The highlight of her performance was, undoubtedly, a hat trick in the 4-1 semifinal win over St. Lawrence. Vaillancourt put herself in prime position and cashed in two rebounds before finishing the three-goal night with a skidding slapper that zoomed through a crowd in front of the net and beat the Saints’ Jess Moffat five-hole.

Vaillancourt followed that up with a two-point night against the Gophers.

She notched a game-tying goal on the power play in the second period and picked up an assist on Caitlin Cahow’s equalizer late in the third.

All weekend long, Vaillancourt employed the width of the rink to her advantage, using her superior speed to navigate through and around the defense.

When it was all said and done, she had accumulated four goals and five points, both figures rookie records for the NCAA Tournament.

Vaillancourt also gained valuable experience in the spotlight while showing no sign of the jitters expected from a first-year player.

Then, on the heels of her Frozen-Four exploits, Vaillancourt took her game abroad, venturing to Sweden this week to take part in the IIHF World Championships with Team Canada.

She kicked off the tournament in grand style Sunday, leading the squad with two goals and four assists in an easy win over Kazakhstan.

The precocious Vaillancourt concluded the season as the fifth-highest scorer in all of Division I, by far the best among freshmen, tallying 2.31 points per game on 25 goals and 42 assists.

As Vaillancourt’s legend continues to grow, chances are she’ll stay humble, even if her skills and achievements are anything but modest.

—JONATHAN LEHMAN