Whitehorse Daily Star

Image title

Photo by Marcel Vander Wier

RIVALRY RENEWED – Whitehorse Mustangs goalie Quinn Howard makes a shoulder save off a shot by Yellowknife Wolfpack player Jonah Bevington while Eric Potvin (19) and Liam Hudson (8) look on Saturday at Takhini Arena.

Image title

Photo by Marcel Vander Wier

LONG DELAY – Paramedics strap Midget Mustangs goalie Tynan Hope to a stretcher Saturday after he was hurt in a crease collision. The game was called. Hope would be OK.

Image title

Photo by Marcel Vander Wier

CEREMONIAL FACEOFF – Air North pilot Rob Young drops the puck Saturday between Female Mustangs captain Chyanne Spenner and Wolfpack player Shakita Jensen.

Wolfpack bests Mustangs with 13-8-3 record

The Yellowknife Wolfpack won its second straight Air North Hockey Challenge over the Whitehorse Mustangs last weekend.

By Marcel Vander Wier on October 27, 2014

The Yellowknife Wolfpack won its second straight Air North Hockey Challenge over the Whitehorse Mustangs last weekend.

Thanks to four straight wins from their atom squad, the Northwest Territories hockey club compiled a 13-8-3 record in the annual tournament that pits the Yellowknife and Whitehorse rep hockey organizations against each other.

The tournament was played concurrently in the N.W.T. and Yukon capitals with games Friday to Sunday.

In Whitehorse, the Midget, Female and Peewee Mustangs finished the weekend with an overall record of 4-5-3 versus the Wolfpack.

The local midget team earned wins of 7-5 and 7-4 before dropping their third contest 3-2. On Sunday, they rebounded to win 4-2, thanks to two goals by 13-year-old Dylan Cozens.

“They were a good hard-hitting team,” the underage player said post-game Sunday. “Every time I went to go for the puck, I had my head up making sure no one was coming to hit me. When I go down to a bantam tournament, I’ll have way more time with the puck. This will help out a lot.

“It’s cool to have a lot of people I know watching me play,” he added. “It was a pretty good experience.”

Fifteen-year-old Wolfpack winger Alex Skinner said the speed of the game was higher than his club was used to.

“It was good for our team to get us ready for other tournaments,” he said. “It was nice to get in some body-checking because we don’t have that back home.”

Many of the players billeted with local families, which added to the experience, Skinner added.

Wolfpack coach Brad Mueller said the renewed rivalry between the two territorial capitals is nice to see.

“It’s been good, clean hockey,” he said. “It’s always good to get a feel of how we compare to them. The games all throughout were very close ... We compared pretty tight in all divisions it sounds.”

Like their Whitehorse counterparts, the Midget Wolfpack plays as a guest team in the Yellowknife rec hockey league.

“We take our opportunities when we get tournaments like this to go out, play hard, and have a lot of fun.”

In other action, the Female Mustangs tied their first game 2-2, then lost 5-2 before winning their third game 1-0 thanks to a shorthanded goal from Sierra Oakley and a shutout by Abbie Turner. The two teams battled to a 1-1 tie Sunday.

Whitehorse coach Louis Bouchard said the four games were very helpful in his club’s preparation for the 2015 Canada Winter Games.

“This was the toughest series we’ve had to play so far this season,” he said. “For us, getting ready for Canada Games, this is probably the team we’re going to be able to compete with, so it was important for us to stay in the game.”

The Peewee Mustangs rounded out the Yukon portion of the tournament by compiling a record of 0-3-1 with final scores of 5-5, 5-2, 6-3 and 2-1.

“I thought the weekend was really good,” said Whitehorse Minor Hockey Association (WMHA) head coach Derek Klassen.

“If you look at all the games regardless of win or loss, they were all really close. At the start of the weekend, they all started out higher scoring, and as they played a few games, everybody got used to competitive hockey again and it became a little more tight, which was great to see.

“It was great for our players and coaches to be a part of games like that,” Klassen added. “It’s good that we’ve been able to string a couple of competitive weekends together. For the development of the players, being in live game situations helps a ton.”

Meanwhile, in Yellowknife, the Bantam Mustangs lost 4-1, then won 4-1 and 4-2 before dropping Sunday’s finale 4-2 to finish 2-2-0.

“They’re a talented crew,” said WMHA president Carl Burgess, who manned the bench for the bantam squad this weekend.

“Some of it’s a little challenging in new environments, but we tried different roles just to challenge them a little extra,” he added. “They performed very well.”

