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| The DMUK Widnes Wild Womens Team at the 2023 Play Offs - by Mike Lennon. |
DMUK Widnes Wild Women’s Team – Fixtures & Player Profiles, Season 2023/24
The DMUK Widnes Wild women’s team have put together a strong roster mixing youth and experience for the forthcoming 2023/24 WNIHL season where they will, once again, be competing in Division 2 North.
They will be hoping to go one better after finishing as runners up to champions Solway Sharks Ladies and regain the title that they won themselves back in the 2019/20 season.
WNIHL North 2 comprises 8 teams again this year with promoted Solway being replaced by another Scottish team – the Caledonia Steel Queens from Edinburgh - and all teams play each other once home and once away for a 14-game regular season.
The Wild women’s league fixtures for the 2023/24 WNIHL season are:
1st Oct: Home v Grimsby Wolves, 4.25pm face off
14th Oct: Away @ Caledonia Steel Queens, 10.15pm
4th Nov: Away @ Leeds Roses, 7.30pm
12th Nov: Away @ Sheffield Shadows, 5pm
25th Nov: Away @ Telford Wrekin Raiders, 4.15pm
10th Dec: Home v Kingston Diamonds, 4.25pm
7th Jan: Home v Whitley Bay Beacons, 4.25pm
27th Jan: Away @ Kingston Diamonds, 6.30pm
4th Feb: Home v Caledonia Steel Queens, 4.25pm
24th Feb: Away @ Grimsby Wolves, 1.10pm
9th Mar: Away @ Whitley Bay Beacons, 12.00 noon
24th Mar: Home v Telford Wrekin Raiders, 4.25pm
28th April: Home v Sheffield Shadows, 4.25pm
12th May: Home v Leeds Roses, 4.25pm
The squad for this season is made up as follows:
Stephanie Drinkwater has played over 100 competitive games in total – some 75 for Widnes – and was a member of the Wild women’s team that won the Division 1 North league title in the 2019/20 season to add the title she won at Altrincham in 2014/15. She played in 9 games last season and ended up with a very impressive Save Percentage of 90.34%, a Goals Against Average of 2.88 and 1 shut out.
Vanessa Crickmore-Clarke is a highly experienced attacker turned defender who won 5 league titles with the Sunderland Scorpions in her native north east and then spent 9 seasons playing at Deeside and Altrincham before the move to Widnes. Like Drinkwater, she also won the Division 1 North title with Altrincham in 2014 and Widnes in 2020 and, in an impressive career to date, has played over 250 competitive games in total. She also played in 9 games last season, scoring 1 goal from her defensive position.
Katie Fairclough first joined the Wild in 2017 and will be back for her sixth season in Widnes colours. She originally started off playing Roller Hockey and was a GB International in that sport before switching to playing on ice. Since taking up ice hockey, Katie has gained international honours at GB Women’s Under 18 level and was league title winner with the Wild women in 2020. Last season, Fairclough was the Wild women’s second highest scorer with 20 goals and 12 assists in 13 games and, overall, she has played 62 games for Widnes, scoring 29+20 with 71 penalty minutes.
Preston Gennoe joined the Wild women for the 2021/22 season and is returning for her third campaign. She was the team’s top scorer in the Women’s Premier League that year and, in 26 games overall, has contributed 21 goals and 14 assists, with 32 penalty minutes.
Laura Marcroft has played for the Wild women for 4 seasons overall and was another member of the team that won the Division 1 North title in 2020. Overall she has scored 5 goals and 9 assists in 53 games, picking up just 4 penalty minutes in that time and last season was her most productive to date in terms of points, as she scored 4+2 and was also awarded the Hardest Worker award by the coaches.
Ellie Green began her career at Blackburn but played for the Wild Academy Under 18 team for the 2021/22 season and made her senior debut last season for the Wild women, when the team finished as runners up in the league. She played in 9 league and play off games, facing a total of 167 shots and conceding just 12 goals, for a hugely impressive Save % of 92.81 and a Goals Against Average of 2.37.
Phoebe Patient played for the Wild Academy Under 15 and Under 18 teams and made her Wild women’s senior debut in the Women’s Premier League in the 2021/22 season. In 29 league, play off and challenge games over her two seasons with the Wild women so far, she has scored 3 goals and 4 assists and was named Best Forward at End of Season Award for last season.
Ellen Tyrer also played for the Wild Academy Under 15 and Under 18 teams and made her Wild women’s senior debut in the Women’s Premier League in the 2021/22 season. In 28 league, play off and challenge games over her two seasons with the Wild women so far, she has also scored 3 goals and 4 assists and, like Patient and Green, was a member of the Wild women’s team who finished second in the WNIHL Division 2 North last season.
Forward Charlotte Cramp returns to the Wild women for her third season, having joined the team in 2021 from a background of university hockey with Manchester Metros. In her two seasons with the Wild to date, she has played 31 games and scored 5 goals and 11 assists. Cramp is very versatile and even played in goal for the first game of last season, picking up the MVP award away at Solway. She is also a qualified Level 3 match official and regularly referees junior matches and can cover senior men’s games at NIHL 2 level if required. Charlotte also has an IIHF licence, which allows her top officiate at international women’s tournaments. She will be the captain of the Wild women’s team for the new season.
