Brian Mckeever, right, and his guide and brother Robin Mckeever, won two gold medals in cross-country skiing at the Vancouver Paralympics. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)

It was a gold medal bonanza for Canada at the Paralympics on Thursday.

Canada doubled its gold medal tally to six by winning three golds in alpine and cross-country ski events.

Alpine skier Lauren Woolstencroft of North Vancouver, B.C., won her third gold with a victory in the women's standing downhill while visually impaired cross-country skier Brian McKeever captured his second gold in the 10-kilometre classic race.

Viviane Forest of Edmonton also took gold in the women's downhill for the visually impaired. It was her third medal of the Paralympics but first gold.

Meanwhile, there will be no gold medal for Canadian sledge hockey team.

Canada was upset 3-1 by Japan in the semifinal. The Canadians were looking to complete the gold medal sweep after the men and women won their respective titles at the Olympics last month.

Colette Bourgonje also won a bronze in the women's five-kilometre sitting cross-country ski race Thursday, boosting Canada's total medal count to 12 (six gold, three silver and three bronze).

Woolstencroft, who also has golds in the slalom and giant slalom, won in one minute 25.54 seconds. Solene Jambaque of France was second in 1:29.94. Canada's Andrea Dziewior fell at the finish line and was taken away on a stretcher.

Forest and guide Lindsay Debou of Whistler, B.C., covered the course in 1:27.51. Henrieta Farkasova and Natalia Subrtova of Slovakia were second in 1:28.17.

Forest also won a silver in the slalom and a bronze in giant slalom.

McKeever and his brother Robin, who acts as his guide, won with a time of 26:01.6.

"It was hard," said McKeever. "We were fighting a lot out there. I wasn't totally comfortable with the pace for that distance."

McKeever gave credit to his brother.

"Robin looked really good. He was able to excel at will, but I wasn't able to follow," he said. "It was hard for me to fight through when we were trying to go around other people. When it comes time to create these little bursts and make a move, I have a hard time doing it."

Both brothers came down with colds earlier this Month.

McKeever won gold in the 20-kilometre race Monday. That medal helped ease the disappointment of not racing at the Olympics.

McKeever qualified for the Canadian Olympic team in January and was poised to become the first winter sport athlete to compete in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

But the Winter Games ended in heartbreak for McKeever after the Canadian coaching staff decided not to start him in his event, the gruelling 50 kilometres.