Karen Koch ronounced "Cook"(born 1951) is an American former

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near ...

. She played for the

Marquette Iron Rangers The Marquette Iron Rangers were a semi-pro team that played in the United States Hockey League from 1964-1976 and were five-time champions (three league and two playoffs). The team played the majority of their home games at the Palestra. The Mar ...

in the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is stric ...

during the 1969–70 season.Copper Country Hockey History Timeline 1920s
/ref>Leonard "Oakie" Brumm "First Female Hockey Player Made Debut in 1969" Wisconsin Hockey News August 15, 2000 She signed a contract for $40 per game which made her the first professional female hockey player in North America. As of 2000, as far as her coach, Leonard "Oakie" Brumm, knew, she was the first in the world.

Personal life

Since her hockey days, she has earned a bachelor's and a master's degree, both in English Literature, from

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

and the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...

respectively. She holds a black belt in judo and a brown belt in jujitsu. Karen loves birds and all creatures of the wild.www.marquetteironrangers.com

Hockey career

The USHL welcomed her as the first female professional hockey player when she was only 18. At the time, the Iron Rangers were the defending champs. Leonard "Oakie" Brumm, then coach for the past eighteen seasons, has said her only drawback was her size and that, since they were larger, the team's other goalies "stopped more pucks by accident than she did on purpose." Her addition to the team brought complaints from the other players, despite their admittance that she was good. It also brought national publicity as the team got calls from the Associated Press, United Press International, Reuters, and newspapers, radio and TV stations from all over the U.S. and Canada. And when it came time to cut the team down to eighteen players and two goalies, the coach adjusted the numbers so that he could keep her on the team. Her presence caused such a stir that the

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Sault Ste. Marie ( ) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is at the St. Mary's River on the Canada–US border. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay. The Ojibwe, the indigenous Anishinaabe inhabitants ...

officials insisted that she be announced as the starting goaltender to swell attendance. They also set up a pre-game penalty shot with then-mayor John Rhodes, who had been a hockey player in the past. Karen received a standing ovation when she stopped Rhodes' shot. She was eventually let go from the Iron Rangers after repeatedly going against her coach's orders and removing her mask during the after-Christmas games. There were ten games left in the schedule at the time. She went on to play in the Toronto area and made national headlines again when she was barred by the

Canadian Amateur Hockey Association The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA; french: Association canadienne de hockey amateur) was the national governing body of amateur ice hockey in Canada from 1914 until 1994, when it merged with Hockey Canada. Its jurisdiction include ...

from playing on men's teams.

References

1951 births Living people American women's ice hockey goaltenders Ice hockey players from Michigan Marquette Iron Rangers players People from Monroe, Michigan People from Wayne County, Michigan 21st-century American women {{US-icehockey-bio-stub