Fewer games for girls: Hockey P.E.I. faces criticism for provincial tournament format

Some young players say they're being iced out by Hockey P.E.I. because of the format it has chosen for its provincial championships this weekend. 

While the championship tournament for boys' teams is set to follow its usual structure — a round robin with each team guaranteed to play at least three games on the way to crowning a winner — some of the girls' teams will play just one game. 

Leilah Batchilder, who plays left wing for the Three Rivers Titans U18A team, said she was disappointed, upset and angry when she learned of the changes. 

"I don't think it's fair at all that the boys got what they always normally get, but the girls just randomly got changed this year for all of the divisions — not just U18," she said. 

Why some hockey players are calling this year's provincial championships 'unfair' to female players

"I've played girls' hockey for the majority of my life. I started when I was four years old here in this rink," she said, standing inside the Cavendish Wellness Centre in Montague, which is one of her team's home rinks. 

"Hockey's all about making friendships and having fun, and just to see that we were kind of pushed aside is not OK." 

In a written statement provided to CBC News, Hockey P.E.I. said the decision to adjust the format for this year's tournament was not made lightly. 

"With fewer teams in the female stream, applying the same format as the co-ed divisions... often resulted in a scenario where only a small number of teams missed out on provincials," the statement said.

"Our intent was never to take away from the incredible efforts of these young athletes," it added. 

"The idea was to give regular-season games more meaning, allowing the teams that qualified through their performance during the