The Sudbury Lady Wolves contingent were flying high over the weekend, as all five teams that attended the Kanata Rangers 34th Annual Competitive Girls Hockey Tournament reached the semi-finals.
The Peewee “AA” crew took it a step further, advancing to the finals, before succumbing 2-1 in a shootout to the Mississauga Chiefs. The team started nicely, as Breanna Coyne scored the game's only goal, while Maija Valtonen earned the shutout in a 1-0 whitewash of the Gloucester-Cumberland Stars.
The peewees were dealt their only loss of round robin play in game two, falling 4-3 to Mississauga, as Alexie Olivier, Kianna D'Attilio and Raeleigh Chartier scored for the locals.
Shrugging aside the setback, the Sudbury squad roared back with a 4-0 blanking of the Kanata Rangers, as Coyne and Olivier were joined on the scoresheet by Alison Symington and Sophie Bensley, with Valtonen extending her shutout streak to two full games.
Kianna Trottier would follow in her footsteps as the preliminary round was closed out, holding the Nepean Wildcats scoreless and earning her team a point in a 0-0 draw.
The Lady Wolves record earned them a semi-final rematch with Gloucester-Cumberland, as Olivier paced a potent attack with a two goal effort, leading Sudbury to a 6-1 win. Aiofe Mahaffy, Meghan Papineau, Coyne and D'Attilio chipped in with one goal each.
Looking for revenge against the Chiefs, coach Don Tremblay and company came close, as a goal from Olivier forced overtime, before Mississauga edged Sudbury 2-1 in a shootout.
While she did not find the back of the net, stalwart defenceman Elizabeth Laberge recorded seven assists over the course of the weekend. The silver medal winning team featured a roster that included Danika Lalonde, Raeleigh Chartier, Alison Symington, Kianna D'Attilio, Aoife Mahaffy, Alexie Olivier, Breanna Coyne, Sophie Bensley, Meghan Papineau, Elizabeth Laberge, Kaiden MacLean, Pascale Tremblay, Amanda Symington, Arijana Tuttle, Mikayla Papineau, Maija Valtonen and Kianna Trottier.
In what can only be described as incredible coincidence, the Novice “B”, Atom “B”, Peewee “BB” and Midget “B Lady Wolves all posted identical records of 2-1-1 in earning their berth in the semi-finals.
Adding to the “Twilight Zone” element is the fact that both the novices and atoms were eliminated by the host Kanata Rangers, both by the exact same score of 5-2.
The Sudbury Novice "B" Lady Wolves exploded out of the gates, blasting the Timmins Falcons 7-1 as Maia Hammell drained a hat-trick and Chloe Martin added a pair of tallies. Chloe Leduc and Isabelle Lanteigne rounded off the attack.
The girls should have saved one goal in the bank, as the Kanata Rangers slipped past the Lady Wolves 3-2 in game two, with Martin and Gabriella Massimiliano handled the offense.
Sudbury got back on track in game three, scoring a pair of goals less than a minute apart in the third period en route to a 3-1 win over the Cornwall Typhoons. Julia Dunphy netted her first goal of the weekend, with Martin and Hammell each drilling home number four.
Not much scoring in the final pool play contest, as a marker from Hammell earned the Wolves a 1-1 tie with the Smith Falls Cubs, before being eliminated with a 5-2 loss to Kanata. Julia and Morgan Dunphy both hit the mark for the northern crew.
The Atom "B" Lady Wolves mirrored the start of the Peewee "AA" elders, recording a 1-0 win in game one as goaltender Madison Robert held the Peterborough Ice Kats at bay, with Chloe Charbonneau providing the offensive support.
A 5-0 loss to Kanata was followed by a 2-2 tie with the Toronto Leaside Wildcats, with Ayla Lagace burying both goals for Sudbury. Lagace was back on board in game three, part of a quartet of Tessa Ranger, Tessa Alexander and Charbonneau that lifted the Lady Wolves to a 4-0 win over the Kingston Ice Wolves, with Paungbiisohn Trudeau recording the shutout.