The Novice Mustangs also split their games winning 4-2 and 6-5, then losing 7-4 and 6-5.

The Atom Mustangs didn’t fare as well, losing four straight by scores of 8-2, 8-2, 11-3 and 10-2.

Last year, Yellowknife won the weekend tournament with a combined team record of 9-8-0.

Comments (29)

Up 105 Down 87

Take a Breath on Nov 4, 2014 at 12:10 pm

Canuck Nation…….. If you can’t handle the ups and downs when it comes to rep sports at the novice age, you could be in for a long road ahead. I can tell you first hand it doesn’t get any easier as your kids get older.
I was given some advice from one of my son’s coaches, at a parent meeting, when we first entered rep hockey. It goes something like this….

“Over the next year you might see things, on or even off the ice, that are going to upset you. That being said... before you jump to any conclusions, talk to your kid and get their take on the situation. You might find what you thought was a big deal didn’t even matter to them.”

The above advice has helped me drastically over the last few years. I was truly amazed at how little my son was affected by the things I thought were a huge deal.

Up 95 Down 89

Richelle Bierlmeier on Nov 3, 2014 at 9:01 pm

Wow...apparently I was too busy with my 11 ice times this weekend to catch up on the recent comments...it saddens me terribly to read all the negative comments about something that is so minor. First of all, I think the only screw up was the Whitehorse Star calling the team a 'Mustangs' team which started all the fiery comments. Had they called it what it was...a 'novice selects' team, I think a lot of this negativety could have been prevented.
Again...the kids were selected from the Novice House League Player Evaluations...if your son or daughter missed the tryouts, not anyone's fault but their own. If they were present for the evaluations and weren't in the top 3 on all 5 teams, then guess what I would tell my kid...if you try your best, that's all we can ask and if you want to strive to be in that top 15, then maybe a little extra ice time, a hockey camp, summer scrimmage...all the EXTRA curricular activities that most of these kids that were chosen participate in and then, maybe you too, can be chosen in the top 15 from the evaluations.
I was present at 'Pucks and Sticks' on Saturday afternoon and it made me chuckle because guess what?? None of you that are complaining were there...but 5 or 6 of the novice kids and their mom's and dad's were there. These kids eat, sleep and breathe hockey...as do their parents that drive them there and sit for endless hours at CGC and Takhini. There was two+ weeks to put this together. I am sorry a memo wasn't sent out but it was a mad rush as it was. It was done fair and square and the kids that went deserved to go. Yellowknife has a novice rep team that travels out four times a year and has far more ice time than our kids do. If we want to have atom and peewee teams that are better able to compete outside of Whitehorse, we should be encouraging this to happen more often. And it's not 'costing' anyone in house league anything extra, the expense lies with the parents that are willing to devote their life mentally, physically and financially to hockey!!!! End of story!!!!!

Up 90 Down 99

Canuck Nation on Nov 3, 2014 at 10:17 am

Heads up everybody! Another novice "selects" tourney is happening in February here in Whitehorse. Let's see how this one plays out. LOL. Heard it from Canuck Nation first. Ha, not a secret now WMHA!

Up 99 Down 91

Just a hockey guy on Nov 1, 2014 at 7:48 pm

I think the underlying issue here is that perhaps some parents who have children that we're not selected to the novice team may feel slighted by the process. Unfortunately, this is a reality of sport in many levels.

Personally, I am a fan of the idea of a novice selects team. The Yellowknife program starts at the novice level and after seeing our Atom Mustangs playing a far superior team over in NWT, I must admit, we could certainly take a few tips from them. Imagine if you will, Whitehorse had a rep team at the novice level... Would our intermediate and lower level novice players not benefit in some manner? Games would no longer be dominated by 4 or 5 elite players. Boys and girls who are not naturally born with a talent to play hockey at a higher level would handle the puck more, give and take a pass, perhaps score a goal? The elite players would not be there to drive up the score and possess the puck most of the game.
The absence of elite players in a regular house game may actually benefit the very players who were not selected as rep players. Further to this, novice players on a rep team would be challenged more by playing a higher level of hockey in tournaments and by taking on atom division teams. I know this idea may ruffle feathers with some and in a way, I feel that we should never categorize players by their skill level, but we also need to look beyond what we are doing in Whitehorse and develop our players at all levels to not only compete, but to also enjoy sport.

