LHFDQ Nord went 2-1-1-1 during the preliminary round, good for third place going into the medal round.  There, it built a 5-0 lead over the Regina Rebels and cruised to a 6-3 semifinal win over the West Region champions.

In the gold medal game Quebec trailed the Ontario champion North Bay Ice Boltz 2-0 early in the third period. The team, led by tournament top scorer Valerie Audet and top forward Jade Downie-Landry, responded with another run of five unanswered goals to leave Burnaby, B.C., with the 2013 Esso Cup.

Words that inspired
Quebec had surprised itself by making it to the gold medal game, says Audet, and the team was a little nervous as it waited in its dressing room prior to puck drop. But a visit from a hockey hero quickly had the players itching to get on the ice. “Caroline Ouellette spoke to us before the game and for sure built our confidence,” says Audet, now in her junior season at Dawson College in Montreal. “We were ready to play.”

That’s one for us
LHFDQ Nord knew how to score in bunches. In the final of the Dodge Cup provincials in Quebec, it completed a third-period comeback to book its ticket to the Esso Cup. So being down two goals with more than 18 minutes to play didn’t faze the players. Downie-Landry says she knew her team would win after a power play marker at 3:47 of the third got Quebec on the board. “That’s all it took – all that was missing was that first goal,” she says. “After that I just knew we were going to tack a lot in there.” Fifteen seconds later it was 3-2; 1:40 after that it was 3-3. What may have made the comeback to cap the team’s unexpected run even sweeter, says Audet, is that Quebec got the best of an Ontario rival.

Letting it sink in
After the screaming had subsided and any thrown equipment had been retrieved, the players stood on the blue-line to receive their medals. The shock of their accomplishment still hadn’t worn off. “I didn’t think I would have [a gold medal] around my neck,” says Downie-Landry, also in her junior season at Dawson College. “I didn’t think I was going to be the captain of a winning team and bringing [the Esso Cup] back home to Quebec. I was very proud of what we became and what we accomplished.”

Raising the Cup
As the team’s captain, Downie-Landry was the first person to get her hands on the trophy. She didn’t want to keep it that way for long. “You raise it above your head and you see the whole team coming at you. There’s no better feeling,” she says. “You could see everybody’s pride when we all raised the trophy together.”

Putting an “I” in team
Upon returning home the players were met at the airport by a crowd of supporters. Having spent the previous seven days working as one, each player took a turn in the spotlight. “We got our luggage and each player would go [through arrivals] one at a time,” says Downie-Landry. “For every player you’d hear all the friends and family just screaming and cheering.”

A breakfast for champions
The players, along with their parents, enjoyed one last meal together to relive their Esso Cup experience. “You spend a week with the same set of girls and you create really strong bonds,” says Downie-Landry. “Then you go out there and play hockey. All those bonds you create somehow reflect how you play. I think that’s the one thing I remember from the tournament.”