Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023
British Columbia wrapped up the first week of the PEI 2023 Canada Winter Games with eight more medals, including a historic gold in wheelchair basketball, and will begin week two in second place in the overall medal standings with 52.
Quebec is currently in first place with 77 medals while Ontario is in third with 44.
Sunday is turnaround day at the Canada Games, when 1,600 week one participants leave the east coast and 1,600 week two participants arrive.
Team BC Today
- Biathlon: A silver performance by BC in the biathlon mixed relay in the final biathlon race. BC finishes with nine medals in biathlon.
- Freestyle Ski: In freestyle skiing, BC won four medals – a gold, a bronze and two silvers – in the dual moguls events at the Canada Games. Freestyle led the BC contingent with a wild 13 medals at the Games – five gold, four silver, and four bronze – in an excellent showing in PEI and New Brunswick.
- Hockey (M): Quebec got the better of BC in the bronze medal game by a score of 7-3 as BC finished the tournament in fourth. Ben Kindel (Coquitlam) had six goals and 10 points to lead BC in scoring at the Games.
- Ringette: Ontario beat BC 4-2 as ringette rounded out the Games eighth in the country. When they weren’t on the ice, the team could be found cheering on their fellow BC athletes all over the island.
- Speed Skating (Short): Erik Haaheim (Kelowna) skated the fastest time in a Canada Games 3000m points race in the B Final to help round out the Games on a strong note for BC.
- Squash: BC was golden twice in team competition on Saturday, closing out the Canada Games on top of the podium in the male and female team events. Squash BC finishes the Games with five medals, four of which were gold.
- Wheelchair Basketball: BC’s wheelchair basketball team made history on Saturday night, winning its first gold medal in Canada games history thanks to a 79-32 victory over Alberta. The best previous finishes for BC came in 1995 in Grand Prairie, Alberta, and 2003 in New Brunswick, when the team won silver.
Medallists
- Gold | Wheelchair Basketball
- Gold | Maya Mikkelsen (Whistler) and Cole Carey (Panorama) | Freestyle Skiing | Dual Team Moguls
- Gold | Squash | Male Team Event| Weihan Wang (Vancouver), Jacob Lin (Richmond), Roman Bicknell (West Vancouver), Harrison Yang (Richmond)
- Gold | Squash | Female Team Event | Spring Ma (Richmond), Hermione Cao (Vancouver), Ocean Ma (Richmond), Maria Min (Vancouver)
- Silver | Biathlon | Mixed Team Relay | Mia Rodger (North Vancouver), Molly Caldwell (Golden), Liam Simons (Prince George), Parker Munroe (Vernon)
- Silver | Cole Carey (Panorama) | Freestyle Skiing | Dual Moguls Male
- Silver | Lynnette Conn (Powell River) | Freestyle Skiing | Dual Moguls Female
- Bronze | Lynnette Conn (Powell River) and Alex Mysko (Whistler) | Freestyle Skiing | Dual Team Moguls
Team BC Spotlight
Team BC Talks
Joel Ewert (Prince George) |Wheelchair basketball| on winning gold at the Canada Games
“It was just a really special ending for a really special group. We earned that final score and it was really awesome to see this group, that was together for eight years, have an ending like this. One of the strengths of this group was our depth. It wasn’t one superstar. Different games happened and different people got into foul trouble and injuries. We just had a lot of trust one through 12 and that really showed here with this result.
On family and friends that came across the country to cheer Team BC
“We are a family from the players to the coaches to the parents, we had so much support here. Family is a big part of what happened here.”
On saying goodbye to the Canada Games after also competing in 2015 and 2019
“It’s an emotional one. 10 years of my life in the Canada Games program – If you are going to finish something, you might as well finish on the top of the mountain.”
Ben Hagkull (Chilliwack) | Wheelchair basketball | on pre-games expectations being met in PEI
“This has just been an incredible experience. It just showed tonight. We were prepared. We came in early and shot around and we got game ready. We got used to all the noise. We executed the game plan and came away with a gold medal.”
On going undefeated at the Canada Games
“That was kind of the icing on the cake. We faced some really good teams along the way. You just couldn’t have written a better story.”
On the end of the Canada Games journey for him
“It’s been 11 years for me and Turbo [Joel Ewert’s nickname] in the program. We haven’t come close to a gold medal. So just having this around my neck is priceless. It’s been such a journey and I’m glad we ended it at this point – right at the top.”
Jeffer Ward (Vancouver) | Wheelchair basketball | on being a newer member of Team BC wheelchair basketball and his first Canada Games experience
“It’s nice to see all the hard work pay off. It’s been nine years for some, eight years for others to finally get this accomplishment. From the start, we were shooting for the gold. Now that it’s a reality, it feels good.”
