The Provincial Women’s Hockey League championship tournament will be held this weekend from April 12 to 14 at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex in Oakville.
The Kingston Ice Wolves are making their first-ever appearance in the final four event.
After finishing the regular season in first place with a record of 28-2-8, the Ice Wolves qualified with playoff wins over the Bluewater Hawks and Mississauga Chiefs.
“Getting to the final four has always been the goal,” said Troy Sweet, the team’s head coach.
The 46-year-old Belleville native, who played junior hockey (1990-93) with the OHL’s Oshawa Generals and London Knights, took over the Kingston women’s hockey franchise in 2016. He says it took three years to get to this point and that it’s the players who deserve all the credit.
“We’ve grown over the years and have added all the right pieces,” continued Sweet.
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“We put details and structure in place, and the girls bought into it. We have a great support system with the Greater Kingston organization and tremendous support from the community. We had more than 500 fans in our final two playoff games against Mississauga at the Invista Centre.”
It’s been a magical season for the Kingston franchise, which joined the Provincial Women’s Hockey League in 2012. Scout Watkins-Southward is extremely proud to be a member of this special group. She looks forward to competing in the final four.
“We are so excited,” said Southward, who is the team’s captain.
“We have worked so hard to get to this point. We’re not satisfied with what we’ve accomplished this season,” added the 18-year-old forward, who’s committed next season to Concordia University in Montreal.
“The goal is to win it all, but we’re not focused on that. Our focus is shift by shift. We’re working on the process, not the product. We know what we need to do to be ready for this weekend. The competition is going to be super hard because everyone is in it to win it.”
Its uncharted territory for the Ice Wolves, but Sweet says they’ll be ready to go.
“The girls don’t have a lot of playoff experience, but the coaches do. We know what we have to do to prepare them for any situation. If we play to our potential, we’ll do just fine.”
Kingston’s first game is Friday morning against the Toronto Aeros. Also participating in the round-robin tournament will be the Stoney Creek Sabres and London Devilettes.
The gold medal game is scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m.
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