Wakatipu Wild Explained
| Current: | 2023 NZWIHL season |
| Team: | Wakatipu Wild |
| Text Color: | - FFFFFF
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| Bg Color: | - 1f419b; border-top:#f6d00d 5px solid; border-bottom:#f6d00d 5px solid;
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| Logosize: | 250px |
| City: | Queenstown, Otago |
| League: | New Zealand Women's Ice Hockey League |
| Operated: | 2020–present |
| Arena: | Queenstown Ice Arena |
| Colours: | Yellow, blue, white
|
| Gm: |  Rebecca Dobson |
| Coach: | Colin McIntosh |
| Captain: | Kellye Nelson |
| Website: | Wakatipu-wild.com |
| Name1: | Wakatipu Wild |
| Dates1: | 2020–present |
| Championships1 Type: | Premierships |
| Championships1: | 1 (2022) |
| Championships2 Type: | Championships |
| Championships2: | 1 (2022) |
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.
History
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] 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.[2] 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.[3]
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.[4] [5] The team had started the season well with two wins from their first three games before the season cancellation.
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.[6] Wakatipu almost went the entire season undefeated to finish top of the league standings a secure their first NZWIHL Premiership title.[7] 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.[8] [9] [10]
All-time record
| Wakatipu Wild all-time record |
|---|
| Season | Regular season | Finals | Top points scorer |
|---|
| P | W | T | L | OW | OL | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Finish | P | W | L | GF | GA | Result | | | | Name | Points |
|---|
| 2020 | 6 | 2 | – | 4 | – | – | 8 | 18 | −10 | 6 | 3rd | 1 | 1 | – | 4 | 2 | Bronze | – | | – |  Kellye Nelson | 9 |
| 2021 | 2021 NZWIHL season was not completed and cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic1 |
| 6 | 5 | – | – | – | 1 | 33 | 7 | +26 | 16 | 1st | 2 | 2 | – | 9 | 2 | Champion | | – | | Kellye Nelson | 19 |
| 2023 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Totals | 12 | 7 | – | 4 | 0 | 1 | 41 | 25 | +16 | | 3 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 4 | |
|
1 At the point of the 2021 season cancellation, the Wild had played three games, won twice, lost once, scored 15 goals and conceded eight goals.[11]
Championships
Champions (1): 2022
Runners-up (0):
Premiers (1): 2022
Runner-up (0):
Players
Current roster
Team roster for the 2022 NZWIHL season.[12]
Player records
These are the top-five all-time/career player records in franchise history. Current as of 2022 NZWIHL season.[13]
| All-time Appearances |
|---|
| Name | | |
|---|
| 1 | Kellye Nelson | F | 13 | | 2 | Gabrielle Mills | F | 13 | | 3 | Zanzee Pielak-Jones | D | 13 | | 4 | Caitlin Hollyer | D | 13 | | 5 |  Emma Ahvennie | F | 13 | |
| | All-time Points |
|---|
| Name | | |
|---|
| 1 | Kellye Nelson | F | 28 | | 2 |  Lova Holmqvist | F | 16 | | 3 | Gabrielle Mills | F | 10 | | 4 | Gina Davis | F | 9 | | 5 | Zanzee Pielak-Jones | D | 9 | |
| | All-time Penalties |
|---|
| Name | | |
|---|
| 1 | Gabrielle Mills | F | 26 | | 2 | Emma Ahvennie | F | 16 | | 3 | Tallulah Bryant | F | 12 | | 4 | Gracie Hellmrich | D | 8 | | 5 | Caitlin Hollyer | D | 6 | |
| |
Team staff
Current as of 2023 NZWIHL season.[1]
| Wild staff |
|---|
| Role | Name |
|---|
| Head coach | Colin McIntosh |
| Assistant coach | Dave Dubnick |
| Assistant coach | Kellye Nelson |
| General manager | Rebecca Dobson |
|
Leaders
Team captains
The Wild have had one captain in the team's history.[14]
References:
head coaches
The Wild have had one head coach in the team's history.[15] [1]
References:
General managers
The Wild have had one general manager (GM) in the team's history.[1]
References:
Broadcasting
Current:
- YouTube (2020 – present) – The NZWIHL self broadcast league games live on YouTube on their official channel. Due to limited resources, not all games are broadcast.[16] [17]
External links
Notes and References
- Web site: Wakatipu Wild . New Zealand Women's Ice Hockey League . 24 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230224132103/https://www.nzwihl.com/wakatipu-wild/ . 24 February 2023 . live .
