Eskasoni sees stellar growth in female hockey

This story is part of a series from CBC's Eskasoni Community Bureau, based out of the Sarah Denny Cultural Centre. This series comes from weeks of conversations with community members about what they feel is important to see, hear and read on CBC's platforms.

Madison Gould sees a bright future for female hockey in her home community of Eskasoni, N.S.

Gould, 28, said the sport has come a long way from when she was child and had to play on a boys' team because there were no girls' teams. 

Today, there are three female teams based out of the community's Dan K. Stevens Memorial Arena. 

"I grew up playing boys' hockey, getting dressed in boys' dressing rooms," said Gould. "Back then, in Cape Breton, there were only a handful of females playing." 

There are five times as many women and girls playing the sport in Eskasoni than there were just three years ago. The majority belong to the Cape Breton Female Blizzard Hockey Association, which has traveling rep and house league teams for girls aged five-18.

Gould said roughly 90 women and girls from Eskasoni are competing in organized hockey, up from just 15 to 18 players when she first started coaching. 

"Like I tell people — it's a dream come true," Gould said.  "I would have loved to have played in my own community, in my own backyard, instead of driving to Sydney or 30 minutes away. I would have killed to have a team, but now I'm coaching it. And more girls want to try it."

Rhyan Paul, a member of an under-11 team in Eskasoni coached by Gould, said having ice times in her hometown has allowed her to make friends from across the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

"If I'm 90 years old, I'm still going to play hockey," said the 10-year-old. "I'll never choose anything over hockey.