Madawaska Valley Wolves face off against undefeated Manotick Mariners on the weekend, fresh off a 10-3 win in Akwesasne on Saturday.
Wolves’ defenceman Ryan Lepine said it’s always great to get a win on the road, because the travel often means they’re not playing with a full lineup when they’re away.
Lepine said the team’s total roster of 40 players come from all over the Ottawa Valley and beyond, which means they’re not able to hold regular practices or have every player at every game.
Despite this, he said the team’s camaraderie comes from lifelong friendships and connections to the community.
“We’re a tightknit group, we’ve known each other growing up and stuff like that, we’ve played a lot of hockey with each other. So, even without the regular practices and stuff like that, the guys all bond well together,” he said.
Lepine said the team is very family-run, as his uncle Michael Summers is the coach. Lepine works on the administrative side and his brother and cousins play on the team.
Lepine and his uncle discussed starting the team for a long time, choosing ‘Wolves’ after a team of the same name that Lepine’s father played for years ago.
With the trade deadline coming up, Lepine said there may be some new faces, but it all depends on whether the players they trade for are willing to commute from where they currently live.
The Wolves traded with Manotick for Brett Mckenzie, who commutes from Oakville.
“Mostly just new signings, we try to do. We try to find a guy who maybe is willing to play and we sign him,” Lepine said.
The Wolves are about halfway through the season and Lepine said they’ll continue with their strategy of letting the best players shine through the rest of the season. A few of their players have played professional hockey, and Lepine said their goaltenders, Ethan Lapenskie and Sean Green, have done really well this season.
Lepine encourages the community to support the team this weekend at the game and by going to their Christmas dance afterwards.
