“I swear to you, I still have my medal around my neck, and I’m pretty sure it’s the same for everyone else!”

These words come from Team Quebec’s captain Rosalie Tremblay, about fifteen hours after winning a historic gold medal at the Canadian National U-18 Women’s Hockey Championship.

It’s because this medal means a lot to these young players. On Saturday night at the CBS Arena in Conception Bay South, Newfoundland, Quebec defeated Atlantic 3-1 in the tournament final to claim its first gold medal at the Canadian U-18 Women’s Hockey Championship.

In the first 15 editions of this championship, a team from Ontario always took top honours. Ontario Red won it 14 times, and Ontario Blue just once.

Meanwhile, before Saturday, Quebec had won two bronze medals and nine silver medals, including the last two years, when the team lost in the finals in 2023 and 2024. Two years ago, Quebec lost 3-2 in overtime against Ontario Red, and last year, 1-0 against the same team.

“Since the beginning of the tournament, winning the gold medal was our one and only goal, certainly our biggest motivation," explains Tremblay. "Quebec is a hockey province, and it was important for us to win this gold medal."

The same sentiment comes from forward Loélie Lachapelle, who had also faced disappointments over the past two years.

“We've been pushing for the gold medal for three years. I went through four training camps, so it was important for me to represent Quebec one last time and to win the gold medal," says Lachapelle, who indeed still had her medal around her neck during her interview with The Hockey News.

An Almost Perfect Run

After an initial 3-2 victory in overtime against the Atlantic in the first match of the tournament — a win worth only two points instead of three — the team became unstoppable.

In the next three games, Quebec dominated its opponents, scoring 11 goals while allowing only one. But in the semifinals, the team had to defeat Ontario Blue, and thanks to two goals with barely three minutes left in the third period, the Quebec players managed to win the game narrowly, 4-3.

Meanwhile, in the other semifinal, to everyone’s surprise, the Atlantic defeated Ontario Red 4-2 to reach their first final.

Atlantic was the first team to score on Saturday when Megan Mossey, chosen as the tournament's top defence player, got past goalie Léa-Rose Charrois. But before the end of the first period, Zoé Charland tied the game. In the second period, Rosalie Tremblay scored what would prove to be the winning goal, and late in the period, Madison Lévesque added an insurance goal, assisted by Tremblay. No goals were scored in the third period.

With only a few seconds left, emotions were running high on the team's bench.

“I had just come off the ice, there were about 20 seconds left in the third period, and I felt really emotional. It was a beautiful moment," recalls Tremblay.

"I had just arrived at the bench, and Rosalie was next to me, there wasn't much time left, and she was crying," confirms Lachepelle.

The players then erupted with joy and, as tradition dictates, they literally jumped on Lea-Rose in front of the net. 

A Gold Medal With A New coach

Of the 20 players making up Team Quebec, eight are currently playing with the Stanstead Prep School in Quebec, seven in the RSEQ collegiate level, two with the Bourget College Prep School in Quebec, two with Northwood School in Lake Placid, New York, and one with Shattuck-Saint Mary’s School in Minnesota.

It was also with a new head coach that these 20 players won the ultimate title while the team was led by Philippe Bérubé. Head coach of the Sherbrooke Harfangs U15 AAA Elite and assistant coach with the Harfangs U18 AAA women's team, he was Valérie Bois’ assistant last year with Team Quebec.

Assisted by Guillaume Archambault, assistant coach at the university level with the Bishop’s Gaiters, and by Laurence Beaulieu, head coach of the Limoilou Titans at the collegiate level, Bérubé earned the praise of its players. 

“It was one of the best coaching staff I’ve ever had the chance to work with," admits Lachepelle. They had a perfect relationship with us. They knew how to relieve our stress when needed and be serious when the time came. They were very professional, and being a younger staff also helped."

Rosalie Tremblay, A Special Player

The captain of the team for a second year, there was added pressure for Rosalie. But like a good captain, she refused to speak in the first person. There were five in this leadership group – Rosalie, Loélie, Madison, Anaïs Leprohon, and Maélie Laforge – and they all contributed.

“We were three veterans (Rosalie, Loélie, and Anaïs) for whom this was our third experience at this tournament, so we brought our experience, we brought confidence to a team that was still quite young, with a 2011 and a few 2010s as well," mentioned Tremblay.

The player born in 2011 is Éva Bélanger. At only 14 years old, she was the youngest on the team and still managed to score a goal and an assist.

“I saw myself in her because at my first camp, I was four years younger than the others,” explains Lachepelle. “She really has a bright future ahead of her.”

