Durham West Jr. Lightning

The Durham West Jr. Lightning are a Canadian Junior women's ice hockey team based in Ajax, Ontario. The Lightning are members of the Provincial Women's Hockey League of the Ontario Women's Hockey Association. The Lighting were 2007 PWHL silver medallists and 2006 bronze medallists,[1] and 2013 Ontario Intermediate AA champions and 2006 silver medallists.

Durham West Jr. Lightning
City	Ajax, Ontario, Canada
League	Provincial Women's Hockey League
Founded	2004 (PWHL franchise)
Home arena	Ajax Community Centre
Colours	Black, Blue, Silver, and White
General manager	Paul Gee
Head coach	Jeremy Murphy

History

Durham West's goalie (2013).

During the 2005-06 season, Jenn Wakefield led the Lightning to a bronze medal in league playdowns and a silver medal at OWHA Provincials, all while setting a then league record for most goals in a single season (31 in only 27 games).[2] The next season, Wakefield's record was surpassed fellow Lighting alumni Natalie Spooner (32) as Spooner led the Lightning to their best PWHL playoff result in team history, losing in the league final to the Toronto Jr. Aeros.[2] Both Wakefield and Spooner are Canada national women's ice hockey team alumni.[3]

Durham West skater (2013).

In 2013, the Lightning defeated the Mississauga Jr. Chiefs in the OWHA Provincial final to win their first ever championship, 3-2. All this coming after failing to get past the quarter-final in league playoffs. The Lightning defeated the league champion Whitby Jr. Wolves 2-0 in the quarter-final and the Stoney Creek Jr. Sabres 3-1 in the semi-final for the opportunity to win the title.[4]

Amongst their numerous team alumni,[5] Ashley Riggs graduated to the NCAA Niagara Purple Eagles women's ice hockey team in 2004,[6] before jumping to the National Women's Hockey League[7] and later the Canadian Women's Hockey League.[8] As a member of the Under-22 Canada national women's ice hockey team Riggs competed in four Air Canada Cups, winning Gold in three of them.[9] Natalie Spooner graduated to the NCAA Ohio State Buckeyes women's ice hockey team in 2008.[10] She has competed in multiple IIHF events as a member of the Women's National Team[10] and plays in the CWHL as a member of the Toronto Furies.[11] In 2008, Jenn Wakefield graduated to the NCAA New Hampshire Wildcats program.[12] After two seasons she switched to the Boston University Terriers women's ice hockey team.[13] Wakefield is a National Team member[14] and has played in the CWHL with the Vaughan Flames and now with the Toronto Furies.[15] Tara Watchorn also graduated to NCAA in 2008 with the Boston University Terriers women's ice hockey team.[16] She made her debut with the Canadian National Team in 2010[17] and plays for the Calgary Inferno of the CWHL.[18]

Season-by-season results

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Pts	Finish	Playoffs	OWHA's
2004-05	30	15	11	4	-	85	61	34	5th PWHL	Lost in Round Robin	Lost in Round Robin
2005-06	30	17	7	6	-	115	80	40	4th PWHL	Won Bronze (Markham-Stouffville)	Won Silver (Toronto)
2006-07	32	20	6	6	-	103	67	46	2nd PWHL	Lost Final (Toronto)	Lost Bronze (Mississauga)
2007-08	31	17	10	4	-	132	86	38	5th PWHL	Lost Bronze (Mississauga)	Lost Preliminary (Hamilton)
2008-09	34	19	10	5	-	126	93	43	6th PWHL	Lost Bronze (Bluewater)	Lost Bronze (Toronto)
2009-10	34	2	32	0	0	49	167	4	18th PWHL	Did not qualify	Lost in Round Robin
2010-11	36	14	15	5	2	73	80	35	12th PWHL	Lost Quarter-final (Mississauga)	Lost Preliminary (Mississauga)
2011-12	34	19	10	3	2	87	65	43	9th PWHL	Lost First Round (Bluewater)	Lost Preliminary (Whitby)
2012-13	38	27	6	2	3	118	53	59	3rd PWHL	Lost Quarter-final (London)	Won Gold (Mississauga)
2013-14	38	26	6	2	4	108	66	58	5th PWHL	Lost Quarter-final (Toronto)	Lost Bronze (Nepean)
2014-15	38	19	12	6	1	87	61	45	9th PWHL

Professional and National Team alumni

• Ashley Riggs[19]
• Natalie Spooner[20]
• Jenn Wakefield[21]
• Tara Watchorn[22]

References

1. "Past Champions | Provincial Women's Hockey League". pwhl.pointstreaksites.com.
2. "PWHL Single Season Records | Provincial Women's Hockey League". www.pointstreaksites.com.
3. "Canada's National Women's Team wins gold medal at 2013 4 Nations Cup". www.hockeycanada.ca.
4. Kelly, Brad (April 16, 2013). "Durham West Junior Lightning win provincial title". DurhamRegion.com.
5. "ALUMNI | Durham West Jr Lightning". www.durhamwestjr.com.
6. "Homepage". Women's Hockey Life.
7. "Game Summary". www.hockeycanada.ca.
8. "Barracudas add scoring punch via draft". InsideHalton.com. July 27, 2011.
9. "Canada Wins Gold at 2007 European Air Canada Cup". www.hockeycanada.ca.
10. http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/w-hockey/mtt/natalie_spooner_755132.html
11. http://www.cwhl.ca/view/cwhl/-7334/cwhl-insider-olympic-edition-2/cwhl-insider-olympic-edition-1
12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-12-18. Retrieved 2013-12-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
13. http://www.goterriers.com/sports/w-hockey/mtt/wakefield_jenn00.html
14. "Pickering's Jennifer Wakefield named to national hockey team". DurhamRegion.com. October 16, 2012.
15. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-04-03. Retrieved 2013-12-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
16. http://www.goterriers.com/sports/w-hockey/mtt/watchorn_tara00.html
17. "Canadian Women's Hockey Team Opens Four Nations Cup Against U.S." www.hockeycanada.ca.
18. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-12-13. Retrieved 2013-12-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
19. "Ashley Riggs, Jennifer Sadler score big in Brampton wins". DurhamRegion.com. November 24, 2011.
20. "Canada (2013-14 Olympic Centralization)". www.hockeycanada.ca.
21. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/jennifer-wakefield-rallies-canadian-women-at-hockey-worlds-1.1320790
22. "Newcastle's Tara Watchorn drafted by Alberta of CWHL". DurhamRegion.com. July 18, 2012.

External links

• Jr. Lighting Website
• PWHL Website