It was rare for Greg Fargo to centre a game plan around an opposing goaltender.
It’s not a slight to the competition that Fargo’s team faced during his 12 seasons as head coach of the Colgate University women’s hockey program; it was uncommon for a goalie to possess the ability to steal a game at the NCAA Division 1 level.
Fargo made an exception three times during the 2021-22 season when Colgate faced the Quinnipiac Bobcats, backstopped by sensational transfer player Corrine Schroeder.
“I remember being on the other bench playing against her and it felt like it was a daunting task every time that we had to face her. And I think that year in particular, we had one of the best offences in the country but yet, still, she always found her a way to to keep games close and give her team a chance to win,” said Fargo.
Schroeder, named the team’s most valuable player that year, shut out the Raiders in their first matchup. The following two meetings weren’t as kind to the Bobcats — a 4-3 loss in overtime and a 3-2 defeat in the Eastern College Athletic Conference semi-finals — but no one looked at the goaltender to place blame.
“Man were we worried about playing her,” Fargo recalled. “As a coach, you’re not worried about too many goalies here and there at that level, especially with the team we had, but with her, that was the case.”
It was Fargo’s first impression of the young puck-stopper but not his last.
They were reacquainted during a Hockey Canada camp in September 2023, and the following June, Fargo was announced as the new head coach of the New York Sirens in the Professional Women’s Hockey League, where Schroeder had already cemented herself as the team’s starting goaltender.
Schroeder has gone one step further this season. Her stellar play has quickly placed her among the league’s best, which has been anything but a surprise to those who have spent time around her.
These days, Schroeder stops pucks in the big city of Newark, N.J., but the 25-year-old hails from smaller parts— Elm Creek, a community about an hour west of Winnipeg, home to approximately 325 people.
She grew up on a farm with four siblings, three sisters and one brother, all athletic and hyper-competitive.
“We were always competing with everything and lots of sports. I think it just comes naturally in that way,” Schroeder said of her competitive nature.
“I can be pretty graceful with losing when it comes to board games and things that I’m like, ‘okay, it doesn’t matter as much,’ but I think just the idea of being able to push and see how much better I can be is something that’s important to me, and you’re not going to grow and become a better person or better athlete if you’re not pushing yourself.”
Words that have served her well in her hockey career.
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Schroeder played for teams in Elm Creek, Carman and around the Pembina Valley at a young age, unsure of her future in the sport beyond the next game. At 16, she received an invite to the Canadian U18 National Camp. It was the first time she realized her talent, and suddenly, playing at the university level seemed possible.
Schroeder transferred to Balmoral Hall, a prep school in Winnipeg, for her Grade 11 season and quickly made a name for herself as one of the best backstops in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League. In 21 games, she allowed 1.97 goals per game and held a .944 save percentage.
By Grade 12, she was undoubtedly the best and named the league’s Goaltender of the Year.
“First thing that I visualize when you say that name is a brick wall. It’s impossible to score on her, always has been, and she’s worked really hard to have that skill set,” said Sarah Zacharias, who coached Schroeder for two years and her younger sister for three years at Balmoral Hall.
Schroeder’s competitiveness shone with the Blazers. Zacharias recalled the teenager being full throttle at all times. Warm-ups and practice drills were treated like playoff games, and that meant she never wanted a puck past her goal line.
“I would have to find different places to put pucks when we were doing drills… because Schroeds didn’t like them in her net. It’s a bad omen for her,” Zacharias said.
Schroeder became the gold standard for preparation and showcased habits in her work ethic that weren’t common for her age.
“She was absolutely exceptional in every detail of her craft, from nutrition to time management to working out, both her and her sister were absolutely machines in the weight room, never cutting corners, never taking a rep off,” Zacharias said, adding Schroeder fit the criteria of an elite athlete.
“Everything she did, she did with purpose.”
Schroeder’s work ethic carried her first to Boston University and then to Quinnipiac, where her outstanding play with both programs left her with several options to play professionally by the time she graduated.
She chose the Premier Hockey Federation and guarded the crease for a stacked Boston Pride team, which went 19-1 during the regular season but fell short in the playoffs. Schroeder was named Goaltender of the Year and Rookie of the Year after posting a 1.67 goals against average and .955 save percentage.
“I think overall, with hockey and school and everything, I’m very intrinsically motivated. Obviously, results are great, but I’m always more in the mindset of getting better. That’s enough of a motivator for me,” Schroeder said.
“Having that idea that I just want to push to be better and be better for my teammates, my community back at home, that’s more of a byproduct of my success is that they get maybe a little more of a spotlight and things like that, which is great, and I love that, I wouldn’t say it’s a sole motivator, though.”
The following year, the PWHL formed, and Schroeder arrived in New York with a chip on her shoulder. There was a perception that players from the PHF didn’t stack up to their counterparts from the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA), which featured most of the Canadian and U.S. National Team players, and the Manitoban was determined to prove the naysayers wrong.
“There was just this false perception that one league was better than the other before we came together. That’s kind of where that needing to prove came from, because everyone else had these expectations that anyone coming from that league was lesser, even though it absolutely wasn’t case,” she said.
As Schroder had done at every stop in her career, she made an immediate impact for the Sirens when she shut out the Toronto Sceptres in a 4-0 victory in the PWHL’s inaugural game on New Year’s Day. She was also the first goaltender in the league to record an assist, which Zacharias said was not a surprise given her exceptional puck-handling ability that she developed before arriving at Balmoral Hall.
Fast forward to this season, and Schroeder has improved in the Sirens’ crease. Though New York has struggled as a team this season — they are in last place with a 4-3-3-9 — their goaltender has continued to be a bright spot.
Fargo said Schroeder’s focus during moments of chaos has allowed her to reach the top of her profession. He witnessed it in the first game of the year, on the road in Minnesota, when the Frost scored 17 seconds into the game.
Schroeder responded admirably, making enough saves for the Sirens to win 4-3 in overtime.
“To me, that’s what a great goalie does. They give your team a chance to win on any given night,” said Fargo, admitting his team has perhaps relied on Schroeder to keep them in games too often at times.
“Can’t say enough about her. I think in terms of being a professional, she’s a really good leader in her locker room and just shows the way on a constant basis.”
Schroeder was selected to join the Canadian National Team for 2023-24 Rivalry Series between Canada and the U.S. but was cut from the roster before the series ended. This year, after the first three games had been played, she was named to the team again, finishing with the team as the No. 3 netminder.
Though she didn’t appear in a game, Schroeder said it was still a tremendous honour to don the Maple Leaf. Her selection could open other doors, like representing the country at the IIHF Women’s World Championship in April.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to play for Team Canada and to make it to the Olympics. We have things from when I was a kid that I writing down my goals for life and that was definitely at the top of the list. So it means a lot to be selected and to join the team there in Halifax and Summerside (P.E.I). It was a great week and I really enjoyed it.
“It’s hopefully the start of a good career there.”
