This is the Wild team’s second season at WPL level and last
season – the first time women’s league hockey had been played at Widnes - they
finished runners up in the league standings to the all-conquering Swindon Top
Cats who went the whole season unbeaten.
The Wild women were one of only two teams to take a point off the
eventual champions and, with the Top Cats now having been promoted to the Women’s
Elite League, there are hopes that the Widnes team might be able to go one
better this time around.
Assistant Captain Emma Brown said: "The women's team is
largely unchanged from last season with the majority of players resigning. We
have a couple of new faces who haven't played on a women's team before, Sav
Sumner and Sal Roberts, but who are looking forward to the new challenge and
are fitting in well with the existing team. We also have a new coach, Owen
Tennant, who has brought a new dynamic to our on Ice sessions and we are
hopeful he can help us build on our previous success.
Last season Widnes competed well against MK with a draw and a very closely fought loss. We are hoping to improve on these results and get a win in our first game of the season, starting as we mean to go on.”
Last season Widnes competed well against MK with a draw and a very closely fought loss. We are hoping to improve on these results and get a win in our first game of the season, starting as we mean to go on.”
The WPL has 7 teams this
season as opposed to last season’s 8, due the Whitley Bay Squaws dropping out
at a late stage in the summer. Last season’s
champions Swindon have been promoted to the WEL and Kingston Diamonds - who won
the Division 1 North v Division 1 South Play Off at iceSheffield - have moved
up into the WPL.
The Widnes Wild
women’s team Women’s Premier League fixtures for the 2016/17 season are as
follows (home games in bold):
11th September
- home v Milton Keynes Falcons
25th September - away @ Chelmsford Cobras
23rd October -
home v Slough Phantoms25th September - away @ Chelmsford Cobras
30th October – home v Nottingham Vipers
27th November – home v Kingston Diamonds
11th December: away @ Nottingham Vipers
8th January: away @ Streatham Storm
15th January: home v Streatham Storm
4th February: away @ Slough Phantoms
12th February: home v Chelmsford Cobras
7th May: away @ Milton Keynes Falcons
27th May: away @ Kingston Diamonds
The Wild women’s
team’s first home game of the season is against Milton Keynes Falcons this
Sunday. Face off is at 5.30pm - and
admission is free!
Photo: action from last
season’s home game between Widnes Wild women’s team and Milton Keyes Falcons –
the first ever WPL game played at Widnes.
Photo by Geoff White ( www.gw-images.com)
