House League

FAQ regarding Wildcats House League teams

Q. What age groups have House League teams?
A. The Wildcats field house league teams in most age groups, but depends on the number and calibre of teams.

Q. Where/who they play against?
A. House League hockey is travel hockey for the Wildcats, so even though the teams play in a house league loop, they get the experience of playing against teams in other towns, just like the rep teams. The teams play in the Kitchener Local League against teams from Stratford to Fergus, and the Western Ontario Girls Hockey League against teams generally found in the surrounding London area (excluding London itself).

Q. Is there an extra costs to play house league?
A. Registration fees cover all the ice times for practices and both home and away games. House league teams will generally participate in one or two tournaments throughout the year and all costs associated with this are extra.

Q. How much ice will my daughter get?
A. Once the season is in full swing, each team will average 1 practice, 1 home game and 1 away game per week. Away games are generally scheduled for weekends. Players on house league teams all get equal ice time during games.

Q. Will it be too competitive for my daughter?
A. House league is meant to be fun and competitive. Within the league, teams are reassessed after a few games and assigned to the appropriate level and matched with other similar calibre teams. The atmosphere is of lower competitive expectations than the rep teams, but a goal of developing the players and the team to improve throughout the season.

Q. When does the season begin / end?
A. The season will generally start on the weekend after Labour Day. Teams will have practices and exhibition games until the end of September. The regular season starts on October 1 and will run until January 31. Playoffs begin February 1 and will continue until the team is eliminated, which is often mid to late March. 

Q. Why not just play House League with the boys?
A. Playing hockey with just girls is completely different than playing with boys. Besides the physical differences between genders, competition and social atmosphere differ between girls and boys. Being a part of a girls team is more inclusive since a lot of the social part of a team occurs in the dressing room, and this translates onto the ice as well. The abilities and behaviours of the girls teams are more similar than with mixed teams and thus coaching and off-ice events can bring closer team environment. Another differnece is confidence. Girls will gain a greater level of confidence playing with their peers as opposed to being on a team dominated by boys.