Canada, with a lineup that included three players from Newfoundland and coached by Steve Power of St. John’s, claimed the gold medal at the 2019 ISBHL world women’s ball hockey championship Saturday, doubling the United States 4-2 in Košice, Slovakia.
Kristen Cooze of Kippens had one of the Canadian goals, while April Drake of Long Cove drew an assist on the winning tally. Deer Lake’s Dawn Tulk is the other Newfoundlander on the team.
It’s the fifth gold medal in the last seven world women’s championships for Canada, which earned a bronze at the 2017 event (the championships are held every two years).
Tulk and Cooze, both assistant captains for Canada, have been part of three gold medal-winning teams, while Drake has been on two.
The Canadian women went 6-1 in Košice .
The world women’s tournament was held concurrently with the 2019 world men’s championship. In that won, Canada claimed a bronze medal with a 3-2 win over the Czech Republic on Saturday.
Like their female counterparts, the Canadian men only lost once during the week, but the lone setback came in the semifinal round, where they lost 6-1 to Slovakia.
There were six Newfoundland players — Jordan Escott, Marcus Power and Connor Donaghey of St. John’s, Patrick O’Keefe of Mount Pearl, Jordan Maher of Gander and Kevin Reid of Clarenville — on the Canadian men’s team, while the head coach is Ian Moores of Harbour Grace.
Ian Marshall of St. John's was team doctor for both Canadian entries.
