Bravo to Hockey News for its coverage on Emerance Maschmeyer

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In a time when women’s hockey hardly gets any ink, it is refreshing to see the August 1, 2012 cover dated edition of The Hockey News feature a full page story on goaltender Emerance Maschmeyer of Alberta. If one theme emanates from the article, it is that for Maschmeyer, hockey is definitely in her blood. Her sister, Brittaney Maschmeyer played for the legendary Edmonton Chimos and the Syracuse Orange of the NCAA. Currently, Brittaney plays for Team Alberta in the CWHL.
Her career in Alberta is a key point of discussion for the periodical, and how she became the second female to play boys hockey at the AJHL level in Alberta. Of note, she had the opportunity to meet Shannon Szabados, the first female to hold that honour. In continuing the story of bloodlines, her brother (competing with the Fort McMurray Oil Barons) once skated against her in a shootout.
While Maschmeyer talks to the periodical about her dreams to one day participate in the Winter Games, her next priority will be to help restore the pride at the Under 22 level for Canada. As Canada claimed a heartbreaking bronze medal at the 2012 Meco Cup (formerly known as MLP Nations Cup), Maschmeyer will be a big part of the puzzle in hoping to claim gold at the 2013.
Carmen MacDonald (of the St. Lawrence Skating Saints), her soon to be rival in the ECAC, helped Canada win the gold at the 2012 IIHF Under-18 women’s worlds. The two should be the one-two punch between the pipes that anchors the Under-22 squad for the foreseeable future. With the graduation of world class goaltenders Florence Schelling and Genevieve Lacasse from Hockey East, one can only ponder at the possibilities of Maschmeyer vs. MacDonald in ECAC competition.
With the presence of Toronto Furies goaltender Erika Vanderveer working for The Hockey News, one can only be optimistic that women’s hockey coverage is a trend that will continue.  Her excellent blogs for the periodical is a step in the right direction. As the quality of hockey continues to grow, there is no question that at least one page of every issue should be devoted to women’s ice hockey.
While it is the finest hockey periodical in North America, it is frustrating how some issues feature coverage about the East Coast Hockey League or NCAA men’s hockey, while there is no mention of NCAA women’s ice hockey whatsoever. There are signs of encouragement though. Earlier in the year, the publication wrote on L.A. Selects team captain Cayla Barnes, and how she helped her team capture the Quebec PeeWee championship (in their respective age group). It also devoted space to Meghan Agosta breaking the CWHL scoring record, and the Montreal Stars winning their second consecutive Clarkson Cup.
As she gets ready for the next chapter of her hockey career, by playing for the legendary Katey Stone at Harvard University, Maschmeyer will hope to continue in the tradition of elite Harvard goaltenders such as Ali Boe and Christina Kesseler. If Maschmeyer can help Harvard become the first ECAC team to win the NCAA Frozen Four, she will force the Hockey News to consider putting her on the cover.

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