Wakatipu Wild | |
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City | Queenstown, Otago |
League | New Zealand Women's Ice Hockey League |
Founded | September 2020 |
Operated | 2020–present |
Home arena | Queenstown Ice Arena |
Colours | Yellow, blue, white |
General manager | Rebecca Dobson |
Head coach | Colin McIntosh |
Captain | Kellye Nelson |
Website | Wakatipu-wild.com |
Franchise history | |
2020–present | Wakatipu Wild |
Championships | |
Premierships | 1 (2022) |
Championships | 1 (2022) |
Current season |
The Wakatipu Wild is a New Zealand amateur ice hockey team from Queenstown, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 2020, the Wild are a member of the New Zealand Women's Ice Hockey League (NZWIHL). The Wild are based at Queenstown Ice Arena, located at Queenstown Gardens. Wakatipu are one time NZWIHL champions and premiers.
The Wakatipu Wild was founded in 2020 and applied and joined the New Zealand Women's Ice Hockey League (NZWIHL). The Wild was established to bring women of all ages and nationalities together to further the development of woman's ice hockey locally in central Otago and nationally in New Zealand.[1] Wakatipu appointed Rebecca Dobson as their maiden general manager and former Skycity Stampede player Colin McIntosh as head coach.[1][2] The Wild's first ever game was played on 16 October 2020 against Otago rivals Dunedin Thunder on the road at Dunedin Ice Stadium. Young kiwi forward, Tallulah Bryant, scored the first ever goals for the Wild in the first period against Dunedin. Wakatipu doubled their lead in the second period before the Thunder pulled one goal back in the third. That third period goal proved a simple consolation as the wild won the game 2–1, for their first ever victory.[3] Queenstown finished their first season in the NZWIHL in third place, qualifying for the bronze medal game in the NZWIHL Finals. The Wild won bronze in Finals on 1 November 2020 by defeating the Thunder 4–2. Wakatipu came from behind to claim their first Finals win, with American import and team captain, Kellye Nelson, scoring a hat-trick of goals over the course of the second and third periods.[4]
Half way through the 2021 NZWIHL season, the Wild's second season, the league was cancelled due to the lock-downs implemented by the New Zealand Government during the COVID-19 pandemic.[5][6] The team had started the season well with two wins from their first three games before the season cancellation.[7]
In 2022, the Wild had a breakout season in their second full NZWIHL season. Rather than tournament style weekends, the league moved to a proper round-robin format that the Wild players enjoyed.[8] Wakatipu almost went the entire season undefeated to finish top of the league standings a secure their first NZWIHL Premiership title.[9] Queenstown followed up this success in the NZWIHL Finals with a big 7–2 victory over the Thunder in the semi-finals before being crowned Champions of New Zealand and winning goal medals with a 2–0 win over Canterbury Inferno in the grand final.[10][11][12]
Wakatipu Wild all-time record | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Season | Regular season | Finals | Top points scorer | ||||||||||||||||||||
P | W | T | L | OW | OL | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Finish | P | W | L | GF | GA | Result | SF | BF | GF | Name | Points | ||
2020 | 6 | 2 | – | 4 | – | – | 8 | 18 | −10 | 6 | 3rd | 1 | 1 | – | 4 | 2 | Bronze | – | Won | – | Kellye Nelson | 9 | |
2021 | 2021 NZWIHL season was not completed and cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
2022 | 6 | 5 | – | – | – | 1 | 33 | 7 | +26 | 16 | 1st | 2 | 2 | – | 9 | 2 | Champion | Won | – | Won | Kellye Nelson | 19 | |
2023 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
Totals | 12 | 7 | – | 4 | 0 | 1 | 41 | 25 | +16 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 4 |
Champions | Runners-up | Third place |
Team roster for the 2022 NZWIHL season.[13]
Active Roster | Coaching staff | |||
Goaltenders Defencemen |
Forwards
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Head Coach Coaches
Legend Statistics | ||
Last updated on: 25 February 2023 | ||||
Elite Prospects |
These are the top-five all-time/career player records in franchise history. Current as of 2022 NZWIHL season.[14]
Current as of 2023 NZWIHL season.[1]
Wild staff | |
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Role | Name |
Head coach | Colin McIntosh |
Assistant coach | Dave Dubnick |
Assistant coach | Kellye Nelson |
General manager | Rebecca Dobson |
The Wild have had one captain in the team's history.[15]
No. | Name | Term |
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1 | Kellye Nelson | 2020–present |
References:
The Wild have had one head coach in the team's history.[2][1]
No. | Name | Term |
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1 | Colin McIntosh | 2020–present |
References:
The Wild have had one general manager (GM) in the team's history.[1]
No. | Name | Term |
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1 | Rebecca Dobson | 2020–present |
References:
Current:
Wakatipu Wild Links | |
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