When Emerance Maschmeyer took the ice at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver last Friday, it was a return to game action that took nine months and involved a lot of rehabilitation.
Last March, the then-Ottawa Charge goalie received a standing ovation from home fans for becoming the first PHL goalie to make 1,000 saves.
Moments later, Maschmeyer had to be helped off the ice after suffering a lower-body injury during the rescue.
The injury ended an impressive season for Maschmeyer. Little did she know that it would be the last game she would play for the Ottawa Charge.
Gwyneth Phillips took over the starting job in Maschmeyer's absence and carried her to the Walter Cup final, where she was named playoff MVP despite the Charge's loss to the Frost.
The Ottawa Charge will welcome some former teammates, including the team's first starting goalie, back to TD Place to take on expansion team Vancouver.
When the expansion draft process began and Ottawa could only protect three starters, the team chose Phillips over Maschmeyer.
“Gwyn played such great hockey,” Maschmeyer told CBC Sports. “They made a great choice in protecting her.”
The closing of one door led to a new opportunity: the chance to grow women's hockey in western Canada with the Vancouver Goldeneyes. Maschmeyer wanted to stay in Canada, and the goalkeeper is from Bruderheim, Alta. was one of the first players signed by Vancouver general manager Kara Gardner Morey.
“She's outstanding,” Gardner Morey said of his starting goalie. “Great leader. She's a mother who I think brings a lot of outside perspective, which is great for our young players as well. But she's incredibly athletic in the net. Extremely detailed. Her work ethic is off the charts.”
Last season, it took Maschmeier some time to come to grips with the fact that an injury would keep her out for the rest of the season. This included the World Cup with Team Canada, where Maschmeyer played regularly in goal. Anne-Rene Debien.
Even though she couldn't act, Maschmeyer focused on what she could control. It was the work she needed to do to get healthy again and her leadership behind the scenes.
“I can't necessarily be a leader on the ice, but I can lead the way I deal with this injury, lead my mindset, lead the way I just support the girls and be a cheerleader because at that point all I really had was my voice and my work ethic,” Maschmeyer said. “I had to change my thinking and my leadership at that time.”
One thing that helped? Maschmeyer's son, Beckham, was seven months old when she was injured.
Becoming a mother changed Maschmeyer's approach to hockey after years of being unable to turn off her hockey brain when she returned home. The upside to her injury was that she had more time to watch Beckham grow.
“If this had happened before Beckham, I think it would have hit me differently,” she said. “I think there's this perspective with him: when he goes home, he doesn't care how I feel at the rink. He just wants his mom. So I can have that balance in my life: I'm like a hockey player, but I'm like a mother.”
In her first game with the Goldeneyes, Maschmeyer remained consistent, making 24 saves in Vancouver's emotional overtime win over Seattle Torrent.
In her second start in Ottawa on Wednesday, Maschmeyer's return to her former team's home rink proved to be a tougher game for Vancouver. But Maschmeyer was arguably the GoldenEyes' best player, making 30 saves in a 5-1 loss.
It's the start of a big season for Maschmeyer, who has a chance to represent Canada at the next Olympics in February.
Ahead of last week's season opener, Maschmeyer said she felt 100 percent as if the injury never happened.
“When I think of Emerance, I think of her as one of the calmest, most level-headed goalies in the league,” Vancouver alternate captain Sarah Nurse said.
Ottawa bounces back
After Maschmeyer returned to Ottawa, the Charge looked much different than the one that had lost 4-0 to the New York Sirens a few days earlier.
The charge seemed more suffocating and cohesive. One thing that helped was captain Brianna Jenner moving from wing to center. She finished the evening with four points, including two goals.
Team captain Brianna Jenner scored the first goal of the game, had two assists and then sealed the win with an empty-net goal in Ottawa's 5-1 win over Vancouver.
It was Jenner who won the board battle, allowing her to pass the puck to Anna Meixner, who gave Ottawa a 4-1 lead. Her line with Maixner and Rebecca Leslie, who also scored with Jenner's help, was the best of the night.
“I would probably be a stupid coach if I went [Jenner] get out of there right now,” Ottawa head coach Carla MacLeod joked after the game. “You're always trying to find the right chemistry and you're always trying to put players in positions that will lead to success.”
Another standout for Ottawa in the win was rookie defenseman Rory Gilday, who got the team on the ice at the right time. In the third period, Gilday used it to force a turnover, leading to a surge toward Ottawa. Leslie finished the game with her first goal of the season.
After losing Ashton Bell, Aneta Teiralova and Jincy Rose from their defensive group in the off-season, Ottawa will rely heavily on Gilday to return to the playoffs this season.
Roque joined Victoire
During the offseason, many players changed addresses. But one of the most intriguing was Abby Roque, who traveled from New York to Montreal on a day trading program.
Roque has a ton of skill and is annoying to play against, but she hasn't quite lived up to expectations in New York, where she was one of the team's original starters heading into the inaugural PWHL season.
Fast forward to Montreal, where Roque took a place on the left flank in a line with Marie-Philippe Poulin and Laura Stacey. In her second game in maroon on Tuesday, Roque's skill was on full display, whether on the power play, where her presence gave Montreal more dynamism, or in five-on-five play, where Roque scored a highlight-reel goal between the legs in a 4-0 win over his former team.
Over the last two regular seasons, Roque posted the best faceoff win percentage among players with more than 50 draws. This gives head coach Corey Cheverie another good faceoff option besides Poulin, who had the second-highest faceoff win percentage behind Roque last season.
“Her goal was outstanding, just to create something in the limited space she had, but that’s the kind of player she is,” Chevery said. “She's very smart. She has a very high IQ and she's constantly thinking about the game and strategizing. She's the one who gets people talking about different ways to solve certain situations.”
It is she who largely explains why Victoire looks deeper and more dangerous in the third season of the league.
The Scepters will take on the Fleet this weekend
The PWHL returns to CBC Sports this weekend when the Toronto Scepter host the Boston Navy at the Coca-Cola Coliseum on Saturday at 2:00 pm ET. You can watch the game on CBC TV or CBC Gem.
Toronto began its season last week with an overtime win over the defending Walter Cup champion Minnesota Frost. It was a signature win for the Sceptres, who played without their lead and best defender Renata Fast.
The offseason acquisition of Ella Shelton certainly helped pick up the slack. She led the team in ice time and scored her first goal as a member of the Scepter.
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But the biggest X-factor for Toronto this season may be Natalie Spooner. It's just one game into the season, but she's looking like herself again after a full offseason spent practicing hockey.
Spooner assisted on both of Toronto's goals in the team's 2-1 win over Minnesota.
“We've all seen Spooner, seen what she can do and how she can impact a game,” Scepter captain Blair Turnbull said before the season. “I think the offensive impact she brings to our team is something we really need. We really hope she stays healthy and in good shape to play hockey.”
