STONEY CREEK–According to proud mom Kyra Lanktree, the Sudbury Lady Wolves are calm, cool and collected as they gear up for game 5 of the Esso Cup women’s hockey national championships, the semi-final match, this Friday afternoon.
Ms. Lanktree, mother of Kennedy Lanktree of Mindemoya, one of three Manitoulin players on the provincial champion Lady Wolves team including Deidre Debassige of M’Chigeeng and Victoria Pitawanakwat of Wikwemikong, spoke to The Expositor from her hotel room just a few hours before the big game.
“This has been a very exciting opportunity for the girls,” she said, “and they are being spoiled rotten.”
In the Sudbury Lady Wolves first game on Sunday, the opening game of the tournament, the girls lost against the Weyburn Gold Wings 2-1 (Kennedy with an assist). But the Wolves took it all in stride, Ms. Lanktree said.
“They outplayed Weyburn, they just couldn’t seem to put it by the net minder,” she said.
The following day, on Monday, the Lady Wolves faced off against the Moncton Rockets.
“Their nerves were gone by then because they won 5-1,” Ms. Lanktree said. Kennedy has one goal and one assist in the game, and Victoria with one goal.
Game 3 was Tuesday night against hosts the Stoney Creek Sabres, which were defeated by the Lady Wolves in the provincial championships 3-0 only a little over one week ago. The Sabres were looking for redemption, however, and edged the Lady Wolves for a 2-1 victory. Kennedy took the assist on the lone goal and Victoria was named MVP.
“The girls’ backs were against the wall in game 4,” Ms. Lanktree said, noting the do-or-die nature of the game against five-time returning champions the Edmonton Thunder. But the Lady Wolves took it all in stride, beating the national champs 3-2, Kennedy with an assist.
“They were now sitting at 2 and 2, and with fate in their own hands, the girls had to win against Fraser Valley to advance to the semi-finals,” Kennedy’s mom explained. “The girls came out flying. It was 4-0 by the end of the first period.”
The Lady Wolves won handily with a score of 6-3. Kennedy and Victory each notched two goals out of the six, with Kennedy named MVP of the game.
The girls take to the ice this afternoon at 3:30 pm facing Weyburn once again, but looking for a much different outcome than game 1.
Should the Lady Wolves win today, they advance to the championship game on Saturday at 4 pm, which will be broadcast live on TSN. If they lose, they still advance to the bronze medal match, which will also be played on Saturday.
“Deidre Debassige is firm on the blue line,” Ms. Lanktree said of the Lady Wolves defencewoman. “She’s doing a great job back there.”
The girls have been receiving plenty of media attention at the Esso Cup too, holding their fair share of post-game interviews. The Hockey Canada story on Manitoulin’s hockey darlings and their commitment to their game can be read in its entirety here http://www.hockeycanada.ca/en-ca/news/have-hockey-sticks-will-travel.
For up-to-date scores on this afternoon’s game, visit The Expositor Facebook page or keep tabs on Twitter.
Go get ’em girls!
