Truth be told, a very healthy portion of the 520 team delegation that made their way to the Greater Toronto Area this weekend, site of the annual OWHA (Ontario Women’s Hockey Association) Provincial Championships, are completely convinced that they are capable of playing on Sunday when each of the 30 divisions drops down to just four teams.
Many of those dreams are realistic, while some are not quite so much – though in girls hockey, a hot goalie and one lucky bounce has leveled the playing field in many a lopsided outing in the past.
That said, at least half of the Sudbury Lady Wolves convoy, nine teams in all, should fully expect to still be playing when medals are on the line on day three.
Such is the resume of teams like the U18 A Lady Wolves, Central East champions this year with a record of 33-6-4 and missing out on qualifying for the Final Four playoff weekend (52 teams in all) only by virtue of a goal differential tie-breaker that did not go their way.
“I think we can get far, as long as we stick together and don’t get stressed, even if we’re down a goal,” suggested veteran forward Danika Gray. “We have to keep pushing; we have come back before. I think we have a lot of confidence going in, but I don’t think we are too cocky, either.”
“We don’t want to get overhyped.”
Medal contenders one year ago as well, the U18 A crew found themselves returning home after just three games, dropping two but losing the second encounter on a controversial goal that was clearly offside. With new head coach Joe Costigan at the helm, the team is arguably even stronger this time around, with coach and players aligned about just what is needed to prevail in a tournament were scores so often remain tight.
“As far as our division goes, I really like the matchups; I like who we are paired up with this year,” said Costigan, now in his second year with the Lady Wolves organization after making his way back to Sudbury four years ago, with coaching stints in both St Catharines and Stoney Creek in his very recent background.
“The girls have to be prepared to fight for each other and that has to happen before the game even starts,” Costigan continued. “They have to show up at the rink with that mindset that we are going to win, we are going to fight for every puck, and we are going to stick up for each other. That has to be in their heads before the puck drops.”
Thankfully, the locals have plenty of reason for optimism, with nary a weakness in their lineup.
“We’ve kept the lines mostly together, looking at what people are good at and complementing each other,” noted Gray of the allotment of forwards on the squad. “It makes us strong together.”
“And our defensive play is extremely strong and our goaltending is insane,” she continued. “They have kept us in so many games. The defense help us out by getting the puck to us – and we help them out by getting goals.”
It’s that well-rounded team concept that likely has Costigan most amped about his team’s chances as the U18 A Lady Wolves prepare to face the Central York Panthers, Cornwall Typhoons and Timmins Falcons with the top two teams moving on.
“We’re blessed with six very strong defensemen, so we like to stress that part of the game, clearing our zone quickly and getting pucks deep,” he explained.
Play at Provincials kicked off Friday morning and the results, from a Sudbury perspective, early on, have been encouraging. With three tournament wins in as many tournament appearances this year, the Sudbury U15 C Lady Wolves have every reason to believe their drive home will not occur until early Sunday evening.
Coach Ryan Lawrence and company took the first step in that direction, blanking the Chatham Kent Crush 3-0 in game one as Jordyn Hampel, Naomi Gobeil and Nevaeh Koostachin all scored in support of netminder Mia Moreau, who made every save she was asked to make.
“Fore-checking is at the forefront of our team play and good breakouts; those are the key, and good defensive play in our own zone,” said Lawrence, relaxing for just a bit before getting ready to head back to the rink for a late afternoon encounter with the Gloucester Cumberland Stars.
“Those are the tools that we’ve provided to the girls to help get us to the next level.”
With “C” competition somewhat tougher to find, provincially speaking, than some of the other divisions of play, the Lady Wolves competed in regular season action against a pair of U13 B teams as well as the Sudbury U13 BB Lady Wolves.
“That was a good indicator of where we are, as a team,” said Lawrence. “Even though we lost, it was a confidence booster knowing that we could compete at the B level.”
Another team that is expected to take a solid run at the podium is the Sudbury U11 A Lady Wolves, getting the ball rolling with a 3-1 victory over the Owen Sound Ice Hawks and preparing to face the St Catharines Brock Jr Badgers later in the day.
The Sudbury U13 BB Lady Wolves really cranked up the offense, chalking up a 5-0 win over the North Durham Blades, with the Kitchener Lady Rangers next up for the northern girls.
Competing in two of the tougher divisions for Sudbury teams, the U15 AA Lady Wolves played to a 2-2 draw with the Kingston Ice Wolves while the U13 AA Lady Wolves and the Peterborough Ice Kats played to a 0-0 tie, with Kloe Rienguette racking up the shutout for Sudbury.
The only local team to taste defeat in the early going was the Sudbury U13 B Lady Wolves, and that by the slimmest of margins as the Ancaster Avalanche edged the SDGHA reps 1-0 on Friday morning.
Finals in all divisions are set to take place on Sunday afternoon.
Here’s hoping at least a couple of Lady Wolves’ teams are still standing by then.