Léa-Rose Charrois and Arielle Côté shared the net for Team Quebec. Léa-Rose finished with the best goals-against average and the best save percentage (0.97 and 0.948), while Arielle ranked second and third respectively in these two categories.

On the offence, Madison Lévesque finished the tournament with two goals and five assists. Loélie Lachapelle also finished with seven points, including four goals, while Rosalie Tremblay recorded six goals and three assists for a total of nine points. Her line with Laurie Aubin and Zoé Charland accumulated a total of 19 points.

Rosalie finishes her career at the under-18 championship with 11 goals and six assists for a total of 17 points.

She ranks fourth of all time, not just for Team Quebec, but in the history of the championship, behind only Marie-Philip Poulin (30 points), Audrey Cournoyer (18 points), and Jamie Lee Rattray (18 points).

Her 11 goals are good for second place of all time, tied with Mélodie Daoust and Audrey Cournoyer, just one behind Poulin.

People have been talking about Rosalie Tremblay as a special player to watch in the coming years for over a year now. It is therefore no surprise that the captain was named the tournament's most valuable player.

“It’s a great recognition that I’m proud of, but it’s a trophy I share with the whole team and especially my line mates Laurie and Zoé. The only goal was the gold medal. The MVP is a bonus."

For her part, Loélie's offensive performances were able to provide some relief during a 2024 tournament that had not lived up to her expectations. While in 2023 she had earned six points in six games, she had not been able to score last year.

“On top of that, I'm coming back from an injury that made me miss two months, so it was good for my confidence to be able to come back strong like this."

Family Never Far Away

Aged between 14 and 17, the girls could count on the support of their families, as many parents made the trip to Newfoundland. This is the case for Rosalie, who was able to celebrate with her parents Yannick and Karine. "It was a beautiful moment that I was able to share with my parents. They saw me go through a lot of pain last year. I was devastated, and the last thing you want is to lose three times in a row."

Rosalie Tremblay's sister, Maxim, also plays hockey. At 19 years old, she is in her first year at Boston College in the NCAA. Two years ago, she won the silver medal with her younger sister at the national under-18 championship.

"When I got on the bus, I called her right away, but she's in Boston and didn't answer," the younger Tremblay said. "We spoke through voice messages afterward, but I was able to count on her support throughout the tournament."

Loélie Lachapelle's father, Martin, was also present to cheer on his daughter.

"I think my father hasn’t missed a single one of my games even since I’ve been in the United States. I thought of him when they put the medal around my neck."

What Are the Next Steps?

The gold medallists will now return to their respective teams, waiting to find out who will be selected for the Canadian roster in anticipation of the Under-18 World Championship, which will take place in January in Nova Scotia.

Three Quebec natives were part of the roster that faced the United States in August: Rosalie Tremblay, Anaïs Leprohon, and Léa-Rose Charrois. However, eight players from Quebec had participated in the training camp. In addition to the three who made the roster, there was goaltender Arielle Côté, defence player Maélie Laforge, and forwards Loélie Lachapelle, Laurie Aubin, and Madison Lévesque.

Since the final selection will, among other things, be based on performances at the Canadian Championship, one can only hope that more than three Quebec players will participate.

In the longer term, several of these players have already committed to an NCAA team for next season or the following one. Thus, Rosalie Tremblay will play for the powerful University of Wisconsin, Loélie Lachapelle will play at Boston University, Laurie Aubin will be at the University of Connecticut, Zoé Charland with the Vermont Catamounts, Maélie Laforge with Dartmouth, Pénélope St-Pierre with Colgate, and Madison Lévesque with Clarkson.

A Minute of History

This tournament has been officially recognized by Hockey Canada since 2001, but it has been held annually since 2007 (except during Olympic years and pandemic years).

However, before the tournament became official, two unofficial tournaments, bringing together the best under-18 players, took place in February 1997 in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, and in February 1993 in Montreal.

In 1997, Quebec defeated Ontario 2-1 in the final to win the gold medal. Caroline Ouellette was the top scorer of the tournament, tied with Annie Desrosiers, while Dominique Rancourt was chosen as the most valuable player.

In 1993, Quebec lost 4-1 in the final to Ontario Red. Among others, Quebec's team included Lisa-Marie Breton, captain Caroline Proulx, as well as goaltender Mylène Benoit, who would become in 2001 the first woman to hold an assistant coach position in the AAA Midget Hockey League. The Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations of the PWHL, Jayna Hefford, notably played for Ontario.