Brigette Lacquette's
parents travelled to South Korea from Mallard, population 150, to
see her on world stage
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Brigette
Lacquette is the first First Nations woman chosen for the
Canadian women's Olympic hockey team. (CBC)
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Some nervous Manitoba parents will be in the stands in Pyeongchang
Wednesday night, watching their daughter play in the game of a lifetime.
Team Canada's women's hockey team will go for gold against team
U.S.A. (live on CBC at 10:10 p.m. CST) and Brigette Lacquette will
be patrolling the blue-line on defence.
In the stands will be Terance and Anita Lacquette, who travelled
to South Korea from the rural community of Mallard 150 people
and 35 houses to watch their daughter on the world's biggest
stage.
"They have the seats for us, but it's really hard for us
to sit when we're watching a game like this. We're probably going
to be pacing more than anything else," Terance said.
"I think Brigette is handling it a lot better. She's been
through these situations before. She's always been the type of player
to step up in big games and I don't anticipate anything less than
her best game going into the final."
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Canada's
Brigette Lacquette battles with the U.S.A.'s Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson
during a women's world hockey championship game in 2016. (Ryan
Remiorz/Canadian Press)
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Seeing his daughter on the podium, regardless of the colour
of the medal hanging around her neck, will be another standout moment
for Terance, who said the experience in Pyeongchang has been full
of them.
"By far, the proudest moment so far was seeing her first
shift at the Olympics, against Finland. It's something that I'll
never forget," he said.
Blazing a trail
While Terance and Anita will be on hand cheering, their voices
will be echoed throughout Mallard, about 330 kilometres northwest
of Winnipeg.
"We've heard a lot from Brigitte's fans back home. They've
been sending us messages on Facebook and text messages throughout
the whole time," Terance said. "It's really a good feeling
to have all that support from back home."
The Métis community will not only be celebrating a local
hero but someone who is blazing a larger trail. Lacquette, 25, is
the first First Nations woman chosen for the Canadian women's Olympic
hockey team. Anita is from Cote First Nation in Saskatchewan and
Terance is from the O-Chi-Chak Ko Sipi First Nation of Manitoba.
That has prompted other Indigenous athletes including
NHLers Theo Fleury and Jordin Tootoo to also cheer her on.
Theo Fleury
@TheoFleury14
Hey @briglacquette being an aboriginal person who has a gold
medal be nice to have a sister with one too!!! Good luck tomorrow!!!!
Bring home the gold!!!! We are so proud of you!!!
Jordin Tootoo
@Jtootoo22
@briglacquette very proud of you as I watched you early this
morning. You make us all very proud to be Aboriginal ! Native
Pride. Keep doing your thing. Bring home the GOLD !@TeamCanada
"It's a humbling feeling
to have your daughter be
a pioneer for First Nations girls to dream and get to this level.
It's definitely a huge honour, for sure," Terance said.
"Being from a small community, I don't think it allowed
her to just walk into a dressing room and feel welcome. She had
to prove herself and work hard to get there. So you definitely appreciate
it more when you get here."
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