Emerance Maschmeyer

Emerance Maschmeyer grew up on a farm about an hour outside of Bruderheim, Alberta, in a household where hockey was a constant — her father built an outdoor rink, and all five siblings played. She started as a forward at age three before a novice-league turn in net at age seven changed the course of her career. By age nine or ten, she had made goalkeeping her focus, and by age ten she was playing in the Brick Tournament in Edmonton, becoming only the second female goalie to do so — a milestone that put her in the same room as Shannon Szabados, who came to the locker room, talked to the quiet young Maschmeyer, and signed a puck for her. The two would eventually share a Team Canada locker room years later. ^[1]

Her path to the elite level ran through Harvard University, where she played from 2012 to 2016. The achievements came immediately: in her freshman season she posted a 12-6-2 record with a 1.44 goals-against average and a .935 save percentage, becoming the first goalie to win Ivy League Rookie of the Year in more than fifteen years. As a sophomore she went 16-6-4 with a 1.75 GAA and a .943 save percentage, earned Second Team All-American honors, and was named Co-Ivy League Player of the Year. Her junior year brought an 18-5-3 record, a 1.48 GAA, a .943 save percentage, a Patty Kazmaier Award nomination, and a spot on both the All-Ivy League First Team and the ECAC All-Academic Team. She closed her Harvard career in her senior season by setting the program's all-time record for career saves with 2,538.

National team experience began before her college years were finished. At the 2012 IIHF U-18 Women's World Championship she posted a shutout in the gold medal game. By her junior year at Harvard she had joined the senior national program, which meant layering September camps, world championships, and fitness testing on top of an already demanding academic schedule — a balancing act she described in detail on ^[1]. She went on to represent Canada at the IIHF Women's World Championships in 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024, accumulating three gold, three silver, and one bronze medal across those appearances. At the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, she won gold with Canada, appearing in both games in which she played.

Four years later she was back on Olympic ice in a very different personal context — as a mother, with her wife Geneviève and their son Beckham in the stands. On ^[2], Maschmeyer described what that meant: "It's really hard to put into words. I want him to see one day... I want him to see me, you know, following my dreams and see the passion that I had for the game." Kevin Woodley noted during that conversation that she finished the tournament with an identical .957 save percentage to her first Olympic appearance. ^[2]

On the professional side, Maschmeyer spent three seasons (2016–2019) in the CWHL, appearing in eight games with the Calgary Inferno and forty-three with the Montréal Canadiennes. She was part of the PWHPA from 2019 to 2023. When the PWHL launched, she joined the Ottawa Charge and quickly made history as the first goalie in the league to record an assist. She also led the league in minutes played during that inaugural stretch — a period she reflected on at length in ^[1], describing what the new league's professional infrastructure meant after years of same-day travel, missed pregame meals, and limited support staff in the CWHL.

A trade brought her to the Vancouver Goldeneyes, a move she discussed openly on ^[2] — acknowledging an injury that ended her Ottawa season early, the emotions of leaving a situation that had been good for her family, and her wife's support in making the decision. In Vancouver she works with goalie coach Joey and has spoken about the experience of adapting to new voices while maintaining a technical foundation built over decades, including her long relationship with national team goalie coach Brad Kirkwood. Her approach to that adaptability — working through an uncomfortable positional adjustment with former coach Pierre Groulx, eventually making it automatic — is laid out in ^[1] in terms that will resonate with goalies at any level.

On game-day preparation, Maschmeyer writes out a schedule the night before covering the full day, deliberately eliminating decisions — including what she wears — so her mental energy is preserved for the game itself. She also keeps written reminders on her blocker: the words "battle," "big," "calm," and "never give up." She traced those words' origins on ^[2], connecting them to the anxiety she carried into the roster selection period ahead of the 2022 Olympics after having been cut from the team in 2018.

InGoal Magazine has covered Emerance Maschmeyer in two podcast appearances. The full conversations — including her detailed breakdown of positioning philosophy, crease depth, rebound control, and the mental side of playing for dominant teams that don't generate many shots against — are available at ^[2] and ^[1].

Maschmeyer wears number 38 for Vancouver and catches left.