One team is through, two are clinging to life by a thread and a fourth squad will not make the trek to OWHA Provincials this year.

Such is the landscape in the world of the Sudbury Lady Wolves playdowns these days. Where at one time, the bulk of local girls hockey teams benefitted from a free pass to the all-Ontario championships in April, the growth of the sport in recent years means that no longer is the case.

With the local organization supporting as many as three teams in many age brackets and North Bay now icing a pair of squads across the board, there are a number of squads that must now advance through the playdown process to qualify for the next level of play.

A number of these playdown games have been hosted over the past few weeks, with the Lady Wolves' contingent enjoying varying degrees of success.

The Bantam "B" girls picked up a pair of key victories last weekend, earning their berth from a round robin pool that also included the West Nipissing Sting and North Bay Guardian Ice Angels.

Friday night in Capreol, Sudbury wasted little time taking the bite out of the Sting. Brooke Kennedy intercepted a "D to D" pass and speed away on the breakaway, finding the top corner with ease just 27 seconds into the contest.

Less than three minutes later, defenseman Kaitlyn Coufal found the mark, blasting a shot from the point and the home side was well on their win to a 3-0 win.

Courtney MacIsaac added a late insurance marker, picking up a short-handed goal with 4:14 to play while netminder Sabrina Smith came up with a number of key saves, notably early in the third period, preserving the shutout.

Facing North Bay on Saturday and having tied their rivals 2-2 in the series opening game a few weeks back, Sudbury again bolted from the gates, scoring twice in the first on goals from Megan MacKenzie and Coufal.

North Bay narrowed the gap to just one late in the frame as Allison Boule managed to beat Smith, but that was it in terms of scoring for the visitors as the Lady Wolves held of for a 2-1 win.

Needing only a tie against West Nipissing to advance, the Sudbury girls got the job done, playing to a scoreless draw. "Chippy" Hannah (Sudbury) and Anick Ouellette (West Nipissing) were flawless at their respective ends of the rink, earning matching shutouts.

Hannah was tested in the third period when Sting forward Jessica Pellerin was awarded a penalty shot, only to be denied by the Sudbury puckstopper.

"All three teams are pretty even," said Sudbury coach Joel Belanger after the victory Friday night. "There is no one super-star. Everybody works hard to try and win the games."

The Bantam "B" bench boss was thankful that his team hit the ice raring to go, a key for any hockey team looking for success. "I always preach to the girls a quick start, every game. The first three shifts of the game usually dictate the rest of the game," Belanger added.

Regardless of whether his team had advanced or not, Belanger felt he had very little to complain in terms of seeing his team play to their potential. "I think this season surpassed my expectations," he said.

"We started out with six or seven players that had never played rep hockey. I wasn't sure how they would react to the effort needed in practice at this level," Belanger said.

"I'm very pleased with our progress. We've played in four tournaments and lost in overtime, double overtime or shootouts in every single one of them. We just need to finish the year strong," Belanger added.

For both of the Sudbury midget teams, the waters are somewhat murkier. Coming off an impressive 0-0 tie in North Bay, the Midget "AA" Lady Wolves dropped a 3-1 decision to the Ice Boltz, ranked among the top five provincially throughout the year.

Sudbury opened the scoring midway through the second period as Katelyn Drabick found the mark, but the visitors answered quickly. Goals by third year midgets Jade Gauthier and Robyn DeGagne provided the Ice Boltz with a 2-1 lead heading to the third.

Despite chances at both ends, the score remained unchanged until Gauthier found the back of an empty-net in the dying minute as North Bay grabbed a 3-1 lead in the four-point affair.

Game three is set for Sunday afternoon (March 4th) at 2:00 p.m. at the West Ferris Arena. Meanwhile, the Midget "BB" Lady Wolves kept their hopes for Provincials alive Wednesday night in Chelmsford, eking out a 2-1 win over the Manitoulin Ice Angels.

North Bay is also in the frey, with each team playing a home and home set against the other two. Manitoulin dropped a pair of games to North Bay but bounced back to beat Sudbury 2-0 last Saturday in Espanola.

The Lady Wolves turned the tables last night as Natasha Lewis scored the game-winner, with Sudbury needing at least a win and a tie against North Bay in order to force a tie-breaker.

Finally, the Bantam "A" Lady Wolves were not quite so fortunate, beaten twice by North Bay over the weekend and eliminated from the OWHA Provincials.

On Saturday in Garson, coach Ian Reinhardt and company started strongly enough, ending the first period still deadlocked in a scoreless tie, before the visitors started to take control.

Bailey Bentley opened the scoring early in the second for the Ice Boltz, taking a feed in the slot and sliding a shot past Charity Walt to break the ice.

A short while later, Teagan Feltz bounced a shot off the post and in, with Sudbury narrowing the margin to one before the end of the second. Kathleen Bertuzzi spotted linemate Sarah Mulvenna open on the right wing, finding the speedy winger who provided the homeside a spark.

That appeared to carry over to the third as Walt made a lovely save on a deflected puck, with her teammates knotting the contest at two, moments later.

Spotted once again by Bertuzzi, Mulvenna initially fanned on her first attempt all alone in front before coralling the loose puck and tucking it around the North Bay goaltender.

But with 3:33 to play, Kaylee Rich broke the hearts of the Sudbury faithful, roofing a shot from in tight, with Mercedes Reed capitalizing on a giveaway just 1:24 later as North Bay secured a 4-2 win.

The Bantam "A" Ice Boltz clinched the series the following day, blanking Sudbury 2-0. The 2011-2012 season has provided easily the largest number of playdown series required since the outset of girls hockey in Northern Ontario, which is not necessarily a bad thing at all, even if Sudbury is likely to send a smaller contingent than normal to the OWHA Provincials later this spring.