Image credit: Anthony Corea/CFJC Today

By Marty Hastings

AT NATIONALS

Bottle, B.C. aiming to bounce back after loss at National Aboriginal Hockey Championships

May 6, 2025 | 4:53 PM

KAMLOOPS — Jaylah Bottle and Team B.C. suffered a setback in female play at the Under-18 National Aboriginal Hockey Championships on Tuesday (May 6) in Kamloops.

Manitoba earned a 3-2 victory over B.C. at McArthur Island Sport and Event Centre, taking a two-goal lead and staving off a comeback attempt to improve to one win and one tie on the tournament.

“We started off a bit slow, definitely picked it up and we were able to get a couple of goals, but came up short,” said Bottle, a defender from Tkemlúps te Secwépemc who was on the ice for both of B.C.’s goals.

“Coming off of yesterday’s game to today, it’s definitely a totally different caliber of hockey.”

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B.C. opened its tournament on Monday (May 5) with an 11-2 triumph over Eastern Door and the North.

Manitoba was deserving of a 2-0 lead on Tuesday, tallying late in the first period after dominating the frame and adding another marker early in the second stanza.

“You go from a game where you have a lot more time and space on the ice, to a stronger competitor and you just don’t have the time and space,” Team B.C. head coach Darrel Stanwood said.

“We did talk about that between periods and they adjusted quite nicely in the second and third.”

B.C. scored on the power play about halfway through the second period and tallied again with the man advantage early in the third period.

Manitoba replied quickly to retake the lead and stifled a B.C. power play late in the third period to secure the victory.

More than 150 spectators watched the game.

“It’s been really great,” Bottle said. “Yesterday’s game, we had basically the whole stands filled with kids from schools and parents. It was great with the cheering. Even today, we had lots of fans. They’re definitely motivating and they keep us going.”

B.C. (1-0-1) is scheduled to play Alberta (1-0-1) on Tuesday night, a 7:00 p.m. start on McArthur Island.

There are six teams in the female division.

Each squad will play each other once in preliminary round action, with the top four advancing to semifinals.

The format is the same on the male side.

B.C. (0-0-1) is slated to play Alberta (1-1-0) at 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday in men’s preliminary round action.