Molly Makes Her Mark
Molly McMaster Becomes the First Female Hockey Player in the league as the UHL Cross-Checks Colon Cancer Tour gets under way to bring attention to National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
Paul POST
Minor League News
Molly McMaster became the first female player in United Hockey League (UHL) history when she laced up her skates for the Adirondack Frostbite against the Richmond RiverDogs on Feb. 26th. Yes, it’s a publicity stunt, with a few twists and turns.
Unlike the Indy Ice’s debut of basketball player Manute Bol a couple of years ago, McMaster, a seven-year cancer survivor and president and co-founder of Colon Club (colonclub.com), a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness about colorectal cancer, wants to bring awareness to colon cancer.
Billed as “The UHL Cross-Checks Colon Cancer,” it coincides with National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, in March.
Beyond that, though, McMaster wants to show that women can really play a little hockey too. How will she fare, in what may arguably be the most physical sport outside of full contact football (American or Aussie) and rugby?
“Women don’t play check hockey, so I’m going to stay out of the corners, skate like crazy and hopefully do good things,” said McMaster.
McMaster’s tour of the UHL includes 14 stops throughout the league. She will play at least one shift for each home team in the circuit.
In 1999, Molly had lofty goals of making the U.S. Women’s National Team, and eventually the Olympics. On her 23rd birthday, her doctor told her that she had colon cancer.
Less than a year later, she won a gold medal with the Adirondack region’s team in the Empire State Games.
McMaster caught hockey fever while attending Colorado State University, where she played in various men’s leagues and coached boys and girls youth teams.
The idea for joining the Frostbite started with late coach Marc Potvin, who half-kidding suggested that she play to help boost attendance.
“Can I get a free pair of gloves out of it?” she joked.
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