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OCTOBER, 1999

The Whitby Wolves Atom Rep “C” girls hockey team, sponsored by Ryder Diagnostics, has begun their season in fine fashion.  Their first exhibition game in Peterborough ended in a 2-2 tie.  Scorers for the Whitby side were Janaye Dzikewich (assisted by Tonya Cunningham and Desiree) and Sarah (from Kelly O’Neal).  The Wolves’ next two games were against the squad from Cold Creek.  In the first game in Colborne, the Whitby team carried the play but could not capitalize against a more experienced team, and lost 3-0.  In round two of the home-and-home series, the Wolves put forward a more polished effort and lost by a close 3-2 score.  The scoring for Whitby was by Desiree (from Emily Uza and Tonya Cunningham) and Rachel Broderick (from Karen and Sarah).  In their most recent game last Tuesday, the Wolves traveled to Port Hope and notched a 2-1 victory.  Ex-ringette ace Emily Uza scored the first goal of her hockey career (assisted by Tonya Cunningham and Laura Gooding) and Janaye Dzikewich (from Melanie Peever and Logan) potted the winner.  Katie O’Neill stood tall in the net for Whitby.  Team members who have so far been kept off the scoresheet are Michelle McDonnell, Jessica O’Brien, Nicole, and Brittney Wielgos.  The girls are ably coached by Terry O’Neal and Don Cunningham, and the parents and girls are looking forward to a productive and fun season.

NOVEMBER, 1999

The Whitby Wolves Atom Rep “C” girls hockey team, sponsored by Ryder Logistics, continues to roll along in the Central East League.   The Wolves motored up the 401 to Belleville in late October to take on the “BB” Belleville team, which had not allowed a goal in three league games.  Belleville roared to a 4-0 early lead, but the Whitby girls made a strong recovery en route to a respectable 6-2 score.  Scoring for Whitby were Desiree and ex-ringette goddess Michelle McDonnell with the first goal of her hockey career.  The Wolves’ next game was at home against the squad from Port Hope.  The Wolves gave up a goal in the first minute, but then threw a defensive net over their opponent’s top scorer.  The offense applied the pressure and the Whitby team went on to win 3-2.  Two Whitby goals were scored by Tonya Cunningham, and a single by Rachel Broderick.  Last Saturday the girls hit the road again for a game against the Lindsay “C” team.  The Wolves overwhelmed their opponents and cruised to an easy 7-0 win.  Leading the scoring was Desiree with the hat trick and Sarah with two goals.  Michelle McDonnell and Tonya Cunningham scored single goals, while Katie O’Neill earned the shutout.  The opposition was stiffer the next day in Whitby, as the Peterborough team came to town.  The Whitby squad carried the play but could not capitalize on enough of their chances, and lost 3-1.  Michelle McDonnell scored the lone goal.  The wolf pack is looking forward to the Belleville tournament on the weekend of November 20-21.

NOVEMBER, 1999

The Whitby Wolves Atom Rep “C” girls hockey team, sponsored by Ryder Logistics, had a successful tournament debut last weekend in Belleville.  As a tuneup for the tournament, the Wolves travelled to Cobourg on November 13th to play their “C” team.  This game featured some excellent passing and team play, as the girls cruised to an 8-2 victory.  Two goals were scored by Tonya Cunningham, Janaye Dzikewich, and Desiree, while single goals went to Michelle McDonnell and Sarah.

The Belleville tournament began with a game against the Kanata squad.  The Wolves put up a good fight, but fell 7-2 to the opposition.  Sarah and Rachel Broderick opened the tournament scoring for Whitby.  In the second game, Whitby was able to blank their rivals from Cobourg with a convincing 3-0 win.  Whitby goal scorers in this game were Janaye Dzikewich, Kelly O’Neal and Desiree.  The Wolves moved on to the B final, and their opponents were the “C” team from Belleville.  The Whitby girls dominated the game, not allowing a shot on goal, and came away with a 7-0 win and their first of what will hopefully be many more tournament final victories.  Goal scorers in this game were Tonya Cunningham with two markers, Karen Moran, Brittney Wielgos (her first hockey goal!), Melanie Peever, Rachel Broderick, and Emily Uza.  Players who did not score in the tournament, but who stymied the opposition with their defensive play were Logan Garland, Laura Gooding, Caitlin O’Neill, and Jessica O’Brien.  Special congratulations to goalie Jessica Shipmaker, who recorded two shutouts.

