Kodiaks holding heads high

REC women’s hockey team ready to make playoff push

By: Sheldon Birnie Posted: 9:42 AM CST Friday, Jan. 21, 2022

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This article was published 21/01/2022 (1359 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Nothing good ever comes easy.

After missing out on the 2020-21 season, the River East Kodiaks of the Winnipeg Women’s High School Hockey League aren’t taking anything for granted this season. The Kodiaks are 6-9-0 following a 9-5 loss to Centre scolaire Léo-Rémillard Renards on Jan. 19, putting them in the middle of the CTV Division 1 standings a little past the midway point in the season.

“It’s our first time back up in (the top division) for a few years now,” said head coach Tannar Paszkowski, an educational assistant at REC who played defence for the Kodiaks when she was a student before graduating in 2014. “I have no complaints, we can definitely compete with the top teams.”

With only a handful of Grade 11 and 12 players on the team, this year’s Kodiaks squad is stacked with Grade 10 players who will no doubt leave a mark on the league for years to come.

“We are a strong offensive team up front,” Paszkowski noted.

Kaitlynn Anderson, a Grade 12 centre and assistant captain, leads the team in points, scoring 19 goals and 12 assists at press time.

“We’re a very talented team,” Anderson said. “Offensively we’re able to score when we need, and our strong forecheck is able to pressure the other teams into making mistakes. That’s when we capitalize.”

At press time, the Kodiaks had found the back of the net 57 times in 15 games. However, having been scored on 73 times, the defensive game is still something the team is working on.

“When it comes to little mistakes in the defensive zone, that lead to goals against,” Paszkowski admitted, adding that most of the team’s blueliners are forwards playing the position for the first time.

“Defence is a work in progress, one hundred per cent,” Anderson admitted. “We need to tie up sticks in front of the net, communicate on and off the ice and trust each other.”

At the start of the season, it looked like River East would have to use a pool goalie. But then Kaylee McDonald, a ringette goalie, decided to try her hand at stopping the puck for her school.

“We’re thankful she had the courage to try something new for her,” Paszkowski said.

Having missed the entire 2020-21 season owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, it took a bit of time for the girls to come together as a team.

“It felt so good, having that year break was kind of sad,” admitted Anderson, who will go on to play lacrosse at the University of Massachusetts Lowell in the fall. “It was a great opportunity to start again, because we didn’t know what would happen. We ended on a high note in Grade 10, going to the finals. Coming back, I want to lead the team to some success.”

“The first couple practices and games, it was a little cliquey,” Paszkowski said. “But they’ve come a long way, and you can see the relationships building. They’re a great group of girls. Everyone of them.”

“We’re such a supportive group of girls,” Anderson said. “You always know you’ll always have support from your teammates and coaches.”

For the Kodiaks to enjoy success down the stretch and into the playoffs, the girls will need to keep things simple.

“We need to work our hardest, trust each other, use our heads, not rush anything and come back to the basics of hockey,” Anderson said.

Nothing good ever comes easy.

Supplied photo
The River East Kodiaks of the Winnipeg Women’s High School Hockey League’s CTV Division 1 are in the hunt for wins as the 2021-22 regular season winds down. — Supplied photo The River East Kodiaks of the Winnipeg Women’s High School Hockey League’s CTV Division 1 are in the hunt for wins as the 2021-22 regular season winds down.