East Winnipeg schools battle for Div. 3 crown

St. Boniface

St. Vital

Windsor Park

Transcona

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This article was published 24/01/2024 (952 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Division 3 of the Manitoba Women’s High School Hockey League is an East Winnipeg battle royale this season.

Five schools in the eight-team division are located east of the Red River — the Collège Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau Canadiennes, who led the division at press time with a 14-0-2 record and 44 points; Murdoch MacKay Collegiate, in second with 38 points and an 11-3-2 record; followed by J.H. Bruns Broncos (11-5-0); Dakota Lancers (10-7-0); and the Béliveau Barracudas (6-9-1).

Springfield, Beausejour, and Kelvin High School round out the competition.

Defending champions Murdoch Mackay and neighbouring CPET have a long rivalry going back to before the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the 2020 division championship series between the two schools. This season, the two teams have each won one of their two head-to-head matches.

“It pumps them up, pumps us up every time there’s the battle of Redonda,” said Chantel Hebert, CPET head coach, referring to street the two schools share. “We have a really small roster this year, but everyone is really committed. They’re buying into the systems we’re putting into place, which is awesome. We’re really putting plays together and we see those developing on the ice.”

With the end of the 24-game regular season coming up in mid-February, the two Transcona schools will be jockeying for top spot in the standings the rest of the way; they face each other once more, on Feb. 12 at Transcona East End Arena.

“We’re focusing on the little things, hoping we’re doing them right and being consistent and defensively sound going into the playoffs,” Hebert said, adding the team is led by captain Grace Kotzer, who also leads the team in points with 26 goals and 12 assists in 16 games, along with assistant captains Olivia Brewer (14 goals, 15 assists), Lexi Taylor (six goals, 21 assists) and Charlie Tamilowics (six assists). “They’ve been good for the team, very encouraging.”

Not to be outdone, J.H. Bruns and Dakota aren’t far back. With a string of timely wins, either school — both of which feature young rosters, the bulk of whom are new to the league this season — could find themselves challenging the frontrunners in the standings and making waves come playoffs.

“It’s been a building year, but we’re doing a lot more than I’d hoped for,” said Maeve Savage, head coach of the Broncos, who is in her seventh year with the program at J.H. Bruns. “We have a great group of girls who are really dedicated and a lot of fun.”

Led by Grade 11 co-captains Isabella Johnston, a forward with six goals and six assists in 14 games, and Sarah Williamson, a blueliner with two goals and three assists in 15 games, the Bronco are focused on improving down the stretch while making the most of their time at the rink.

“With playoffs coming up, we are building on some strategies and plays, fine tuning a few things and working on our breakouts and setting up in the other zone and scoring,” Savage said. “We hope to continue to have fun. When you have fun, you want to keep playing.”

“We started off a little slow, but we’ve been making a good push lately,” said Kyle Ridler, Dakota’s head coach. “We’ve (beaten) every team in the division so far, so we’re hoping to make a good run in the playoffs.”

Indeed, the Lancers are 4-1 going back to Dec. 1, 2023.

“We play a high-offensive, physical game,” Ridler said. “We’ve been trying to polish up our powerplay and more activation of the defence, getting them more active in the play.”

Led by co-captain Brenya Kapusta, who leads not only the team but all of the MWHSHL in scoring with 32 goals and seven assists in 15 games, and Ashlyn Salamon, who has 16 goals and four assists in 15 games, the Lancers will be trying to keep the momentum rolling down the stretch. Defender Anna Sellers, who has five assists in 15 games, shares the captaincy with Kapusta, who was named Division 3 player of the week on Jan. 12.

“They’ve set the tone for the girls and the pace,” Ridler said. “The girls have really looked up to them as leaders.”

While Béliveau finds itself neck-and-neck with Springfield for sixth place, and safely ahead of Beausejour and Kelvin, in the standings, anything is possible in the playoffs.

Visit mwhshl.ca for complete results and the upcoming schedule.