Simon Cass (Victoria) |head coach| Wheelchair basketball| On the satisfaction of the team winning a gold medal
“I’ll be honest – I’ve been in sports my whole life and this is the most special moment I’ve ever had.This is an incredible group of kids. They’ve worked incredibly hard in empty gyms with long days. And it culminated with our best performance of the last eight years. The coaches could not be more proud. It’s pretty awesome.”
Marnie Abbott-Peter (Enderby) | Assistant coach | Wheelchair basketball | on strong family support at the Canada Games
“It just shows what it takes for athletes to excel. They need support from all areas, not just coaching. These families are outstanding – getting these kids to practices and camps and doing it all, and then showing up here. It’s just a huge family in wheelchair basketball – not just in BC, but all across Canada.
Cole Carey (Panorama) | Freestyle skiing | on winning gold in the first dual moguls team event mixed held at the Canada Games
“It’s pretty cool no one else can say that again. Moguls is a pretty individual sport, so when there’s a team going, you have a teammate that can help you or lose it for you. I was at the top and heard Maya had a good score on her run. So, I knew I had to put down a good run and we’d seal the deal.”
Maya Mikkelsen (Whistler) | Freestyle skiing | on winning gold in the first dual moguls team event mixed held at the Canada Games
“That was my first team duals.I am not probably not going to it do many more unless it catches on. It was cool and I am happy Cole was my partner.”
Alex Mysko (Whistler) | Freestyle skiing | on winning bronze in the first dual moguls team event mixed held at the Canada Games.
“I was pretty excited. Lynette and I got to do the first ever team dual moguls event at junior worlds last year where we both ended up crashing pretty hard. It was kind of a redemption day for us. So, to capture this third today was a pretty cool thing. Next time, we go for the gold.”
Lynnette Conn (Powell River) | Freestyle skiing | on winning bronze in the first dual moguls team event mixed held at the Canada Games
“I was trying to do my best and trying to get the most points for our team. It’s pretty cool with duals, just anything can happen.”
Molly Caldwell (Golden) | Biathlon | on winning silver in mixed biathlon relay in minus 15 degree weather
“It was a little bit rough trying to get the layers right. The skiing wasn’t as great as it could have been. But, the conditions were nice. It was sunny and not windy.”
On winning four medals in biathlon at the Canada Winter Games
“It’s been really fun getting to know everyone. The experience is amazing. I’ve had some pretty good races and some setbacks. But overall, it’s been really fun.”
On BC’s historic sweep of the podium this week in the 10km female individual event
“That was fun to have all of us on the podium at once. We were excited when we saw the results.”
Mia Rodger (North Vancouver) |Biathlon| on winning silver in mixed relay, her second medal of the Games and being part of the podium sweep earlier in the week in the 10km female individual event
“It’s really fun to do well as a team together.I had such a great time here, it was a great experience. We didn’t expect that but we knew we had the potential and it was so cool.”
Liam Simons (Prince George) | Biathlon | on winning silver in mixed relay and being in the third leg of the race and winning two medals in PEI
“I had a bit of an idea of where we were. I knew I had to push it to get us a good chance. It was a great tag-off and I gave it my all. I was looking for a medal, but with two medals – I’m super happy with that.”
Parker Munroe (Vernon) | Biathlon | on anchoring his team to silver in the mixed relay
“It was very exciting. I knew we had a strong team going into this. It’s super exciting to see it happen. In an individual race, it’s all on you. With this, there’s a lot of pressure, especially being the anchor. They set me up in a good position, so I had to maintain that to get a good result.”
On Team BC’s biathlon overall performance in PEI
“Team BC did amazing. Lots of medals. And lots of energy. We had some really great performances and it was a lot of fun too.”
Giselle Delgado | Coach | Squash | on the strong performance by Team BC
“It’s been unreal. We had a very strong team. They worked so hard to get to this point. I am really happy to be a part of it and to experience it. I’m really happy that they got to support each other and came together against the other teams. They performed their best.”
Jacob Lin (Richmond) | Squash | on winning gold in the male team event and the excitement generated by the audience
“I am really thankful that all my teammates are able to come and watch our matches. The atmosphere here is just amazing. This is a multisport event. Here, you’ve got people from every sport. When you’ve got a lot of people watching you, the adrenaline kicks in. You get excited and motivated.”
Nicole Garrido (North Vancouver) | Coach | Speed Skating (Short Track) | on the BC’s Canada Games experience
“We came in not with super-high expectations. The team performed really well. We ended up in the B final on numerous occasions. We ended up in the A final for the men’s team relay. That was a huge accomplishment.. Unfortunately we did not end up on the podium, but we did our best. We are leaving with high spirits.”