Lady Wolves get nipped by Caps at Esso Cup

The high-flying Sudbury Lady Wolves were grounded at the 2015 Esso Cup on Wednesday, handed their first loss of the tournament courtesy of the Central Plains Capitals.

Thankfully for the locals, the 4-1 setback occurred in the safety of round-robin play, and not in the drama of a Friday night semi-final.

The Lady Wolves entered the contest with a unblemished 3-0 record, having thumped their last two opponents by a combined score of 16-3. With the Capitals sporting a record of 1-1-0-1 prior to their encounter with the Ontario champs, few expected an upset.

But Central Plains kept the Sudbury girls in check, surrendering only a first-period goal to Karli Shell, and Mekaela Fisher provided the offensive fireworks, netting two goals and two assists as the Manitobans moved a step closer to securing a playoff berth.

Emily Upgang and Sheridan Oswald rounded out the scoring for the winners, as the Caps peppered Sudbury netminder Danika Lefrancois with 33 shots, with the Lady Wolves mustering just 21 against Lauren Taraschuk.

Despite the loss, the Nickel City crew remain tied atop the round-robin standings, sharing their 3-1-0-0 record with the Saskatoon Stars, whom they edged in the opening game of the tournament. They close out preliminary action today against the Edmonton Thunder with plenty on the line.

The Thunder need either a regulation or overtime win in order to have a chance of snaring one of the four semi-final berths, while Sudbury is playing for first place overall. Semi-finals are set for Friday evening, with the gold medal encounter scheduled for Saturday afternoon.