Not a single game of the 2025 OWHA Provincial Hockey Championships has been contested yet and already local representatives are making waves.
For the first time in Sudbury Lady Wolves program history (to the best of anyone’s memory and since the introduction of at least ten rep teams in the fold), every single SDGHA competitive entry has qualified for the all-Ontario playdowns taking place this weekend at countless rinks across the GTA.
For those who wish to keep track, that’s 13 separate local teams emblazoned with the Lady Wolves logo vying for provincial glory – with a number of teams shouldering very realistic hopes of playing on Sunday when the event features solely semi-finals and medal games.
The U15 AA Lady Wolves enter play Friday morning against the Toronto-Leaside Wildcats as the third ranked team in Ontario, a lofty setting, even for those who have slotted this event as a regular spring ritual, such is the frequency of their appearances.
“It feels a little different because we are really good this year,” noted 15 year-old defenceman Hannah Adler, attending provincials for the eighth or ninth time, to the best of her very quick recollection.
“We’re very confident going in,” added the grade nine student at Collège Notre-Dame. “We’ve beaten the top team; we’re right there.”
The challenge, as she and so many others have come to know, is that there is precious little wiggle room at this event. The U15 AA division features 32 teams broken into eight pools of four – with only pool winners advancing to the quarter-finals late Saturday afternoon.
“At provincials, you pretty much have to win every game,” said Adler. “You have to come out of your pool in first place to move on, so we’ve really got to focus on winning.”
At a competition that can feature reams of 1-0 games, goaltenders learn to deal with the pressure that accompanies the year-end playdown for so many teams – though few have worded it better than U15 AA Lady Wolves’ puckstopper Keanna Navarro.
“I try and remind myself that even though it’s provincials, it is just like any other game,” explained the 15 year-old freshman at St Charles College.
“We’re not going to get shot if we lose. And it’s not just me on the ice. Even when I think that if I let in a goal, it’s all on me, it’s never all on me.”
“We win as a team and lose as a team.”
“And having great teammates helps, supporting me when I let in a goal, lifting each other up.”
There is something to be said for the dressing room chemistry of a team that has posted a record of 41-13-4 this year. “I think we’re all just so tight,” said Adler. “The bond is so tight, inside and outside the dressing room. And the energy and positivity has been big this year. If we have a lot of energy, we play really well.”
Navarro is not the only family member dealing with the pressure of post-season play, with older brother Kyle manning the blue-line (or showcasing his versatility by taking shifts on the wing as well) for the Greater Sudbury Cubs in their quest to defend their NOJHL title.
“I didn’t want to follow in my brother’s footsteps,” noted Keanna, outlining the reasons behind her tackling the same position that her father (Eric) manned one generation ago. “I’m drawn to the net. I’ve never been a really offensive person. Even in other sports like soccer and stuff, I prefer to stay back.”
The U18 AA Lady Wolves would dearly love to join their up and coming brethren in final four action on Sunday, though as a team that is almost smack dab in the middle of the 56 provincial team field, the order to do so is a tall one.
Still, there is a specialness to this age bracket simply because it will mark the end of the youth hockey journey for several members of the trio of Sudbury U18 teams that are competing, including AA teammates Jillian Landry and Kynlee Cresswell.
“It’s starting to hit me,” acknowledged Landry last weekend, the multi-sport talent who is moving on to compete with the Laurentian Voyageurs indoor track & field team next year.
“All of my teammates are going to be really supportive; I know that,” she continued. “Everybody wants to try super hard for Kynlee and me.”
The fact that Landry has forged out a three year career with this particular team is a testament to her willingness to always progress and improve, cracking the roster as a first year U18 forward despite playing on the U15 A team the year before.
“To be honest, at the last tryout that year, I was sitting in the dressing room, looking at everybody and thinking that they are so good – there is no way I am going to make it,” said Landry. “Then I made the team and I got so much confidence. I cried, I was so happy.”
“I had never had that happen before.”
While a Sunday appearance would be icing on the cake, the tail-end of this journey is one that Landry will never forget. “Everybody on this team is always there for each other,” she said. “My coaches have always been so awesome, especially in my U18 years. It’s what made me love the sport so much.”
Notwithstanding the two-year hiatus due to Covid, Sudbury teams have secured at least one gold medal (plus a handful of others) in each of the past four years, with the Senior A (gold), U18 A (bronze) and U15 BB (bronze) teams earning hardware last year.
The Sudbury U15 troika is particularly strong, with the A team ranked 3rd in the province and the BB team sitting ninth. Fresh off capturing their league playoffs recently, the Sudbury U13 A Lady Wolves (7th) are playing their best hockey at the best possible time, with the U13 BB and U11 BB squads also both in the upper dozen of their category.
