The Tri-Port Midget Wild put their six-game winning streak on the line against the visiting Cowichan Valley Capitals on Saturday afternoon at the Don Cruickshank Memorial Arena in Port Hardy, coming away with a 4-4 tie to show for it.
The Wild would get out to an early lead in the first period, thanks to Taylor Ranger skating in and firing the puck past the Capitals goaltender Quinn Tompkins at 8:40.
The Capitals returned the favour less than two minutes later, with Mel Robertson scoring at 7:20.
In the second period, it was the Capitals this time who would find the back of the net first.
Robertson notched her second goal of the game off a big shot on the power play at 13:41.
The Wild’s captain Kerrigan Sharpe would take matters into her own hands from that point, scoring the game tying goal off a wrist shot through traffic, and then scoring again in the third period off another hard wrist shot to take the lead 3-2.
The Wild weren’t done scoring quite yet. Jessica Wadhams made a beautiful centring pass to Bree-Anna Henderson, who was parked right in front of the crease.
Henderson flipped the puck in for her 22 goal of the season at 3:43, giving the Wild a big two-goal lead.
The Capitals, however, dug down deep and kept on coming forward.
Jenna Batty scored at 3:20 to make it 4-3, and then Robertson completed the hat trick with 1:38 left on the clock, saving the Capitals from a tough loss on the road.
The Wild had a slow start to their season, going 2-2-1 before suddenly turning the corner and winning six games straight, propelling themselves right into first place in the division with an exceptional 8-2-1 record.
After tying the Capitals, the Wild now find themselves neck-and-neck with the Campbell River Hurricanes in a battle for first place.
With only three games left to go, the Wild will be playing their last home game of the season on Feb. 10 in Port Alice against the Nanaimo Clippers.
After that, the Wild have two road games against the Sooke Thunderbirds and the Juan De Fuca Grizzlies on Feb. 17-18 before their playoffs start.
Will the Wild take first place in the division for the first time since officially becoming a Vancouver Island Amateur Hockey Association team in 2015?
Keep reading the North Island Gazette to find out.
