Sandra Abstreiter

Sandra Abstreiter was born in Freising, Germany, and her path to professional women's hockey runs through college hockey in the United States, the German national program, and now the PWHL's Montréal Victoire, where she wears number 30.

At Providence, Abstreiter was part of the Friars team that qualified for the 2021 NCAA National Tournament. In the quarterfinals, she started against the University of Wisconsin Badgers — the eventual national champions — and made 41 saves in a 3-0 loss. Earlier in her career, she was part of the German under-18 program that earned a silver medal at the 2015-16 U18 Women's World Championship. At the senior level, she has represented Germany at four Women's World Championships (2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024). At the 2024 tournament, she was named Top Goaltender after posting a .929 save percentage and one shutout over six games.

Germany's qualification for the 2026 Olympics — the country's first appearance at the Winter Games since Sochi in 2014 — gave Abstreiter a different perspective than the pressure such a stage might suggest. "It's the most exciting thing I think I've ever been part of," she told the InGoal Radio Podcast. "It is even cooler that we did have to qualify and we did it. Because now, all of us that are most likely going to end up going to the Olympics, we did it for ourselves. We put the effort in, we got it done and we now get to go to represent our country at the Olympics." Pro Tips with Sandra Abstreiter: German Olympian Talks Preparation, Inspiration and Mindset 

Preparation for that moment was deliberate. Rather than spend the summer in Germany — where, as she noted, ice is not readily available in the warm months — she relocated to Vancouver for nearly two months to skate with coaches and friends there. "Especially this year with me wanting to make another step into the league and with Olympics coming up, I wanted to be as best prepared as possible," she said. Pro Tips with Sandra Abstreiter: German Olympian Talks Preparation, Inspiration and Mindset 

Between the Victoire and the German national team, Abstreiter counts five goaltending partners, including Canadian Olympian Anne-Renée Desbiens. She described the dynamic among that group as one of mutual curiosity rather than instruction. "It's never criticizing someone. It's more like, 'I think this could work' or 'Have you tried that?' It's a friendly exchange," she said. "Everybody respects each other for where we are. None of us is where we are for no reason, we know that everybody's good." Pro Tips with Sandra Abstreiter: German Olympian Talks Preparation, Inspiration and Mindset 

Her stated approach to keeping perspective, whether in practice, a regular-season game, or the Olympics, comes back to a single idea. "My big thing is that hockey is just hockey," she said. "I love hockey. I don't try to get into my head about it too much because I know what I'm doing. I know what I've done in the past. I know if I do the same thing, if I put in the work, then it'll work out for me." Pro Tips with Sandra Abstreiter: German Olympian Talks Preparation, Inspiration and Mindset 

InGoal Magazine has covered Sandra Abstreiter in two podcast appearances and one InGoal article.