Emerance Maschmeyer

Emerance Maschmeyer grew up in Bruderheim, Alberta — a small town northeast of Edmonton — and by the time she arrived at Harvard University in 2012, she was already carrying the weight of international competition. At the 2012 IIHF U18 Women's World Championships, she posted a shutout in the gold medal game. That pattern of stepping up on the largest stages would define the years that followed.

At Harvard, Maschmeyer rewrote the program's record book. She was the first goaltender to win Ivy League Rookie of the Year in more than 15 years, finishing her freshman season with a 12-6-2 record, a 1.44 goals-against average, and a .935 save percentage. By her sophomore year she was a Second Team All-American, Co-Ivy League Player of the Year, and among the top ten finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Award, going 16-6-4 with a 1.75 GAA and a .943 save percentage. Her junior season brought another Kazmaier nomination, a first-team All-Ivy League selection, and an ECAC All-Academic nod, with an 18-5-3 record, a 1.48 GAA, and a .943 save percentage. By the time she completed her senior year in 2016, she had accumulated 2,538 career saves — the most in Harvard history.

After leaving Cambridge, Maschmeyer spent three seasons in the CWHL, appearing in eight games with the Calgary Inferno and 43 games with the Montréal Canadiennes. She then played with the PWHPA from 2019 to 2023 before the formation of the PWHL, which she entered with the Ottawa Charge. A trade brought her to the Vancouver Goldeneyes, where she currently wears number 38.

On the international stage, Maschmeyer has represented Canada at the IIHF Women's World Championships in 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, collecting three gold, three silver, and one bronze medal across those tournaments. At the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, she appeared in two games and won gold — her first Olympic appearance came under pandemic conditions without spectators, and she described the difference the second time, with family in the stands, in her own words. "It was so special to have my son there," she told InGoal, "and I never imagined playing in Olympic games and being a mother." ^[1]

Maschmeyer's approach to the mental side of her position has been a recurring subject in her InGoal conversations. She writes words on her blocker — "battle," "big," "calm," and "never give up" — as anchors during chaotic moments in games. "They're kind of buzzwords for me," she explained, "and it grounds me in moments of chaos." ^[1] She traces the origin of that habit to a period of anxiety before the 2022 Olympic roster was finalized, having been cut from the team in 2018. She described the mental shift that came from focusing on what she could control: "If I'm doing everything that I need to do and I'm controlling my mindset and my behavior and my attitude, then if that happens, I know I've done everything I need to do." ^[1]

She also outlined a structured game-day preparation — writing out a plan the night before, minimizing decisions on game day down to her pregame outfit — and spoke to how she keeps herself engaged during low-shot games. "I tell myself I'm the best goalie in the world," she said of her TV timeout routine. "Just a lot of positive affirmations because you're cold." ^[1] On the question of focus across a full game, she noted that her own approach leans social rather than inward: she plays spike ball before games, talks between periods, and uses those moments deliberately. "I like to take those moments where I can be social to be social," she said, "because I enjoy that too." ^[1]

Maschmeyer has worked with goaltending coach Brad Kirkwood through the national team program since approximately 2011 or 2012, and she described her goalie coach growing up — Eric Robertson, from just outside Edmonton — as someone she still skates with when she returns home. The transition to new coaches in the PWHL, first PG and then Joey Daccord with Vancouver, required building a shared language from scratch, something she reflected on openly. "It takes a little bit of time to just get on the same page," she said of the adjustment. ^[1]

Parenthood has brought its own kind of recalibration. Maschmeyer and her wife, former national team player Genevieve Lacasse, have a son, and Maschmeyer described what that has meant for how she processes competition. "He doesn't care if we won or lost or how I played," she said. "He's just so excited to see me, and so it definitely puts everything in perspective." ^[1]

InGoal Magazine has covered Emerance Maschmeyer in two podcast appearances.