HIGH ACHIEVERS WEEKEND WRAP: Nepean Wildcats celebrate U13 ‘AA’ & ‘A’ titles at Ontario women’s hockey championships

By Martin Cleary

It may have been the greatest two hours in the 47-year history of the Nepean Girls’ Hockey Association.

Just after high-noon on Sunday at the modern Scotiabank Pond ice complex in Toronto, the undefeated Nepean Wildcats U13AA and U13A teams were ready to skate, shoot and score their way to their season’s main goal – the gold medal at the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association provincial championships.

The Wildcats, the competitive arm of the NGHA, U13A squad charged onto the arena No. 1 ice and proved to be leaders offensively and defensively. When the final buzzer went after three periods, the Wildcats had defeated Sault Ste. Marie 5-2 for the championship.

A screaming, stick and glove dropping celebration erupted, which was followed by team photos with smiling teens and pre-teens wearing gold medals and champion ball caps.

As the celebration started to wind down, they charged off the ice and carefully dashed through the crowded concourse of the four-rink venue to watch the final minutes of the Wildcats play in the U13AA final at arena No. 3.

Immediately after the Wildcats shut out the Barrie Sharks 1-0 on a goal-mouth scramble goal mid-way through the third period to win the U13AA title, the two teams joined forces for a double celebration.

“I venture to say it’s extremely rare,” Wildcats’ U13A head coach Chris Douglas said in a phone interview about two Nepean teams winning back-to-back, top-level gold medals in the same age group at provincials.

“After our victory, the girls crawled their way through the lobby with their skates on and cheered on the sidelines. All the girls on my team knew the players on the other team. I do regret not getting a multi-team photo.”

The four-day OWHA provincials is a gigantic championship in the Greater Toronto Area, featuring 17,047 participants (players, team and tournament officials) and 685 teams in 31 divisions from U9 to senior.

The 1,219 scheduled games also saw the Kanata Rangers win six consecutive matches for the U15B title. The Ottawa Senators were silver medallists at the U22AA level, while bronze medals went to Carleton Place Cyclones in the U11B class and the Ottawa Valley Thunder in the U18C division. Stittsville Rockets were first in the U9C class.

The Wildcats were in total control during their three, U13AA round-robin games, defeating Stoney Creek Sabres 4-1, Oshawa Lady Generals 9-0 and Saugeen-Maitland Lightning 8-0.

The playoffs, however, were a different situation as the Wildcats edged the Central York Panthers 3-2 in the quarterfinals and the Cambridge Roadrunners 2-0 in the semifinals to qualify for the gold-medal final.

“I was probably more excited than normal,” said Wildcats’ U13AA head coach Brendan Bell, a former Ottawa 67’s and NHL player, about the gold-medal win in a phone interview. “I’m generally even-keeled.

“But it was great to see them live up to their capabilities. It was emotional. It meant a lot to them. It was awesome to see the smiles and tears and not just them, but us, too.”

Bell has spent eight seasons as a minor hockey head coach and will drop down to the U11 level for the 2025-26 season.

The U13AA Wildcats started the season by losing one of their key players, when defender Teagan Sturtevant tore her ACL when playing flag football at school near the start of the hockey season in October. The players were disappointed, but Teagan, who played in three league games and one tournament, continued to support the team.

After winning a tournament against strong American competition in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in January, the Wildcats picked up steam and surged to the provincial title and a 53-8-4 record.

Once the team was formed after competitive tryouts in April, 2024, the process of building a successful group started in September with a schedule of two games and two practices a week.

Bell was totally impressed by the team’s work ethic, speed, talent, level of aggressiveness and how they worked together and trusted each other.

“It (provincials) was a challenge for us. They were great little athletes, well conditioned and they took it seriously,” Bell added. “The ultimate goal was provincials. We continually reminded them of that. You build towards that. It happens over time.”

The Wildcats’ U13A team, which occasionally had some players called up to the U13AA squad during the season, also found plenty of success in its eight-month season, producing 55 wins against five ties and six losses.

