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Westwood Warriors off to a solid start with a new group of hockey players
Courtesy: Steve Christie

Westwood Warriors off to a solid start with a new group of hockey players

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Prior to the start of the 2021-2022 season, the last time the Westwood Warriors hockey team played a consequential game was in February of 2020 when they were eliminated from the playoffs. Westwood had high hopes that the 2020-2021 season was going to be an exciting one as a strong core of new players had joined the team. As the season was set to begin Covid-19 put the season on ice and it never resumed.

The Warriors play in the Winnipeg High School Hockey Leagues top division and have optimisms for competing for the championship. The team has a nice balance of returning players and rookies, while adding some experienced players who have chosen to wear the school colours rather than suit up for their U-18 AAA teams.

Courtesy: Steve Christie

Westwood got off to a good start to the season with two wins over Garden City and Oak Park, and a shootout loss to annual powerhouse St. Paul’s. This created quite a buzz in the halls of the school.

Head coach and teacher Steve Christie said, “The St. Paul’s game was a great measuring stick for our team. Although we didn’t get the win, the boys should be proud of their efforts and we took away a lot of positives from it. This was the first time in over seven years that Westwood earned a point from St. Paul’s.”

Westwood has not been a contender in the top division since the school won the championship in 2010. Their school enrollment is the smallest in the league as the next smallest school has approximately 250 more students and the majority of schools in this top division have over a thousand enrolled. Every few years, there is a strong crop of hockey students that come through Westwood and allows them to compete with all the big schools.

Coach Christie is entering his seventh season coaching the program. “This is a special group we have this year. The boys realize what we have here and if they put in the work to continue to get better, I feel we can beat anyone in our league and ultimately compete for a championship, which speaks volumes for such a small school.”

The team has a strong leadership group and is captained by third-year player Vito Gigliotti. His assistants are Jarrett Ross, Matt Smith, Magnum Grindle, and Tristen Arnason. This group leads by example on the ice and are well respected by their teammates as well as their peers and classmates at Westwood.

The Warriors have a solid one-two punch in goal with Evan Kozak and Nigel Taylor. The defence core consists of leaders Ross and Smith, along with Carson Salamacha, Nolan Olijnek, Jack Sparham, and Jaxx England. They make up the backbone of this Warrior team with their ability to skate, move the puck, be physical, and create offense. Offensively, the team has a good mix of size, speed, and skill that provides a balanced attack on opponents. Tristen Arnason and Magnum Grindle will be heavily relied upon to provide offence while the likes of Evan Warsaba, Campbell Epp, and Kaden Kjartanson compliment a balanced attack. The team also provides a gritty component to their game from forwards Gigliotti, Lyam Friesen, Carter Vanderhorst and Shaan Chambers.

To follow the latest highlights, results, and stats you can follow the Warriors on Instagram @westwoodwarrior_hockey or the league website whshl.com.

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