Jennifer Hickey was the Wild Women's MVP against Caledonia (Photo by Paul Breeze)
Sunday 11th January 2025 – WNIHL Division 1 North: Widnes Wild Women 1 – Caledonia Steel Queens 8
The Widnes Wild Women suffered defeat in their first game of the new year with a 1-8 loss at the hands of the Caledonia Steel Queens at Planet Ice Widnes on Sunday.
While a defeat is always disappointing, the Wild Women held their own for long spells in this game – against a team that had three North Americans on their bench - and have plenty of positives to build upon as the season progresses.
The game saw a return to Widnes colours for Emma Dutton, who was one of the original Wild Women when the team was first formed back in 2015 and brings with her a lot of experience, having also previously played with Manchester Phoenix and the Flintshire Furies.
Wild Woman Emma Dutton
(Photo by Paul Breeze)
After a closely matched opening few minutes, Caledonia took the lead at 4.29 and led 0-3 at the first period break. They added three more goals to lead 0-6 before Ellen Tyrer struck the only Widnes goal of the game at 30.38. The Steel Queens scored again three minutes later and the score stood at 1-7 at the second interval.
The third period was very tight and looked as if it might play out goal-less. However, just as it looked as if Widnes had managed to keep the Steel Queens at bay, they hit a late goal with just 32 seconds left on the clock to end up as 1-8 winners.
The MVP (Most Valuable Player) awards are once again this season being sponsored by niche publishers Ice Hockey Review and were presented by match volunteer Lynda Bird. They went to Canadian player Hannah Brocanier who scored a hat trick on her debut for the Steel Queens and Jennifer Hickey for Widnes.
The Wild Women face a trip up to Scotland this Sunday 18th January when they take on Solway Sharks Ladies for the first time this season up in Dumfries. They are back at home the Sunday after – 25th January – when they entertain Nottingham Vipers at Planet Ice Widnes, 4.25pm face off.
