In Queenstown last Friday night, the Wakatipu Wild women’s ice hockey team had a hard-fought 1-0 win over the Canterbury Inferno, thanks to Kelli Burstein.
It was a different story on Saturday, when the Wild amassed 7 goals to Canterbury’s 2, including four to captain Kellye Nelson — helping her bring up 150 regular season points in the New Zealand Women’s Ice Hockey League.
Nelson also had two assists, Caitlin ‘Judy’ Heale scored twice and had four assists, and Gabby Mills also scored.
Coach Colin McIntosh says they were the best games of the season, to date, representing "complete 60-minute performances".
He puts Saturday’s demolition job down to a few line tweaks, noting it’s the closest thing so far to the Wild’s full lineup on the ice, including Polly Bennetts, 17, who’s been playing hockey at Fort Erie International Academy, in Ontario, Canada, since last August.
Back for the remainder of the season, McIntosh says it’s clear that experience is reaping dividends.
Coming up to the skinny end of their season — the Wild have two rounds to go before the finals in Dunedin at the end of July — McIntosh reckons the final standings will come down to the last weekend.
"As a hockey fan, you can’t really ask for much more.
"I think the way we played [last weekend] definitely showed that we’re a team to beat this year ... so it’ll make for an exciting finals [series] in Dunedin."
