Woodstock Wildcats U15BB Girls Win Host Tournament

Thursday, 19 January 2023 14:25

By Brad Kraemer

Photo Credit: Michelle Boyce (Beyond Snapshots Action Photography)

Their next tournament is in Brantford next month.

WOODSTOCK - It was a successful host tournament for the U15 Woodstock Wildcats.

The girls hockey team won the 25th Annual Woodstock Wildcats Tournament by running the table, beating the #1 BB team in the province twice along the way.

Head Coach Darren Wilson said they knew this tournament would bring tough competition, though it may have brought the best out of them.

"We had some meeting during the year where the girls talked about what their goals were and how we were going to achieve them and they really came through. We're a skilled team but they essentially outworked everybody throughout the tournament."

The U15BB portion of the tournament hosted by The Friendly City at both Southwood Arena and Woodstock Civic Center Arena was kicked off by the Wildcats and the Brantford Ice Cats on Thursday, January 5th. According to Coach Wilson, each time they played Brantford earlier in the season, they tied, but this time, the Woodstock girls won 3-1. They also previously lost to the Guelph Gryphons and defeated them by a score of 3-2 with a late goal.

The last round robin game was up against the Stoney Creek Sabres, who at the time were ranked #1 in the province. The Wildcats played one of their best games of the season per Coach Wilson, shutting them out 2-0 to earn a bye to the semi-finals.

Wilson told us what he said to his squad before their do-or-die rematch against Brantford.

"We just kept, throughout the tournament, talking to the girls about how if you want to win a tournament, you have to play a little bit better each game. So we played Brantford again, we beat them, and we played very well."

The gold medal game provided another rematch, this time against Stoney Creek, where a Wildcat goal in the third period was the only one scored in the contest, earning them the championship with another shutout over the top-ranked unit. Wilson explained the key to his team's success.

"They're a great group of girls who get along on and off the ice and have a lot of fun. I find that's really key to having success out there."

After taking care of business on home ice, Wilson said the team's confidence is sky-high, especially after showing progress in their results. The U15BB girls lost in the quarter-final of their first tournament of the season and fell in the finals in their previous tourney.

They are halfway through their season, and up next is the Walter Gretzky tournament in February, where the Wildcats could meet host-team Brantford once again.