New Manitoba Senior Women’s Hockey League Set to Hit the Ice This Fall; Westman Wranglers Join Inaugural Season

Women’s hockey in Manitoba is taking a major step forward this fall with the launch of the new Manitoba Senior Women’s Hockey League (MSWHL), providing adult players with a long-awaited opportunity to continue playing competitive hockey after their junior, college and university careers.

League organizers are partnering with the successful Saskatchewan Senior Women’s Hockey League, hoping to build on a model that has already proven successful while creating new opportunities for female athletes across Manitoba.

The inaugural season will feature eight teams from across the province, split evenly between East and West divisions. In the West Division, teams will include the Southwestern Falcons (Birtle/Foxwarren), Wheat City Wild (Brandon), Pembina Valley Storm (Swan Lake), and the newly approved Westman Wranglers, who are expected to call either Hartney or Souris home.

One of the goals on the league is to provide women with the same type of competitive senior hockey opportunities that have long been available to men.

“All the women who are working together to create the Manitoba Senior Women’s Hockey League are excited to be bringing the same opportunity to women in Manitoba,” a representative of the Westman Wranglers told bdnmb.ca.

The regular season will consist of 12 games for each team, with six home and six away contests. Exhibition games are scheduled for late September ahead of the league’s October opening, with the regular season running through late January. Playoffs will begin in February.

To help ensure teams have enough players during the league’s inaugural campaign, each club will be permitted to carry an unlimited roster.

The league is open to all women aged 18 and older, although organizers anticipate many players will be those returning home after playing university or college hockey and looking for a chance to continue competing at a high level.

The MSWHL will adopt several rules used by the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL), including jailbreak goals, hybrid icing and the PWHL’s point system, awarding three points for a regulation win, two for an overtime victory and one for an overtime loss.

In another unique feature borrowed from the PWHL, the top-seeded team at the conclusion of the regular season will have the opportunity to choose its first-round playoff opponent. All playoff rounds will be played as best-of-three series.

League organizers also have plans to showcase the province’s top talent through an East versus West all-star game. From that event, Team Manitoba will be selected to compete against all-star teams from Alberta and Saskatchewan.

For local hockey fans, the addition of the Westman Wranglers marks an exciting development for southwest Manitoba.

The team received official approval to join the league this week and has already generated strong interest from players throughout the region, including Melita, Boissevain, Rivers and numerous surrounding communities.

“Our goal was to cover as much of Southwest Manitoba as possible and allow the opportunity for everyone to have a team that is in close driving proximity,” the representative said.

Behind the scenes, team captains across the league have already begun organizing everything from securing arenas and sponsorships to recruiting players and designing team jerseys.

Women interested in joining one of the inaugural teams are encouraged to contact the respective team organizers. The Westman Wranglers can be reached by email at westmanwranglers@gmail.com. Prospective players can also contact the Southwestern Falcons at southwesternfalcons@gmail.com, while the Wheat City Wild and Pembina Valley Storm can be reached through their Instagram pages, @wheatcitywildhockey and @pembinavalleystorm.

With its first puck drop only months away, organizers believe the Manitoba Senior Women’s Hockey League will provide a lasting home for competitive women’s hockey while helping grow the game throughout the province for years to come.