Prince George, B.C. – Attendance may have been lower than expected at the female hockey tournament at the Canada Winter Games but it’s not a concern to Hockey Canada.

“We’d always like to see more people out but there was a fair amount of fans for specific games, a great turnout for the gold medal game,” says Meghan Hunter, hockey operations manager. “Even if there wasn’t the biggest numbers we’ve seen they were powerful and loud and cheering and waving their flags.”

She’s not exactly sure why the male tournament seems to draw more fans (the male final is already sold-out).

“I think we’re still kind of working on that for our women. It’s more awareness and letting people know how good the calibre of players is,” she says. ” I don’t know how many people would have known that there were 10 players from Ontario and three from Quebec on Canada’s World Championship team that lost to the U.S.A. in overtime this year.”

Hunter says raising awareness about women’s hockey isn’t just an issue at the Canada Winter Games level either.

“It’s something we’re working on. Even the NCAA is fighting for numbers and more coverage. We have the quality, the final (gold medal game) showed that.”