She has the puck at her stall inside the Quinnipiac University locker room.
But the souvenir has nothing to do with the 27 saves Corinne Schroeder made Saturday during a 5-1 non-league win over Maine in Hamden, Conn. It was a memorable Quinnipiac debut for Schroeder.
Schroeder was credited with scoring Quinnipiac’s fifth goal and made history in the process. The 22-year-old netminder from Elm Creek, Manitoba, became the first goaltender in NCAA women’s college hockey history to be credited with a goal.
“It’s pretty exciting to be the first to anything first, obviously,” Schroeder said. “It’s definitely not something I’d ever thought about. But it’s definitely surreal.”
Schroeder is now the 12th NCAA goaltender credited with a goal. Quinnipiac is the first program with two players who have achieved the feat - Michael Garteig scored for the men on Dec. 7, 2013.
Schroeder is a graduate student. She played four years at Boston University and then decided to transfer, switching from Hockey East to the ECAC.
In a perfect world, Schroeder would have made history by flicking her wrist and sending the puck down the length of the ice into the opponent’s net. But that’s not what happened.
In the third period, with Quinnipiac ahead 4-1, a Bobcat was called for a penalty. Schroeder made a save and the puck went over to a Maine player. As the Maine goalie headed to the bench so the Black Bears could send a sixth attacker onto the ice, the puck was inadvertently played backward.
It got past a Maine player and made its way to center ice, then into Maine’s zone and then, finally, into the Black Bears’ cage at 6:42 of the third period.
Schroeder, the last Quinnipiac player to touch the puck, wasn’t focused on her historic goal. She was too busy preparing to kill off the Maine power play. It wasn’t until Quinnipiac’s bench erupted that Schroeder looked above center ice to the scoreboard. Then she saw her picture. Then she realized what had happened.
“I was getting ready for the penalty kill. It was a huge surprise,” she said.
Once the goal was announced, Schroeder admitted to being a bit rattled. She reminded herself that her job was to stop pucks.
“We definitely had a pretty comfortable lead so it wasn’t too stressful,” she said.
Schroeder is tied for third in goals on Quinnipiac, leading to some jokes in the locker room. Only Alexa Hoskin and Nina Steigauf, who each had two goals, have tallied more goals for the Bobcats (2-0).
Schroeder grew up playing forward and defense. Even after settling in as a goaltender when she was 12, she would occasionally play other positions. She estimates she last scored a goal when she was “14 or 15.”
Schroeder opted to continue her studies and playing career at Quinnipiac after a terrific four-year career at BU. During her time as a Terrier, Schroeder never posted a save percentage less than .910. She was outstanding as a junior, posting 1.54 goals-against average and .943 save percentage.
She admitted to being a bit nervous for her Quinnipiac debut. She wanted to make a good first impression. After allowing a strange goal in the opening period, she settled down and was superb the rest of the way.
“It’s been really good,” she said of joining Quinnipiac’s program. “Everyone has been really welcoming. We’re cohesive already. I felt I had a really good game.”
Schroeder has aspirations of being a physical therapist. She plans to continue her schooling next year in Canada, with designs of opening her own practice.
Whatever happens, she won’t soon forget Saturday.
“Obviously my teammates have been really supportive of me and really excited for me,” she said. “I’ve gotten a ton of texts and phone calls from ex-teammates.”
She laughed when she was asked if, now that she's a goal scorer, she’ll petition coach Cassandra Turner to play forward at some point.
“No, I don’t think so,” she said.
Her task is “at the other end of the ice, between the pipes,” she said.
Action underway
St. Lawrence got the ECAC off on a strong foot with a 1-0 victory at Penn State, then the Saints earned a 2-2 tie the next night in the rematch. Clarkson swept Sacred Heart, Quinnipiac swept Maine, and Colgate looked like a juggernaut in 8-1 and 13-0 wins over RIT.
Kalty Kaltounkova of Colgate earned Player of the Week honors after a 4-3-7 start to her season. RPI’s Amanda Rampado was the Goalie of the Week after stopping 63 of 67 shots against Mercyhurst. Haley Winn of Clarkson picked up Rookie of the Week honors with a 2-1-3 line in two games.
