Wildcats ready for N.L.

KENSINGTON – The Mid-Isle Wildcats have a simple formula for success.

“Hard work, and never give up,” said Wildcats blue-liner Kennedy Francis of North Tryon. “Our coach (Kevin Andrews) has told us many times it’s hard to beat a team that never gives up, and our team is one that shows that quite well.”
The Wildcats will look to carry that attitude into the Atlantic midget AAA female hockey championship, which starts Thursday in Mount Pearl, N.L.
“I’m so excited,” said Wildcats left-winger Makayla Larsen of Clyde River. “We went to Newfoundland when we won in bantam, so we are going back for my last year of midget.”
The Wildcats recently earned a return trip to the regional championship by defeating the Kings County Kings 3-1 in a closely-contested P.E.I. Midget AAA Female Hockey League final. All four games in the best-of-five series were decided by one goa – with two requiring overtime – but the Wildcats found a way to win back-to-back provincial titles.
“The girls have worked very hard this year to make this happen, and it’s nice to see them getting rewarded for their hard work,” said Andrews.

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The Wildcats also head to Mount Pearl as the defending Atlantic champions after scoring two third-period goals to edge Pictou County 2-0 for the 2017 title. So, do the Wildcats feel any extra pressure as defending champions after representing last year’s Atlantic region at the Esso Cup national championship?
“It’s a totally different team,” offered Francis. “We don’t look at it that way. Last year happened and it’s over, and this year we have to prove ourselves if we want to experience that again.”
The provincial champions from P.E.I., New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, along with the host team, will play a round robin, with the top two teams advancing to Sunday’s championship game. The third- and fourth-place teams will play for the bronze medal.

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Areas of focus
Andrews, who likes the team’s mix of veterans, second-year players and rookies, said the Wildcats have been focusing on moving the puck, quality passing and stressing the importance of outworking the opposition.
“We know the pace is going to be faster, so the shifts have to be short, and we cannot take a shift off,” offered Andrews. “We are also expecting it to be more physical.
“We’ve done a little drill in practice to hopefully get the girls comfortable with what we expect will be increased physicality.”
Based on her experience last year, Larsen offered: “We have to come out hard. It’s a quicker pace than on the Island, so we have to be prepared for that and match that right from the start.”
Francis added there is also no room for error.
“We have to play the whole 60 minutes, because if you take one shift off it could be the tipping point,” emphasized Francis.

Rookie goaltender
One player the Wildcats will lean on heavily at the Atlantics is rookie goaltender Hannah LeClair, who has made a smooth transition from the P.E.I. Bantam AAA Female Hockey League to the midget ranks. LeClair gave up just six goals in the four-game series against Kings County, and registered a 1-0 shutout in the series-clinching win.
“I didn’t do anything special,” said the 15-year-old LeClair in downplaying her contributions. “You have to take it game by game, shot by shot.
“You can’t think about the outcome before you get there. If one goes in, I just focus on keep going and do the best for my team. I know they are going to fight for me, so I have to do my best to fight for them.”
Although LeClair says the Wildcats “really came together as a team and played our best” against Kings County, she feels they have more to give at Atlantics.
“We are kind of a gritty, scrappy team,” described LeClair, who is from Norboro just outside Kensington. “We are not going to score too many highlight-reel goals.
“We have to get pucks deep, lots of shots on net and cause traffic. In the playoffs there were not many clear goals. We just have to be gritty, and bang in the rebounds.”

With the returning Wildcats having the opportunity to experience playing in an Esso Cup, how much of a motivating factor is that to earn a return trip in 2018?
“You try not to think about that, but it definitely helps,” answered Larsen 17. “You want to win, go back and experience all that again.”
Francis added: “Definitely. That was an amazing experience. It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but maybe we can make it twice for some of us!”

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Schedule
Mid-Isle Wildcats’ schedul efor Atlantic championship:
Thursday, March 29
4 p.m. – vs. Northern Lightning (N.B.).
Friday, March 30
10 a.m. – vs. Western Warriors (N.L.).
4:30 p.m. – vs. Northern Subway Selects (N.S.).
Saturday, March 31
Noon – vs. Eastern Ice Breakers (Host).
Sunday, April 1
9 a.m. – Bronze-medal game.
Noon – Gold-medal game.

Roster

Mid-Isle Wildca ts’2017-18 roster:
Goaltenders
1. Emma Arsenault.
30. Hannah LeClair.
Defence
3. Jacqueline Mix.
5. Madeline Hamill.
11. Kennedy Francis.
20. Carla Stewart.
Forwards
2. Kelsey Weeks.
4. Keiran Andrews.
6. Maggie Linkletter.
7. Sophie Flynn.
9. Cassie Doiron.
10. Jennifer Stewart.
12. Makayla Larsen.
14. Lexie Murphy.
15. Charlotte Linkletter.
16. Tait Tierney.
17. Lisa Stevenson.
18. Carly Thompson.
Team Officials
Head coach – Kevin Andrews.
Assistant coaches – Shane Hamill, Andrew MacEwen, Ellen Chapman.
Trainer – Blair Stewart.
Manager – Maureen Mix.