Polly back on the Wild side
As Queenstowner Polly Bennetts can attest, there's no place like home.
The 17-year-old jetted back in to the resort early last month, having been based in Ontario, Canada, since last August, where she's playing ice hockey and finishing her secondary schooling at the Fort Erie International Academy.
She pretty much got off the plane and went straight to training with her Wakatipu Wild women's ice hockey team, and, still jet-lagged, was on the ice for them against Canterbury at home a couple of days later.
"Oh my god it was awful," she laughs.
"I was so dead — I'd come off the ice and have to lie down on the bench."
She's clearly shaken off the cobwebs now, though, and the international experience, which has seen her training every morning before school and lifting weights every day after school, appears to be reaping dividends.
During her team's game against Auckland Steel, in Auckland, last Saturday, Polly scored one of the Wild's two goals in their opening 3-2 loss — captain Kellye Nelson scored the other — and scored the final goal of their 5-2 win last Sunday.
The other goals on Sunday came from Caitlin 'Judy' Heale (two), Nelson and Bobbie Weeks.
While she's enjoyed her time in Canada, Polly's fizzing to be back with her Wild teammates.
"It's so good to be back with everybody that I'm familiar with ... I know everybody I'm playing against and it's just really nice."
She's also rejoined the team at the perfect time.
The Wild play their final home games for this season — and their last regular season round — against bottom-placed Dunedin Thunder tomorrow and Saturday nights.
Two wins will secure them secondplace on the table, but their final standing going into the finals series in Dunedin later this month will rest on the result of the Auckland v Canterbury round next weekend.
Regardless, Polly says the Wild are "hyped" for this weekend and ready to rumble.
"For the first time, we've been able to practise twice this week.
"We're so excited."
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