Although she didn't come home from the BC Winter Games with a medal, Lake Cowichan's Katie Ferguson had a "fantastic experience" at the massive multisport event in Mission, which wrapped up earlier this month.
"If I could go back every day and relive it, I would," said Ferguson, who played right wing on the Vancouver Island/Central Coast U16 girls hockey team.
Ferguson's team finished pool play with two wins and a shootout loss, beating North East/Central 3-0 and Kootenay 8-0, and losing narrowly 4-3 to Fraser Valley. That put them in the bronzemedal game, where they lost 3-0 to Thompson-Okanagan, with a performance Ferguson admitted was "not very good."
Ferguson felt her team should have returned to the Island with a medal.
"We should have placed," she said. "We lost in a shootout to the team that won gold [Fraser Valley], and if they hadn't won, we would have played for first."
Regardless of the outcome, Ferguson was appreciative of her teammates.
"I liked my team a lot," she said. "It was one of the best female teams I've ever played on."
Ferguson was picked for the Zone 6 team after an intense two-day tryout in January, one of nine players from the South Island Royals bantam female team picked for the final 20.
The Royals will be returning to the provincial bantam female championships this coming weekend after sweeping a bestof-three Island final against their North Island rivals. Ferguson played a huge part in her team's success, scoring twice in the first game, then burying the overtime winner in the second match.
After getting a taste with the U16 team, Ferguson is hoping to represent the Island again with the U18 team when her time comes. She knows scouts were watching at the BC Games.
"I hope I get noticed to go there," she said. "You have to be invited to try out."