Scoring seven of their eight goals over the course of the final two games of the Stoney Creek Showcase in late September, the Sudbury U15 AA Lady Wolves are hoping to carry that offensive surge into league play with OWHL (Ontario Women's Hockey League) play up and running in October.

Defensively, the locals had no issues, limiting opponents to just five goals against in five games, a stretch that featured scoreless ties against both the Clarington Flames and Detroit Honeybaked - with goaltender Taylor Croskery recording the shutout in each of those outings.

Squeezed in between was a 3-1 loss at the hands of Fox Motors from Michigan, with Olive Simon accounting for the only Sudbury goal.

As the tournament wore on, the Lady Wolves warmed up, at least in terms of their efficiency around the opposing net, defeating Skaneateles from New York 3-1 as Frederique Larose, Daviy Dale and Olive Simon all hit the mark.

The team then closed off with a 4-1 beating of Biggbee Coffee from Ann Arbor (Michigan), with Larose scoring twice (including an empty-net marker), joined on the scoresheet by Meredith Sonnenberg and Julianna Smith.

The Sudbury U18 AA Lady Wolves closed out pre-season play with a 5-2 win over the North Bay Jr Lakers, with Joely Angus powering the offense with a two-goal effort. Alyssa Bryant, Alexie Miller and Lia Gallo also contributed to the Sudbury attack as the Lady Wolves opened league play on Saturday, edging the Markham-Stouffville Stars by the same score of 2-1 in back to back games.

The Sudbury U15 A Lady Wolves are off and running thanks to a 3-1 triumph over the Orillia Hawks as Tessa Marshall gave the homeside an early lead, Adriella King doubled the advantage later in the frame and blueliner Hannah White closed things off in the third, taking full advantage of a clean faceoff win from centerman Lily Martel as goaltender Lux Gasteiger registered the win between the pipes.

Speaking of impressive performances in net, Laila-Mae Taibossigai turned aside all 30 shots that she faced as the Sudbury U18 A Lady Wolves atoned for a 4-2 loss at the hands of the Central York Panthers on Saturday, blanking the visitors 3-0 Sunday morning in Garson.

Makayla Paris broke the ice for the homeside in the opening period of play and Taibossigai made that goal stand until late in the game when defenseman Anika Rheaume snuck her shot from the blue-line through a perfectly placed screen, with Ella Gatien nailing the coffin shut with an empty-net goal just a minute or so later.

Making the jump over to girls hockey after playing with the boys (A/AA) for a number of years, Taibossigai has adjusted nicely to the nuances of what she is facing as she looks out on to opposing shooters.

"The shots are good and sometimes they are really well placed, but it's just a different pace (from the boys)," said the 15 year old grade 10 student at Espanola Secondary School who makes the hour-plus ride in from the Whitefish River First Nation near Birch Island several times a week.

"The guys are more go, go, go and the girls are a little more strategic."

And, as she is quickly finding out, a 1-0 score for the majority of a contest is not all that terribly unusual in girls hockey, leaving the goaltenders with very little margin for error.

"My mindset is that it's 0-0, all the time," said Taibossigai, who opted to don the pads right from the start of her hockey career, having grown up watching her father (Josh) play the position - even if he tried everything to dissuade his daughter from following in his footsteps.

"If you let in a bad goal, just move on; just reset."

With only a little taste of summer hockey with some of her new teammates to go on, Taibossigai is more than a little pleased with the chemistry that has quickly developed in the room.

"I really like the effort our girls have, how much grind they have, their supportiveness," she said. 'With that, and their smart plays and back-checking, we are really well rounded."

League play resumes for the U18 A crew on the weekend of October 24th and 25th as the northern squad travels south for a two-game set with the North Simcoe Capitals.