The Tri-Port Wild closed out their 2015-2016 women's midget league season with two back-to-back wins over
the Campbell River Hurricanes and the Cowichan Valley Capitals. "The girls have committed fully to each other
and to the team. They have far exceeded any and all expectations this year," said Coach Andrew Laming. "At
the start of the season the goal was to just make the playoffs, but they have proved that they could compete
and win with every team in the league, finishing the regular season in second place, missing first by just one
sportsmanship point."The Wild travelled down to Campbell River to face the Hurricanes on Saturday, Feb. 20,
and they started scoring early on. Bree-Anna Henderson drew first blood with a goal at 11:14, and Crystal Tapp
added a second goal with 4:22 left in the 1st period to put the Wild up 2-0 going into the 2nd period.The 2nd
period saw no goals for either team, but the action picked back up in the 3rd period. The Wild's Kerrigan
Sharpe scored at 14:33 and again at 9:03 to make it 4-0. Taylor Ranger scored at 4:37 and Madison Van Will
added another goal with 2:24 left to make the final score a decisive 6-0 win for the Wild. The girls "played hard,
and as a team, from start to finish. The Hurricanes did have their scoring chances but our goalie, Avary Miller,
who has been phenomenal all year, shut the door time and again to earn yet another shutout," said Laming.The
Wild's game against the Cowichan Valley Capitals was on Saturday, Feb. 27, at the Don Cruickshank Memorial
Arena in Port Hardy, and it was their last game of the regular season before playoffs. The Wild came out from
the dressing room and went right at the Capitals from the drop of the puck, in what was "definitely a spirited
game," said Laming. Henderson again jump started the Wild's offence with a hard wrist shot goal early on at
14:10 of the 1st period. The Capitals responded at 7:14 of the 2nd period with a goal of their own to tie it up,
but the Wild dug down deep and took over offensively from there. Kaitlyn Wilson jammed the puck in the net at
6:16, and Sharpe scored with 5:32 left in the 2nd period to make it 3-1.The 3rd period was all Tri-Port Wild.
Wilson scored her second goal of the game on a rebound at 17:16 and Tyanna Laming scored off a point shot
through traffic at 16:15. Not only did the Wild outscore the Capitals, they beat them physically as well. A fight
broke out at 16:02, and Jessica Wadhams backed up her team by hitting a beautiful judo style hip throw on one
of the Capitals' players and followed it up with a good punch before the refs jumped in and pulled them apart.
Wilson then jammed the puck past the Capitals' goalie at 12:26 to complete the hat trick and seal the win 6-1
for the Wild. "The girls started out a little slow, but as the game went on they got better and better," said
Laming. "It was a great team effort with girls that don't normally score goals getting on the score sheet. Tyanna
with her first and Kaitlyn scoring a hat trick. And Avary once again shut the door."With the season now over,
Laming cautiously noted that the playoffs coming up March 5 and 6 in Parksville are going to be "a tough
challenge for the girls. They will have to keep improving, work hard, and keep playing as a team. But most
importantly play disciplined hockey. If they do that, there's no reason they can't succeed." The Tri-Port Wild
finished the 2015-2016 women's midget league season in 2nd place with a 8-3-1 record, 48 goals for, and only
27 goals against.