Sandra Abstreiter

Sandra Abstreiter made 41 saves in a losing effort against the University of Wisconsin in the quarterfinals of the 2021 NCAA National Tournament — a performance that encapsulated much of her early career: substantial work in a demanding environment, with the results not always going her way. Wisconsin won that game 3-0 and went on to claim the national title. Abstreiter, then in her final season at Providence, had helped the Friars qualify for the tournament in the first place.

Born in Freising, Germany on July 23, 1998, Abstreiter came to goaltending relatively late. She played defense before switching to the position at around age 15 or 16, and her early development was largely self-directed — she has described watching online videos of goalies at various levels, not only professionals, because she wanted models she could more directly relate to. That habit of close observation has stayed with her. She has spoken about still studying goalie training footage on social media, and sometimes finding things she actively disagrees with — a process she views as equally instructive.

Abstreiter represented Germany at the U18 Women's World Championship level, earning a silver medal in 2015-16. She has since appeared at four senior Women's World Championships — in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 — and was named Top Goaltender at the 2024 edition, posting a .929 save percentage with one shutout across six games. Germany qualified for the 2026 Winter Olympics, the country's first Olympic appearance in women's hockey since the 2014 Sochi Games.

She joined the PWHL's Montréal Victoire and wears number 30. Through her first two seasons with the club, Abstreiter saw limited game action — approximately two games in total, by her own account — while training alongside Ann-Renée Desbiens. In preparation for her third PWHL season and the Olympics, she spent close to two months in Vancouver during the summer, choosing to relocate specifically because ice time in Germany is difficult to come by. Between the Victoire and the German national program, she counts five goalie partners simultaneously, all of whom she describes as playing differently from one another.

Her technical approach is varied by design. She has worked on incorporating the Panda technique and has developed greater comfort with the RVH, while also using the overlap and traditional VH depending on the situation. She has described her preference as responding to what feels right in the moment rather than defaulting to a single technique — a philosophy she traces partly to her self-taught origins and partly to her experience across multiple goaltending environments.

On the InGoal Radio podcast ^[1], Abstreiter discussed her off-season structure, her approach to goalie-unfriendly practice drills, the technical exchanges she has with her goalie partners in Montreal and on the German team, and what she's working toward in her third PWHL season — including her stated goal of moving from a backup role to getting more starts. A Colin Hodd article ^[2], available to InGoal subscribers, draws on that same conversation to explore her preparation for the Olympics and the mindset she brings to high-stakes competition. Abstreiter also appeared on episode 286 of InGoal Radio alongside fellow PWHL goaltender Carly Jackson ^[3].

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