The Cats roar in women’s final
Megan Robertson helped the Westman Wildcats make history at the Mac’s AAA Midget Hockey Tournament on New Year’s Day.
Robertson scored with 18 seconds remaining in the third overtime period to lead the Wildcats to a thrilling 2-1 win over the Fraser Valley Phantom in the female division final at the Saddledome.
“I was pretty excited,” said Robertson, whose goal put an end to the longest final (male or female) in tournament history. “I was getting tired, but I kept going. It’s definitely the biggest goal I’ve scored.”
Westman coach Guy Williams gave his players credit for prevailing in the marathon game.
“It’s kind of like wrestling with a gorilla,” said Williams, who was chosen as the most outstanding coach. “You don’t quit when you’re tired. You’ve got to quit when the gorilla’s tired.”
Based in the small town of Hartney, the Wildcats are made up of players from southwestern Manitoba. In the 10th year of the female division at the Mac’s tournament, the Wildcats are the first team from outside of Saskatchewan or Alberta to win the championship.
“It’s amazing,” said Robertson, 17, who hails from Boissevain. “It’s a huge tournament. I’ve come here for four years. It’s cool to come to a big city like this and the atmosphere is good.”
After a scoreless first period, Fraser Valley forward Brianna Keats gave the Phantom a 1-0 lead at 12:03 of the second. Westman captain Jaycee Magwood then swatted a rebound past Fraser Valley goalie Valencia Yordanov at 2:32 of the third to tie up the contest and force overtime.
Prior to Robertson’s game-winning goal, Yordanov stopped shots by both Magwood and Ashton Bell.
“I was just going to the net,” Robertson said.
“Both rebounds popped out and the last one came right to me to just put it away.”
Williams wasn’t surprised that it took a determined effort for Robertson to finally get the puck past Yordanov.
“We knew we had to get rebounds and to score ugly against her,” Williams said. “We got a rebound and we got a girl in the right spot with her stick on the ice and she did what she needed to do with it.”
Yordanov, who earned accolades as the tournament’s top goaltender as well as being named to the first all-star team, finished the game with 47 saves, including 21 in the three overtime periods.
“I’ve never been in a game that long,” said the 16-year-old goalie, who hails from Port Coquitlam, B.C. “I can’t really think of anything else that compares. Just to come so close and not quite get there, it’s tough.”
Fraser Valley coach Dean Reed commended his players for putting up a good fight against the Wildcats in the final.
“That was a battle,” Reed said. “That was both teams just going at each other. There’s nothing for them to be upset about.”
The two teams both finished the preliminary round of the tournament with identical 3-0-1 records.
In semifinal action on New Year’s Eve at Max Bell, the Phantom downed the Highwood Raiders 6-1 while the Wildcats needed overtime to beat the defending champion Edmonton Thunder 3-2.
“We knew something special was going to happen this week,” said Williams in regards to adding a Mac’s tournament title to the Esso Cup that the Wildcats won in 2009. “It’ll be going up on our wall in our home rink right beside our national banner and it’s going to stay there forever. That’s something that these girls have all been a part of.”
ICE CHIPS: Here are the winners of the female player awards: most valuable player: Alexandra Poznikoff, Edmonton Thunder. Top scorer: Delaney Ross, Lloydminster Steelers. Top goaltender: Valencia Yordanov, Fraser Valley Phantom. Top defensive player: Jessica Healey, Edmonton Thunder. Most outstanding coach: Guy Williams, Westman Wildcats. Top plus/minus (four-way tie): Delaney Edwards, Lloydminster Steelers; Delaney Ross, Lloydminster Steelers; Jodi Gentile, Fraser Valley Phantom; and Alexandra Poznikoff. Most sportsmanlike player: Alexandra Poznikoff.