#2 – Christina Kessler (Ontario Red, January 2005; November 2005)

Her numbers: 6-0-0, 0.33 GAA, .984 SV%, 4 SO

Her hardware: Top Goaltender (November 2005); two gold medals (January 2005, November 2005)

Her story: In her two appearances, Kessler backstopped Ontario Red to a pair of championships, allowing only a single goal each time. She’s the event’s all-time leader in wins and shutouts, and despite playing the fifth-most minutes ever (360), has the lowest goals-against average and save percentage among goalies who started at least one game. In November 2005 she went 171:52 before allowing a goal, nearly 30 minutes longer than the second-best shutout streak.

In her own words: “The only thing I really remember is that offensively our teams were just so strong that it put even more pressure on the goalie to make sure that every save is made and rebounds are controlled and you’re being the backbone back there.”

“It was great personally to come out of that final game [in November 2005, a 2-1 win over Quebec]. I was able to play a solid game behind the team…when it comes down to it you’re not going to get much action playing on Ontario Red for some of it. In that tournament I didn’t feel like I had that many shots. It almost made every shot matter more than others. The closer games are always a bit more memorable, especially from a goalie’s perspective there’s a little bit more pressure to stay in it. Every little mistake counts.” [Kessler made 36 saves and was named her team’s Player of the Game.]

“Then I was learning about the mental side of games and trying to stay focused. I didn’t have that many shots against. [The shutout streak] was a combination, more so on the side of playing with a really good team than anything else.”

“At that time we didn’t have an under-18 Team Canada so it was really the pinnacle of what you could accomplish at that age. It was nice being exposed to that and definitely a good learning experience going into university hockey and playing for Team Canada.”