In its five tournament appearances, the Wildcats had a record of 21-3-1 and were champions in Oakville, Whitby, Nepean and Durham.

After placing first in its Ontario Women’s Hockey League Eastern regular season at 21-0-1 against only Kanata Rangers and East Ottawa Stars, the Wildcats lost the championship final 3-2 in overtime to Kanata.

But the Wildcats were untouchable at last weekend’s U13A provincials. In the round-robin, they shut out Caledon Coyotes 1-0 and Oshawa Lady Generals 3-0 before defeating Burlington Barracudas 5-2. They reached the final by beating Brantford Ice Cats 4-0 in the quarterfinals and South Huron Sabres 2-1 in the semifinals.

“After our fifth win, where we made it to the finals, I cried like a baby talking to the girls,” Douglas said. “You become so close to them.

“The biggest thing for me is I understand the grind they go through, the pressure they go through and appreciate what they do. At the end of the day, I was so happy for them. They performed and worked hard. We challenged them, they showed up and worked as hard as possible.”

While the players will attend competitive hockey tryouts at the end of this month to see where they may play next season, Douglas didn’t submit his name to the NGHA to coach in 2025-26. It was time for him to take a break from the year-round coaching commitment.

But he does so with a feeling of grand satisfaction. From the opening practice, Douglas knew he had a special group of young hockey players.

“Every girl actively listened at games and practices,” he continued. “They accepted advice. They accepted challenges. I pushed the girls. They responded with results.

“They had a great work ethic and when you match it with skills and talent, it’s an amazing weapon.”

The members of the Wildcats U13AA team were: Emmy Bell, Kylie Bray, Maeve Chambers, Kennedy Haffey, Tessa Harper, Charlotte Hopper, Maren Ives, Lila Mercer, Adele O’Neill, Hailey Ross, Mckyla Ruddy, Vivienne Shulha, Emme Simmons, Teagan Sturtevant, Hannah Thomson, Paige Vandyk and Ryleigh Young, all players; Brendan Bell (head), Chad Chambers and Andrea Johnson, all coaches; Angela Ross, manager; and Taryn Taylor and Amanda Vandyk, both trainers.

The members of the Wildcats U13A team were: Taryn Taniguchi, Piper Craig, Lily Mao, Cali Brewer, Jesse Cote, Liberty Sargent, Jade Bloye, Isla Pettit, Violet Huhta, Olivia Kharyati, Juliette Gagne, Sadie Dunn, Reese Douglas, Myka Irwin, Riley Holwell, Lucy Black and Grace MacGillivray, all players; Chris Douglas (head), Alison Sargent, Damien Bloye, Kevin Brewer and Chris Dunn, all coaches; Mel Gregory, manager; and Treena Greene-Cote, Renee MacGillivray and Brent Irwin, all trainers.

Meanwhile, the Kanata Rangers also posted a perfect six-win, undefeated record at provincials to capture the U15B gold medal.

The Rangers downed Wilmot Wolverine 5-1 in the final, after turning back Saugeen Shores Storm 1-0 in the semifinals and Kincardine Kinucks 5-1 in the quarterfinals. During the round-robin, Kanata allowed only one goal as it defeated Central York Panthers 1-0, North Halton Twisters 5-1 and Chatham Kent Crush 1-0.

The Ottawa Senators won their U22AA pool with wins over Durham West Lightning 3-2, London Devilettes 5-0 and Ottawa Lady 67s 7-2. In the playoffs, the Senators edged Stoney Creek Sabres 3-2 in the semifinals before losing to Etobicoke Dolphins 4-1 in the final.

The Stittsville Rockets posted two wins and two ties to finish first in the six-team U9C division.

The Ottawa Valley Thunder defeated the Belmont Blazers 3-0 to earn the bronze medal in the U18C class. Carleton Place Coyotes also won bronze at the U11B level with a 2-1 decision over Timmins Falcons.