Having tasted tournament play for the first time this season, the girls are pumped up for the Whitby Tournament on December 3rd, 4th and 5th.

DECEMBER, 1999

The Whitby Wolves Atom Rep “C” girls hockey team, sponsored by Ryder Logistics, had a great tournament last weekend in the third annual Whitby Girls Hockey Tournament.  As a tuneup for the tournament, the Wolves hosted the Lindsay “B” Team on November 27th.  The girls shut down Lindsay and notched a well-earned 3-0 victory.  Goals were scored by Tonya Cunningham, Sarah, and Emily Uza.

This set the stage for the Whitby tournament, which is rapidly becoming one of the premier tournament destinations in Ontario.  Their first game on Friday was against Burlington.  It was evident early on that the calibre of play in the tournament would be quite high, as both teams played with much intensity.  The Whitby squad actually carried the play to Burlington, and came away with a 5-3 win.  Goals scorers for Whitby were Rachel Broderick, Janaye Dzikewich, Michelle McDonnell, Karen Moran, and Kelly O’Neal.

The opening game on Saturday was against Little Current.  This team was big and skilled, but the Wolves rose to the challenge and went toe-to-toe with them.  Little Current finally broke through for a goal early in the third period.  The Wolves pulled their goalie with over a minute left and swarmed all over Little Current, but just couldn’t buy a goal.  Little Current scored with two seconds remaining to win 2-0, ending a very exciting game.

That afternoon, Whitby rebounded with a 7-0 victory over an overmatched Embro team.  Scoring for Whitby were Rachel Broderick with two, Laura Gooding, Michelle McDonnell, Jessica O’Brien, Kelly O’Neal, and Desiree.  The stage was now set for a dynamite rematch against Little Current in the tournament final.

If anything, this contest was more exciting than their previous game.  Whitby played an even
stronger game and had a couple of breakaways in the first period, but couldn’t capitalize.  The entire team played a tough defensive game, but Little Current scored late in the second period to take the lead.  It was deja vu all over again, as Whitby pulled their goalie with two minutes remaining.  Once again, they swarmed Little Current like a horde of angry bees for most of the two minutes, but just couldn’t  find the back of the net and lost 1-0.  The girls had to settle for the silver, but all who watched were extremely proud of their hard work and never-say-die attitude.  The team members are: Rachel Broderick, Tonya Cunningham, Janaye Dzikewich, Logan, Laura Gooding, Michelle McDonnell, Karen Moran, Jessica O’Brien, Kelly O’Neal, Caitlin O’Neill, Nicole, Melanie Peever, Desiree, Jessica Shipmaker, Sarah, Emily Uza, and Brittney Wielgos. These girls are winners!!

JANUARY, 2000

The Whitby Wolves Atom Rep “C” girls hockey team, sponsored by Ryder Logistics, had some great competition in the Cobourg Girls Hockey Tournament, which was held between Christmas and New Years Day.

Their first game was against a determined squad from Peterborough.  The Wolves had difficulty mounting a strong attack and fell 3-0.  The opening game on the following day was against the host team from Cobourg.  The Whitby girls rebounded and came up with a 3-0 shutout.  Scoring for Whitby was Michelle McDonnell, Karen Moran and Emily Uza.  In a pivotal afternoon game, the Wolves went up against Cold Creek to decide which two teams would move on to the final.  The Whitby team played a strong defensive game and earned every inch of their 1-0 win, courtesy of a Michelle McDonnell goal.  The Whitby, Peterborough and Cold Creek teams all ended up with identical 2-1 records.  Despite shutting out two teams, the Wolves were denied a shot at the gold medal due to the tie-breaking formula that was used.  All the girls played well, but special praise goes to Caitlin O’Neill and Jessica Shipmaker, both of whom were outstanding in goal.  Other team members not mentioned above are Rachel Broderick, Tonya Cunningham, Janaye Dzikewich, Logan, Laura Gooding, Jessica O’Brien, Kelly O’Neal, Nicole, Melanie Peever, Desiree, Sarah and Brittney Wielgos.  Way to go girls!
 

