Emerance Maschmeyer: Harvard's New Goaltender Could Dominate Women's Hockey

With smart recruiting over the last few years, the Harvard Crimson has once again emerged as a key player in NCAA women’s hockey.

Jillian Dempsey, Michelle Picard and Josephine Pucci, they form the backbone of an outstanding nucleus of hockey talent. But even with all that talent, the very best recruit may have just emerged from Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta: goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer.

Maschmeyer was the second women’s ice hockey player ever to compete at The Brick Tournament in Edmonton, Alberta. There, she met the first ever, Shannon Szabados. 

Szabados was a member of the gold medal Canadian team from 2010 Olympics. Since meeting Maschmeyer, she has become a mentor to the young phenom. 

Maschmeyer again followed in Szabados' footsteps when she became the second female player ever to compete in the Alberta Junior Hockey League.  Maschmeyer had to face her brother Brock in the shootout of an AJHL exhibition game.

Coming from a hockey family—her sister Brittaney played for St. Lawrence and Syracuse and her brother Bronson plays for the Kamloops Blazers in the WHL—Maschmeyer is probably used blocking shots from siblings' shots.

The goaltender's young career has had more glorious moments.

At the 2011 Canada Winter Games, she played on an Alberta team that defeated a heavily favored Ontario squad in the gold medal game. The Ontario squad featured superstars such as Erin Ambrose, Nicole Connery, and Laura Stacey. 

Maschmeyer followed it up by helping Canada win the IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Hockey Championships.

In that tournament, the world discovered how good she was, as she shutout the United States 3-0  in the gold medal match.  The presence of American superstars, Haley Skarupa and Alex Carpenter, made the performance that much more impressive.

With such accomplishments, it didn't take long for Maschmeyer to grab the attention of Hockey Canada’s decision makers.

After being promoted to the Under-22 squad, she will be looking to help Canada win the Meco Cup in January 2013.  Maschmeyer may become the next in a long line of elite backstops that have helped establish Canada’s legacy in women’s ice hockey as one of the finest in the world.  

Entering one of the most storied programs in the United States, Maschmeyer will follow in the footsteps of Crimson goaltenders such as Ali Boe and Christine Kessler. Maschmeyer sits at the top of a recruiting class full of impressive goaltenders including  Minnesota's Amanda Leveille, Wisconsin's Jorie Waltersat and Texan backstop Ashlynne Rando, playing at Colgate.

Maschmeyer will have the opportunity to play often, and work towards breaking the NCAA records of backstops like Jessie Vetter and Hillary Pattenden.

And under the tutelage of  Katey Stone (NCAA women’s ice hockey’s equivalent of Pat Summitt) as her head coach, Maschmeyer's game will only improve. Possessing the ability to win big games, Maschmeyer is in a great position to make history by becoming the first goaltender to lead an ECAC team to a Frozen Four title.