The University of Minnesota Duluth’s Ève Gascon is putting together another great season. The goaltender took over the program’s all-time shutout record on Oct. 16 after a sweep of Bemidji State. Gascon had just returned from Team Canada Camp in Québec, where she posted the 24th shutout of her career.
Gascon extended her record to 25 the following day.
She now sits atop the list of most career shutouts in UMD’s storied history. For as big as a moment it was, Gascon didn’t register it. You wouldn’t know it from back-to-back shutouts, but Gascon was playing on little sleep. After arriving from Canada and immediately departing for Bemidji, Gascon said she wasn’t thinking of the record.
“I just wanted to play good and get through the weekend because it was like we missed an entire night of sleep,” Gascon told The Ice Garden. “I wasn’t thinking about the shutout at all — I was thinking about winning the game then try[ing] to play my best game without that much sleep.”
From one big moment to another
In five starts this season, Gascon recorded four shutouts so far. A back-to-back WCHA Goaltender of the Year, the 23-year-old now embarks on another milestone moment of her career: the Women’s World Championship.
It will be Gascon’s second appearance at the international tournament. But this selection holds more meaning.
“I feel like this championship is the first time that I actually made a camp and then made the team,” Gascon explained. “My first championship, [Emerance] Maschmeyer was injured and then they called me. So I was happy to be there, but this one is like I made my spot and I earned it more.”
Gascon won a silver medal with Canada at last year’s Worlds and will be part of a Canadian team with younger players who will hope to reclaim gold. Fellow Bulldog Caitlin Kraemer will join Gascon with the Canadian team. The two worked tirelessly throughout the last year to be part of this year’s team and achieved their goal. Although Gascon was in contention for a spot on Canada’s Olympic team for this year’s Games, she didn’t make the team. Nonetheless, she said she worked hard all summer to elevate and improve her game. This selection shows how hard she and countless others have worked to get her to this point.
“Making this team is special and I feel it reflects the effort that I made and everyone that helped me to get there, like my parents — they worked hard as much as I did for me to be there — and all my coaches too,” Gascon said. “It’s pretty special not just to me, but for everyone that supported me to be where I am today.”
Eyes set on making Team Canada
Preparations for a spot on the World Championship roster began in the summer with the Collegiate select series, where Gascon was the best goaltender in the tournament. She appeared in three games and recorded one shutout in the three-game series against the USA’s collegiate select team. The team named Gascon an alternate captain for the Bulldogs this season.
She opened the season with two consecutive shutouts to remain one back of Emma Söderberg’s record.
Then she went off to Hockey Canada’s 2026 National Women’s Team camp. The record would have to wait.
Gascon was happy to attend camp and see familiar faces from the summer development camp and from last year as well. She was the only goalie taking part still playing college hockey. Though she needed to adjust to the speed and level of play from the PWHL players on the team, she enjoyed being there.
“It’s always fun to see what the PWHL goalies are doing and to learn from them. Every goalie can learn from another,” Gason said. “I was on a team with Ann [-Renée Desbiens] and [Hannah] Murphy and I always look at them whenever they’re in net … to see what they’re doing, what they’re doing well, and trying to implement some of their skills into my game.”
There were details that Gascon liked from the pro goalies. For example, how good they are at playing the puck. She noticed how quickly they play and their rapid decision making, too. Gascon added that is something she wants to get better at, especially at the next level.
“Otherwise, how consistent they are and how patient on the ice they are,” Gascon said of what else she wanted to learn from the pros. “They’re calm, and that’s something I always want to get better at.”
Behind the shutout record breaking weekend
Gascon played an intrasquad game with Canada on Oct. 14 then boarded a 5 am flight back to Minnesota. By the time she arrived in Duluth, she was busy unpacking from Canada and packing for Bemidji.
Eventually, she was able to rest and prepare for Duluth’s series against the Beavers. On Oct. 16, Gascon saved all 24 shots faced for a 3-0 win and a new shutout record.
For Gascon, returning from team Canada camp and then playing with the Bulldogs was a whirlwind, but she was happy the team added two more wins. The record was great for Gascon to achieve, but she explained that it is part of the way she approaches goaltending.
“I was talking with [head coach] Laura [Schuler] about this and before every game, I just don’t want to get scored on,” Gascon said. “That’s who I am. My goal is to always get a shutout because I don’t wanna get scored on — but at the end of the day, if we win then I’m happy, and I wanted to have this sweep against Bemidji. It’s fun, the record, but I was more happy with the wins.”
Catch her if you can, and she hopes you can
Gascon couldn’t help but reflect on the names she surpassed on the shutout leaderboard. It’s a list that includes four All-Americans, and two NCAA champions. Names like Söderberg and the legendary Kim Martin, one of the reasons why Gascon chose to play at UMD. Gascon’s never held a record like this before. She’s not satisfied though — not because she wants more, but because she wants someone to catch her.
“You want someone from this team to beat you because that means they’re doing great,” Gascon said. “So that’s going to be a weird feeling of like, yes, I’m holding the record, but I would want someone to come get me. [It] just proves that UMD is doing great.”
Gascon started for Canada in their second pre-tournament game against the USA before Worlds begins in Denmark on Nov. 6. The goalie is getting another taste of the international stage in hopes of helping the Canadians claim another world championship.
When she returns, Gascon will take over UMD’s crease from freshman goalie Marilou Grenier and focus on her next objective: winning a national championship at home in Duluth in the spring.
Along the way she will most likely continue to extend her shutout streak, but, as Gascon mentioned, she wants someone to pass her on the list at some point. She knows exactly who.
“I joked to Marilou about it. Because after the second game against Bemidji, she was saying that I was just continuing to get shutouts so no one can reach me,” Gascon recalled. “And then I looked at Lou, because I think she’s gonna be the next one to get it.”
The 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship begins on Nov. 6. Check out the schedule here.
