Elliot Lake Wildcats
| Elliot Lake Wildcats | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Elliot Lake, Ontario |
| League | Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Home arena | Centennial Arena |
| Colours |
Green, white, black |
| Owner(s) | Nonprofit corporation |
| General manager | Corey Bricknell |
| Head coach | Corey Bricknell (2016–17) |
The Elliot Lake Wildcats are a Canadian Junior "A" ice hockey team based out of Elliot Lake, Ontario. They are members of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) and play their home games at the Elliot Lake Centennial Arena. The team is owned by a community nonprofit corporation.
History
The Wildcats were founded in 2014 when the City of Elliot Lake was granted an expansion team just days after the Elliot Lake Bobcats moved to Cochrane, Ontario, to become the Cochrane Crunch. The team chose the Wildcats, over the traditional Vikings moniker. Nathan Hewitt, a former junior coach in the Central Canada Hockey League was chosen as the team's first coach.[1]
During their inaugural 2014–15 season, the Wildcats finished second in their division with a 38-11-2-1 regular season record. However, their season was cut short in the semifinals losing 4-games-to-1 to the Soo Thunderbirds.
For their second season in 2015–16, the Wildcats once again finished second in their division, behind only the Soo Thunderbirds. The Wildcats were led offensively by Cole Hepler, who finished seventh in league scoring with 79 points and captain Spencer MacLean, who finished 10th respectively. Hepler also had a league high 22-game point streak during the season. Rookie goaltender Aaron Mackay starred for the team in net, finishing third in the league with 21 wins. The Wildcats eliminated the Rayside-Balfour Canadians in five games in the first round, before falling once again to the Thunderbirds in the Division Finals 4-games-to-1. The Wildcats would win the 2016 TEP Showcase Hockey Tournament with a 3-2 double overtime win over the Markham Royals on June 26th. They finished with an 8-0 record, and conceded a tournament low five goals.
On July 28, 2016, the Wildcats announced that head coach Nathan Hewitt accepted a coaching job with a university in the CIS and Corey Bricknell was named the second head coach in team history. The Wildcats finished the 2016–17 season in fifth place in the NOJHL West Division going 23–26–4–3. Forward David Elford would lead the team in points with 42, while goaltender Matt Kostiw lead the team in wins with 13. In the playoffs, the Wildcats lost to the Soo Eagles in the divisional play-in series 2-games-to-1.
Season-by-season records
| Season | GP | W | L | T | OTL | GF | GA | Pts | Result | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 | 52 | 38 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 242 | 142 | 79 | 2nd of 4, West 3rd of 9, NOJHL | Won Quarterfinals, 4–2 vs. Sudbury Nickel Barons Lost Semifinals, 1–4 vs. Soo Thunderbirds |
| 2015–16 | 54 | 35 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 232 | 142 | 77 | 2nd of 6, West 5th of 12, NOJHL | Won Div. Semifinals, 4–1 vs. Rayside-Balfour Canadians Lost Div. Finals, 1–4 vs. Soo Thunderbirds |
| 2016–17 | 56 | 23 | 26 | 4 | 3 | 157 | 174 | 53 | 5th of 6, West 9th of 12, NOJHL | Lost Div. Play-in series, 1–2 vs. Soo Eagles |
| 2017–18 | 56 | 25 | 27 | 0 | 4 | 172 | 204 | 54 | 5th of 6, West 8th of 12, NOJHL | Lost Div. Play-in series, 0–2 vs. Blind River Beavers |