Midget Lady Wolves extend unbeaten streak to 15

The Sudbury Midget AA Lady Wolves (Armstrong/Stortini) are on a nice little roll with the playoffs right around the corner.

The team extended their current unbeaten streak to 15 games in Lower Lakes Female Hockey League play last week, picking up three wins and a tie over a four-day stretch.

Thursday night at the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex, the Lady Wolves bested the second Sudbury squad in the LLFHL Midget loop (Sudbury Midget AA Lady Wolves - Moxam) 4-0.

Kennedy Lanktree scored twice to lead the way, with Karli Shell and Victoria Pitawanakwat also finding the back of the net in support of the shutout goaltending of Danika Lefrancois.

The team continued to demonstrate a solid balance between offence and defence Saturday afternoon in Parry Sound, blanking the Vaughan Flames 3-0. After Jenna Gough opened the scoring, Shell added some insurance, banging home a a loose puck on a scramble and then iced the game with an empty-net marker.

Goaltender Stephanie Pascal, who has committed to the Queen's Gaels (currently ranked No. 4 in the country) for the fall of 2014, made it back-to-back whitewashes for the local squad.

On Sunday, the team was back up against their northern nemesis, the North Bay Ice Boltz. Speedy Maria Dominico opened the scoring for the visitors with a highlight reel goal, taking a pass in full flight and roofing the ice-breaker.

The Lady Wolves evened the game at one in the second period as rookie Mélisa Kingsley fired a wrist shot from the slot. Slowed down by a slew of penalties, the teams were buzzed off with five minutes remaining, still deadlocked at 1-1.

Heading to the Sudbury Arena for a 5 p.m. encounter, both teams showed the effects of a busy weekend. The Lady Wolves took advantage of a bad line change to open the scoring as Taylor McGaughey broke in alone and picked the top corner to perfection.

The Sudbury girls added to their lead in the third as a low point shot from Megan Burt deflected off the skate of a North Bay defender, giving the homeside a 2-0 lead. Pascal made that stand with her second straight shutout in a relatively tame affair.

The Ice Boltz did manage to register a pair of wins of Saturday, taking advantage of some offensive opportunism to sweep the Lady Wolves (Moxam) 2-0 and 3-1. Bantam call-up Tayler Murphy scored for the locals, finishing off a pass from Teagan Moxam.

The same three teams will contest the regional playdowns beginning early in February, with the winner heading to provincials in April. The teams will play a double round-robin format, competing in four encounters apiece.