The crown jewel of CAF hockey, the Kingston Cup, was 1RCHA The A Queen’s Battery’s prize at the 2023 St. Barbara’s Day competition, with a winning score of 11-3.  Photo: K-J Millar/Shilo Stag News

K-J Millar
Shilo Stag News

It was a brutal battering for B Battery when the A Queens wielded their hockey sticks sharp as swords in the 2023 Kingston Cup. Reigning supreme as the St. Barbara’s Day champs, A Battery struck an 11-3 final game score at CFB Shilo on Dec. 4.

The Kingston Cup predates the NHL formation and Lord Stanley’s cup of 1892. It is one of the longest continuously awarded hockey trophies internationally.

Lieutenant-Colonel Joe O’Donnell, commanding officer of 1st Regiment 1 Royal Canadian Horse Artillery (1RCHA), said the cup’s story dates back to 1873.

“The Kingston Cup traces its history back, depending on who you ask, to 1873, 1878, 1890 – It depends. It’s older than the Stanley Cup. It’s older than the Memorial Cup. It has history here …” he told Shilo Stag News.

Competed for by Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members, specifically 1RCHA the A Queens and B Batteries annually, it is central to St. Barbara’s Day remembrance celebrations.

Saint Barbara is the patron saint of gunners, engineers and others who work with cannons and explosives. She was an early Christian Greek martyr born in mid-third-century Phoenicia.

This year’s on-ice competition for the 2023 Kingston Cup was the first in a few years due to the pandemic and both batteries deployed overseas.

In traditional fashion, it was a glove throw down minutes after the 8 a.m. puck drop with a friendly spar cheered on by the crowd in Gunner Arena.

Home team B Battery scored the first goal six minutes into the game with a pivot when guests A Battery scored two goals in quick succession, leading by two for a 3-1 first-period exit.

Three minutes into the second period, the score increased to 4-1, and by the beginning of the third period, it accelerated to 8-3 for the guests.

Showing true Gunner grit, the A Queens Battery reaped the coveted crowning jewel, parading off the ice with the 2023 Kingston Cup in an 11-3 victory.