Along this chain of emails, I've read several statements from members of our board admitting that perhaps a mistake was made. It's not quite an apology, but it is someone saying "hey, we're human and maybe we could've done things differently". Anytime you pick elite players from a group, those that we're not chosen will not feel too swell - I've been through it with my player and as parents we need to step up and support our child in a meaningful way by encouraging and motivating them to shrug it off and play on.

This is just the beginning of their life in hockey and it will no doubt be filled with moments of glory as well as disappointment; that comes with all sports. It's a reality that we go through with them and often we tend to hold on to those bad days because we're good parents and we only want the best for our kids. After all, if they can't stick up for themselves, who will? Children are resilient and I have a feeling that most, if not all of them, have moved on and are back to enjoying the game again. We could take a lesson from them.

Up 96 Down 95

Atom on Nov 1, 2014 at 8:00 am

Replying to a moron....exactly......wow.....easy big fella I pointed out that it should have been made known that teams were being picked.....for any reason.......because everybody pays a fee....volunteers are amazing (I am one) but folks can get carried away......which appears to be the case here....and here.

Scared of the backlash......that's because some volunteers get their bucket filled by being the boss....similar to typers like replying to morons

Up 100 Down 94

Martin Lawrie on Oct 31, 2014 at 8:18 pm

To Scared of the backlash:
Your comments are way out of line!
If you truly believe somethings as sinister as you have implied is going on I would suggest you have a moral obligation to step up and address it.

Up 106 Down 93

Martin Lawrie on Oct 31, 2014 at 8:11 pm

This is very disappointing that people come on and blash volunteers that work so hard to provide opportunity for the kids.
All volunteer boards will make mistakes and maybe one was made with the Novice team. I personally don't believe one was but if others do, then it is important that the board hears and understands those concerns, but making everything so negative isn't fair.

240 kids had a great hockey weekend between Yellowknife and Whitehorse. The effort to pull this off was huge and needs to be appreciated. THANK YOU to all those that helped and supported this great event in Whitehorse and in Yellowknife.
For those that believe something underhanded is going on within WMHA...please come help. Trust me, all you will find is a bunch of hard working volunteers trying to do what is best for ALL the kids.

If you still don't believe me, feel free to share your concerns next time you see me at the rink...I am there at least 6 nights a week.

Up 99 Down 98

Scared of the backlash on Oct 31, 2014 at 3:30 pm

I agree with the comment by 'parent' there is a lot of questionable stuff going on within the board and if you dare question it there is a backlash and bullying (just like in this forum) which is why people here are posting their opinions anonymously.

Apparently, several years ago they voted to suspend their constitution so they can make decisions like this on the fly. There is zero transparency. We don't know about any upcoming decisions or any decisions that have been made it all happens within a cone of silence. I don't know what the body is that over sees non profit sports associations but it is alarming that this is allowed to happen if infact this is the case.

Up 102 Down 95

Hockey parent on Oct 30, 2014 at 8:41 pm

Really, all those kids at all different ages and the only comments are in regards to how the novice selects team was picked? Sour grapes. Wow.

Congratulations to all the kids involved and to WMHA for bringing these two territories together. Let's be happy for our ability to have teams come to whitehorse. So wonderful to come watch games here instead of the teams always flying out!

Up 102 Down 90

Jack Malone on Oct 30, 2014 at 6:48 pm

My son no longer plays hockey in Mustang program. But based on years of experience, I have nothing but respect for the volunteer coaches and members of the board. Years ago my son's group was taken as a Novice Select team to Anchorage and Edmonton (where they won the tournament against top Alberta teams). It was a great experience. They held tryouts for this Novice Selects team and it was tough to see the tears when 7 and 8 year olds were cut following the tryouts. Based on that experience, it seems to me that the coaches who know the players should simply pick the players. Young players do not need to go experience the pain of such cuts. Some hockey dads may have to face reality: some players are more developed than others. Get over it. In the end, I see a lot of hockey dads hurt - but I suspect that their kids are already over it.

Up 96 Down 98

Canuck Nation on Oct 30, 2014 at 5:58 pm

The dedicated volunteers who were on the ice every ice time were kept out of the loop. We had an insiders club. That's the problem. An email would have sufficed.

Up 100 Down 87

Parent on Oct 30, 2014 at 4:58 pm

There are many questionable things that go on with WMHA, but it is also generally the parents who are not volunteering or coaching who are first to criticize. It is easier to talk the talk than it is to volunteer your time and do the work. Something often not said, in any situation, thank you volunteer coaches, volunteer board members and parents who volunteer and make these opportunities available for the kids, at any age. If you are not part of the solution, than you are part of the problem. Go to the board meetings. Offer solutions. Volunteer!!

