Abby Roque (born September 25, 1997) is an American ice hockey forward for the New York Sirens of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She is the first indigenous person to play for the United States women's national ice hockey team, making her Olympic debut in 2022.[2]

Abby Roque
Born (1997-09-25) September 25, 1997 (age 27)
Potsdam, New York, U.S.[1]
Height 170 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight 82 kg (181 lb; 12 st 13 lb)
Position Forward
Shoots Right
PWHL team New York Sirens
Played for PWHPA Minnesota
Team Sonnet
National team  United States
Playing career 2020–present

Playing career

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Youth

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Roque began playing hockey at the age of six. Not having any options for girls' hockey, she played on boys' teams growing up. She played for the Sault Area High School Blue Devils in high school. During her freshman year, she was the only freshman to make the varsity hockey team. She was the first and only girl to play on the high school's boys' team. She was an alternate captain in her senior season with the Blue Devils. She tallied 16 goals and 20 assists in her senior year with the Blue Devils for a total of 36 points.[3][4][5]

College

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After graduating, she attended the University of Wisconsin, putting up 170 points in 155 NCAA games for the Badgers, twice being named WCHA Offensive Player of the Year.[6] She was named WCHA Rookie of the Year in 2016–17, scoring 28 points in 40 games. In 2019, she scored the game-winning goal in the semi-finals as the university won the NCAA championship.[7] She was named USCHO Division I Women's Player of the Year and USA Hockey's Women's Hockey Player of the Year in 2020, as well as being a top-3 finalist for the 2020 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award.[8][9][10]

Professional

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After graduating, Roque joined the PWHPA, being named to the Team Minnesota roster ahead of the 2020–21 season.[11] With Minnesota, Roque participated in a PWHPA Dream Gap Tour event at New York's Madison Square Garden on February 28, 2021, the first professional women's ice hockey event at the venue.[12] Playing for a team sponsored by Adidas, Roque logged a goal and two assists in a 4–3 loss.[13]

In September 2023, following the end of the PWHPA strike and creation of the PWHL, PWHL New York announced that they had signed Roque to a 3-year deal with an undisclosed salary.[14]

International play

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Medal record
Representing   United States
Women's ice hockey
Olympic Games
  2022 Beijing Team
World Championships
  2023 Canada
  2021 Canada
  2022 Denmark
World U18 Championships
  2015 United States
  2014 Hungary

Roque represented the United States at the 2014 and 2015 IIHF World Women's U18 Championship, winning gold in 2015.[15] She participated in the 2019-20 Rivalry Series for the senior American national team and was named to the roster for the 2020 IIHF Women's World Championship before it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[16][17]

On January 2, 2022, Roque was named to Team USA's roster to represent the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics.[18]

Personal life

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Roque is the daughter of Jim Roque, a former NCAA ice hockey coach who now works as a pro scout for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League.[19] She is a member of the Wahnapitae First Nation.[20] Roque has a bachelor's degree in marketing.[21]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2016–17 University of Wisconsin WCHA 40 8 20 28 38
2017–18 University of Wisconsin WCHA 38 11 30 41 40
2018–19 University of Wisconsin WCHA 41 11 32 43 28
2019–20 University of Wisconsin WCHA 31 20 22 42 22
2020–21 Minnesota PWHPA 6 6 5 11 4
2022–23 Team Sonnet PWHPA 20 7 9 16 12
2023–24 New York PWHL 24 6 7 13 12
PWHL totals 24 6 7 13 12

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2014 United States U18   5 1 2 3 2
2015 United States U18   5 0 2 2 4
2021 United States WC   6 0 1 1 0
2022 United States OG   7 1 2 3 4
2022 United States WC   7 5 3 8 4
2023 United States WC   7 3 6 9 2
Junior totals 10 1 4 5 6
Senior totals 27 9 12 21 10

Awards and honors

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Award Year Ref
NCAA
NCAA All-Tournament Team 2019
Preseason WCHA Co-Player of the Year 2020 [22]
All-WCHA First Team 2020 [23]
First Team All-American 2020 [24]
WCHA Player of the Year 2020 [25]
USCHO D-1 Women's Player of the Year 2020 [26]
USA Hockey
Bob Allen Women's Player of the Year Award 2020 [27]

