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Roque excelling as only girl on boys hockey team

Posted at 3:40 PM, Feb 09, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-09 19:09:21-05

Northern Michigan is known for its icy winters, beautiful scenery, and hockey lifestyle.

Sault St. Marie senior Abby Roque loved the game so much, nothing would stop her from playing, not even her gender.

"Skating was my favorite thing to do, more than walking," said Abby Roque.

"My mom tried to put me in figure skating, but I didn't really like that at all, so I got to switch over to hockey," she recalled.

Abby is one of the few girls playing on a boys hockey team in Michigan.

And in a game that can be violent and physical, she always hasn't been welcomed.

"From the beginning, I've been playing boys hockey," Roque recalled.

"She's definitely one-in-a-million kind of kid. She's as good of a player with her mind in hockey as any boy I've coached in hockey, ever," Blue Devils coach John Ferroni said.

"Unfortunately, she's heard some not so nice things since she's hit high school hockey," Ferroni said.

"It's been harder obviously, guys are stronger, bigger than me so growing up I've always had to deal with that," Roque added.

But it's been Abby doing the dealing. Not only is she a playmaker on her high school team, but she's about to spend the next four years at Wisconsin, hoping a college career can help her realize her dream.

"Everybody's dream is to make the olympics, obviously that'd be amazing, I want to do that, that's what I'm working for," Roque stated.

Mighty impressive to see how far she's already come.