- Web site: Game Summary . New Zealand Ice Hockey Federation . 24 February 2023 . 16 October 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210619211752/https://stats.iihf.com/NZIHF/98/IHW098901_74_1_0.pdf . 19 June 2021 . live .
- Web site: Game Summary NZWIHL Play-offs Game 13 . New Zealand Ice Hockey Federation . 24 February 2023 . 1 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210619214205/https://stats.iihf.com/NZIHF/98/IHW098113_74_1_0.pdf . 19 June 2021 . live .
- Web site: NZIHF COVID-19 Announcement . New Zealand Ice Hockey Federation . 25 February 2023 . 20 August 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230218051446/https://www.nzicehockey.co.nz/nzihf-covid-19-announcement-20-august-2021/ . 18 February 2023 . live .
- Web site: NZWIHL Round 2 Cancellation . New Zealand Ice Hockey Federation . 25 February 2023 . 10 November 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230218051546/https://www.nzicehockey.co.nz/nzwihl-round-2-cancellation/ . 18 February 2023 . live .
- Web site: Wakatipu Wild Reflect on 2022 NZWIHL Season . New Zealand Women's Ice Hockey League . 25 February 2023 . 24 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230224152625/https://www.nzwihl.com/2022/10/24/wakatipu-wild-reflect-on-2022-nzwihl-season/ . 24 February 2023 . live .
- Web site: NZWIHL Schedule and Results: Season 2022 . New Zealand Women's Ice Hockey League . 1 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221202091752/https://www.nzwihl.com/schedule/?cdate=2022 . 2 December 2022 . live .
- Web site: Wild makes history . Mountain Scene . 25 February 2023 . Lucy . Wormald . 29 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230224151313/https://www.scene.co.nz/sport-scene/ice-hockey/wild-makes-history/ . 24 February 2023 . live .
- Web site: Wild wins league trophy for first time . Otago Daily Times . 25 February 2023 . Hayden . Meikle . 26 September 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221012202409/https://www.odt.co.nz/sport/ice-hockey/wild-wins-league-trophy-first-time . 12 October 2022 . live .
- Web site: 2022 Season Recap . New Zealand Women's Ice Hockey League . 25 February 2023 . 14 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230224152452/https://www.nzwihl.com/2022/10/14/2022-season-recap/ . 24 February 2023 . live .
- Web site: NZWIHL 2021 season . New Zealand Ice Hockey Federation . 24 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230224130629/https://stats.iihf.com/NZIHF/112/index.html . 24 February 2023 . live .
- Web site: Queenstown 2021–2022 Roster . eliteprospects.com . 24 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230224125953/https://www.eliteprospects.com/team/33639/queenstown/2021-2022 . 24 February 2023 . live .
- Web site: Wakatipu Wild – All Time Regular Season Player Stats . eliteprospects.com . 24 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230224132847/https://www.eliteprospects.com/team/33639/wakatipu-wild/stats/all-time . 24 February 2023 . live .
- Web site: Wakatipu Wild – Team Captaincy History . eliteprospects.com . 24 February 2023 .
- Web site: Wakatipu Wild – Team Staff History . eliteprospects.com . 24 February 2023 .
- Web site: Live Stream . New Zealand Women's Ice Hockey League . 24 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221202082756/https://www.nzwihl.com/live-stream/ . 2 December 2022 . live .
- Web site: New Zealand Women's Ice Hockey League Live . New Zealand Women's Ice Hockey League . 24 February 2023 .
