We had the opportunity to speak with Canadian ice hockey goalie Ann-Renée Desbiens on the Popternative show. She most recently helped Canada capture gold in August at the IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championship. In our interview (below), we talk about signature moments from their championship run, her hockey career, and tons more!

IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championship

In the gold medal game, Canada faced off against USA, another hockey heavyweight nation. The eventful match reached a tipping point during the 3 on 3 overtime. There was some uncertainty surrounding the game winning goal, but Ann-Renée Desbiens can still recall that moment vividly she says, “You can see Marie [Philip Poulin] with speed up the middle” and added “Just Marie against the goalie, usually it’s looking good for your team.” Once the goal was confirmed and the win had been secured, Ann-Renée says everything after that was a euphoric blur.

Looking back, she says the extra space on the ice during the 3 on the 3 overtime worked in Canada’s favor, as it allowed room for the team to utilize their speed more. In previous competitions, Canada didn’t do too well in the penalty shootouts. The continuous overtime format may have benefitted the Canadian team, but Ann-Renée mentions that she loves shootouts and would have not shied away from the high stakes moment.

Going into the competition, Ann-Renée’s teammates had the utmost confidence in her capabilities, “It definitely helps as a goalie, because that’s your goal at the end of the day, for them not to worry every time” she says. Very few people in the world can perform the incredibly difficult job that Ann-Renée does, but she has her methods to give her teammates assurance, “I tried to make everything look easy, just to make them feel good about it.“

You can watch the full interview!

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