The Citizen, 2019-01-24, Page 2PAGE 2. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 2019.
Earlier this month, Canada’s
National Women’s Under-18 hockey
team captured gold by winning a
hard-fought final against perennial
adversaries, the United States of
America, by a score of 3-2.
The tournament, held in Obihiro,
Japan, ran from Jan. 6-13. The win
was the fifth for the Canadian team,
which took 23 players to the
tournament.
The U18 team was part of the
hotly-contested Group A which
included powerhouse hockey nations
USA, Russia and Sweden.
Leading up to the championships,
Canada marked a 4-3 overtime win
over Russia in the semi-finals after
defeating the same squad 5-1 in
game three of the round robin. The
team posted a 3-2 round robin win
over the USA in its second game of
the tournament and started the
tournament with a 2-1 win over
Sweden.
That roster included defender
Megan Carter, whose parents are
from Seaforth and whose
grandparents, Bruce and Marg
Whitmore, live in the Winthrop area,
and Maddi Wheeler who has
connections in the Brussels area.
Carter now calls Milton home, and
plays for Stoney Creek in the
Provincial Women’s Hockey League
(PWHL). In her past three seasons,
Carter has earned 12 goals and 36
assists over 93 games, as well as two
playoff goals and three assists over
15 playoff games.
Her previous national experience
includes the 2018-19 National
Women’s Under-18 series against
USA in August of last year, the 2018
National Women’s Under-18 Team
Selection camp and the 2017
National Women’s Under-18
selection camp where she played
five games, earning one assist and
was named an alternative for the
team. She’s committed to
Northeastern University in Boston.
In an interview with The Citizen,
Carter said that finding out about
making the team was a relief for her.
“It was exciting, but, for three
months after the camp and the
games against the USA, I was
thinking about getting the call every
day,” she said. “I was very excited to
learn that I would be representing
Canada.”
She said that being part of the
team that played against the USA in
August and played in Japan, which
was mostly the same squad, was a
very exciting experience for her,
made all the sweeter by beating the
USA.
“It was very surreal to win that
gold medal,” she said. “Standing on
that blue line and hearing the
national anthem was something
special.”
She said that being able to say she
and her teammates are world
champions is something she will
always cherish, only made more
impressive by the fact that it’s been
five years since Canada had won the
tournament. “It was a dream come
true,” she said.
This is Carter’s last year of
eligibility for the U18 league, and
she now hopes to try out for
Canada’s Under-22 team.
“Obviously I want to keep
climbing, and building on this huge
success,” she said.
Carter has also been signed to
represent Team Ontario in the
upcoming Canadian Winter Games
in Red Deer. The event is held every
four years and runs from mid-
February to early March. The
women’s hockey tournament is
scheduled to start Feb. 24 and run to
March 2.
Playing with Stoney Creek will
keep her nose to the grindstone in
getting prepared for the Canadian
Winter Games, Carter said, as she
has two to three practices a week,
two to three games a week and
training to boot.
“It’s a big commitment, but I make
it work,” she said, “even if I have to
do my homework on the way to the
rink.”
Wheeler earned the game-winning
goal in the final against the USA,
scoring off her own rebound 1:34
into the first overtime period of the
match. Canada had a 4-3 powerplay
at the time, which was where the
team excelled. Team Canada was
first in powerplay conversions for
the tournament with a 29.03 power
play percentage.
The goal was her first of the
tournament, but Wheeler was no
stranger to the score sheet, having
earned at least one assist in each of
the four games leading up to the
final, notching two in Canada’s 5-1
win over Russia.
Wheeler played AAA Quinte Boys
hockey for six years and currently
plays in the U20 PWHL for the
Nepean Junior Wildcats near
Ottawa.
Her previous experience
representing the country also
includes playing for the National
Women’s Under-18 team in a series
against the USA last year and
playing at the 2018 National
Women’s Under-18 team selection
camp.
Wheeler has played the last three
seasons in Nepean, earning 25 goals
and 37 assists over 99 games and
two goals and nine assists over 20
playoff games.
She’s pledged to play for the
University of Wisconsin in the
National Collegiate Athletic
Association (NCAA) for the 2020-
2021 season.
Local connections assist Canadians in Japan
Golden girls
Canada’s National Women’s Under-18 hockey team was
golden this month in Japan, claiming the international
tournament’s top spot after a hard-fought finals win against
the USA by a score of 3-2. Megan Carter, above, and Maddi
Wheeler represented their country as members of the
team, both of whom track back to Huron County.
(Photo submitted)
Tough day
The Blyth Brussels Atom Local League Burgundy Crusaders were in action on Saturday
afternoon at the Brussels, Morris and Grey Community Centre against their counterparts from
Bayfield-Clinton-Hensall (BCH), playing against the Ice Dogs 1 team. While both teams gave
it their all, in the end it was BCH that prevailed on the strength of four goals, one of which
slipped past the Crusaders’ goalie above. BCH 1 would eventually win 4-2. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
WHO’S
LOOKING AT
YOU?Deadline February 1
Put your business
in front of the
RIGHT eyes!
The Citizen has special
interest issues coming up.
Call or email
our marketing
specialists today!
519-523-4792
ads@northhuron.on.ca
Heart
&
S
t
r
o
k
e
Aware
n
s
s
Deadline February 22
Boost
Your S
a
l
e
s
Deadline February 14
Supp
o
r
t
Our Yo
u
t
h
Deadline February 1
Finan
c
i
a
l
Plann
i
n
g
STEVEN NIXON
Broker
WILFRED MCINTEE & CO. L IMITED
Bus: 519-357-2222
Cell: 519-531-0252
Fax: 519-357-4482
Email: nixon@execulink.com
Web: www.stevennixon.com
249 Josephine St.,
WINGHAM, ON N0G 2W0
Serving the area
since 1999
206 Josephine St., Wingham
Price $199,000
Commercial space in the downtown core
for sale, 3000 sq. ft. brick building, gas
furnace, C/A , 2 sides, approx. 1000 sq. ft.
south side and 2000 sq. ft. north side, roof
2009, 2 pc. baths on each side, large
display windows, 4 parking spaces at rear
for tenants, wheel chair accessible.
Call Steve Nixon 519.357.2222
By Denny Scott
The Citizen