Richmond’s Kate Reilly and Katie Chan helped Team BC reach the podium in women’s hockey at the Canada Winter Games for the first time in 28 years.
BC earned the bronze medal Saturday in Red Deer with a 5-4 victory over Ontario.
“It feels awesome. The whole game my heart was racing. We just have a great team and that last five seconds of the game you could really see it.” said Reilly, the team’s captain. "I had goosebumps and all I could think about in those last moments was don't let it get to the net. My teammate had a great block and I just went crazy on the inside.”
BC’s last medal was silver back in 1991. That was almost guaranteed again until a heartbreaking 2-1 overtime loss to Alberta in the semi-finals on Friday. BC had rolled to a 6-1 win over the host province in preliminary play.
“It was difficult. We had a talk after about sticking together as team. We also talked about doing the things we do well, like blocking shots, passing, getting shots in net and really coming together for our last game,” continued Reilly, who added that players sacrificed their bodies to block passes and keep pucks away from the net throughout the tournament.
BC rallied from a 3-2 deficit after 40 minutes for the win.
Reilly was among the goal scorers while Chan chipped in with an assist.
Reilly, a 17-year-old blueliner, has been developing her game at Shattuck St-Mary’s — a renowned hockey boarding school in Minnesota. She is currently a member of the Prep Team and will be continuing her career at Quinnipiac University next September.
Chan, 16, attends the Delta Hockey Academy, and was one of the U18 team’s youngest members. She has already made a verbal commitment to attend Colgate University.
Team’s BC coaching staff featured assistant Al Wozney who has coached many years in Richmond.
