Nickel District Minor Hockey League action heats up

At this time of year, virtually every single evening is filled with hockey action at a variety of venues that all seem to feature playoff implications.

Feb. 28 was no different.

Forced to a third and deciding game, the Sudbury Bantam AA Lady Wolves survived their playdown series with the North Bay Ice Boltz, picking up a 4-1 win on the road to capture the four-point affair by a margin of 4-2.

The teams wrapped up the opening period tied at a goal apiece as Taylor McGaughey broke the ice for the visitors, with the Boltz striking back less than two minutes later.

Brooke Kennedy netted what would turn out to be the game-winning goal, accounting for the only scoring of the middle frame, with Ashley McKerral closing out North Bay with a pair of third-period tallies, including the final one into an empty net.

While the Bantam AA Lady Wolves have now safely advanced to OWHA Provincials in April, the Midget AA squad still have their work cut out for them. The locals trail the four-point showdown three points to one after North Bay eked out a 2-1 win on home ice last Sunday.

Chloe Dion has accounted for all of the scoring in the series for the Ice Boltz, recording a pair of power-play goals in Game 2, while Karli Shell answered for Sudbury, banking an attempted pass to Kennedy Lanktree off a North Bay defender and in, deadlocking the contest at 1-1 after two periods of play.

North Bay grabbed the series lead when Dion netted her second of the game with less than four minutes remaining, capitalizing with the man advantage.
Game 3 is slated for 5:15 p.m. on March 2 at the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex.

Sudbury will need a win to force a fourth and deciding game.

Meanwhile in Hanmer, the SDSSAA Division B girls hockey finals got underway as the St. Benedict Bears made a pair of first-period goals stand in a 2-1 win over the Bishop Carter Gators.

Courtney Corbiere-Wabegijig handled all of the offence for St. Benedict, with Alyssa Frising making things interesting when she cut the lead in half with exactly 10 minutes remaining in the contest.

In Walden, the top-seeded Nickel City Midget AA Rebels completed a three-game sweep of the West Nipissing New Sturgeon Builders Sting, albeit by the slimmest of margins.

A third-period goal from captain Aidan Byrne snapped a 1-1 tie, propelling the Rebels to the Nickel District Minor Hockey League Midget final.

Alain Sicard provided Nickel City with a first-period lead, scoring at 5:31 of the first period, before Mathieu Piquette made good on a second-period breakaway for the visitors.

With Sting netminder Nickolas Desormiers in top form, West Nipissing kept the contest close, despite being outshot 38-17.

The Rebels will face the Copper Cliff Redmen in the grand finale after coach Parker MacLeod and company swept past the Nickel City Devils, finishing things off with a 5-1 win Feb. 28 at the McClelland Arena in Copper Cliff.

The six-point championship affair will kick off March 5 with a 9 p.m. puck drop at the Ray Plourde Arena in Val Caron. The remaining times and dates have yet to be confirmed.