Wild heading to playoffs

Kensington defeats Midget Espoir to win division at Chicoutimi, Que., tourney

The Kensington Monaghan Farms Wild are going to the playoffs at the CCM Midget AAA Challenge in Chicoutimi, Que. The Wild defeated Midget Espoir 6-3 Friday to win their division with a 2-1-0 record. They defeated Valley Kohltech Wildcats from Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley 7-2 Thursday after opening the tournament with a 5-3 loss to Étoiles Scolaires Wednesday.

“Our guys are competitive and can compete with anybody,” Kensington head coach Kyle Dunn. “Once we get our legs under us, we’re a pretty good hockey team.”

The Wild plays today at 11:45 a.m. Atlantic in a quarter-final. They were waiting Friday to see who they will play against. Dunn said his team started the tournament slowly in its opening game but quickly adapted to the speed.

“The competition is great,” Dunn said. “You’re seeing the top players in Quebec up here and . . . Valley’s second in the Nova Scotia league.” The Wild has been led by its veteran core of goalie Chad Arsenault, defencemen Ethan Beaulieu and Zac Arsenault as well as forwards Bennett MacArthur, Colby MacArthur, Dixon MacLeod and Ryan Richards.

“Everybody else kind of feeds off those guys,” Dunn said. “When our leaders are going, there’s not much else the other guys can do but follow their lead and put in the work they’re putting in.’’

Here’s a look at the Wild’s past two games.

Wild 6, Midget Espoir 3

MacLeod and Richards each had four-point games to lead the Wild to a 6-3 win over the Midget Espoir as both teams saw their records go to 2-1. Richards had three goals and an assist while MacLeod had four helpers. Beaulieu, Bennett MacArthur and Colby MacArthur also scored. Zach Biggar, Zac Arsenault, Jack Campbell and Duncan Picketts each had an assist.

Jeremy Simard, Mathis Gauthier and Ludovick Lebel scored for Espoir.

Chad Arsenault made 22 saves for the win while Philippe Cloutier made 16 stops in the loss. Kensington held 2-0 and 4-2 period leads.

The Wild went 3-for-4 on the power play and killed all four of Espoir’s chances with the man advantage.

Wild 7, Wildcats 2

Richards had two goals and an assist as the Wild defeated the Wildcats 7-2 Thursday. MacLeod, Reid Peardon, Jack Campbell and Beaulieu each had a goal and an assist in the victory as Kensington moved to 1-1. Simon Hughes also scored while Colby MacArthur and Bennett MacArthur each had two assists and singles went to Biggar and Lucas Parsons.

Gregor Yoell and Colby Ramsay scored for Valley with Evan Weir, Ethan Kearney, Dylan Schofield and Blake Deacon each had an assist.

Chad Arsenault made 19 saves for the victory while Connor Juurlink stopped 28 shots in the loss.

Kensington held 2-1 and 5-2 period leads. The Wild was 3-for-8 on the power play and killed 11 of the Wildcats 12 chances with the man advantage.