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.

Forty-eight officials – 24 referees and 24 linespersons – from all 10 provinces have been selected for the Canada Winter Games in Prince Edward Island. The men’s tournament will take place Feb. 19-25, followed by the women’s tournament from Feb. 27-March 3.

“The officials who have been selected for the Canada Winter Games should be very proud of this accomplishment,” said Dan Hanoomansingh, manager of officiating with Hockey Canada. “While it only occurs every four years, this is an important development event for our high-performance officials. If you look at many of our current top officials, they were successful at past Canada Winter Games tournaments. We have similarly high expectations for this crop of officials and are excited to see them perform on the ice.”

Officials selected for the Canada Winter Games are part of the Officiating Program of Excellence (OPOE) and attended regional camps across the country prior to their selection. This is the first season of the Women’s OPOE, presented by the Hockey Canada Foundation, which allows officials to receive mentorship and coaching prior to the final selections.

Gabrielle Ariano-Lortie (Laval, Que.), Corey Hayne (Antigonish, N.S.) and Vanessa Stratton (Windsor, Ont.) will join Hanoomansingh as officiating coaches.

All selected officials are leaders in their Member leagues and high-performance programs, and being selected for Canada Winter Games is not only an accomplishment for the official, but also a credit to their Member and local development programs.

“Our program is for anyone who is interested in officiating, from the grassroots to the international game,” says Hanoomansingh. “Hockey Canada's 13 Members provide a path for anyone to participate in officiating, develop a love for the game and achieve their goals.

Officials are integral to the game, enforcing the standard of safe and fair play in arenas from coast to coast to coast. No matter what the level, without officials, there is no game.”

For more information about the Hockey Canada Officiating Program, visit HockeyCanada.ca/Officials.

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. – For the first time ever, Quebec has won the women’s hockey gold medal at the Canada Winter Games, edging Ontario 2-1 in overtime in Saturday night’s gold medal game at the CN Centre.

It’s the seventh medal in as many tries at the Canada Winter Games for Quebec, which finished with the silver medal in 1991 and 2003, and won bronze in 1995, 1999, 2007 and 2011. Ontario earned its second straight silver medal after winning four consecutive gold in 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007.

On Saturday, Audrey Belzile scored the game-winning goal on the power play at 9:18 of overtime, batting in the rebound of an Alyson Matteau shot to clinch the gold medal.

After a scoreless opening 40 minutes, Victoria Eymard got the scoring started for Quebec just 1:40 into the third period, banking a shot off Ontario goaltender Julia Vandyk, but Kristin O’Neill tied it with 3:20 remaining, beating Quebec netminder Maude Trévisan from the slot.

Trévisan finished with 41 saves in the Quebec goal, while Vandyk made 22 stops for Ontario.

Earlier Saturday, Alberta won the bronze medal with a 5-3 victory over Saskatchewan. Alexandra Poznikoff and Malia Schneider had two goals each, and Sarah Lecavalier added one for Alberta, which won its fourth medal ever; it took gold in 1991 and 2011, and earned bronze in 1999.

The women’s hockey tournament at the 2015 Canada Winter Games brought together the top players from across Canada’s provinces and territories born in 1997 or later.

For more information on women’s hockey at the 2015 Canada Winter Games, please visit http://www.hockeycanada.ca/cwgw, or follow along via social media at https://twitter.com/canadagames by using the official hashtag #CGHockey.

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. – The stage is set for the gold medal game in women’s hockey at the 2015 Canada Winter Games. Quebec and Ontario earned semifinal victories on Thursday, and will meet Friday night at the CN Centre.

The gold medal game is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT and can be seen live on TSN2 and RDS.

Quebec edged Saskatchewan 4-3 in overtime in Thursday’s early semifinal, while Ontario topped Alberta 5-2 in the late game.

Friday will mark the third time Quebec will play in the gold medal game, while Ontario will make its sixth straight appearance. Quebec and Ontario previously met in the 2003 final in Bathurst, N.B., with Ontario winning gold.

Since women’s hockey made its Canada Winter Games debut in 1991, Ontario and Alberta have combined to win all six gold medals. Ontario won four consecutive gold in 1995, 1999, 2003 and 2007, while Alberta was victorious in 1991 and 2011. Quebec has never won gold, earning silver medals in 1991 and 2003.

In Thursday’s early semifinal, Valérie Audet scored the overtime winner on a power play at 1:41 of the extra period to lead Quebec into the gold medal game. Gabrielle David, Lidia Fillion and Marika Labrecque also scored for Quebec, which is undefeated in five games entering the final. Maude Trévisan picked up her fourth win of the tournament in the Quebec goal, turning away 12 of 15 shots.

In the second semifinal, Rhyen McGill opened the scoring 62 seconds in and added two more goals in the final two minutes to complete her hat trick and send Ontario to the final. Josiane Pozzebon and Kaitlin Tse also scored for Ontario, which will look to avenge its lone loss of the tournament, a 3-1 setback to Quebec in the preliminary round finale on Monday night. Julia Vandyk earned the win for Ontario, making 31 saves.

Saskatchewan and Alberta will meet in the bronze medal game on Friday afternoon at the CN Centre. The game can be seen live via webcast at www.sportscanada.tv, beginning at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

Single-game tickets for the gold and bronze medal games are on sale at the CN Centre box office or online at www.ticketmaster.ca.

NOTE TO MEDIA: Morgan Bell, Hockey Canada’s coordinator of media relations, is on site in Prince George for women’s hockey at the 2015 Canada Winter Games. Please contact her for any interview requests at (403) 669-1261 or [email protected].

Women’s hockey at the 2015 Canada Winter Games brings together the top players from across Canada born in 1997 or later.

For more information on women’s hockey at the 2015 Canada Winter Games, please visit http://www.hockeycanada.ca/cwgw, or follow along via social media at https://twitter.com/canadagames by using the official women’s hockey hashtag #CGHockey.