Karilyn Pilch (born December 17, 1986) is an American professional

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

executive and current general manager of the

Boston Pride The Boston Pride are a professional women's ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are one of the four charter franchises of the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF), formerly the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL; 2015–2021). ...

in the NWHL.

Early life

Pilch was born on December 17, 1986, in

Salem, New Hampshire Salem is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 30,089 at the 2020 census. Being located on Interstate 93 as the first town in New Hampshire, which lacks any state sales tax, Salem has grown into a commerci ...

, United States to parents Maureen and Frank. While attending Salem High School, Pilch became the first female to play for the Salem High varsity hockey team.

Career

Boston University

Upon graduating from high school, Pilch went on to play nine games as a backup goalie for

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original c ...

. She earned her first win at Boston University on October 15, 2005, in a 6–2 win over Union College. Pilch graduated from Boston University cum laude from the

Questrom School of Business The Questrom School of Business (formerly, the Boston University School of Management) is the business school at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1913 as the College of Business Administration, the school o ...

in 2009 and served as an assistant coach for

Saint Anselm College Saint Anselm College is a private Benedictine liberal arts college in Goffstown, New Hampshire. Founded in 1889, it is the third-oldest Catholic college in New England. Named for Saint Anselm of Canterbury ( Archbishop of Canterbury from 1093 to ...

. She left the college in 2016 to become the Director of Hockey Operations at Boston University.

NWHL

Pilch would stay at the university until being hired as general manager of the

for the 2019–20 season. In her first year with the Pride, the team finished as regular-season champions, making it to the

Isobel Cup The Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy Cup, often shortened to Isobel Cup, is the championship trophy awarded annually to the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) playoff winner. It is named after Lady Isobel Gathorne-Hardy, one of the first known women to p ...

finals before the playoffs were postponed by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. As a result of the teams' success, Pilch signed a multi-year contract to remain with the Pride. When the league returned in 2021, she guided the team to their second Isobel Cup in franchise history.

References

External links

* Biographical information and career statistics fro
Elite Prospects
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilch, Karilyn Boston University alumni 1986 births Living people American women's ice hockey goaltenders Ice hockey people from New Hampshire Women ice hockey executives 21st-century American women Boston University Terriers women's ice hockey players