Halifax, NS (February 18, 2011) -- Three Gold medals on Friday helped push Team BC to second in the medal standings at the end of Week One of the 2011 Canada Winter Games in Halifax. The week was topped off Friday night with Gold medal wins by the men's hockey team and the women's curling team.
"Team BC has had a great Week One at the Games," said Chef de Mission Ajay Patel. "We're sure that the athletes arriving Saturday for Week Two competition will continue to demonstrate this excellence, and continue to represent our province in such a positive manner."
The men's hockey team won their Gold medal game in a nail biter with Quebec that began with a goal from each side in the first minute of the game. Up by two at the end of the second, Quebec tied the game, but BC persevered with a hat trick by captain Curtis Lazar of Vernon and the winning goal by Nicolas Petan of Delta. The final score was 7-4.
"We said we weren’t coming 6,000 kilometres for a Silver medal," said an ecstatic coach Russel Weber (Richmond). "It’s been 1979 since we won a Gold. These guys weren’t even born then!"
Lazar was the tournament's top goal scorer with 12 goals, breaking current NHL scoring leader Steven Stamkos' Canada Winter Games record.
Team BC's women's curling team of Corryn Brown (Kamloops), Samantha Fisher (Kamloops), Sydney Fraser (Kamloops) and Erin Pincott (Kamloops), along with coach Kenneth Brown (Kamloops), won a tight semi-final match early Friday with Ontario to advance to the Gold medal match with Alberta. With great communication and shot calls in the final, the women kept control and never showed any signs of pressure throughout the entire game. They kept Alberta to only one point in the eight ends, winning 3-1.
Friday's third Gold came at Ski Wentworth where Andi Naude of Okanagan Falls won Gold in dual moguls, her second of the Games. Earlier in the week she was on top the podium in the women's moguls competition.
Both the men's and women's biathlon teams claimed Bronze medals in their team relays in conditions that were less than ideal, with freezing rain causing problems for the shooting phase.
At the end of Week One Team BC has 40 medals, trailing Quebec which has 67 medals, and ahead of Ontario and Alberta who both have 33. The second week of competition begins Sunday.
Team BC has brought a dedicated team of 242 athletes, 74 coaches, three National Artists and 22 mission staff to the Games in Halifax. Approximately 2,700 athletes, coaches, managers and officials have come to the Games from every province and territory in Canada.
The Canada Games is a national multi-sport Games competition that brings together the best athletes from each Canadian province and territory. The primary objective of the Games and the Games movement is national and provincial sport development of Canadian youth.
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For full Team BC results go to teambc.org. Photos to accompany this press release can be downloaded at teambc.org/photos
Media Contact:
Jan Mansfield
Team BC Communications Manager
januscom@shaw.ca; 902-719-8093