Wildcats ready for major test at Mac’s World Invitational

The Swift Current Diamond Energy Wildcats are preparing for one of their toughest tests of the season when they attend the Mac’s Midget AAA World Invitational Tournament beginning Friday in Calgary.

The Wildcats won the tournament in 2007 and 2008 but narrowly missed the playoffs last season with three wins and one loss.

“We are real excited and I think the way we ended last year being the last team eliminated from the playoff rounds really stings still. I think we are coming in full force and we are really excited to make that topfour and further,” said captain Brooklyn Haubrich.

The tournament is divided into three fiveteam pools and the Wildcats have drawn opponents from British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba.

“We have a real tough pool,” said eighth-year head coach Terry Pavely. “At first glance I would probably say that we maybe drew the short stick in terms of how tough the pools are. We won’t have an easy game.”

The Wildcats will open the tournament on Boxing Day against the Westman Wildcats. The Westman Wildcats are third in the Manitoba Female Midget AAA Hockey League with a 10-4-2-1 record. They have already played them three times this season with two wins and a draw.

“It seems like we never get enough of the Westman Wildcats. This year we will probably end up playing them six or seven times when it is all said and done. We know what we are going to get with them. They are going to work hard. They are going to pursue the puck all over the ice. They will forecheck too really hard and they will crash the net.”

“The last couple of times we have played them we have done a real good job of collapsing to the front and tying up sticks and not giving them second opportunities and that is what we have to do. They just really thrive off getting second opportunities. They throw everything to the puck and it is the way they play,” he added.

They will take on the Peace Country Storm on Saturday and the St. Albert Slash on Monday morning. St. Albert is third in the Alberta Major Midget Female Hockey League with a 12-7-3-2 record and Peace Country is sixth with an 11-9-2-2 record.

They will conclude the round robin on Tuesday against the Northern Cougars. They lead the sixteam BC Major Female Midget League with an 183-0 record, outscoring their opponents 88-38 this season.

“They were at the Notre Dame tournament and we didn’t get a chance to watch them. We played them last year and they are a very well coached team. They were very young last year and you see that with experience they are having a real good start to their season,” said Pavely.

Playing at the Mac’s always means some additional pressure.

“It is really exciting and it is a world known tournament,” said Haubrich, who will be making her second appearance at the Mac’s. “That’s what gets it all the hype and that is what is exciting. I think that is where girls’ nerves sometimes get involved but we are really excited about it.”

Pavely said the team will play in front of much larger crowds in Calgary than they are used to.

“There is a lot of buzz, the daily media attention in both the papers in Calgary, you see highlights on the news, a lot of scouts, a lot of excitement. It is just such a well-run tournament. The kids that haven’t been there don’t realize, the Mac’s committee, and they are all volunteers, they really want to provide the best experience they can for kids and the teams that are there and they do a good job of it,” he explained.

The Wildcats are coming off a fourth-place finish at the Mandi Schwartz Invitational Tournament, hosted by the Notre Dame, where they won their first four games at the 20-team event.

Pavely said the team can take a lot out of their performance at the Notre Dame Tournament when they played without three regular defensemen.

“I think it really showed the depth we have. We preached to our team that that’s the thing we really love is the depth. I think when you get in a tough stretch like that it really showed that our depth did come through. Unfortunately for us we ran out of gas on Saturday in the semi-final. Going into the third it was a 1-0 game and they got a couple lucky breaks to start the third period and that took the wind out of our sails. That happens after you have played four games in two days and are short staffed.”

“Yeah we played really well last weekend,” said Haubrich. “Playing some of those prestigious teams is really good for us. I think we learned that we can measure up with any team in Western Canada or Canada itself. It was a really good weekend and I think going to the Mac’s we are just going to build off of that and we are hitting our stride here.”

“I think our kids have to have confidence. Kids played roles that maybe they are not used to playing. Doing that and having success should really help with the belief in our hockey team,” Pavely added.