As is so often the case, each of the local entries in tournament play took away a little something different this past weekend.

In this particular instance, the teams were representing the Sudbury Lady Wolves - and the event in question was the 42nd Annual NGHA Paint in Purple Tournament in Nepean.

The Sudbury U13 BB Lady Wolves returned home with a little hardware, fully convinced that they can compete with many of the very best teams in the province (in their division) after collecting silver medals following their six game run.

The team opened with a pair of wins on day one, blanking the Etobicoke Dolphins 2-0 on goals from Lauren Bois and Théa Dupuis (Ava Wicklander recorded the shutout) and then trimming the Brantford Ice Cats 2-1 a little later on (Lauren Bois; Aleah Restoule).

The U13 BB Lady Wolves split a pair of games on Saturday, unable to find the back of the net in a 2-0 loss to the Central York Panthers (who rode a very strong young netminder to victory) before closing out round robin play with a 3-1 victory over the Whitby Wolves (Kayleigh Crew (2); Meredith Sonnenburg - shutout by Sofia Mallozzi).

A semi-final rematch between the Wolves tandem played out pretty much the same way as Wicklander kept things clean at her end of the rink while teammates Annabelle Pettis and Kayleigh Crew took care of the offense in a 2-0 Sudbury triumph over Whitby.

Unfortunately, Central York would await them in the final, and specifically the same puckstopper who had impressed so much in the initial meeting, back performing more magic as the Panthers slipped past the Lady Wolves 1-0.

For the Sudbury U11 AA Lady Wolves and head coach Randi Ray, the 2023-2024 season is all about giving her players exposure to the top level of competition in the province - even if it means the hardware might have to wait.

That said, the team still went 2-2 in Nepean, on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreboard against the East Ottawa (Gloucester Cumberland) Stars in game one but getting back to .500 with a 3-1 win over the Kanata Rangers as Janelle Labrosse, Jill Ferguson and Eloize Charette all sniped home markers for the northern crew.

A subsequent 3-0 setback against the host Nepean Wildcats would leave the Sudbury youngsters with one last chance at redemption, an opportunity they took full advantage of as Olive Simon managed to poke in the game-winning tally, allowing netminder Taylor Coskery to celebrate a clean slate for the SDGHA reps.

Finally, with the recent news that a re-classification by the North Bay Jr Lakers (formerly U15AA - but winless there - and now U15A) would mean that the Sudbury U15 A Lady Wolves must face their northern rivals in upcoming playdowns, it was critical that coach Steve Gallo's troops face some stiff competition to ready themselves for the test.

They definitely found that in the form of the Kingston Ice Wolves as the teams that are separated by just three slots in My Hockey Rankings (Sudbury at 23 in the province; Kingston at 26) met up a couple of times in a matter of days in Nepean.

The U15 A Lady Wolves kicked off their tournament on a winning note, stopping the New Jersey Colonials 3-1 as Carrington Parisé, Avery Minnini and May Corson lit the lamp once each for the winners.

The first battle between Sudbury and Kingston ended in a 2-2 tie as Trinity Cheechoo joined Avery Minnini on the scoresheet, the Lady Wolves earning their semi-final berth in spite of a 1-0 loss to the Brantford Ice Cats in their final round robin game.

A semi-final rematch with the K-Town girls was every bit as intense as the initial affair, the Ice Wolves eliminating the Lady Wolves with a 3-2 win as Ryan Snow and Joely Angus bulged the twine in a losing cause.