Locals capture medals at Canada Games in Whitehorse

BY MICHAEL PIASETZKI

The 2007 Canada Winter Games concluded Saturday in Whitehorse and close inspection reveals it was a very successful competition from a local standpoint.

Eight area athletes captured medals during week two of the Games, boosting the total count including those from week one to 12. That’s six better than the total earned at the 2003 Games in Bathurst-Campbellton, N.B.

One local coach, Dollard des Ormeaux resident Stephan Blackman, also picked up a bronze medal in ringette during week one.

Leading the way during week two was Senneville’s Guillaume Rodrigue, who captured gold in team épée and bronze in male épée while competing in fencing. On the women’s side of the ancient sport, Kirkland’s Gabrielle Tétrault earned silver in female team épée. Meanwhile, in figure skating, Pierrefonds resident Raphaëlle Viau of the Pierrefonds Figure Skating Club captured a silver medal in pre-novice dance mix with partner Benjamin Edward Arcieri, a St. Leonard resident. Finally, Beaconsfield’s Camille Dumais, Leslie Oles and Laurianne Rougeau, along with Ste. Anne de Bellevue’s Stacie Tardif and Pointe Claire’s Alexandra Garcia, were part of the women’s hockey team that captured bronze after shutting out Saskatchewan 6-0 on Saturday. Dumais was the leading scorer among West Islanders on the squad in the tournament with three goals and three assists.

Elsewhere during week two, Pierrefonds resident Shawn Moskalewski and his mates narrowly missed a podium visit in men’s curling, finishing fourth overall after dropping a 6-3 decision to Prince Edward Island last Friday. Shawn’s father Kim Moskalewski coached the Quebec entry. In alpine skiing, Senneville’s Marie-Michelle Bélanger-Timothy finished fourth in women’s slalom and ninth in giant slalom while in squash, Kirkland’s Ken Flynn, a coach on the Quebec side saw his men’s team finish fourth and women end up sixth. It was the best finish ever by a Quebec men’s squash team at the Games.