PETERBOROUGH PETES TAKE KADEN McGREGOR NO. 1 IN OHL DRAFT

Kaden McGregor of Braeside, ON. and the Ottawa Valley Titans U16AAA team was the first player selected in the OHL Priority Selection draft.

McGregor, a centre, was the No. 1 pick by the Peterborough Petes. In 29 regular-season games in 2024-25, McGregor notched an amazing 38 goals and 44 assists for 82 points. In the playoffs, he recorded 11 goals and 13 assists for 24 points in nine games. At the OHL Cup Showcase, he had 11 points in five games based on three goals and eight assists for the Titans.

Hockey East Ontario had 27 players selected in the draft, including two other first-rounders – David Buchman, defence, Stittsville, Ottawa Valley Titans U16AAA, 20th overall by Brantford Bulldogs; and Alex Campeau, centre, Cornwall, Eastern Ontario Wild, 23rd overall by London Knights.

Ottawa’s Brayden Bennett, a centre with the Toronto Titans U16AAA team, was taken by the Sudbury Wolves 11th overall in the first round.

TEAM HOMAN REACHES 10TH CURLING FINAL IN REMARKABLE SEASON

Ottawa Curling Club’s Rachel Homan, Tracy Fleury, Emma Miskew and Sarah Wilkes completed a second amazing season by reaching the final of the AMJ Players’ Championship in Toronto.

It was the 10th time in as many competitions this season the Homan rink had qualified for the final. Homan finished with a record of 75-8, winning seven championships and being a finalist the other three times.

Team Homan was striving for its 18th career Grand Slam at the Players’ championship, but Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni defended its title by scoring one in the eighth end off a double takeout by fourth Alina Pütz for a 5-4 win.

Oddly, Homan has never won the Players’ title and has been the runner-up four times (2011, 2014, 2021 and 2024). A victory would have given Homan a career grand slam by winning all four majors at least once. Sweden’s Anna Hasselborg is the only curler with a career grand slam.

After going 4-1 in preliminary pool play, Homan defeated Sayaka Yoshimura of Japan 6-4 in the quarterfinals and Kim Eun-jung of Korea 9-3 in the semifinals.

Trailing 4-1 after six ends, Homan scored three in the seventh to even the match. But Tirinzoni used the hammer well in the eighth as Pätz made a game-ending double takeout and stayed for one.

JAMIE ARMSTRONG, ELIAS HANCOCK SCORE TRIES FOR CANADA

The Canadian men’s rugby team finished fourth in the third round of the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger in Krakow, Poland, to qualify for the season-ending Los Angeles Sevens tournament May 3-4.

After going undefeated in the round robin with wins over Madagascar 29-24, Japan 40-10 and Portugal 17-10, Canada lost 28-5 to Samoa in the semifinals and 21-19 to Germany in the bronze-medal match.

University of Ottawa’s Jamie Armstrong scored four tries, one each against Samoa, Germany, Japan and Portugal. Elias Hancock of the University of Ottawa and Bytown Blues scored two tries, including the game winner, against Madagascar, and one in the win over Portugal.

LAST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST

· Ottawa Lions Track and Field Club’s Melissa Bishop-Nriagu of Eganville, ON will be inducted into the Athletics Ontario Hall of Fame sometime in 2025. A three-time Olympian (2012, 2016 and 2020) in the women’s 800 metres, Bishop-Nriagu was the silver medallist at the world championships and gold medallist at the Pan-Am Games in 2015, a four-time national champion and is the Canadian record holder at 1:57.01.

· Rideau Curling Club’s Howard Rajala, Karen Corkery, Chris Fulton and Linda Fulton defeated Milton Curling Club’s Steven Oldford 7-2 in seven ends to win the Ontario senior mixed curling championship in Midland. The Rajala rink finished with a 7-1 record.

· A week after matching her career-best individual World Cup diving result with an eighth-place showing in Mexico, Kate Miller of the Nepean-Ottawa Diving Club finished 10th in the women’s 10-metre event in Windsor. She also teamed up with Katelyn Fung to place fifth in the women’s 10 m synchro.