Twin turbo

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This article was published 01/03/2024 (556 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There’s not much to choose between Delainey and Vayda Rigaux.

Glenlawn’s terrific tandem — identical 15-year-old twins — have been shredding the Manitoba Women’s High School Hockey League this winter.

Delainey, a right-handed centre, led all league scorers during the regular season with 33 goals and 49 points in 22 games while Vayda, a left-handed blue-liner, was second in scoring with 14 goals and 45 points in 22 games.

Vayda’s total was 10 points clear of the rest of the league.

In a tight race, Delainey edged her sister by a single vote in the annual Free Press varsity girls hockey top 10 poll of high school coaches.

“They’ve gone from average players to above average and more dominant players over the years,” says Dean Rigaux, the twins’ uncle and a teacher at Glenlawn. “I know they’ve spent a lot of time on the backyard rink. They have two older brothers and they’re shooting pucks all the time. That makes a big difference in girls hockey, being able to shoot.”

Brad Nechwediuk, Dean Rigaux’s co-coach on the Lions bench, has noticed a dramatic improvement, too.

“Those two were not what you would say were the elite kids when they were younger,” says Nechwediuk. “They were middle of the pack. They did lots of things and they they loved playing the game. If you looked at their (St. Vital) Vics team at U11 or U13, you wouldn’t be be saying, ‘We’ve gotta keep an eye on those two.’”

The Rigauxs, currently in Grade 10, have succeeded in getting everyone’s attention in the MWHSHL and, with the ability to double roster in the female game, they’re now starting to turn heads for the Interlake Lightning of the Manitoba Female AAA U18 League.

Delainey, a high-volume shooter with a lethal scoring touch, loves representing her school.

“High school hockey is a bit slower than AAA hockey and it’s less pressure for me,” says Delainey. “It’s more fun and I’m able to just go out and play my game and work my hardest. AAA is more like intense and it’s more pressure. Everyone is harder on you.”

The Rigaux are not yet a dominate force in AAA but they’re getting there.

Delainey had four goals and eight points in 28 games during the regular season while Vayda chipped in with a goal and seven points in 26 games.

“I think those games really helped because before in AA, it’s almost like you had so much more time with the puck that you could do anything but then once you get the puck in AAA, I found that you have to move your feet as fast as you can and move the puck otherwise they’ll be on you and take it from you,” says Vayda.

“I feel like I’ve been able to do that now. When I’m at the blue line, I can shoot it quicker. And even my dad has told me that, ‘You’re making better decisions, faster decisions and it’s working.’”

Glenlawn goaltender Jovi Wozny has witnessed plenty of heroics from the Rigaux twins this season.

“They skate fast and they always seem to score bar down,” she says. “I always celebrate when they do that. They also save my butt a lot from goals and I appreciate that.”

How the Rigauxs ended up with the Stonewall-based Lightning is an interesting story. Both took part in joint pre-season tryouts for the Winnipeg Avros and Ice but somehow didn’t make the grade.

Getting cut from the city tryout made the twins eligible to join a rural team and they’ve made the most of it with plenty of extra ice time and skill development.

For most of the regular season, they were on the ice three times a week with the Lions, with one dryland training session and two practices and two games per week with the Lightning. Conflicts have been few but on Thursday, the twins had to skip Game 2 of Glenlawn’s best-of-three playoff series with River East to honour their commitment to the Lightning.

Vayda, as the quarterback of the Lions power play, has blossomed into a masterful distributor of the puck.

“She understands how to move and she’s looking for sticks and looking for opportunities to get that puck to the net,” says Nechwediuk. “She doesn’t just shoot. Her head is up the whole time when she moves.

“She has a great shot if she wants to shoot, but mostly it’s a floater because she’s looking for a lane to get that puck to the net through a screen or she sees a stick off to the side. It’s an elite skill.”

The twins are almost inseparable off the ice and share an uncanny bond on the ice, seemingly always aware of where the other will be.

“Sometimes you’ll hear the girls go, ‘Oh, she just looks for her sister,’” says Nechwediuk. “No, she just knows where her sister’s gonna be.”

To the uninformed, it could be difficult to tell the twins apart without their hockey jerseys.

“I think I tend to be more snarky and she tends to be more nice,” says Vayda, who’s also one inch taller than her 5-5 sister.

The Rigauxs are already contemplating their future in the game after high school and it appears likely they will follow a similar path.

“We’re not really sure yet,” says Delainey. “I want to see where these next two years like take me but I was thinking about university hockey and going to school,” says Delainey. “But I’m still not sure.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca