Written by Colin Powers Monday, Jan 23 2023, 6:50 AM

Sadie Keller scored the winning goal in the shootout as the Swift Current Innovation Credit Union U18 Wildcats beat the Saskatoon Stars 1-0 in a defensive battle at Merlis Belsher Place on the USask campus.

The game was scoreless through 60 minutes of regulation and 10 minutes of overtime with Karlee Lehner making 29 saves for the Wildcats and Ava Drabyk countering with 38 saves for the Stars. Watteyne and Sadie Keller scored for Swift Current in the three-player shootout with Lehner stopping all three attempts from the Stars to clinch the win.

The Wildcats (15-6-3-0) are a point back of second-place Saskatoon and five points behind league-leading Regina as they get set to face the Rebels this weekend in the Queen City.

Written by Colin Powers Sunday, Jan 22 2023, 9:55 AM

The Swift Current Innovation Credit Union U18 AAA Wildcats dropped a 6-3 decision to the Saskatoon Stars on Saturday in a neutral site game at Martensville for the community’s Hockey Day in Saskatchewan celebrations.

Caitlyn Perlinger opened the scoring for the Wildcats 5:04 into the first period, but Kolbee Ashe responded for the Stars just 24 seconds later and Mackenzie Mawson put Saskatoon up 2-1 at the 7:26 mark. Perlinger tied it up with her second of the game on the power play with 4:05 left in the first period, but Ashe scored her second goal with 94 seconds left to give Saskatoon a 3-2 lead after 20 minutes.

The Stars scored two more unanswered goals from Grace Millar and Keyra Buziak, then Calla Kampen got a power play goal to bring the Wildcats back within two before Ashe completed the hat trick with 4:57 remaining in the middle frame to make it 6-3 for the Stars, and that score would hold up through a scoreless third period.

Paige Fischer made 47 saves in the loss as the Stars outshot Swift Current 49-22.

The Wildcats (15-6-2-0) fall to third in the league standings with the Stars taking the three points and taking over second place. Swift Current will look to regain second spot and gain ground on first-place Regina when the two teams meet again today at Merlis Belsher Place in Saskatoon.

Written by Colin Powers Monday, Jan 16 2023, 6:31 AM

The Swift Current Innovation Credit Union U18 AAA Wildcats blanked the Prince Albert Northern Bears 4-0 on Sunday at S3 Arenas to sweep a two-game homestand.

Jerzey Watteyne, who scored the overtime winner for the Wildcats on Saturday, had two more goals on Sunday, both in the second period. Jade Thompson and Addison Eurich also scored for Swift Current and Karlee Lehner made 22 saves for her fourth shutout of the season.

The Wildcats (15-5-2-0) are still one point back of league-leading Regina after the Rebels beat Weyburn 5-0 on Sunday. Swift Current visits the Saskatoon Stars this weekend.

Written by Colin Powers Sunday, Jan 15 2023, 10:07 AM
The Swift Current Innovation Credit Union U18 AAA Wildcats picked up an 4-3 double-overtime win over the Prince Albert Northern Bears on Saturday at S3 Arenas.

Sadie Keller opened the scoring with 5:39 left in the first period, with Jasmine Kohl tying the game up for Prince Albert midway through the second. Addison Eurich put the Wildcats back in the lead on the power play with 2:16 before Julia Cey tied it up with a power play marker of her own with 12 seconds left in the middle frame. The back-and-forth continued with Jacquelyne Chief scoring for PA 4:56 into the third period with Olivia Kirwan tying it back up again 42 seconds later. After five minutes of scoreless four-on-four overtime hockey, Jerzey Watteyne scored 24 seconds into the three-on-three period to give the Wildcats their fourth win in a row.

Caitlyn Perlinger added three assists for Swift Current and Calla Kampen had two helpers. Paige Fischer made 32 saves for the victory.

The Wildcats (14-5-2-0) are just a point back of the league-leading Regina Rebels as they get set to host the Bears again at 3:00pm Sunday afternoon at S3 Arenas.

Kirwan commits to Minot State

Forward Olivia Kirwan became the eighth Wildcats player on this season’s roster to commit to post-secondary hockey as she will head to North Dakota next season to play with Minot State University.

Kirwan has scored five goals and 12 points in 21 games with the Wildcats this season, and six goals and 20 points in 51 SFU18AAAHL games over two full seasons.

Written by Colin Powers Monday, Jan 09 2023, 5:19 AM

The Swift Current Innovation Credit Union Wildcats swept a weekend set with the Notre Dame Hounds, following up on Saturday’s 1-0 win with a 3-2 win on double overtime on Sunday at S3 Arenas.

Olivia Kirwan opened the scoring with 43 seconds left in the first period, and then Sophie Kuzminski tied it up with a goal midway through the second. Eden Carius scored 2:41 into the third period to put the Hounds up 2-1, but Ella Wingert scored on the power play midway through the frame to tie the game up and force overtime. After a scoreless first five-minute overtime period of four-on-four hockey, the two teams played three-on-three for another 2:48 when Caitlyn Perlinger scored to give the Wildcats their third win in a row.

Karlee Lehner made 33 saves for the Wildcats (14-5-1-0), who host Prince Albert for a pair of games next weekend.