Team history
The WAM! were founded in 2004 at the same time as the NRL, which was first established in 2002, was moving towards playing its first season. It was not until 2007–08 that a proper National Ringette League division became a part of the annual Canadian Ringette Championships, but the WAM! found early success and won a national title representing Alberta in the Open Division at the 2007 national championships. [1] The coach of the winning 2007 team was Lisa Brown, a member of the Ringette Canada Hall of Fame inducted in 2008 in the Athlete category. Brown was also a former player for the Canada national ringette team.
The team won its first official NRL title at the 2010 Canadian Ringette Championships, hosted in Saskatoon. The WAM! avenged a loss from the 2009 gold medal game by defeating the Cambridge Turbos in the final by a score of 2–0 with goaltender Keely Brown posting a shutout. [2] The Turbos and WAM! met in the final for a third straight year at the 2011 Championships, and Edmonton secured its second consecutive national title with a 4–2 victory in which Brown made 50 saves. [3]
The team remained competitive, including winning back-to-back bronze medals in 2014 and 2015. [4] Jenna Debaji, Dailyn Bell and Jamie Bell were named to Team Canada for the 2016 World Ringette Championships, where the team won silver. [5]
After the 2022 season, veteran Emily Lubbers retired from playing and became the head coach of the WAM! Lubbers was an athlete on the team since 2011, winning two silver and two bronze medals each at the national championships. [6] In her first season as coach, Lubbers led the WAM! to a 22–4 record to finish atop the Western Conference. The team also played an exhibition match against Team Alberta in February ahead of the Canada Winter Games. [7] The team was a favourite ahead of the 2023 Canadian Championships in Regina, SK. There, the WAM! went undefeated to win their first national title since 2011. Gillian Dreger, Melissa Misutka, and Annie Debaji were all named to the tournament all-star team, while Misutka won Defence of the Year as well. [8]
After the 2023-2024 regular season placed them third in the west the WAM! had a 5-2 record at the 2024 Canadian Ringette Championships in Dieppe, NB where they defeated the Calgary Rath 10-3 for a second consecutive national championship. Gillian Dreger, Annie Debaji, and Melissa Misutka were all named in the tournament all-star team. [9] Dreger and Mistuka were nominated and selected as Center of the Year and Defence of the Year respectively. [10]
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Edmonton, Alberta
