Four Williams Lake players brought home gold medals with the under-12 Northern Capitals from the Canada Cup West in Kelowna during the weekend.
Forward Danielle O’Hara, defencemen Rylee Pilkington and Keira Vermuelen, goaltender Cadence Peticlerc-Crosby and assistant coach Steve O’Hara joined players from Terrace, Hixon, Quesnel, Prince George and Vanderhoof and finished the tournament with six wins and zero losses.
“It was a great moment,” Steve said of winning the tournament. “We had just had a few practices together and competed quite well against teams from Vancouver Island, Vancouver, Calgary and another team from the Okanagan who all have female hockey leagues.”
The four lakecity players competed as members for the Williams Lake Timberwolves’ Peewee Tier 2 mixed team, so having the opportunity to play high-level hockey against other girls was a welcome opportunity, Steve said.
The Capitals opened its tournament with a 6-1 drubbing of the Vancouver Island Monarchs, before skating to a 6-0 shutout of the Selects Hockey BC in its next game May 12.
Saturday, the Capitals hammered the Havoc U12 Elite 8-2, then edged Pinnacle Hockey of Calgary 4-3 in double overtime.
In the semifinal, the Capitals defeated the Okanagan All Stars 3-1, before they were again matched up with Pinnacle Hockey in the championship.
There, they handed the Calgary squad a 2-1 defeat to claim the title Sunday after battling back from an early 1-0 deficit.
“We had two hard battles against that Calgary team,” Steve said.
“It was outstanding work ethic, which is the reason why the kids did well — to buy into a strong forecheck and play as a team.
“As the tournament went on the girls, who really didn’t know each other before the tournament, starting gelling and getting better and better as the games went on. It was a very exciting moment for them. It was a moment they won’t forget, and the parents, too.”