West Ottawa makes Orléans their home for crosstown Canadian Ringette Championships
March 31, 2025
By Isabella Disley
Playing as Team Ontario at the 2025 Canadian Ringette Championships, the West Ottawa Wild split their first two contests on opening day, with a 3-1 loss to New Brunswick and a 5-2 win over Manitoba on Mar. 31 at the Richcraft Sensplex. Photo: Isabella Disley
They’ve got Team Ontario jerseys and they’re from the host city, but the West Ottawa Wild are still pretending they’re visitors at the Mar. 31-Apr. 5 Canadian Ringette Championships.
With games at the Richcraft Sensplex and Ray Friel Arena, the under-16 Wild team have rented an Airbnb in Orléans to serve as a site for team meals, meetings and socializing.
While the east-end home base saves them from the stress of crosstown traffic, the away-tournament setup is one the Wild also employed when they hosted, and won, the Ontario Championships in Kanata earlier in March.
“We’re a really close team,” underlined Wild defender Lia Ferguson. “We bond all the time.”
Between games, the players will do puzzles together, take naps and watch movies.
“It’s super fun and we have all these fun little activities we like to do together,” signalled West Ottawa forward Lucy Fischer.
While preparing for the peak competition of their season, the team will also stay in the moment with some ‘joga’ – similar to yoga, but more geared toward athletic performance – before heading to the rink.
“We all put our heads down and a player on our team talks and we visualize and calm ourselves down, or we do some yoga,” Fischer explained. “I think we really just want to make it the best experience and have as much fun as possible and really just slow down and play in the moment.”
Then, once it’s time to get energized, comes the team’s pre-game tradition of maple syrup shots, as they tackle the challenge of facing off against five of Canada’s best teams in the first three days of the tournament.
While they treasure their time together as a team like they’re on the road, the West Ottawa players also loved getting a hometown boost from their friends and family in the packed stands for their opening match.
The West Ottawa Wild are playing as Team Ontario in the U16 event at the 2025 Canadian Ringette Championships in Ottawa. Photo: Isabella Disley
“I always like to look at the fans and see them cheering and see all the posters and our family’s faces,” Ferguson highlighted. “I also love listening to the music they play between the whistles. I like singing along and dancing.”
In their first game, the Wild came out flying and out-shot their New Brunswick opponents 9-0 in the first period, but came out tied 0-0. It was New Brunswick that got the first three goals of the contest, all in the second half, before West Ottawa got one back en route to the 3-1 final score.
“I had a lot of adrenaline, and I think we did very well,” said Fischer, who scored the home side’s lone goal. “We kind of got a feel for our opponents, and we know how everyone’s playing and what we’re up against.”
The West Ottawa Wild’s opening match against Team New Brunswick was scoreless in the first half. Photo: Isabella Disley
New Brunswick was the team that eliminated the Wild in overtime in their first playoff game at last year’s nationals.
“New Brunswick is definitely one of our best competitors, so it was definitely very exciting,” Ferguson indicated. “We were down by three goals, and we did come back and score once.
“(We) never give up and keep going until the very end of the game.”
West Ottawa head coach Barry Gorham was pleased with his team’s defensive performance in their opener.
“If they continue playing that defensive style game, (the tournament) will go well,” he said after the team’s late-morning contest.
Less than six hours later, the Wild were back in action against Team Manitoba and came away with a convincing 5-2 victory. Olivia Binder scored four goals for West Ottawa as her team out-shot Manitoba 43-17.
“It’s one game at a time, and you never know what the next opponent is going to bring,” Gorham noted, adding that last year’s nationals appearance has provided valuable experience and perspective for his group.
Olivia Binder. Photo: Isabella Disley
“We’re trying to prepare them for it by trying to keep their emotions in check and try not to get too high or too nervous in the games and keep supporting each other,” he stated.
West Ottawa will play bright and early Tuesday morning at Richcraft Sensplex against the Regina Stingers at 8:15 a.m. Their round-robin ends with a double-header of games on Wednesday against Équipe Québec and the Calgary Riot at Ray Friel Arena.
The Wild’s evening victory was the lone win for local entries on the opening day of competition at the Canadian Ringette Championships.
The Nepean Ravens lost to Laurentides 5-2 and Calgary FUZE 5-3 in the U16 category, while the Eastern Ontario Force fell 2-1 to Team Manitoba on a goal with 1:01 left in their U19 contest.
In National Ringette League competition, the Cambridge Turbos beat the Gatineau Fusion 6-4 and the Waterloo Wildfire downed Nepean 6-3. Gracyn Cooper scored two goals for Nepean, while Ottawa native Kelsey Youldon powered Waterloo with one goal and four assists. Gatineau was led by Émily Chénier, who scored a hat trick and an assist.
Pool play continues through Wednesday, followed by playoffs on Thursday and Friday prior to Saturday’s medal matches.