By / Kristi Patton
With the regular season put to bed the Western Women’s Hockey League is gearing up for its championship weekend.
“It is very exciting to have this tournament in Calgary and Strathmore, giving both communities a chance to see some great hockey, Canadian and U.S. national team members, and athletes who will be taking part in the 2010 Olympics,” said Bill Espey, president of the WWHL. “This is a preview of what fans will see in Vancouver a year from now.”
This year the tournament, held March 7 to 8, will be hosted by both the first place overall Calgary Oval X-Treme and fourth place Strathmore Rockies. Games start on March 7 at the Calgary Olympic Oval for semi-finals at 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. The championship game will be held March 8 at 12:15 p.m. at the Strathmore Family Centre.
“We are working with Girls Hockey Calgary and Strathmore girls minor hockey and that is just part of our commitment to seeing the game grow,” said Rockies captain Samantha Holmes.
With the X-Treme taking first place overall, they will face the Rockies, leaving the Edmonton Chimos and Minnesota Whitecaps playing in the other semi-final. From there, the two winners will match up in Strathmore the following day for the league title. The top two teams will advance to the national championships, March 19 to 21 in Kingston, Ont., where they will go up against the top two teams of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League.
In regular season play, the X-Treme were 2-2-1 against the Whitecaps. But those losses were the only ones they had this season and the first regular season losses for the powerhouse squad since 2006. If history has taught WWHL fans anything, the five-time defending league champion X-Treme will face their southern foes once again for the league title. The X-Treme boast not only the top goaltender in the league in Kendall Newel (1.60 goals against average) but hold six of the top seven goal scorers.
Forward Gina Kingsbury won the league scoring title race with 24 goals and 30 assists this season to help the X-Treme take the regular season title. The Whitecaps’ Jenny Potter finished third in the scoring race with 16 goals and 19 assists.
With many of the Canadian National Team players skating for the X-Treme and U.S. national team players on the Whitecaps, the WWHL championship weekend will be a pre-Olympic glimpse at elite women’s hockey talent.
The WWHL banquet will also take place on March 7 in Calgary where awards will be handed out to the league MVP, top forward, top defenceman and top goalie.
Tickets for the championship weekend are available at the door. Visit www.westernwomenshockeyleague.com for additional information on the league or championship weekend. |