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Ever since she laced up her first pair of skates at the age of seven, Genevieve Turgeon knew that hockey was where she wanted to be. Turgeon was always an active kid participating in soccer and tae kwon do, but there was something special about hockey that grabbed her interest.
Turgeon said that although she wanted to play, she had a tough task convincing her father to allow her an opportunity.
“I would ask my dad a lot, almost everyday, about playing hockey. He didn’t want to let me play because he thought that it was too much of a guy’s game.”
It turns out that letting his daughter play hockey was one of the best decisions he could have ever made for Turgeon. After her final collegiate hockey game this past Sunday, Turgeon will be in the top five in all but one category for goalies at the University of Maine.
The records that Turgeon holds make her without question one of the top goaltenders that UMaine women’s hockey has ever seen. She holds a team record for games played (100), 34 games ahead of the second best mark. She will also hold the record for career saves (2,901+) and saves made in a season (928+), both of which she had just broken and added to this season.
Turgeon will hold many team records as well; career records in wins with 23 (2nd), save percentage with .900 (3rd) and shutouts with 7 (3rd).
The single season marks that Turgeon holds are just as remarkable. She will finish this season with 30 games played (second) to go along with the other three marks she has in that category (26, 22, 22). She will finish with three of the top five records in saves (first, second, fifth; 928+, 907, 682) and fifth in wins and save percentage from the 05-06 campaign (9, 2.26).
When asked about the records, Turgeon humbly replied, “It’s good to have individual success, but the focus is always on getting better as a team.”
“It hasn’t quite hit me that it’s almost over,” she added. “I think I will realize how special it was when I’m able to look back on everything.”
On top of all the success Turgeon has had on the ice, she has encountered just as much in the classroom as a four-time Scholar Athlete.
Although it may seem that success has come easy to Turgeon, she will tell you otherwise. Simply coming to the United States was difficult enough for her.
Turgeon came to the University of Maine from Lac Beauport, Quebec, knowing nearly no English. “My English was very bad,” she described. “But Maine already had four other French-Canadian players on the team, which made them an attractive choice. It would make for an easier transition.”
“It was the best combination ever,” Turgeon added. “I was able to play at a really competitive level of hockey and was able to learn English too.”
On the hockey side of things, Turgeon came to college not really knowing what to expect. “You just never know,” she said.
Turgeon would go on to play in 22 games as a freshman and make her mark by winning 9 games. Since then, Turgeon said that she has taught herself a lot, not only on the ice as a player, but as a human being in the game of life.
“Playing back to back games is not an easy thing to do. You’re always trying to do the best to recover after the first game. But after three years of managing your physical and mental preparation, you know what you need to do to be ready.”
The physical and mental preparation that Turgeon has endured through hockey, she feels, will only help her become successful in the business world after graduation.
“Working with teammates, dealing with pressure, being able to balance school and sports, staying focused on the task at hand, learning how to be disciplined and manage time. All of these will help out with my business career later on,” Turgeon said.
Genevieve has applied to graduate school at the University of Maine. She hopes that if she is accepted, she will be able to work with the team as an assistant, but doesn’t see her coaching career going far after that. After graduate school, corporate financing is where she wants to be. Both the sports and technology industries are of interest to her. She added that working for an eco-friendly company would be very important when searching for a job.
“I have no regrets,” Turgeon concluded. “I am really happy with what I’ve done. I don’t realize it yet; I know [the end] is coming. It’s going to be sad, but it’s time for me to move on and focus on my career and my future.”
Bangor Daily News