Jordan Baxter was hot on Prince Edward Island in showing why she's a two-time world champion.
The Coquitlam product, alongside fellow Tri-Cities Predators alumni Gillian Lapierre and London McDavid, rewrote history for B.C. in helping lead the province to its first-ever gold in women's hockey at the Canada Winter Games.
On Sunday (March 5), Baxter notched an assist in B.C.'s 3-0 championship shut-out victory over Nova Scotia.
That was one of 11 points the 17-year-old alternate captain tallied across six games at the tournament in Summerside, P.E.I.
She lit the lamp six times, including a hat-trick in B.C.'s 11-1 opening-match win over Saskatchewan on Feb. 27, and added five helpers along the way.
Baxter's latest medal adds to an already impressive collection that includes 2022 and 2023 under-18 women's world hockey gold with Canada and the 2021 under-18 western regional championship with Team B.C.
Lapierre (Port Coquitlam) and McDavid (Maple Ridge) failed to register a point at the Canada Games, but stepped up on both sides of the rink when needed to cap their team's historic run and a 6-0 undefeated record.
In August, Lapierre also made history in winning silver for B.C. in female box lacrosse's debut at the Canada Summer Games.
Just two
Baxter's, Lapierre's and McDavid's hockey gold was only one of two medals slipped around the necks of Tri-Cities athletes at this year's Canada Winter Games.
The other was a bronze by Elizabeth Noble as the Belcarra gymnast claimed the hardware with B.C. in the female team event on the third day of the national competition (Feb. 21).
It was the sixth Canada championship medal of the 17-year-old's career.
She posted the highest individual score in three of the four difficulties to help B.C.'s short-handed roster reach the podium, including floor exercise (9.362), vault (9.2) and uneven bars (9.025).
In 2022, Noble won gold on floor and silver on vault at the Canadian national artistic gymnastics championships, which have been two of her highest accomplishments to date.
Meanwhile, there were two Tri-Cities athletes that just missed out on flying back west with a Canada Games medal.
Port Coquitlam's Adam Michael Fenton and teammate Emily Leslie Bowles (Delta) lost their mixed doubles curling bronze medal match 12-6 to Québec in seven ends.
Ben Kindel of Coquitlam finished fourth in men's hockey after Team B.C. fell 7-3 in its bronze medal tilt, also against Québec, and finishing with a 3-3 record.
The 15-year-old scored the blue-and-white squad's first and last goals of the tournament — two of six from the Calgary Hitmen prospect while adding four assists for a total of 10 points.
He also recorded a hat-trick in B.C.'s second preliminary game, resulting in a 12-2 defeat of Nova Scotia.
There were 17 Tri-Cities athletes that competed in six sports at the national event.
For more information and full results, you can visit the 2023 Canada Winter Games' website.
