The AAA Midget Wildcats held their annual preseason tournament over the weekend.

Teams from Melville, Pembina Valley, Central Plains, Kimberly, Pilot Mound, Lloydminster, and the U16 Female Team Saskatchewan participated in the tournament.

The Wildcats went 3-0 in the tournament and scored 17 goals over the three games.

Wildcats coach Terry Pavely said he was happy with his team's performance throughout the weekend.

"You know we were really happy for the first weekend of hockey considering that we only skated twice. It was more about just learning a little more about our players and a few of our strengths and weaknesses as a hockey team," said Pavely. "We were very happy with the fact that we were able to score some goals this weekend and I think we identified that we need to work on our 'D'-zone coverage and on our penalty killing, but other than that we're really happy with the effort that our players put in."

On Day 1 of the tournament the Wildcats beat the Kimberly Nitro Express 4-2, on Day 2 they cruised to 8-2 victory over the Pilot Mound Buffalo, and they finished off the tournament in dramatic fashion when they scored with four seconds left to beat Central Plains 5-4.

Pavely talked about the surprises from his team in the tournament.

"There were a few surprises, I think offensively. We had a couple of kids, rookie Sara Kendall who we were very high on, had seven points, three goals and four assists in three games, and another kid, Carissa Hogan who played defense for us last year but we moved her up to forward this year and she had seven points, a goal and six assists. She transitioned to a new position really well and that was really good to see, and it's no surprise that they are good players but it was surprising that they were able to contribute that much offensively right off the get go for us."

With seven new players joining the team, Pavely talked about how the veterans have helped out the newcomers to the Wildcats.

"You know we got a really good group of veteran players, our leadership is going to be very good this year and we've got good kids that are a very welcoming group. They have gone out of their way to make sure that the young kids have felt included, they have really helped transition a lot of these kids are moving into billets for the first time, going to a new school, and you can just tell our vets have done a fabulous job helping the young kids and the new players get accustomed to things here in Swift Current."

Pavely added that part of the reason they do this tournament is to get their new players accustomed to AAA hockey and get them used to the increased pace of play. One of the other reasons they like to host this tournament is it gives the coaches a chance to learn about their players.

"For us, as coaches, it was more about us just learning about our players, and learning their strengths and weaknesses so when we do get started and the games count in the standings that we can put players in situations where they can succeed. We were just wanting to set the tone and one of the tones is that we want to be a hard-working team and I think for the most part for this weekend we did that, we worked hard, and we competed."

Pavely said their play with the puck impressed him, but they need to work on their play without the puck before getting into more advanced things.

The Wildcats kick off their regular season when they travel to Weyburn on Saturday to play the Gold Wings.