After a slow start to the season, the Westshore Wolves are beginning to pack the wins together at the right time.
Despite Friday night’s 5-2 loss to the Peninsula Panthers, the Wolves had managed to reel off three wins in a row followed by a tie against Campbell River, the league’s top team, giving them 30 points in 25 games.
The Wolves started the undefeated streak with a 3-2 victory over the Saanich Braves on Nov. 8, followed by a 5-2 decision over Victoria Cougars on Nov. 12 and a 5-3 win over the Peninsula Panthers on Nov. 15, before the tie against the Campbell River Storm 4-4 on Nov. 22.
After starting out with just one win in four games, the team has been getting better as the season progresses, head coach Tyler Matheson said.
“We’re on a bit of roll, but we have to take it one step at a time,” he noted. “It’s great to see that we’re competing against teams from the North Division. We seem to be getting better as the season moves along. We weren’t very consistent at the start of the year, but we’re working hard and things are starting to go our way.”
Matheson, in his first year as head coach, said he believes the way the team is playing now indicates that they could be capable of making some noise in the playoffs.
“We’re an older, deeper team,” he said. “I don’t want to look too far ahead, but if everyone buys in we can do some damage.”
The Wolves now sport a record of 14 wins, nine losses and one tie, good for 30 points and first place in the South Division standings.
Cam Coutre leads the team in scoring with 14 goals and 18 assists in 20 games, which puts him in second place overall in the league scoring standings. Jordan Spandli is third overall in goalie stats with a 2.41 goals against average and a .911 save percentage.
Next up for the Wolves is a game against the Comox Valley Glacier Kings tonight (Nov. 29) at 7 p.m. at The Q Centre. They then hit the road for a game against the Kerry Park Islanders on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. before a clash with the Victoria Cougars at 7 p.m. at The Q Centre on Wednesday, Dec. 6.
For ticket information and more on the team, go to westshorewolves.ca.