The Kamloops Winter hockey tourney was a “Blast” for the U11 Yukon Wild team.

The Kamloops Winter Blast took place Dec. 1-3. It brought together 24 teams comprised of more than 400 talented female athletes for divisions at the U11, U13, U15 and U18 level.

The U11 Yukon Wild team was able to send 14 players for their respective division. The team is made of four players who have had experience playing outside of the territory in previous tournaments with 10 players experiencing their first out-of-territory competition.

Throughout the fall, the team worked hard both on and off the ice to build relationships and skills in order to enhance their credentials in all domains that impact working together as a team. This hard work, led by their coaches, Ryan Martin, Shauna Frizzell, Nate Dumont and Kim Stavert, paid off for them while in Kamloops.

Nerves ran high before the first game. The Wild were set to play the Tri-Cities team on Friday Dec. 1. The team worked through their emotions for a strong game, where they showed their skills and defeated the Tri-Cities team 6-0.

On the strength of a hat trick, defender Taryn Frizzell received the MVP award for the game, while Gally Cann, who also scored, earned the Heart and Hustle award. Kate Dumont received the Leader of the Pack award and was granted the honour of carrying the team flag for Game 2’s warm up skate.

In Game 2, the Wild met up with Abbotsford, where they again worked on their skills and solidified their ability to work together in another victory, with Maggie Dumont earning MVP and Austyn Laluk getting the Heart and Hustle. Grey Mason was ready to carry the Leader of the Pack flag for Game 3.

In Saturday afternoon’s game, the team played the home team of Kamloops, where they were again victorious. Braelyn Ewing, a team member from Dawson City, was MVP and Fynnlee Barnhart, the team’s youngest player, earned herself the Heart and Hustle. Charlie Mason earned the privilege of being the Leader of the Pack going into the gold medal game for Sunday.

In Sunday’s gold medal game, the team faced the Kelowna Rockets. This team was also sitting undefeated in the tournament heading into Game 4. It could have been anybody’s game. The first period was scoreless for approximately 15 minutes, which made things tense in the stands, and had the team playing hard on the ice. All players for the Wild were giving it their all to keep the puck in the opponents end. A strong goaltender for Kelowna kept the Wild from scoring despite multiple attempts. In the end, the U11 Wild brought back gold and a new banner for Takhini arena after a solid 3-0 win over the Rockets.

Taryn Frizzell led the way with two goals and Gally Cann had a clutch shortie, while Olivia Irvine shut the door for the shutout. It was truly a total team effort. Growth in skill and team play was evident throughout the entire weekend, which left smiles on the girls’ faces for hours.

While second-year Wild players led the way in scoring during the tournament, the scoring was spread around the team over the course of the round-robin play, and many Wild players celebrated first tournament goal(s) including: Grey Mason, Charlie Mason, Maggie Dumont, Kate Dumont, Braelyn Ewing, Brooklynn Warner, Austyn Laluk and Adelyn Martin.

The Wilds defence and goaltending was stingy and stalwart all weekend, with strong play by defence pairings Taryn Frizzell and Fynnlee Barnhart and Ana Lammers and Clare Connell in front of veteran goaltender Olivia Irvine.

Clinching the gold was not the end of the fun for the U11 Wild. Coach Ryan Martin promised the team a drive through the glow in the dark, light up disco car wash if they earned gold, and he did not disappoint. With tunes pumping and laughter galore, the car wash experience is one the girls will never forget.

Team organizers thank Whitehorse-based CGM Contracting for being a tournament sponsor for the team. Their support was extensive and very much appreciated by all involved.

Another huge shout-out to all involved in making this female development program what it is. Female hockey is on the rise in the territory and the dedication from coaches needs to be recognized and appreciated.

Thanks to everyone who puts time into these girls growth both on and off the ice!

– Submitted by U11 Wild coach Ryan Martin and team manager Amanda Cann