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| Wild Women's award winner Stephanie Drinkwater with Head Coach Steve Furber (Photo by Ellen Tyrer) |
The Widnes Wild Women’s team rounded off their successful Division 2 North title winning season with their annual awards evening at the weekend.
The player awards for the 2024/25 season were:
- Best Defence: Jennifer Greenwood
- Best Forward: Ruth Leopold
- Most Improved Player: Eleanor Johnson
- Coaches’ Player Of The Season: Stephanie Drinkwater
- Players’ Player Of The Season: Stephanie Drinkwater
- Unsung Hero: Rachael Pearce
Ruth Leopold had actually retired from playing after an impressive 37 year career with Blackpool, Sheffield, Swindon and Bristol but was tempted back onto the ice after a year away to play for the Wild Women this season.
She summed up her feelings thus: “Thank you so, so much to all at Widnes Wild Women's ice hockey team for such an enjoyable season. To get a league winners medal (and hat!) - and to top it off with an unexpected Best Forward award - and some very kind words from the coaches at the end of season do tonight, was amazing and emotional for me! I appreciate it so much.”
As well as being named Coaches’ Player and Players’ Player of the season, inspirational netminder Stephanie Drinkwater was the first inductee to the Wild Womens’ 100 Club, which has been newly set up to celebrate various playing milestones.
Drinkwater passed 100 appearances for the Wild Women this season – the first player on the team to do so.
She has been with the Wild Women since the team first started 10 years ago following its relocation from Altrincham. This season is actually her third title win overall as she also won the Division 1 North title (as it was then called) with Widnes in 2020, and with the previous Manchester Phoenix team in 2015.
In that time, Drinkwater has notched up 104 appearances for the Wild Women, and it would probably have been more had the league not been suspended for the 2020/21 season due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Hot on her heels in the “Appearances Stakes” are two more original Wild Women and triple title winners, Catherine Fell with 92 games and Leen De Decker with 91. De Decker was also inducted into the 100 Club for having passed 100 goals for the team. She has 104 goals from her 91 games, and her tally of 46 assists and 150 points overall are also the all time highs for the Wild Women.
Talking about her hat-trick of accolades, Stephanie Drinkwater said:
“What an end to this year’s season. I am lost for words after receiving Coaches’ Player and Players’ Player awards last night! Also being inducted into the 100 Club with officially playing 100 games for the Wild Women. It has been an amazing year and I have so much love for this team - forever my girls!”
The Wild Women now have a few weeks’ well-earned rest before they return to the ice to prepare for the 2025/26 WNIHL season.
They are always keen to attract new players – especially anybody with league or international experience - and anybody interested is asked to contact the team via their Facebook page HERE in the first instance.
