As the North Island’s minor hockey season comes to a close, the Tri-Port midget Wild travelled to Richmond to compete in the 20th annual ‘Ice Classic’ female hockey tournament.
The Wild’s first game of the tournament was against the Juan De Fuca Grizzlies, where they got out to an early lead in the first period thanks to clutch goals from Bree-Anna Henderson and Taylor Ranger.
The Wild then scored two more goals in the second period from Mercedes Trevor and Kerrigan Sharpe to secure a solid 4-1 win over the tough Grizzlies’ team.
Their next game was against the Vanderhoof Bears, and the Wild came out firing early and often right from the drop of the puck.
Jessica Wadhams, Sharpe and Trevor all scored goals in the first period. Henderson and Sharpe both scored in the second period, and then Sharpe (x2) and Trevor scored in the third period, to bring home the blowout win 8-0.
The Wild continued their winning streak the next day, taking out the hometown team the Richmond Ravens 3-1, with goals coming in the first and second period from Ranger, Trevor and Henderson.
The Wild’s next game was the tournament semi-finals against their league rivals, the Peninsula Eagles.
The Eagles had beaten the Wild twice in league play and once in the Vancouver Island playoff finals this season, and this game was just as close as their previous meetings.
The Eagles’ Lauren Germain managed to get the puck past the Wild’s goaltender Avary Miller in the second period to take a 1-0 lead.
With 5:16 left in the third, Henderson banged the puck into the Eagles’ net to tie the game up.
Into overtime it went, and with only 31 seconds left on the clock, the Eagles’ Veda Smith scored to wrestle the razor-close game away from the Wild’s grasp.
In what turned out to be a fantastic second season for the midget wild, the team finished in second place in the league standings and second place in the Vancouver Island playoffs.