After a crushing overtime semifinal loss, Coldstream’s Anne Cherkowski made sure her team came home with some hardware.
Cherkowski scored twice and set up the eventual game-winning goal to help B.C. to a 5-4 win over Ontario in the bronze-medal match in women’s hockey at the Canada Winter Games in Red Deer.
Cherkowski, who helped Canada win the Women’s U18 World Hockey Championship in Japan earlier this year, opened the B.C. scoring in the first and, with the game tied 3-3 in the third, scored the go-ahead marker for the province at 8:20. Just 17 seconds later, Cherkowski set up linemate Chanreet Bassi of Lake Country to give B.C. a 5-3 lead.
Ontario pulled to within one three minutes later but could not get the equalizer.
B.C., which went 3-0 in the round-robin, dumped New Brunswick 7-1 in the quarterfinals with Cherkowski scoring once. B.C. then lost 2-1 in overtime to Alberta in the semifinal.
Alberta defeated Quebec 2-1 in the gold-medal game. Quebec blanked Ontario 1-0 in the other semifinal.
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Logan Leach of Lumby won the highest medal of North Okanagan athletes at the Games, capturing silver in para-alpine skiing.
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Biathletes Ethan Algra and Danica Ariano won bronze medals in team relays. Both Algra and Ariano cleaned their targets during their races, and were solid on the course, with Algra clocking the fasted ski time on his leg, and Ariano the third fastest.
Algra’s best individual result came in the 7.5 km Sprint, where he shot 10 for 10 and finished eighth. Ariano had a strong race in the 10 km Individual, shooting 16 for 20, which also put her in eighth, just one shot out of 4th place.
Speed skater Laura Hall of the Vernon Vortex Speed Skating Club won a bronze in long track relay. The best individual finish for the Salmon Arm native was fifth in the mass start.
Four Vernon ringette players missed out on bronze by one spot. Alyssa Racine (Coldstream), Alyssa Carter, Abygayle Williamson and Courtney Bacon (Salmon Arm) helped B.C. to the bronze-medal match, where they fell 6-4 to Manitoba.
Vernon hockey player Steel Quiring and B.C. finished seventh in men’s hockey.
roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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