More young women than ever before will be playing the best game you can name this season.
The Winnipeg Women’s High School Hockey League added two new teams for the 2018-19 season — including the Murdoch MacKay Clansmen and the Steinbach Sabres — bringing the league total to 25.
"We’re really excited," said Carrie Snelling, WWHSHL president. "For women there aren’t that many opportunities, so this is another opportunity. The last couple years, those girls who are maybe thinking of trying hockey, they now have an opportunity to play for their school, to learn the sport with people they feel comfortable with."
Murdoch’s new team will compete in the Hire Marketing Division, along with neighbouring CPET Canadiennes, who played their first season last year, and the Kildonan East Reivers, the defending division champions who joined the league just two years ago. The division also includes the Glenlawn Lions, the Springfield Sabres, the Steinbach Sabres, and the West Kildonan Wolverines.
Clansmen team manager and staff supervisor Brienna Street said that interest in getting a team together came from girls within the school.
"We knew we had a large group of girls in Grade 10 and 11 who would be interested, and a large number of Grade 8s coming in," Street said. "We have a lot of ringette girls, so the first time they put on hockey gear was last month. That’s really exciting. We can already see that growth taking place."
Kiana Adolphe, a Grade 11 centre with two assists and five penalty minutes so far this season, has played ringette for 10 years but this season marks her first playing hockey. Adolphe said the ringette girls are picking up the new game quickly. While puck-handling skills are still developing, Murdoch has the advantage of speed.
"Our speed has been key, we have a lot of experienced skaters," Adolphe said. "Every practice it gets better. The rules are different, and I’ve had some trouble with offsides, but we’re learning."
Many of the girls playing for Murdoch know each other from playing ringette or from taking classes together over the years, which has helped the squad come together early in the season.
"We have that bond," said team captain Cierra Melnyk, a Grade 12 centre who comes from a ringette background but has played hockey before this year. "I try talking to new people in the dressing room so we can get to know each other better."
With four games behind them, the rookie Clansmen are off to a roaring start. At press time, the Clansmen were in second place of the division, with a 3-1 record.
"We have a lot of positivity on the bench and in the room," said Melnyk, who has three goals and an assist to date. "No one’s putting each other down, we’re keeping each other happy. If something’s wrong we’re always talking, trying to learn shift by shift."
Both Melnyk and Adolphe credit veteran goaltender Samantha Robert, who played for Kildonan East last year when they won the division championship, as the backbone of the team. In her first four games, Robert had a 1.25 goals against average, and a save percentage of 0.96.
"Our goalie is amazing," Adolphe said. "She saves us sometimes."
With a game on Oct. 29 against West Kildonan (the score was not available at press time) and one against Glenlawn coming up on Nov. 5, the Clansmen are taking things as they come, hoping to keep the Ws rolling.
"We’re taking it game by game, learning from our mistakes to improve," Melnyk said. "We hope to all improve, hopefully get other girls interested so the team can continue on for the next few years."
"We certainly want the girls to have fun, first and foremost," added Street. "Because it’s many of their first experience with hockey, we want them to have a positive experience. If that happens, that will inspire others, which is important."
Sheldon Birnie, Community journalist — The Herald
Sheldon Birnie is the community journalist for The Herald Email him at sheldon.birnie@canstarnews.com Call him at 204-697-7112
Original article -here.
