Players and parents say changes to girl’s hockey provincials in P.E.I. unfair

P.E.I. female hockey teams won’t have round robin games in the ongoing provincials.

Parents and players were disappointed when Hockey PEI cancelled provincial playoff games for girl’s teams in the fall. When the playoff schedule was released ahead of this weekend’s games, their frustration returned.

The girl’s teams won’t have any round robin games when provincials begin on March 28. Instead, it’s straight to the quarter and semi-final elimination games.

Bridget McCarthy said it’s a lot of pressure.

“If you have the three games, if you lose one, it’s like, okay, we’ll work harder next time,” Bridget said. “But this one, we really have to work hard to do it.”

Bridget and Bethany McCarthy Hockey player Bridget McCarthy is pictured holding a hockey stick beside her mother Bethany.

Hockey PEI dropped the playoff round robin for girls in the fall. Parents and players say they are disappointed.

“I don’t find it’s fair because I know some of the boys who are playing in the provincials this weekend and they get the round robin and we only get one game,” Bridget said.

Bridget’s mother, Bethany McCarthy said it’s unfair.

“If it was just for the little leagues, the U-11 and under having a weekend of champions that makes sense but when you’re talking about girls that are 17 and 18 years old, it kind of takes away from it,” Bethany said.

Hockey PEI said it was a tough decision. They said the timing of March break, countrywide formats and the balance of equity and equality led to the decision.

Josh MacIsaac’s daughter Rylenne plays on one of the girl’s teams. He said the new format seems like a bad way to run provincials.

“It’s just one-loss elimination,” MacIsaac said. “You don’t show up for your first game to play a good game, you lose.”

Rylenne and Josh MacIsaac Hockey player Rylene MacIsaac is pictured with her father Josh.

Hockey PEI said they were transparent about the decision in a news release. They said concerns were limited when they called for provincial hosts in January, but some parents said they were caught off guard.

“We really didn’t think they were going to go through with it because we knew a lot of people that had contacted giving their input,” Bethany said. “When it came out on Tuesday with the schedule that was when everybody was kind of taken aback when we realized they had gone forward with it.”

Hockey PEI was unavailable for comment Friday.

Hockey Gear Hockey equipment and bags are pictured, one with a tag that says, 'I play like a girl try to keep up.'

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