References

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  1. ^ "Abby Roque | Knoxy & Kax". YouTube.
  2. ^ Barry Svrluga (February 2, 2022) [2022-02-01]. "U.S. forward Abby Roque is a first-time Olympian — and a pioneer for Indigenous people". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409. Archived from the original on February 2, 2022. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  3. ^ McCabe, Mick. "Girl power: Abby Roque stars for Soo boys hockey". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  4. ^ "Roque excelling as only girl on boys hockey team". WXYZ. February 9, 2016. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  5. ^ USAHockey.com, Doug Williams-Special to (December 30, 2014). "Playing With Boys Helped Abby Roque Prepare for U18 WWC". USA Hockey. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  6. ^ Journal, Todd D. Milewski | Wisconsin State (March 5, 2020). "Badgers' Abby Roque named WCHA offensive player of the year". madison.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Spengler, John (February 11, 2020). "Women's Hockey: How Abby Roque became one of top offensive weapons for Badgers". Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  8. ^ Journal, Todd D. Milewski | Wisconsin State. "Badgers' Abby Roque named a first-team women's hockey All-American". madison.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "Badgers' Abby Roque claims USA Hockey's women's player of the year award". AP NEWS. June 3, 2020. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  10. ^ "Canadians Giguere, Roque among 3 finalists for top NCAA women's hockey award - CBC Sports". CBC. March 3, 2020. Archived from the original on April 4, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  11. ^ Tokarski, Anne (August 18, 2020). "2020 Top 25 Under 25 | No. 9: Abby Roque". The Ice Garden. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  12. ^ Analis Bailey (February 28, 2021). "PWHPA Dream Gap Tour hits Madison Square Garden ice for historic women's game". USA Today. Archived from the original on March 2, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  13. ^ "2021 Secret Dream Gap Tour recap: New York City". SB Nation. March 1, 2021. Archived from the original on September 16, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  14. ^ "Alex Carpenter, Abby Roque, Micah Zandee-Hart Sign Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) Contracts With New York". PWHL News (Press release). September 8, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
  15. ^ "Abby Roque". teamusa.usahockey.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  16. ^ Bowker, Paul D. (December 17, 2019). "Wisconsin Standout Abby Roque Leads U.S. Women’s Hockey Team To Another Rivalry Series Win Over Canada." Archived 2020-10-26 at the Wayback Machine TeamUSA.org. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  17. ^ Scifo, Dan (June 3, 2020). "Abby Roque Joins Elite Company as Bob Allen Women's Hockey Player of the Year". USA Hockey. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  18. ^ "U.S. women with 13 returnees". International Ice Hockey Federation. January 2, 2022. Archived from the original on January 17, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  19. ^ "That Sudbury Sports Guy: Like father, like daughter — sort of". Archived from the original on June 15, 2020. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  20. ^ "Abby Roque Represents Native American Culture with Pride". January 7, 2021. Archived from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  21. ^ Badgers, Wisconsin (March 27, 2020). "Abby Roque skates to her own beat … and it's a joyous one". Wisconsin Badgers. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  22. ^ "DEFENDING NCAA CHAMPION WISCONSIN TOPS WCHA PRESEASON COACHES POLL". wcha.com. September 11, 2019. Archived from the original on August 20, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  23. ^ "WCHA ANNOUNCES 2019-20 ALL-LEAGUE TEAMS, PRESENTED BY STERLING TROPHY: All-WCHA and All-Academic teams honored". wcha.com. February 27, 2020. Archived from the original on August 25, 2021. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  24. ^ TODD D. MILEWSKI (March 5, 2020). "Badgers' Abby Roque named a first-team women's hockey All-American". wiscnews.com. Archived from the original on August 20, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  25. ^ "WISCONSIN'S ABBY ROQUE NAMED 2019-20 WCHA PLAYER OF THE YEAR, PRESENTED BY STERLING TROPHY: Patty Kazmaier finalist chosen from among four candidates as the WCHA's top overall player". wcha.com. March 5, 2020. Archived from the original on August 20, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2021.
  26. ^ Nicole Haase (March 26, 2020). "Women's Division I College Hockey: Wisconsin's Abby Roque is USCHO Player of the Year". USCHO.com. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
  27. ^ Dan Scifo, 06/03/20. "Abby Roque Joins Elite Company as Bob Allen Women's Hockey Player of the Year". USA Hockey. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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