Up 109 Down 91

Replying to a Moron on Oct 30, 2014 at 1:40 pm

You’ve got to have thick skin at times to be part of a minor hockey board.
Parents act like the board gets paid and when everything doesn’t go perfect… they feel that they should be compensated in some way.

Up 111 Down 94

Repulsed on Oct 29, 2014 at 5:54 pm

I'm repulsed that our coaches and volunteers are time and time again bashed. Sports are suppose to be fun for our children yet we have the constant back lash of being unfair. Maybe it's time for these hockey mom's and dad's to step up and start volunteering. That way you'll be better educated on the issues you weep about. Time to grow up people....start being an example for your children instead of being the jilted parent.

Up 114 Down 93

Disgusted on Oct 29, 2014 at 5:41 pm

I am disgusted by the negativity, this was a great opportunity for the novice team. Nothing was secret just short notice. There was no hand picking it was based on the evaluations. This is a sport like any other and only the top evaluated kids made it. If you are upset your child was not asked you might want to see where he/she was placed in the evaluations. I believe these trips take a lot of planning and time out of people's lives. Instead of being appreciative of the hard work of the organizers, why don't you get off your seat and volunteer. Damned if you do damned if you don't.

Up 128 Down 90

Hockey supporter on Oct 29, 2014 at 4:43 pm

Some kids ARE more advanced and it's great that they get to go and play with kids who are of the same skill level as them. That's how their skills get better. I have a child who was not on the team and it was great when they played this last weekend, because they got to handle the puck more often as the more skilled players were gone. Everyone had a blast. If the team was chosen at the last minute and was picked from the team evaluations this was a good process that saw every child considered over several days. It sounds like it was short notice so we are lucky to have had the opportunity. Let's try and be positive and support all our hockey players and volunteers.

Up 116 Down 101

Replying to a Moron on Oct 29, 2014 at 3:45 pm

Tell all the "paying" parents??? Why would minor hockey call a parent of a child that is not on the list? What are they supposed to say….
“Sorry Mr. Smith but we wanted to call you to let you know your kid is not good enough to make the selects team, better luck next time.”

That would be poor leadership…. you need to get it together, Atom!

Up 99 Down 104

Atom on Oct 29, 2014 at 3:02 pm

Michael Kearney....it appears there needs to be volunteers that understand separating the kids in 'secret' is not good hockey association policy....but this is Whitehorse.

Up 105 Down 105

Atom on Oct 29, 2014 at 2:58 pm

I'm a hockey Dad with a 8 year old boy in Novice.
I didn't hear anything from 'the volunteers' about a 'select team' heading to Yellowknife, who are now throwing up their hands in innocence...the fact is my son would never had made a select team that was scheduled to go to Yellowknife......but the fact there are 'select teams' going to Yellowknife and the volunteers don't tell all paying parents that this is happening is a sign of poor leadership....as one commenter put it ' a secret' .
It's a community sports association , not an elite school. It just separates the kids....get it together WMHA!

Up 129 Down 89

Hockeydad on Oct 29, 2014 at 12:44 pm

Quote: “hockeymom said on Oct 28, 2014 at 1:55 pm”

“First the issues with the jersey colours in peewee and putting your logo where the sponsors should go and now this. They aren't going to have much of a hockey club left if this behavior keeps up.”

Hello Hockey Mom,
This is the first I’ve heard of any issue in regards to Jersey colours and or the placement of the logos? If there are issues with the colors and or logo placements it was surely not our intent. I know firsthand how important sponsorship recognition is to our supporters. As a member of the volunteer WHMA board I would love to be able to sit here and say we are perfect and never make mistakes… but we are not. We are a group of parents, the same as you, that are doing our very best to provide our Yukon children an opportunity to experience the great sport of Canadian hockey.
There are many things that have changed this year in regards to the way we are handling sponsorships and donations. We are very conscience in our efforts to maximize sponsorship recognition while at the same time keeping our eyes on the money we spend. Some of the changes have been great and some not so much, but rest assured this is a constant work in process that will be tweaked from year to year until such a time as we do get it right. Our end goal is to increase our sponsorships by giving our sponsors real value for their generous contributions.

In regards to the mentioned issue with the peewee jerseys colours and logo placements, please feel free to contact me directly. My contact information can be found on the WMHA web page.

