Mother Maschmeyer leads Ottawa Charge into Quebec City on PWHL's Takeover Tour

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Motherhood looks good on Emerance Maschmeyer.

When the Ottawa Charge goalie and her wife, Geneviève Lacasse, welcomed son Beckham into the world four months ago, a change in routine was inevitable.

But, while she might be getting less sleep, Maschmeyer has never been more sharp and alert at her job.

Heading into Sunday’s Takeover Tour game against Montreal Victoire in Quebec City, the 30-year-old has not allowed more than three goals in any of her eight starts, and she’s only been beaten that many times in three of them.

The Charge is off to an unspectacular (4-0-2-4) start, but it’s safe to say they’d be in worse shape without Mother “Masch.”

“I think becoming a parent has kind of become a superpower of mine,” Maschmeyer said when asked about combining both roles during a Zoom call with the media on Thursday. “I’ve seen other girls in the (Professional Women’s Hockey League) experience kind of the same thing. You just find a way to do it, and you make the time. You have to prioritize what you need to prioritize.”

Maschmeyer admitted Beckham’s arrival altered her off-ice regimen.

“No one really prepares you, and nothing prepares you to become a parent,” she said. “But it’s been really awesome, it’s been an indescribable feeling. There are some challenges with it as well. Just kind of learning how to navigate this new life of mine. But I find it really puts everything into perspective. Whether I’m at the rink or I’m at home, I’m really in the moment. I have no other choice. When I’m at home, I’m trying to be the best mom I can be. And, when I’m at the rink, I turn on the hockey Emerance and I bring it every day.”

She also credited Charge goalie coach Pierre Groulx, who formerly held the same role with the National Hockey League’s Ottawa Senators.

“I worked on many different areas of my game,” she said. “I was lucky enough and fortunate to have Pierre on the ice with me all summer, and so to have that kind of continuation of training with him all last season, through the summer and right into the season, has been really awesome and seamless.”

This weekend’s game at the Videotron Centre is the first of two Takeover Tour games for the Charge, who also play the Toronto Sceptres on Feb. 16 at Rogers Place in Edmonton. Both venues, with capacity of 18,000 and 19,000, are either sold-out or close to it.

“It’s been really exciting to watch from afar,” Maschmeyer said of the tour, which consists of nine neutral-site games in total. “I think there’s a lot of passion and energy in the rinks. You can hear it over the TV screen, but even on social media you can just see how much buzz there is around the game. It’s really exciting for us. It just shows that no matter where our product is being played there’s support, and that’s really exciting. To be able to branch out and actually give fans from different places around Canada and the U.S. the experience that these (six PWHL markets) markets get consistently, I think, is really important, because, when you watch a game on TV, it’s not the same as seeing it in person.

“I think it’s been electric, and we’re excited that we’re getting to be a part of it here shortly.”

This will be the fourth Takeover Tour game for the Victoire, who played in front of 12,608 fans at Climate Pledge Arena (capacity 18,300) in Seattle, a full-house at the 19,000 seat Rogers Arena in Vancouver, and 14,018 at Ball Arena (capacity 21,000) in Denver.

With the PWHL looking to expand, fans in Denver let everybody know where they stood on the issue by chanting “We want a team” during the Victoire’s 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Frost.

“That was pretty amazing to hear,” Victoire star Marie-Philip Poulin said. “We’re pretty lucky to just start the tour and be able to go to different communities, different cities, and feel that. You go across Canada, across North America, and there’s Minnesota jerseys, there’s Montreal jerseys, there’s Toronto jerseys, and to see that people are so excited and fired up to come and watch the PWHL … You see signs in the stands and little girls wanting to come and see us. You’re thinking it’s only where you have (teams) in Ottawa, Toronto, Minnesota, New York and Boston, but, honestly, you travel across the country, and you go play over there, and you feel that love. You feel that people are there with us.

“It was amazing to be in that rink and hearing in Denver that they want a team. It just gives you hope for the future to keep growing that league, to keep growing those dreams for little girls. For us, you want to be there, but there are more games on  the tour, and we’re very excited to be able to be part of one more and to be watching on TV.”