It wasn't the exact finish she was looking for, but Mallard's Brigette Lacquette returned to the Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport earlier this week to hundreds of people waiting to see the Silver Medalist arrive back from the PyeongChang Olympics.
"It was simply amazing," said Lacquette. "It was a dream come true. I remember playing my first game, and I had the chills. The crowds were amazing, and yeah, it was just great."
Lacquette and the rest of the Canadian Women's Team lost 3-2 in a shootout against the Americans in the final.
"We had a great group of girls there," said Lacquette. "Obviously we came up short of achieving our goal, but, coming home with a medal from the Olympics is still pretty huge."
On December 22, Lacquette was introduced as one of six defenders that would represent Canada at the women's hockey tournament, and with it, Brigette became the first ever First Nations woman to represent the Canadian women's hockey team at an Olympics.
"I just want to be that role model for the young Indigenous kids around Canada," said Lacquette. "I wanted to show them that they can to make it to the world stage with hard work and determination. It doesn't matter where you come from, you can still achieve your dreams like I did."
In five games at the Olympics, Brigette had one assist from the backend.
"I'm going to focus on shooting the puck more," said Lacquette. "I have a pretty hard shot, so I need to utilize it a little more. And, I just have to play with more confidence."
Brigette was one of over 30 women who began training camp with the team looking to get a spot on the roster, but a very good camp for Brigette which included 11 points in 14 games locked up a spot for the Mallard native.
"The depth of Hockey Canada is pretty big," said Lacquette. "So, to make the Olympic team, it's pretty huge."
Brigette will now get some time off.
