Gillian Lapierre had a very busy summer.
The Port Coquitlam multi-sport athlete won two silver medals on the national stage, including the U18AAA hockey championship with the Fraser Valley Rush and in lacrosse at the 2022 Canada Summer Games.
Now, the 17 year old's path has been set for beyond the minor rinks and it's taking her 5,800 km due east to the Atlantic coast.
Lapierre put pen to paper this past weekend in committing to play for St. Mary's University (SMU) in Halifax, N.S., for the 2023–24 season after graduating high school in the summer.
The Huskies' women's hockey team plays in U-Sports — Canada's top level of college athletics — and is a member of the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) conference.
Lapierre is currently in her second season with Fraser Valley in the B.C. Elite Hockey League (BCEHL).
The right-handed forward notched five points in seven matches, including four assists, with the navy and gold at the 2022 Esso Cup, which aided the team in earning second place at the national tournament.
During the regular season, Lapierre tallied 24 points in 23 games with the Rush, including 11 goals and 13 assists.
She also led Fraser Valley with eight points at provincials — four goals and four assists — en route to capturing the B.C. U18AAA girls' championship and the Pacific regional spot at the Esso Cup.
As well, Lapierre was a member of the gold medal-winning provincial squad at the 2021 U18 western Canadian regional championships.
She also won a silver medal at the 2022 Canada Summer Games as a member of B.C.'s first-ever women's box lacrosse squad.
Before being named to Team B.C. for the Niagara, Ont., event, she also won the minor box junior female provincial championship with the Port Coquitlam Saints.
Currently, Lapierre has registered three goals and six points in five games with the Fraser Valley Rush to start the 2022-23 BCEHL campaign.
After the season, she'll be joining an SMU program looking to earn another banner in its barn for the first time in five years.
The Huskies have won six conference titles since joining the division in 1997, including three consecutive trophies from 2016 to 2018.
Last year, SMU lost 2-0 in the best-of-three AUS finals to St. Francis Xavier after compiling a regular-season record of 16-4-1.
Lapierre is scheduled to hit the ice this Halloween weekend as the Rush host the Thompson–Okanagan Lakers in Langley, Oct. 29 and 30.