FEBRUARY, 2000

The Whitby Wolves Atom “C” girls hockey team, sponsored by Ryder Logistics, had the opportunity to play in the first ever girls only International Silver Stick Tournament, which was hosted by the Cold Creek Girls Hockey Association on February 25-27.  The level of competition at the tournament was superb; all six finals were decided by one goal, and all but one final went into overtime.  The Whitby girls faced off against teams from Cold Creek, Port Hope, Cobourg, Peterborough and Coldwater.

Their first game of the round robin was on Friday against the feisty squad from Peterborough.  The game was scoreless until the mid-point of the game, when Emily Uza broke in on the left wing and fired a low shot just inside the post to open the scoring.  Tonya Cunningham followed up later in the period, jamming one in during a goal mouth scramble.  The Wolves played solid defensive hockey the rest of the way, as goalie Jessica Shipmaker recorded a 2-0 shutout.  On Saturday the girls went up against the tough Cold Creek Comets, a team they had never defeated before.  The Wolves suffered some bad breaks as a couple of shots deflected by friendly skates and sticks found the net, and Whitby was in the hole early.  A couple of goals from Michelle McDonnell and Caitlin O’Neill were not enough, as the Wolves fell by a 5-2 margin.  The last game of the round robin was against Port Hope.  The girls had to win to advance to the semifinal and they delivered the goods, winning by a 4-2 score with goals coming from Emily Uza, Michelle McDonnell, Desiree and Logan.

The semifinal pitted Whitby against Cold Creek.  The game itself was a joy to watch as both teams gave it all they had.  The game see-sawed back and forth with Whitby holding the lead late in the third period courtesy of goals by Tonya Cunningham (2) and Logan Garland.  Cold Creek pulled their goalie and tried hard, but the Wolves never let them get organized.  Kelly O’Neal slid a 150-footer into the opposing net with less than a minute left to ice the game for Whitby.  The Wolves went on to face the Coldwater Capitals in the tournament final.  Coldwater had a huge size advantage, but the Wolves used speed to their advantage and went toe-to- toe with their opponents in a truly awesome game.  In the end, the score was 2-2 on goals by Tonya Cunningham and Laura Gooding.  It all came down to playing three on three in overtime.  Unfortunately for Whitby, it didn’t last long as Coldwater scored on a passing play from behind the goal.

Although they did not win, the Whitby Wolves should be proud of the way they played and conducted themselves on and off the ice.  The team was awarded a silver stick and banner as tournament finalists, and they will be proudly displayed.   It was a total team effort, and congratulations go to the girls mentioned above as well as the other team members: Rachel Broderick, Janaye Dzikewich, Jessica O’Brien, Nicole, Melanie Peever, Sarah and Brittney Wielgos.  Way to go girls!
 

MARCH, 2000

The Whitby Wolves Atom “C” girls hockey team, sponsored by Ryder Logistics, have advanced to the Provincial Girls Championships which will be held  in Mississauga this year.  The Wolves have been playing very well in Central East League play and are peaking at the right time.  Whitby played the Durham West team in a best two of three series over the past two weeks, with the winner advancing to the Provincials.

Their first game of the series was held in Pickering.  The Wolves outplayed their opponents but were unable to score until Janaye Dzikewich popped one in from in front of the goal.  That was all Whitby needed as they posted a 1-0 victory and a shutout for goalie Jessica Shipmaker.  The second game, held in Ajax, was another close one.  It was a see-saw game which was tied until late in the third period, when Desiree roared in on a partial breakaway to win the game for Whitby 6-5 with her second goal of the game.  Other goal scorers were Tonya Cunningham, Logan, Kelly O’Neal and Emily Uza.  Congratulations girls, and good luck in the Provincials!