Kelly Bechard



Kelly Bechard (born January 22, 1978 in Sedley, Saskatchewan) is a women's ice hockey player. Bechard competed for Canada at the World Championships in 2000 and 2001. In 2002, she competed for Canada at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. She was also a provincial doubles badminton champion in High School.

In the gold medal game, Bechard was called for a tripping penalty late in the third period, and this led to Karyn Bye of the United States scoring a goal. The goal made the score 3-2 in Canada’s favour, as Bechard was part of the first Canadian Women's Hockey Gold Medal hockey team in Olympic history.

After the Olympics, Bechard returned to the University of Calgary, where she played for the university’s hockey team, and pursued a degree in management. In 1998, she was named to theCIAU’s First All-Star team and was presented the Award of Merit. She also played for Calgary’s Oval X-Treme and the Brampton Thunder. She scored a goal in the 2003 Esso Women's National Hockey Championship to help Team Alberta win the Abby Hoffman Cup.