Karyn Cooper has re-signed for her 5th season with the Wild women, having joined the team from the 2018/19 season. She also played University hockey for the Manchester Metros team, clocking up 43 games in 4 years. In her 4 seasons to date at Widnes, Karyn has played in 52 league, playoff and challenge matches, contributing 6 assists. She is also the Wild women’s team manager and puts in a huge amount of work behind the scenes.
Rachael Pearce only joined the Wild women last season, but she has a fascinating background in ice hockey and brings a wealth of experience to the team. Rachael originally played with the Blackpool women’s team in the late 1980s and then joined the Blackburn Falcons rec team at the then newly opened East Lancs rink. She then had a 20 year break from ice hockey, playing football up to county level, before playing for the Wyre Seagulls at the SubZero rink in Cleveleys in 2011/12 and then joining the Blackburn Thunder women’s team the following year. She played 6 seasons for the Thunder from 2012 to 2018, finishing as a runner-up in the Division 1 North table before the team sadly folded at the end of that season. 4 years later, Pearce joined the Wild women’s team where she was an ever-present for the 2022/23 season, having her best campaign in terms of points with 8 goals and 10 assists in 15 league and play off games.
Laura Moran has played for the Oxford Midnight Stars in Division 2 South for the past 8 years and has over 70 WNIHL matches under her belt. In that time she contributed 4 goals and 11 assists from her defensive role and notched up 42 penalty minutes. Moran also played University hockey for 4 seasons with the UAE (University Of East Anglia) Avalanche, scoring 1+2 in 18 games.
Returnee Jemma Brown needs no introduction to Widnes fans as she played three seasons for the Wild women from 2018 to 2022 before taking a break from competitive hockey last year. In that time she played 38 league and challenge matches scoring 6 goals and 8 assists and was a member of the Wild women’s team that won the Division 1 North title in 2019/20. Before joining Widnes, Jemma had played for the Kingston Diamonds in the Women’s Premier League as well as junior hockey for Blackburn and Trafford and has over 90 competitive games to her record.
Ontario-born Lise Gillen brings a wealth of experience having played 3 seasons for the Guildford Lightning in the Womens’ Elite League, as well as playing in her native Canada. She played 10 games for Widnes last season, scoring 2 goals and 4 assists
Victoria Connelly also played 10 games for Widnes last season, scoring 3 goals and 2 assists she is also a former Guildford Lightning Elite player, previously playing for the Bracknell Fire Bees and, in total, has made over 50 WNIHL appearances.
Jennifer Hickey joined the Wild women for the 2021/22 and has played in all 30 games that the team have played since then. She has contributed 3 goals and 4 assists and picked up just 4 penalty minutes. Hickey also plays University hockey for the Manchester Metros, scoring 6+9 in 28 games over two seasons.
Experienced centre Elizabeth Loss was one of the original Manchester Phoenix team that moved to Widnes in 2015 and, in her 6 seasons with the Wild women, has played 45 games, scoring 4 goals and 16 assists - and never picking up a single penalty minute. Liz was a key member of the Widnes team that won the 2019/20 Division 1 North league title and finished as runners up last season.
Suzie Miller is back for her 4th season in Widnes colours, having originally joined the Wild women for the 2019/20 title winning season. In that time she has played 31 games, contributing 3 assists from her defensive role. Behind the scenes, Suzie is also a qualified coach and manager.
Katie Adshead returns for 5th season with the team, having originally joined for the 2018/19 season. She has notched up 53 matches in that time, scoring 2 goals and 6 assists with 22 penalty minutes and was another key member of the 2019/20 title winning season.
Natalie Buckles joined the Wild women for the post-Covid 2021/22 WPL season and is now back for her third campaign. She has played 18 games for Widnes, scoring 1 goal and 1 assist. Buckles is also a qualified coach, has occasionally helped on the bench at Wild NIHL men’s games and also works with the juniors. She also plays recreational hockey with the Widnes-based Earle Road Elks and Cheshire Pistons teams.
Olivia Wilson returns to the Wild women for her third season in Widnes colours, having originally joined in 2021. She previously played WNIHL league hockey for the Whitley Bay Squaws but also has an impressive background in University Hockey where she has notched up almost 100 games playing for Newcastle, London and Scottish teams. Wilson has played 22 games for Widnes to date, contributing 1 assist.
Sophie Hill was a new player to the Wild women’s team last season. She has made just 1 appearance so far – against Grimsby in March - but scored an assist and was named Most Valuable Player for the game.
Another new arrival on the Wild women’s team is Katya Oliver who previously played for the Chelmsford Cobras in the Women’s Premier League and U16 girls’ hockey for Bracknell. She has most recently played two seasons of university hockey with Manchester Metros, making 30 appearances and scoring 3+5.
You can follow the fortunes of the DMUK Widnes Wild women’s team throughout the season via their Facebook page HERE.
Article by Paul Breeze
Photo: The DMUK Widnes Wild Womens Team at the 2023 Play Offs - by Mike Lennon.
