The Tri-Port Midget Wild ran over their competition at the Ross Cup hockey tournament in Shawnigan Lake, winning the female midget division trophy and gold medals to prove it.
The Wild travelled down island on Thursday, Feb. 22 for their first game of the tournament against Cowichan Valley, and were missing notable players Sonja Walkus and Bree-Anna Henderson from the lineup.
Without Henderson and Walkus on the ice, the Wild’s 11 players all chipped in to create some offence, but it was forward Jessica Wadhams who came out flying in their first game, making her presence known by scoring a hat trick, with assists going to Chloe Noel, Kaitlyn Wilson, and Merrick Browne.
Taylor Ranger, and Madison Van Will (x2) both scored as well, assists going to Mercedes Trevor (x2) and Noel, to give the Wild a big 6-1 win to start off the tournament on the right foot.
The Wild had a date with Nanaimo next, a team they had beaten all season in league play, and this game was no exception.
Trevor opened the scoring at 10:20, Wadhams scored twice in the second period, and Ranger converted with 57 seconds left to give the Wild a strong 4-2 win. Assists went to Ranger, Mackenzie Murgatroyd, and Wilson (x2).
The Wild would battle to a 2-2 draw in their third game against Shawood, and then defeated Juan De Fuca 3-1 to take first place in the round robin style tournament.
The Ross Cup final came down to a rematch between the Wild and Cowichan Valley, the game ending this time in a very close 3-2 win for the Wild, which saw them capture tournament gold medals for the third time this year.
“Our team really stood out with its team play and shooting,” said assistant coach Lisa Brown. “With only 10 skaters and a goalie they worked hard right to the end, Avary (Wild goaltender) was amazing as always and it was a great tourney all around.”
Wadhams ended up scoring eight goals in five games, and said afterwards that everytime she took a shot “it went in the net.”