Thanks
Vice President: Sponsorship & Partners
Derek Kindervater

Up 110 Down 92

Michael Kearney on Oct 29, 2014 at 12:32 pm

The Whitehorse Minor Hockey Website has a feedback link. Please feel free to communicate directly to the board with any concerns you may have. The board is working to make hockey a fun experience for all kids and families. Please feel free to add comments and be sure to leave your name and contact information so that we can communicate directly with you. The board is made up of volunteer people and we have room for more people to step up. We would like to hear from anyone with ideas and suggestions.

Up 102 Down 98

Canuck Nation on Oct 29, 2014 at 12:30 pm

No one here is speaking negatively about the players or its "staff" (the Dads). To the ones who didn't make it. It became solely about the process and the lack of transparency. By failing to disclose its intentions, the perception of fairness was compromised. Rather than celebrate our successful players as a league. We had a secret. Secrets are divisive and create mistrust. If this had been all out in the open from day one. No one would be crying foul.
Thank you "coach" for publicly clarifying the process for all of us who were left in the dark about it. And yes "Coach", everyone who thinks this sucks, please contact WMHA and make your feelings known. This should not happen again. My kid didn't make it, I'm over it. I'm just asking the person in charge to be upfront about it. After all, they are only 7 and 8 years old. Too early to be sorted into mustangs or "selects".

Up 109 Down 92

Kathy Stokes on Oct 29, 2014 at 6:58 am

These comments are very unfortunate. I'm sorry you feel picking the teams was a shady and unfair process. I know nothing about it so I can't comment but I assume you have all called WMHA to discuss your concerns?

Up 99 Down 102

Blueline on Oct 28, 2014 at 6:24 pm

I presume it is WMHA board members down voting that anyone has the gall to question their authority. Who else would down vote kids getting a fair shake.

Shame.

Up 112 Down 99

Coach on Oct 28, 2014 at 5:48 pm

Please let me clear a few things up before these comments get out of hand. The novice team that travelled to NWT was NOT a mustangs team. It was the novice "selects". The coaches were asked to assemble a team of players from the novice league to travel and take part in the hockey exchange. We were given roughly 3 weeks to do so. The league evaluations that were done by the coaches of all 5 novice teams were used to contact players parents and see if they would be interested in travelling on such short notice. Almost all of the players ranked at the top of the evaluations accepted the invite. Again this was not a mustangs team. This was a selects team. If you have any further questions regarding this team, or its staff, or the way we made our teams I would suggest you contact WMHA for any further details and refrain from speaking negatively about those individuals who were chosen to travel

Up 109 Down 106

hockeymom on Oct 28, 2014 at 1:55 pm

Curious as to when WMHA added Mustang teams and why the same tryout procedure wasn't followed as with the other Mustang teams. No open tryouts at all. Pretty shady WHMA. First the issues with the jersey colours in peewee and putting your logo where the sponsors should go and now this. They aren't going to have much of a hockey club left if this behavior keeps up.

Up 100 Down 108

Canuck Nation on Oct 28, 2014 at 1:36 pm

Hope the folks who put together our Novice Mustang Team can take a minute to read this article:

http://www.torontosun.com/2013/09/16/attention-coaches-parents-minor-hockey-is-for-the-children?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=recommend-button&utm_campaign=Attention+coaches%2C+parents%3A+Minor+hockey+is+for+the+children

Up 114 Down 112

Canuck Nation on Oct 28, 2014 at 11:53 am

My kid is in Novice also. Nope, no novice tryouts. Totally hand picked behind closed doors. You should have seen the kids faces who didn't make it. A very somber novice crew left behind in Whitehorse. This was kept secret from those who were not invited for the past month. No communication, only whispers. No process. No transparency. Poor sportsmanship on WMHA part. Shame. Curious to see how many of the fringe kids join soccer next year. My kid was talking about playing soccer all weekend.

Up 112 Down 114

Blueline on Oct 27, 2014 at 3:06 pm

Novice Mustangs?
I must have missed that memo. My son is Novice age and there were no public try outs. Hand picked again I guess.

Add your comments or reply via Twitter @whitehorsestar

In order to encourage thoughtful and responsible discussion, website comments will not be visible until a moderator approves them. Please add comments judiciously and refrain from maligning any individual or institution. Read about our user comment and privacy policies.

Your name and email address are required before your comment is posted. Otherwise, your comment will not be posted.