2019 Esso Cup

HOST LADY WOLVES OPEN WITH BIG WIN OVER FIRE

QUINTON AMUNDSON

SUDBURY, Ont. - Alexe Clavelle produced two power-play goals and an assist, and Taylor Scott found the back of the net twice to lead the Sudbury Lady Wolves to a 6-2 win over the Halifax Fire on Sunday night to close out Day 1 of the 2019 Esso Cup.

Madison Laberge chipped in a goal and an assist and Katie Chomiak also scored for the Esso Cup hosts.

Courtney Boone and Allie Norris replied with tallies for the Fire.

Cailen Hanzlik turned aside 22 shots to earn the win in the Sudbury goal, while Amelia Awad stopped 39 attempts in defeat.

It took just over three minutes for Sudbury to give its raucous hometown crowd a reason to cheer. Scott opened the scoring by batting home a puck that ricocheted off the back-boards onto her blade.

Clavelle lit the lamp for the first time by converting on a rebound midway through the period, but Boone drew the Fire back within a goal at 11:48 with a wrist shot over Hanzlik’s shoulder.

Sudbury emerged from a back-and-forth period with a 2-1 lead and a 14-10 edge in shots.

Laberge restored the Lady Wolves’ two-goal edge just 42 seconds into the second stanza with a seemingly harmless perimeter shot, and Clavelle struck on the power play for the second time at the 3:41 mark with a one-timer into the bottom corner. Scott earned her second tally just shy of the eight-minute mark by burying a back-door pass from Clavelle.

The edge in goals perfectly reflected the Lady Wolves’ dominance on the shot clock in the second period: they racked up 16 while the Fire were held to three.

Chomiak put Sudbury’s sixth goal on the board at 2:13 of the final frame with a wrist shot from the high slot.

Allie Norris replied for the Atlantic champions 37 seconds later by burying a rebound in front of the cage.

The Lady Wolves outshot the Fire 15-11 in the third period, and 45-24 overall.

Sudbury will search for consecutive wins Monday night (7 p.m. ET) in a battle against the St. Albert Slash, and Halifax will try and respond against the Stoney Creek Sabres in the afternoon (3:30 p.m. ET).