MOOSE JAW — The U15 Moose Jaw Mavericks girls’ hockey team had the experience of a lifetime at the 15th annual WickFest International Women’s Hockey Festival in Calgary, Alta., bringing with it the chance to be ambassadors to Moose Jaw’s growing female hockey community and to meet four-time Olympic medalist Hayley Wickenheiser.
The team arrived in Calgary on Nov. 21, played two exhibition games on Nov. 22, and were surprised to learn that they had won the Gatorade Pro Dressing Room Experience on Nov. 23.
One day later, the team won it all and left the tournament as champions on Nov. 24 to conclude what their head coach described as — deservedly so — a “wicked” experience.
Head coach Eric Campbell said teams don’t usually travel as far as Calgary at this level, but an exception was made given the magnitude of the WickFest tournament.
“We enrolled ourselves in WickFest… and with this group of girls it’s a big experience for them,” he said.
WickFest is organized by legendary female hockey player Hayley Wickenheiser and is a highly regarded event drawing teams from across Canada. Held over two weekends, it brings athletes together for a celebration of female sports as it combines competition with skill development — and a little fun.
Not entirely expecting to win a secondary contest, Campbell discreetly entered the team into a draw for the Gatorade Pro Dressing Room Experience shortly after arriving. To enter, he wrote a short story about the team’s history and how these girls have grown, evolved, and become friends over the past eight or nine years.
“So, we walked into the arena and they hadn’t told us that we won,” he recalled. “They just assigned us a dressing room, and as we rolled in there, the kids were like, ‘This is our dressing room?’”
The team entered the room to find it decked out with Gatorade-themed merchandise including water bottles, towels, gift bags, and “Gatorade everything” — just like a pro team would appear on television.
“Yeah, it made them feel pretty big-time for a day,” he said.
The team was far from encountering all the surprises that awaited them, however.
The Mavericks had the chance to practice with Olympian Megan Nicholson, attend numerous breakout sessions covering topics from mental health to leadership, attend an opening ceremony with live musical entertainment, and were even featured on the jumbotron at the Scotiabank Saddledome as they attended a Calgary Flames NHL game.
The highlight of it all was the chance to meet Wickenheiser as she delivered an exclusive pep talk and later announced their starting lineup.
“She gave the pregame speech about working hard, having fun, and playing with your teammates… The girls were just fired right up,” Campbell said.
“It was a really great moment. We had a couple parents join us in the room… who have been through the ups and downs and had the chance to see their kids in an environment like that. It was pretty special.”
Firing on all cylinders after Wickenheiser’s pep talk, the Mavericks rose to the occasion and held a strong defence, quick transitions, and “played in fast-forward,” getting several great shots on net. Campbell said it was rewarding to see the girls get to that level and maintain it to win the tournament with a final 3 — 1 victory over Warman on Nov. 24.
“The great thing about this team is that practices are not slow — they work hard. They’re just a wonderful group of girls to get the chance to coach,” Campbell said, adding that coaching them has been an overall positive experience.
“It’s very rewarding; these girls make it that way, because they want to be as good as they can be.”
The U15 Moose Jaw Mavericks will now continue their regular season until the end of March 2025, with playoffs starting in late February — doubtless inspired by their experience at WickFest.
“Our hope is to go as far as we can and just compete as hard as we can, and put our best foot forward every time that we get on the ice,” coach Campbell concluded.
You can follow the team’s progress on Facebook at ‘.’
