The Sudbury U18 AA Lady Wolves may have registered just one win in their five games contested at the USA Canada Cup Series in Kitchener this past weekend – though it should be noted, in fairness, that all four of their remaining encounters went to overtime.

Despite an outstanding performance in net from Kate Bouchard, the locals opened play with a 1-0 loss in overtime as the Bluewater Hawks got the better of the Lady Wolves in the three on three session. Detroit Belle Tire made it back to back outings where the northern girls came up just a little short, slipping past Sudbury by a score of 3-2 as Leah Salo netted both goals in a losing cause.

Reese Williamson found the back of the net in game three as the Lady Wolves and Delta Hockey Academy from British Columbia played to a 1-1 draw before Sudbury hit the win column, downing the Peterborough Ice Kats 3-2 on goals from Ryann Chevrier, Leah Salo and Ella Sabourin.

Unfortunately, coach André Brunette and company would come full circle in game five as the team battled both illness and a hectic schedule that has seen them on the road to the GTA the past three weekends in a row, the Kitchener Lady Rangers trimming Sudbury 3-2 as Lia Gallo and Leah Salo pulled the trigger in a losing cause, the latter noting the weekend featured some positive takeaways.

“It was a fun tournament to play in because we were close in all of the games,” said Salo, a 16 year-old grade 11 student at Lively District Secondary School, now in her second year with the U18 AA Lady Wolves. “It’s a lot more fun when the games could go either way.”

“I thought we did pretty well.”

On a personal level, accounting for half of her team’s goal scoring output in a tournament is uncharted waters for the left winger who has more typically prided herself on her non-stop effort and compete level.

“I thought this weekend especially, I was kind of in the right spot at the right time,” said Salo. “But I do have to give a lot of credit to my teammates. A lot of the times, they did the work to get me the puck. I have been working on my quick release in front of the net.”

The team is back at home this weekend, welcoming the New Tecumseh Icecats for a two-game set on Saturday and then facing off against the Toronto Aeros on Sunday afternoon.

Having just confirmed their 2025-2026 Leadership Group in the form of Reese Morris, Daviy Dale, Brooklyn Mininni and Kloe Rienguette, the Sudbury U15 AA Lady Wolves were also in tournament action down south last weekend, posting a 2-2 record at the 2 Nationals College Prep Series in Brampton.

The locals opened with a 3-1 win over the Etobicoke Dolphins, were beaten 5-2 by the Waterloo Ravens, rebounded to edge New York Skanaeateles 2-1 but were blanked 3-0 by the Central York Panthers.