The Tri-Port Wild women's Bantam/Midget team lost a close game against the visiting Nanaimo Clippers on
Saturday, Jan. 23, at the Chilton Regional Arena in Port McNeill. "We were missing a couple players, so some
of the girls had to play different positions, which isn't a bad thing but it left us a little short of some scoring
punch up front," said Coach Andrew Laming. The game kicked off at 3:30 p.m. with both teams looking hungry
to score the first goal of the game. The Wild's Taylor Ranger had a great breakaway chance at 13:39, but the
Clipper's goalie Ashlyn Branter hung tough and made the save. The teams traded offensive chances back and
forth for the rest of the 1st period, but neither was able to capitalize and find the back of the net.In the 2nd
period it was the Clippers who struck first, scoring at 9:17, and then again at 7:38. The Wild tried to answer
back on a power play near the end of the period, but were unable to get the puck past Branter, who was
making the saves when it counted the most.The Wild finally got onto the scoreboard early in the 3rd period.
Sonja Walkus, assisted by Bree-Anna Henderson, knocked the puck past Branter and the hometown crowd
cheered loudly from the stands. The Wild, now down 2-1, started to hunt for the tying goal, but the Clippers
intercepted the puck and scored on a breakaway with 7:59 left on the clock. The Clippers added a power play
goal at 5:19 to pull ahead 4-1, and that's how the game ended."It was one of those games where we just didn't
have our best stuff," said Laming, adding that the girls are learning to "overcome adversity as the year has
gone on and are becoming better hockey players, and more importantly, becoming stronger young ladies. I'm
extremely proud of how far they have come as hockey players and individuals in our community so far this
season."