Unfortunately, the tournament host Rangers were simply too much to overcome, despite the best efforts of Mercedes Zazulak and Alexander, both of whom solved the Kanata goaltender in a 5-2 semi-final loss.
The 2016-2017 edition of the Atom "B" Lady Wolves features Gabrielle Gallagher, Tessa Ranger, Tessa Alexander, Chloe Charbonneau, Hannah Staffen, Mya Massimiliano, Ava Massimiliano, Ayla Lagace, Mercedes Zazulak, Delaney Williams, Laryssa Mayer, Sarah Boudreau, Janna Tarini, Kyra Knapaysweet, Nyssa Solomon, Paungbiisohn Trudeau and Madison Robert.
Team staff is comprised of head coach Sean Gallagher, assistants Bob Alexander, Denis Ranger, Joelle Belanger and Madison Penrose, and team manager Mélanie Mayer.
The local Peewee "BB" grouping were also derailed by the eventual tournament champions, as the Nepean Wildcats set the tone with an opening match 3-1 victory, with Julia Hayes finding the back of the net for Sudbury.
Goals were easier to come by in game two, as the Lady Wolves upended the Toronto Leaside Wildcats 4-1, courtesy of tallies from Bianca Vigna, Trinity Jeffery, Katie Pilotte and Sierra Boyuk.
The northern team remained in the hunt through game three, playing to a 2-2 deadlock with the Cornwall Typhoons, as Sydney Burton and Jill Kusnierczyk helped highlight a very balanced Sudbury attack.
That attack exploded for a five goal third period as the Lady Wolves punched their ticket to the Final Four, blasting the Aurora Panthers 6-0. Boyuk and Jeffery showed the way with two goal efforts, with Claudine Tubin and Abigail Lanteigne potting one each, and Farrah Farstad holding the fort between the pipes.
The tables would be turned in the semi-final encounter, as Sudbury was shutout 3-0 by Nepean. Finally, the Midget "B" troops took a little time to hit their stride, dropping their opening game, 1-0 to the Ottawa Ice, but responding with a 1-0 win of their own in game two.
Netminder Madison Penrose turned aside every shot that the Ancaster Avalanche would direct her way, while Chelsea Dokis provided just enough scoring to lift Sudbury to victory.
A second period goal by Jayde Hurley offset an earlier one by the Kanata Rangers, as the Midget "B" Lady Wolves played to a 1-1 draw in game three. Needing a win to lock up a playoff berth, the locals received goals from Kate Dambremont and Ashtyn Werbiski just eight seconds apart, with Abby Robinson adding some third period insurance, as Penrose held off the Stoney Creek Sabres 3-0.
That was as close as the Sudbury Midgets would get, as Hurley buried the only Lady Wolves' goal in a 4-1 semi-final loss to Kanata. Thursday evening will present a rare treat for the Sudbury Bantam "AA" Lady Wolves, contesting their one and only "official" home game of the 2016-2017 Lower Lakes Female Hockey League season.
Still undefeated in LLFHL play, the Lady Wolves will host the North Bay Ice Boltz (2-4-3) Thursday (Nov. 17t) at 6:45 p.m. at the Gerry McCrory Countryside Arena. With a record of 3-0-4, the Sudbury girls trail only the Etobicoke Dolphins (9-1-0), while sharing second place in the Central Division with the Mississauga Chiefs (4-1-2).
Suiting up with the Bantam "AA" team this year are Taylor Scott, Katie Chomiak, Hanna Smith, Jenna Lachance, Jaiden Duncan, Vanessa McKinnon, Joelle Gagnon, Danielle Pitre, Alexandra Lumme, Myah Fillion, Kelsey Dunn, Valerie Honse, Chloé Leduc, Deseray Zazulak, Lauren Fearn and goaltender Mireille Kingsley.
Jay Duncan is head coach of this crew, with assistants Mike Lachance, Jason Scott, Rob Dunn and goalie coach Kara Fillier, trainer Michelle Pitre and team manager Stephanie Fillion.
The mid-week encounter kicks off an exciting weekend, as the Lady Wolves move on to face Mississauga on Saturday, and the Aurora Panthers (3-3-2) on Sunday.
