The Sudbury U16 "A" Ringette team were simply too much to handle at the recent Oshawa Storm Ringette Tournament.
An impressive sequence of five straight wins culminated with a 9-0 victory in the gold medal contest over the Whitby Wild as Sudbury outscored their opponents 37-11.
Avery Blanchard netted her team's first two goals of the tournament as the locals cruised to a 6-1 game one triumph over the Waterloo Wildfire. Patricia Deschenes, Alexis Pilon, Megan Watson and Erika Poirier rounded out the scoring for coach Melissa Lapalme and company.
The offense was really clicking in game two as Blanchard found the back of the net on five occasions, the Sudbury girls hitting double digits in a 10-4 thumping of the Nepean Ravens. Jessica Willis chipped in with a hat trick, while Watson and Kaitlyn Hinksman scored once each.
Blanchard was a one woman wrecking crew in game three, vaulting Sudbury to a 4-3 lead over Whitby and finishing with a second straight five goal effort as the reinforcements arrived in period two of an 8-4 doubling of the Wild.
Alexis Pilon drilled home a pair in the second, with Watson adding the other. The Northern Ontario reps tripled the host Oshawa Storm 6-2 in closing out round robin play as Blanchard registered her 13th, 14th and 15th goals of the weekend, with Zoe Landry, Poirier and Willis also on the scoresheet once each.
Heavy favourites in the final, the Sudbury squad left nothing to chance, jumping out to a 4-0 lead after the first period and more than doubling their advantage in the second.
Blanchard (3), Willis (2), Deschenes, Pilon, Landry and Cydney Tinkham handled the offense, while Katrina Locking and Isabelle Perreault shared goaltending duties.
Rounding out the 2017-2018 Sudbury U16 "A" roster are Charlotte Baggio, Kylee Lapalme, Maeve Stemp, assistant coaches Marc Pilon and Tammy Willis, and trainer Melanie Pilon.
Local teams will enjoy the chance to compete right in their own backyard later this month as the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex plays host to the Sudbury Invitational Ringette Tournament from Nov. 24-26.
