October Recap

League play took off in October after an opening weekend at the end of September. Teams had a chance to get to know each other and what to look for in terms of strengths and weaknesses for future games. Game scores rose and fell but through it all, one team remained undefeated; the Wolves! However, because of a new points system imposed by the AJFHL in which a regulation win awards three points and an overtime win only awards two, they're not at the top of the league, yet.

This month kicked off with back to back games against the Lethbridge Eagles on Saturday Oct. 1 and against Cochrane Chaos on Sunday, Oct. 2. The Eagles opened the scoring late in the first period to put themselves up 1-0. The Wolves came out strong in the second and quickly tied it up with a rush goal from #5 Claudine Boucher. Less than a minute later on the power play, #22 Grace Flanagan potted another to give the Wolves their first lead of the game. Later in the period, the Eagles were able to tie it again with a goal on the power play. Midway through the third #3 Ainsley McCoy-Birk put in a rebound off a breakaway for her first goal as a Wolf and to give the Wolves another lead. Unfortunately late in the third, the Eagles scored another goal to tie it again and take the game to overtime. Overtime opened with the Eagles taking possession right away, however the Wolves were able to quickly get the puck and #25 Rory Bothwell scored on a breakaway to put an early end to overtime! #30 Andrea Peric stopped 18 of 21 shots to get the Wolves to victory.

The Wolves took on the Chaos the next day at 1:30 p.m. at Confederate Lesiure Centre. Both teams battled hard through the first period, but the game remained scoreless going into the second. The second period appeared to be going the same as the first with chances at both ends, until the Chaos were able to put one past Peric, putting the score up 1-0 going into the third. The Wolves quickly tallied their own, with Flanagan scoring less than 5 minutes into the period. A couple of minutes later, Chaos took the lead again with another goal to make it 2-1. Late in the period on the power play, #12 Jaqueline Cowling was able to put one past the Chaos net minder for her first goal as a Wolf to seal the game at a 2-2 tie. Both teams traded chances through five minutes of overtime but the goaltenders held strong and the score remained even. Due to a call by the official, there was no shootout so the game ended in a tie, with both teams taking home one point. Peric turned aside 24 of 26 shots to help the Wolves remain undefeated.

On Saturday Oct. 8, the Wolves headed out to Ardrossan to face off against the Sherwood Park Steele in their home barn. The Steele quickly opened the scoring in the first period with a strange bouncy shot that ricocheted past Peric. It didn't take long for the Wolves to answer back as #10 Brigitte Hetu fired one on net that bounced off a stick and rolled up and over the Steele goaltender's back and into the net for her first goal as a Wolf. Doesn't matter how I guess! Midway through the period, #17 Bree Edwards got a pass from the hashmarks and walked around the defender in front of the net to give the Wolves a 2-1 lead. The second period started much like the first, with the Steele potting another quick goal and tying it up. They would go on to score another at the midway mark of the period, putting themselves up 3-2. Late in the period, #15 Tyra Anderson got a breakaway at the end of a penalty kill and went top shelf, tying the game at three before heading into the third period. The Steele opened the scoring again in the third, taking a 4-3 lead only three minutes into the period. Midway through the period on the power play, the Wolves were able to tie it up again on a rebound goal from #4 Nicole Thomas, her first goal as a Wolf. Late in the game, the Wolves had another power play and Boucher gave the Wolves a late lead with a blistering shot from the point that went top corner. The Wolves would go on to win 5-4 and get their first regulation win of the season!

The following weekend, the Wolves headed up to Fort Saskatchewan to take on the Fort Saskatchewan Fury at the Dow Centennial Centre. Five minutes into the period, the Fury opened the scoring and took the lead. They went on to score one more late in the period and put the score up 2-0 going into the second. Less than a minute into the second period, the Wolves went down a player on the penalty kill. However, Edwards was able to take the puck and take open ice and score a shorthanded goal on the rush to cut the Fury's lead in half. The Fury followed up with a penalty of their own and a shorthanded goal of their own shortly after, to extend their lead again. Both teams battled for the remaining 15 minutes of the period but the goaltenders held strong and the score was 3-1 after two periods of play. Midway through the third, and down a Wolves player again on the penalty kill, Edwards took the puck on a rush again and scored her second shorthanded goal of the game! The Wolves being within one, pulled #31 Paige Thomas for the extra attacker. With 30 seconds left, Edwards received a pass in front of the net and was able to put it in, to tie the game at three and to giber herself a hat trick! Both teams battled hard through overtime and as the final seconds ticked down, the Wolves had numbers in front of the net and N. Thomas was able to corral the puck to put it past the Fury netminder for the Wolves to take the win 4-3! P. Thomas turned aside 16 of 19 shots in helping the Wolves continue on their winning streak!

On Sunday Oct. 23, the Wolves piled into a bus for the road trip down to Calgary to face off against the Calgary Jags at the East Calgary Twin Arenas. For the first time this season, the Wolves opened the scoring with a slot pass across to #9 Sydney Dutertre who put the puck past the Jags goalie for her first goal as a Wolf! Both teams battled to put pucks in the net for the rest of the period but the score remained 1-0. Through the second and third periods, both teams traded chances and player advantages back and forth however both goalies stood strong in their nets and did not let anything by, so the game ended with an early-decided score of 1-0. P. Thomas stopped all 33 of the shots that she faced to shut out the Jags!

This past weekend the Wolves travelled to Penhold for a match-up against the Central Alberta Amazons on Saturday, Oct. 29. The Amazons opened the scoring with a short handed goal over halfway through the first period. The Wolves came out strong in the second period, quickly tying the game three minutes into the period when #16 Carolyn Lavoie won a puck battle in front of the net for her first goal as a Wolf! The Wolves continued to advance their side of the scoreboard with goals from Edwards, Dutertre, and Flanagan. The Amazons managed to put another puck past Peric, but the Wolves answered back right away, with goals from N. Thomas, and again from Dutertre, Flanagan, and Edwards. The score going into the third period was 8-2! Midway through the third, Edwards completed her hat trick with a power play goal. The Amazons would go on to score two more before the end of the game, but the Wolves had built such a lead that they went on to win 9-4. Peric turned aside 22 of 26 shots to help the Wolves get the win!

On Sunday, the Wolves hosted the Steele in their home arena of Castledowns after a long stretch on the road. Midway through the first period, #8 Payden Bialowas opened the scoring for the Wolves by putting the puck in the net after a long net front battle. Before the end of the first period, #88 Talia Teliani put another past the Steele goaltender to put the Wolves up by two heading into the second period. Midway through the second period #7 Nayha Johal went top shelf on a rush to advance the Wolves lead. As time wound down in the second, Edwards scored another for the Wolves, making the score 4-0 heading into the third period. Both teams battled hard through the third, and with less than five minutes left in the game, the Steele scored a short-handed goal. The Wolves answered back with less than 2 minutes left when #14 Logan Basterash scored her first goal as a Wolf, and sealed the game at 5-1. P. Thomas stopped 16 of 17 shots to allow the Wolves to go undefeated in October!

While the Wolves remain undefeated so far this season, they are not at the top of the league just yet. Their goals for November include maintaining their winning streak and getting themselves into that #1 spot. The action returns on Saturday Nov. 6 at Castledowns at 5:45 where they take on the Chinook Blazers. We hope to see you there!