Team Alberta capped a terrific weekend of action at the Richmond Olympic Oval by capturing the Canadian Sledge Hockey Championship with a 1-0 win over Team Quebec in Sunday’s gold medal game.
The result completed a perfect tournament run for the three-time champions after earlier round-robin wins over Team B.C. (8-0), Quebec (4-0) and Team Ontario (3-2), before defeating B.C. again (6-1) in Saturday night’s semi-final. Quebec advanced to the championship game with a 5-3 victory against Ontario.
The bronze medal battle saw Ontario defeat B.C. 5-0.
Sledge hockey is the Paralympic’s version of hockey that’s designed for athletes who have little or no movement in their lower extremities. Players sit on a sled with blades and use two miniature hockey sticks with metal picks on the end to move themselves and the puck.
The national championships featured four provinces and were hosted by SportAbility. To accommodate the players, the Oval’s rink underwent a significant retrofit, that included boards with Plexiglass along the team benches and penalty boxes so players could see the action. The $30,000 project will allow the Oval to host more sledge hockey tournaments in the future, including international events such as the World Sledge Hockey Challenge.
