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Calgary Flames

A weekend sweep in Toronto for the first-place Inferno

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The Calgary Inferno needed to get back on track after squeaking out a comeback win and posting no goals in a loss to Montreal last weekend. They did exactly that against the Furies, sweeping them 3-0 and 3-2 at the Mastercard Centre in Toronto Saturday and Sunday and claiming sole possession of first place in the CWHL.

The newest members of Calgary's roster factored heavily in the scoring over the course of two games. After a scoreless first period Saturday, Jill Saulnier opened the scoring with a power-play goal, and five minutes later, Jessica Campbell made it 2-0 even-strength. Saulnier's fellow rookie, Blayre Turnbull, capped the night with a goal late in the third. Delayne Brian was perfect, with 25 saves.

Hayley Wickenheiser dominated the scoresheet Sunday morning, tallying an unassisted goal and a helper on each of the others scored. Elana Lovell also continued her excellent play, scoring a goal and an assist. Natalie Spooner scored both of Toronto's goals in the loss, with her second coming with just 44 seconds left in regulation on the power play. It certainly looked as though penalties were a big part of this weekend, which isn't a surprise with the Furies by now, but things could have gotten very ugly if the Inferno's penalty kill hadn't been as good (7-7 Saturday, 5-6 Sunday).

Next weekend, it's back at home against Brampton, the only team the Inferno haven't faced yet. The Thunder are having a resurgent season after finishing last in the league in 2014-15; at 12 points, they are in second place, just behind the Inferno (14 points). Although they're unbeaten at home, they have lost twice in four games on the road, so this will be an interesting test for them against a high-octane team who has only lost once so far this year.

Look for a more thorough preview of Thunder/Inferno later on this week.

by Angelica Rodriguez