.  They took the lone penalty and were outshot 6-5. 

Jenna Marshall played solid in suffering the loss in net, stopping 25 of 27 shots. 

Game 2 is Friday night at 7:30 PM in Hartney.

Ashton Bell scored a natural hat trick to lead the Westman Wildcats to a 4-0 victory over the Winnipeg Avros this afternoon in Winnipeg.  

Bell scored with 1:19 remaining in the opening period on a wraparound for the only goal of the period.  Courtney Ganske picked up the lone assist on the play. The Avros outshot Westman 8-7 in the period.  The Wildcats took the lone minor penalty of the period.

Bell would score two more goals in the 2nd period.  The first came off a goal mouth scramble on the powerplay, unassisted, at the 10:40 mark of the period.  Her third goal came three minutes and 40 seconds later as she came off the bench, stole the puck, cut to the middle and scored on a backhand high to the glove hand.  The Wildcats outshot the Avros 10-9 in the period and took two of the three minor penalties in the period.

Katie Crowe sealed the deal on the powerplay with a wristshot at the 12:30 mark of the period to make it 4-0.  Courtney Ganske had the lone assist. The Avros outshot Westman 8-6 in the period and each team picked up a minor penalty.  

Kaitie Slator earned the shutout victory in net stopping all 25 shots she faced.

The Wildcats now move on to face the 1st place Yellowhead Chiefs.  Game one will be Wednesday night, March 2nd at 7:30 PM.

The Westman Wildcats staved off elimination last night with a clutch 4-2 victory in Winnipeg over the Avros.

The Wildcats came out very focused and with a solid forecheck to start the game. McKenzie Meek got the Wildcats on the board early in the 1st period as she drove hard to the net and buried a rebound into the back of the net. Cammy Clyne set up the play with a well placed shot.  The Wildcats continued to generate excellent chances at the net but were unable to stretch out the lead.  Their momentum was taken away with a couple of penalty calls and the Avros were able to tie the game on their second powerplay of the period with just under five minutes to play as the Wildcats failed to make a clearing play and a quick shot from the high slot through traffic found the back of the net. The Wildcats had to kill off a third penalty before the period was out.  The period ended 1-1.  The Wildcats outshot the Avros 12-8 and picked up 3 of the 4 penalties in the period.

In the 2nd period the Wildcats came out with the same sense of urgency as in the 1st.  They were rewarded just over four minutes into the frame as Ashton Bell turned over the puck in the offensive zone and directed a shot through traffic that hit an Avros defender and made its way to the back of the net to make it 2-1.  The Wildcats weren't done there as just over two minutes later Haley Wickham batted home a rebound off a shot from the point by Katie Crowe to make it 3-1. Camryn Clyne also picked up an assist on the play. The Wildcats sensed blood and were rewarded with some hard work again two and a half minutes later as Andrea Sanderson picked off a clearing attempt and moved it low to Aly O'Hara who took a shot on net that was blocked by the Avros defender right to Kenzie Robinson who outwaited the Avros goaltender and scored on the backhand.  The period would end 4-1.  The Wildcats outshot the Avros 14-9 while the Avros took 2 of the 3 minor penalties in the period.

In the 3rd period the Wildcats stifled the Avros in their own zone for much of the period. They did give up one goal midway through the period as an unfortunate bounce led to a 2 on 1 that the Avros scored or.  Shots on goal were 7-6 in favour of the Wildcats.  Each team took a minor penalty in the period.

Shots on goal in the game were 33-23 in favour of the Wildcats.  Jenna Marshall picked up the victory in net.

The fifth and deciding game will be played on Sunday, Feb 28th at 2:00 PM in Hartney.  Come out and support your Wildcats.

The Westman Wildcats were again defeated 2-0 on home ice on Wednesday night in Hartney.

The Avros took the lead midway through the 1st period after a puck slipped out of the offensive zone and led a breakaway to make it 1-0.  They would score another goal with 1 second left on avpowerplay late in the 2nd period off a goalmouth scramble.

The Wildcats mustered 38 shots on the Avros netminder but were once again stymied by some solid play.  Westman was penalized 3 times and the Avros 4 times.  

Kaitie Slator suffered the loss in net.

The two teams next face off on Friday night at the Keith Bodley Arena in Winnipeg.  Game time is 7:15 PM.

The Westman Wildcats were defeated 2-0 on home ice today in Hartney.

The Avros got off to a quick start with a powerplay goal off the rush that changed direction and ended up in the back of the net.  They would score another goal early in the 3rd with a deflected shot to go ahead 2-0.

The Wildcats mustered 31 shots on the Avros netminder but could not solve her while the Avros fired 19 shots on the Wildcats net.  Westman was penalized 5 times and the Avros 4 times.  

Jenna Marshall suffered the loss in net.

The two teams next face off on Wednesday night in Hartney.  Game time is 7:30 PM.

The Westman Wildcats traveled to Winnipeg Saturday night to play game 1 of their opening playoff round against the Winnipeg Avros.  Despite holding home ice advantage in the series, the Wildcats agreed to play game 1 in Winnipeg on Saturday night after the Winnipeg team chose to cancel game 1 in Deloraine on Friday night due to poor road conditions outside of Winnipeg.  

The Wildcats dominated play in the opening frame, hemming the Avros in their end and generating numerous quality scoring opportunities. They found themselves down 1-0, however, as an errant pass led to an Avros goal at the 6:37 mark of the period.  The Wildcats kept pushing and Mckenzie Meek was rewarded when she batted a rebound out of the air to tie the game at 1-1 with 3:50 left to play in the period.  Kenzie Roach and Brianna Willams picked up the assists on the play.  The Wildcats outshot the Avros 13-4.  No penalties were called in the period.

In the 2nd frame it was more of the same as the Wildcats pushed to take the lead.  The Avros goalie stood tall, however, and the period remained scoreless.  The Wildcats outshot the Avros 11-3 in the period.  The Wildcats took the lone penalty.

In the 3rd period, Ashton Bell scored on a breakaway at the 15:54 mark of the frame to put the Wildcats in the lead.  Andrea Sanderson and Katie Crowe picked up the assists.  The Wildcats continued to press but were unable to push the lead to two goals.  Just past the midway mark of the frame the Avros were able to squeak one across the line on a 2 on 1 break to tie the game at 2-2.  The Wildcats put on a furious push at the end of the period to get the win in regulation but were repeatedly denied, including Bell, who ripped a shot off the crossbar with 4 seconds remaining.  The game would go to overtime.  Shots on goal in the 3rd were 13-8 in favour of the Wildcats.  The Wildcats also received the only two penalties in the period.  

Once again, in overtime, the Wildcats pushed hard and carried the play.  They were rewarded just under 4 minutes into the OT when Ashton Bell picked up a puck in the neutral zone, beat a couple of Avros defenders and buried a snap shot under the bar to get the victory.

Final shots on net were 38-15 in favour of Westman.  The Wildcats picked up 3 penalties in the game while the Avros did not pick up any.

Kaitie Slator picked up the victory in net.

The Wildcats host the Avros for game 2 this afternoon, Sunday, Feb. 21, in Hartney at 4:00 PM.