Hanzlik hoping to help Sudbury Lady Wolves to national title
By Sam Laskaris
NIPISSING FIRST NATION—An Indigenous goaltender will be among those hoping to lead a Sudbury girls’ hockey team to a national title on home ice.
Cailen Hanzlik, a 17-year-old from the Nipissing First Nation, is a member of the Sudbury Lady Wolves’ Midget AA club.
The Sudbury squad will be hosting the Esso Cup, the national female Midget tournament, from Apr. 21-27.
The Lady Wolves will enter the six-team Canadian championships on a high. That’s because the Sudbury squad captured its Ontario Women’s Hockey Association (OWHA) title this past weekend in Mississauga.
Sudbury won all six of its matches at the provincials. The Lady Wolves defeated the Stoney Creek Sabres 3-2 in Sunday’s gold-medal contest.
“Now that we won the Ontario’s, we’re going to open up people’s eyes,” Hanzlik said. “We sent a message that we’re not just hosting the nationals but we deserve to be there.”
There were 22 clubs entered in the Midget AA category at the OWHA tournament.
Despite losing in the OWHA final, the Stoney Creek team also earned a berth into the Esso Cup. Also taking part will be representatives from Alberta, Nova Scotia, Quebec and Saskatchewan.
Hanzlik said her club has high expectations entering the nationals.
“A gold medal, obviously,” she said when asked what the team’s goal is.
All participating clubs will play each other once, resulting in five round-robin matches apiece. The top four finishers will then advance to the tourney’s semi-finals. Winners of these outings then qualify for the gold-medal game.
A bronze-medal outing will also be staged.
Hanzlik, a Grade 11 student at Sturgeon Falls’ École secondaire catholique Franco-Cité, believes playing at home will give the Lady Wolves an edge.
“I think home ice is going to help a lot,” she said, adding she anticipates members from various hockey associations in Sudbury will attend to cheer on the Lady Wolves.
This marks the first season that Hanzlik is playing with the Sudbury franchise. It is about a 90-minute drive each way from her Nipissing First Nation home to get to the Lady Wolves’ practices and home contests.
Sudbury coach Jay Duncan praised the teen’s parents, Tracy and Jeff, for driving Hanzlik to all of her team functions.
“That’s a big commitment,” Duncan said. “It’s her will to play. But it’s a lot of support from the parents as well.”
Being the last line of defence is also a huge responsibility for Hanzlik.
“She’s athletic,” Duncan added of his net minder. “She’s not the biggest goalie but she moves very well. And she has a high compete level.”
Besides winning the OWHA crown, Hanzlik and her teammates have also had a considerable amount of other success this season.
They competed in the Lower Lakes Female Hockey League and posted an impressive record of 19-1-2.
The Lady Wolves not only finished atop the standings in their eight-team Central Division. But they also had the best record in the entire 35-team league.
The circuit’s Central Division included the North Bay Ice Boltz, a franchise Hanzlik previously played for.
Other divisional opponents were the Toronto Aeros, Etobicoke Dolphins, Aurora Panthers, Brampton Canadettes, Barrie Sharks and Vaughan Flames.
Hanzlik will actually play in two national tournaments this year.
She will also be competing at the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships, scheduled for May 6-14 in Whitehorse.