Wakatipu Wild

The Wakatipu Wild is a New Zealand amateur ice hockey team from Queenstown, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 2020, the Wild are a member of the New Zealand Women's Ice Hockey League (NZWIHL). The Wild are based at Queenstown Ice Arena, located at Queenstown Gardens. Wakatipu are one time NZWIHL champions and premiers.
==History==
The Wakatipu Wild was founded in 2020 and applied and joined the New Zealand Women's Ice Hockey League (NZWIHL). The Wild was established to bring women of all ages and nationalities together to further the development of woman's ice hockey locally i Otago and nationally in New Zealand. Wakatipu appointed Rebecca Dobson as their maiden general manager and former Skycity Stampede player Colin McIntosh as head coach. Thew Wild's first ever game was played on 16 October 2020 against Otago rivals Dunedin Thunder on the road at Dunedin Ice Stadium. Young kiwi forward, Tallulah Bryant, scored the first ever goals for the Wild in the first period against Dunedin. Wakatipu doubled their lead in the second period before the Thunder pulled one goal back in the third. That third period goal proved a simple consolation as the wild won the game 2–1, for their first ever victory. Queenstown finished their first season in the NZWIHL in third place, qualifying for the bronze medal game in the NZWIHL Finals. The Wild won bronze in Finals on 1 November 2020 by defeating the Thunder 4–2. Wakatipu came from behind to claim their first Finals win, with American import and team captain, Kellye Nelson, scoring a hat-trick of goals over the course of the second and third periods.
Half way through the 2021 NZWIHL season, the Wild's second season, the league was cancelled due to the lock-downs implemented by the New Zealand Government during the COVID-19 pandemic. The team had started the season well with two wins from their first three games before the season cancellation. 
In 2022, the Wild had a breakout season in their second full NZWIHL season. Rather than tournament style weekends, the league moved to a proper round-robin format that the Wild players enjoyed. Wakatipu almost went the entire season undefeated to finish top of the league standings a secure their first NZWIHL Premiership title. Queenstown followed up this success in the NZWIHL Finals with a big 7–2 victory over the Thunder in the semi-finals before being crowned Champions of New Zealand and winning goal medals with a 2–0 win over Canterbury Inferno in the grand final. 
==All-time record==
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Season 	Regular season 	Regular season 	Regular season 	Regular season 	Regular season 	Regular season 	Regular season 	Regular season 	Regular season 	Regular season 	Regular season 	Finals 	Finals 	Finals 	Finals 	Finals 	Finals 	Finals 	Finals 	Finals 	Top points scorer 	Top points scorer 	
Season 	P 	W 	T 	L 	OW 	OL 	GF 	GA 	GD 	Pts 	Finish 	P 	W 	L 	GF 	GA 	Result 	 	 	 	Name 	Points 	
2020 	6 	2 	– 	4 	– 	– 	8 	18 	−10 	6 	3rd 	1 	1 	– 	4 	2 	Bronze 	– 	 	– 	Kellye Nelson 	9 	
2021 	2021 NZWIHL season was not completed and cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic1	2021 NZWIHL season was not completed and cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic1	2021 NZWIHL season was not completed and cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic1	2021 NZWIHL season was not completed and cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic1	2021 NZWIHL season was not completed and cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic1	2021 NZWIHL season was not completed and cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic1	2021 NZWIHL season was not completed and cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic1	2021 NZWIHL season was not completed and cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic1	2021 NZWIHL season was not completed and cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic1	2021 NZWIHL season was not completed and cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic1	2021 NZWIHL season was not completed and cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic1	2021 NZWIHL season was not completed and cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic1	2021 NZWIHL season was not completed and cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic1	2021 NZWIHL season was not completed and cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic1	2021 NZWIHL season was not completed and cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic1	2021 NZWIHL season was not completed and cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic1	2021 NZWIHL season was not completed and cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic1	2021 NZWIHL season was not completed and cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic1	2021 NZWIHL season was not completed and cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic1	2021 NZWIHL season was not completed and cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic1	2021 NZWIHL season was not completed and cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic1	2021 NZWIHL season was not completed and cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic1	
2022 	6 	5 	– 	– 	– 	1 	33 	7 	+26 	16 	1st 	2 	2 	– 	9 	2 	Champion 	 	– 	 	Kellye Nelson 	19 	
2023 	– 	– 	– 	– 	– 	– 	– 	– 	– 	– 	– 	– 	– 	– 	– 	– 	– 	– 	– 	– 	– 	– 	
Totals 	12 	7 	– 	4 	0 	1 	41 	25 	+16 	 	 	3 	3 	0 	13 	4 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
:1 At the point of the 2021 season cancellation, the Wild had played three games, won twice, lost once, scored 15 goals and conceded eight goals.
Champions	Runners-up	Third place
==Championships==
*Championships
: Champions (1): 2022
: Runners-up (0):
*Premierships
: Premiers (1): 2022
: Runner-up (0):
{| class="toccolours" style="width:21em"	 	 	
All-time Appearances	All-time Appearances	All-time Appearances	All-time Appearances
# 	Name 	 	
1 	Kellye Nelson 	F 	13
2 	Gabrielle Mills 	F 	13
3 	Zanzee Pielak-Jones 	D 	13
4 	Caitlin Hollyer 	D 	13
5 	Emma Ahvennie 	F 	13
==Team staff==
Current as of 2023 NZWIHL season.
Wild staff 	Wild staff
Role 	Name
Head coach 	Colin McIntosh
Assistant coach	Dave Dubnick
Assistant coach	Kellye Nelson
General manager	Rebecca Dobson
==Leaders==
===Team captains===
The Wild have had one captain in the team's history.
No.	Name 	Term
1 	Kellye Nelson	2020–present
References:
===head coaches===
The Wild have had one head coach in the team's history.
No.	Name 	Term
1 	Colin McIntosh	2020–present
References:
===General managers===
The Wild have had one general manager (GM) in the team's history.
No.	Name 	Term
1 	Rebecca Dobson	2020–present
References:
==Broadcasting==
Current:
*YouTube (2020 – present) – The NZWIHL self broadcast league games live on YouTube on their official channel. Due to limited resources, not all games are broadcast.
==References==
==External links==
*Official website
*Elite Prospects team profile
Category:New Zealand Women's Ice Hockey League teams
Category:Ice hockey teams in New Zealand
Category:Ice hockey clubs established in 2020