SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. –
For the first time in history, British Columbia has won women’s hockey gold
at the Canada Winter Games, beating Nova Scotia 3-0 in the gold medal game
at Credit Union Place in Summerside on Saturday afternoon.
The win marks the second women’s hockey medal overall for
B.C. at the Canada Winter Games; it was also a silver medalist in 1991.
Mikayla Blomquist (Lake Country, B.C./RHA Kelowna, CSSHL)
opened the scoring just over eight minutes into the second period, andMaddie Leaney (Maple Ridge, B.C./RHA Kelowna, CSSHL) and
Danica Maynard (Osoyoos, B.C./Okanagan Hockey Academy, CSSHL)
rounded out the scoring to help B.C. finish the tournament with a perfect
record.
Chloe Primerano (North Vancouver, B.C./RHA Kelowna, CSSHL)
contributed a pair of assists, including a helper on the eventual
game-winning goal. The draft pick of the Western Hockey League’s Vancouver
Giants finished first in tournament scoring with 14 points and led all
players with nine assists.
“This has been a long time coming,” said British Columbia head coach Kris
Hogg. “It is hard to put this feeling into words. A lot of these girls have
been in our program for a long time and have battled hard from day one to
put B.C. on the map. What a great job by this group. I’m very proud of them
all.”
Nova Scotia advanced to the gold medal game after beating Ontario 3-2 on
Saturday, a team featuring thirteen members of Canada’s National Women’s
U18 Team. The silver medal marks Nova Scotia’s first medal in women’s
hockey at the Canada Winter Games after not finishing higher than 5 th place prior to the 2023 event.
“I think this week truly speaks to the calibre of hockey we have in Nova
Scotia,” said Nova Scotia head coach Kori Cheverie. “This group is so
special; they played three hard games to get to this point and did
everything they could [to win]. We are very proud of the effort of this
team.”
Rhyah Stewart (Antigonish, N.S./Cape Breton West,
NSU18MHL
)
, who made 49 saves in the semifinal on Saturday, turned
in another spectacular performance, kicking aside 45 shots for Nova Scotia. Rebecca Noble (Delta, B.C./Fraser Valley, BCEHL) made 11
saves to backstop B.C. to victory.
Ontario defeats Quebec 3-1 to earn bronze
In Charlottetown, Team Ontario rebounded to earn its second-ever bronze
medal in women’s hockey at the Canada Winter Games, downing Quebec 3-1 in
the bronze medal game.
Three different players scored second-period goals for Ontario, with Caitlin Kraemer (Waterloo, Ont./Kitchener, OWHA U22 Elite)
, Abby Stonehouse (Blenheim, Ont./London, OWHA U22 Elite)
and Emmalee Pais (London, Ont./London, OWHA U22 Elite)
finding the back of the net. Maxim Tremblay (Sherbrooke, Que./Stanstead College, JWHL) scored the lone
goal for Quebec.
Hannah Clark (Oshawa, Ont./Etobicoke, OWHA U22 Elite)
made 11 saves for Ontario, while Arianne Leblanc (Repentigny, Que./Stanstead College, JWHL)
turned aside 31 shots for Quebec.
Overall, Ontario has won seven medals in women’s hockey at Canada Winter
Games. It has won four gold medals (1995, 1999, 2003, 2007) to go along
with one silver (2015) and two bronze (2011, 2023).
For more information on women’s hockey at the 2023 Canada Winter Games,
please visit
HockeyCanada.ca
, or follow along via social media on Twitter.
