Tight division fosters fierce competition

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This article was published 31/12/2021 (1354 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One Winnipeg High School Hockey League division has seen such parity that one win or loss can upset the standings.

As play in the second half of the season was set to restart after the holiday break, six of the top seven Platinum Promotions Division teams were separated by three points.

“It’s very fluid,” said Steve Christie, head coach of the Westwood Warriors.

The tight nature of the division is good for competition, Christie said, adding that the risk of sliding down the standings on the basis of one bad game encourages his players to not take any opponent lightly.

“Top to bottom, it’s a good league. Anyone can beat anyone on any night; it depends who shows up,” said Magnum Grindle, a left winger for the Warriors. “We come here to work hard, get down to business, and win.”

Grindle said games against neighbourhood rivals the Sturgeon Heights Huskies are the highlight of the season.

Team captain Vito Gigliotti, a 17-year-old forward, agreed with Grindle.

“We all kind of know each other, so there’s chirps flying around. It’s all in good fun,” Gigliotti said. “When the crowd’s here, it’s normally so big.”

Christie said many of the boys who wanted to play for the Warriors last year but couldn’t because of the pandemic wound up making the team this season. Just three Warriors skaters have previously played in the WHSHL.

“It’s an exciting time for our school. We haven’t been this high in the standings in a long time, in the top division, so there’s a nice little buzz around the school and our community,” Christie said. “We hope to follow it all the way through.”

Sawyer Mackid, a former student in Christie’s digital video class, is producing a documentary about the Warriors’ 2021/2022 season, inspired by the Amazon Prime series All or Nothing: Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Warriors’ documentary will provide a behind-the-scenes look at Canadian high school hockey. Mackid has been recording game footage, player interviews, and training.

“It’s been nice — from the beginning of the year until now — to see how the guys have bonded,” Mackid said. “Now they’re a really tight-knit group.”

The Grade 11 Westwood student aims to have the one-hour documentary in post-production by the end of May. Following graduation, Mackid said he may consider a career in media production.

“If I do decide to pursue something in videography, it’ll be really nice to have this practise, helping with the documentary,” Mackid said.

The Warriors are scheduled to play four more regular-season games in the new year, having played a jam-packed schedule during the 2021 portion of the season. The boys will face off against Miles Mac on home ice at Keith Bodley Arena on Wed., Jan. 12.

The light schedule will allow the Warriors to ease back into the competition while taking the time to stay sharp and stay healthy, Christie said. At press time, the Warriors held a record of 9-8-1 for 30 points. The team’s top scorers were Tristen Arnason, with nine goals and 18 assists, and Campbell Epp, with 10 goals and seven assists.