Courtenay hockey sensation Morgan Jackson has returned to Vancouver Island with a bronze medal from the 2024 IIHF World Women鈥檚 U18 Championship.

Canada earned third place after defeating Finland 8-1 in the bronze medal game. Canada had gone undefeated in the preliminary round, outscoring their opponents 29-1 over three games. They went on to defeat Switzerland 6-0 in the quarter-finals before being upset by Czechia 4-2 in the semifinals.

鈥淭heir goalie played really well,鈥� said Jackson, of the Czechia upset. 鈥淵ou run into a hot goalie like that and it can be trouble.鈥�

Czechia goalie Aneta Senkova made 45 saves in the game, and was mobbed by her teammates when the final buzzer sounded. Canada outshot Czechia 47-11.

Canada鈥檚 Hannah Clark stopped seven of the 10 shots she faced. Czechia鈥檚 fourth goal came with 25 seconds remaining and Clark on the bench in favour of an extra attacker.

Jackson said refocusing for the bronze medal was a challenge.

鈥淎fter the game against Czech we were all in tears - it was hard to accept that - but I think we did a really good job of refocusing and we came out really strong against Finland in the bronze-medal game,鈥� said Jackson.

The only athlete from Vancouver Island to make Team Canada this year, Courtenay product Jackson had a larger role than she did at last year鈥檚 World Women鈥檚 U18 Championship, where the team won gold.

This year鈥檚 tournament was in Zug, Switzerland and Jackson played a significant role for Canada in all six games. She had nine points on five goals and four assists, the fourth-most points on Team Canada, and ninth-most in the tournament. Her plus/minus rating of +12 was tied for the second-best in the tournament.

鈥淚t was a lot of fun. I made a lot of friends in Switzerland. I wish I could go back,鈥� said Jackson, who is now back at Shawnigan Lake School.

鈥淢organ had an amazing tournament, and we are so proud of her,鈥� Shawnigan U18 Prep girls head coach Carly Haggard said. 鈥淪he has been the backbone of our team since she arrived at the beginning of Grade 11. Everywhere she goes, she represents the school in an outstanding manner. Morgan has set the bar high for excellence within our team and helped put us on the map. Her work ethic, dedication, and drive are truly admirable, not only with regards to hockey, but her studies as well. She makes people around her want to be better.鈥�

Jackson has committed to play NCAA Div. 1 hockey at Northeastern University next year but for now, her focus is back to playing hockey for Shawnigan Lake School, where she sits fourth in scoring in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League鈥檚 Female U18 Prep division with 34 points (17 goals and 17 assists) in 12 games. She is second in the league with 2.83 points per game.

鈥淲e are very proud of Morgan, not just because of her amazing athletic abilities, but equally because of her effort and humility,鈥� Tim Murdy, Shawnigan鈥檚 director of athletics said. 鈥淭hese two qualities make her an incredible role model for our younger student-athletes at the school.鈥�

The next step on the national stage for Jackson is the U22 level. Invites for that camp will happen in the spring, but being only 18, she isn鈥檛 overly expectant.

鈥淚鈥檓 not sure if I will get invited - I have a slimmer chance, I guess,鈥� she said.

The U22 program is the penultimate level for international play, with the national team being the top.

鈥淭hese are definitely exciting times for me,鈥� said Jackson.