It sure didn't take the Sudbury U14 AAA Wolves much time at all to get back up to speed with top half of the province competition at the recent Great Lakes Cup in Stratford.
That's a very good thing given a solid field of eight teams that were contesting the banner, with the locals making their way to the finals and earning silver medals for their efforts.
Ranked #10 in the province, the U14 AAA Wolves are in the unenviable position of facing only one other opponent in NOHL (Northern Ontario AAA Hockey League) action this year, with Sudbury having swept all 14 games to date against the Soo Jr Greyhounds.
That is nowhere near ideal preparation for tournament play, though the Wolves were more than competitive in a 3-2 opening game loss to the Huron-Perth Lakers (#16 in Ontario).
The defending All-Ontario U13 AAA silver medal winners then rolled off three straight victories to close out round robin play, beating the Cambridge Hawks (5-3), the Lambton Jr Sting (6-4) and the Waterloo Wolves (3-2).
A rematch against Lambton in the semi-finals will be a game to remember as the Sting opened the scoring only to have Nicholas Christakos and Dacey Dupuis reply for the Wolves, giving the locals a 2-1 lead heading to the third.
Lambton would pull even with 6:39 to play, forcing an overtime session during which Cooper Niquet was hauled down on a clear-cut breakaway. With the team having the option of shooters, Sudbury turned to Dupuis who calmly drilled home the penalty shot, five-hole, sending his team to the finals.
Unfortunately, the emotion of the contest did not carry over as the Wolves fell 4-1 to Huron-Perth in the championship encounter, though they will have a chance to get back on the winning track in tournament play on Family Day weekend as coach Gerry Dupuis and company make the long drive east to take part in the Tournoi International de Hockey Bantam de Grandby.
"The team showed a lot of character, dealing with some adversity at this tournament," noted team manager Maxine LeBreton. "We were down 3-0 to Lambton and came back and won and did the same thing in another game."
"We have a lot of vocal players who help bring the energy back up," she added. "There was a lot of rallying on the bench."
As for their ability to play to the level of tougher opponents, LeBreton suggested that she is not all that terribly surprised.
"I think there's always an adjustment whent they start facing those big teams, but their biggest drive is that they do practice hard," she said. "These are very driven boys, always working really hard."
Meanwhile, the Sudbury U12 AAA Wolves also enjoyed one of their best showings of the winter at the Great Lakes Cup, advancing to the semi-finals before being eliminated in a close one.
The northern squad posted a 3-1 record in round robin play, splitting with the Central Ontario Wolves (6-3 win) and the Markham Waxers (3-2 loss) on day one but taking both encounters on the Saturday, 3-0 over the Whitby Wildcats and 5-2 over the Oshawa Generals.
The field of 12 teams would mean a quarter-final rematch with Whitby was in order as Sudbury posted a solid 5-2 win before being clipped 3-2 by the Chatham-Kent Cyclones in the semis.
