2015 Esso Cup

SUDBURY OFFENCE EXPLODES FOR EASY WIN OVER MONCTON

WENDY GRAVES

RED DEER, Alta. – Twelve players made it on the score sheet – with seven having multi-point games – as the Sudbury Lady Wolves fired 60 shots on net and easily beat the Moncton Rockets 9-1 Monday afternoon.

The 60 shots fell just short of tying the Esso Cup record; the St. Albert Slash put up 61 on the Kings County Kings in 2011.

Tayler Murphy (Sudbury, Ont.) led the offensive onslaught with two goals and an assist. Taylor McGaughey (Sudbury, Ont.) and Jamie Ricci (Sudbury, Ont.) added a goal and two assists each.

Melisa Kingsley (Sudbury, Ont.) found the back of the net twice, with Sydney Walker (Sudbury, Ont.), Sophie Lebrun (Kapuskasing, Ont.) and Karli Shell (Sudbury, Ont.) adding the other goals. Lebrun and Shell also chipped in with an assist each. Meagan McGaughey (Sudbury, Ont.) added two assists.

Brooke Murphy (Balla Philip, N.B.), with an assist from Emma Rae Murphy (Petitcodiac, N.B.), replied for the Rockets.

For the second game in a row the Rockets were forced to change goalies. Emilie Arsenault (St. Louis, N.B.) got the start, but after allowing her fourth goal was pulled in favour of Brianne Waterman (Memramcook, N.B.). The veteran made 38 saves in just over 36 minutes of play.

The storyline was set early, with Sudbury outshooting Moncton 10-1 through the opening five minutes. The outplayed Rockets were also whistled for the first four penalties of the game. The Lady Wolves made them pay on the first two.

Taylor McGaughey took a centering pass from her twin sister, Meagan, and buried the second rebound to give her team the lead only 5:41 in. Less than four minutes later, on another power play, Shell fed Kingsley out front, where the forward was left wide open in the slot. With just under five to play in the period, Lebrun outmuscled her defender up the side boards and fed Murphy out front for a 3-0 lead.

After the teams exchanged second period goals, Sudbury put the game on ice with three goals in 2:35 in the opening minutes of the third.

A point shot from Ricci just trickled behind Waterman and Shell spinning to put home her own rebound rounded out the scoring.

The Lady Wolves look to move to 3-0 when they meet the host Red Deer Chiefs Tuesday night (7 p.m. MT). The Rockets play the Central Plains Capitals in Tuesday’s opening game (12 p.m.) in a matchup of 0-2 teams.