The Kelowna Devils will celebrate the end of 2017 in the nation’s capital.
The local all-girls peewee hockey team was among the winners of a contest to play in Hockey on the Hill from Dec. 28 to 31 in Ottawa.
Canada 150, in conjunction with other sponsors, chose one female team and one male team from each province to play in the year-end tournament, part of the Ottawa International Hockey Festival.
The Devils, comprised mostly of second-year atom players and first-year peewee players, created a 30-second video and submitted an essay explaining why the were worthy of winning the contest.
“This certainly is a once in a lifetime opportunity for these girls,” said team manager Susie Mallette.
The Devils are: Jocelyn Tew, Alexandra Recsky, Talia Halperin, Rayal Holitzki, Tori Watson, Brooklyn Carr, Taylor Degroot, Ava Macleod, Kaitlyn Mallette, London Jones, Kaia Marble, Lauren Towill, Austyn Williams, Mackenzie Leung, Claire Cruickshank, Amelia Vucinovic and Isabella Delgado. The head coach is Mike Tew, the assistants are Evan Marble, Kyle Recsky and Dan Macleod, and the manager is Susie Mallette.
Kelowna has two peewee teams competing in an all-female Okanagan house league, which includes other teams from Penticton, Kamloops and Salmon Arm.