Wheelchair Rugby Canada – (Richmond, BC —  June 24) Team Canada (#1) extended its winning streak to 2-0 this afternoon at the 2016 Canada Cup International Wheelchair Rugby Tournament after a nail-biting match against Great Britain (#5). The squad will face off against Japan (#3) at 7 pm.

Canada leapt out to an early lead thanks to some hard hits by Zak Madell (Okotoks, AB). At the end of the first quarter, they were up 15-11.

Just when Canada seemed to have built a comfortable lead, however, Great Britain mounted an impressive third-quarter comeback. With six minutes left in the game, the score was tied. The momentum shifted back to the Canadians’ favour when Madell and Trevor Hirschfield (Vancouver,BC) picked off some Great Britain passes. With just 56 seconds to go, Madell once again scored, leading Canada to a 47-44 victory.

“We knew that they’d be a tough, tenacious team,” said head coach Kevin Orr. “They didn’t give up, and they capitalized on our mental lapses. We’re improving every game, though, and we’ll be carrying the lessons from this game into our game against Japan tonight.”

The 2016 Canada Cup International Wheelchair Rugby Tournament runs until Sunday at the Richmond Olympic Oval.  The tournament webcast is powered by ViaSport and is available at viasport.ca.

-30-

For schedule, rosters and stats, please visit www.canadacupwcrugby.com .
 

To download bios and high-res photos for each Team Canada player, click here.

For more information or to schedule an interview, contact:
Arley Cruthers
Communications Manager
BC Wheelchair Sports Association | Wheelchair Rugby Canada
Cell: 778-788-9091
Email: Arley@cwsa.ca

Note: Media accreditation can be received on site. 

About Canada Cup

Canada Cup is hosted every two years by BC Wheelchair Sports Association and Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association. It is the most prestigious wheelchair rugby tournament outside of the World Championships or Paralympic Games. This year, Canada Cup will welcome the seven of the top teams in the world in the final stop before the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Canada Cup is supported by the Government of Canada, the Province of BC, viaSport, the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation, Local 258 IBEW, the Richmond Olympic Oval, Richmond Sport Hosting, and many other partners.

About viaSport

The webcast for the 2016 Canada Cup International Wheelchair Rugby Tournament is powered by viaSport. viaSport Media is the content creation and production arm of viaSport British Columbia, tasked with increasing the exposure, recognition and power of amateur-level sport across the province and the world. The goal driving viaSport Media is to offer a broad range of online programming – live-streamed events, interviews, commentary and more – bringing amateur sport coverage into every home across the province. To learn more visit www.viasport.ca.