Edmonton-area goalie named to Canadian Olympic women’s hockey squad

Emerence Maschmeyer of Bruderheim was named to Canada's Olympic hockey team on Friday.

One Edmonton-area hockey star has been named to Canada’s women’s Olympic squad.

Emerance Maschmeyer is among the 23 players team management chose on Friday to don red and white (and black) while representing the country at next month’s Winter Olympic Games in Milano-Cortina, Italy.

Canada is the defending gold-medal champion.

Maschmeyer, a veteran goalie from Bruderheim, Alta., east of Edmonton, was a member of Canada’s 2022 gold-medal-winning squad in the 2022 Winter Olympics. The 31-year-old has an extensive international hockey resume, having played in several world championships and Rivalry Series clashes with the U.S., and in four 4 Nations Cup tournaments. The Harvard graduate plays for the Vancouver Goldeneyes of the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

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One Edmontonian who didn’t make the cut from the pool of 30 player candidates was Danielle Serdachny, who plays for the PWHL’s Seattle Torrent. The 24-year-old forward made her national team debut three years ago in two Rivalry Series games and has represented Canada at the last three world championships, winning them in dramatic fashion in 2024, when Serdachny scored the gold-winning overtime goal to beat the arch-rival U.S.

Canada has 16 players who won gold in 2022 returning for this year’s Olympics. By comparison, the U.S. is bringing back 11 players from their 2022 squad.

Canada opens its Olympic gold-medal defence on Feb. 5 in Group A play against Finland, followed by games against Switzerland (Feb. 7), Czechia (Feb. 9) and the U.S. (Feb. 10). Group A features the world’s top five seeds.

Host Italy, France, Germany, Japan and Sweden make up Group B. All five Group A teams and the top three Group B teams play quarterfinals before two semifinals on Feb. 16 and the medal games on Feb. 19.

Canada has won five of the seven gold medals awarded since women’s hockey made its Olympic debut in 1998 at Nagano, Japan.