It sucks when the one game that you really would like back, more than any other, is your final game of a tournament.

Still, the Sudbury U18 AA Lady Wolves were not about to throw the baby out with the bathwater following their appearance last weekend at the Waterloo USA Canada Cup Showcase.

A record of 2-0-2 through four very tough preliminary round matchups exceeded expectations and while a 5-1 loss to the Rochester Selects was not an ideal way to cap things off, the balance of the weekend more than made up for the final glitch.

Things could not have started a whole lot better for the local crew as the Lady Wolves upset the North York Storm 3-2, their opponents a squad that is expected to contend for a provincial championship and is currently undefeated in league play at 7-0-0.

Makayla Dunn scored twice, Kynlee Cresswell added another and goaltender Chloe Trudeau was rock solid between the pipes for Sudbury.

The momentum from that contest carried into game two and while the locals struggled somewhat defensively, their offense more than made up for it as the team improved to 2-0 with a 5-3 win over the Kitchener Lady Rangers.

Joely Angus showed the way for the Lady Wolves with a two goal effort, joined in that department by teammates Leah Salo, Gabby Cholette and Kynlee Cresswell.

The Saturday schedule was marked by a pair of overtime losses against worthy adversaries as Sudbury dropped a 3-2 decision to the Fraser Valley Rush from British Columbia (Avery Mininni, Kynlee Cresswell) and suffered a 2-1 setback against Delta Hockey Academy (Jillian Landry), with both encounters extending beyond regulation time.

The U18 AA Lady Wolves travel east Friday night to face the North Bay Jr Lakers, returning home on Sunday to host the Toronto Aeros before closing out 2024 with one last home game, December 21st, versus the Caledon Coyotes.