Roque Shines as Sault Ste Marie Surges

January 14, 2016

By Dennis Grall
Special for Second Half

SAULT STE. MARIE – Abby Roque has taken a somewhat unusual route to reach another high level of hockey.

The Sault Ste. Marie High School senior, an accomplished international player on the women's side, is the only female playing on her school's boys hockey team, as she’s been each of her four seasons with the Blue Devils. She is the only girl to have ever played for the Sault, which is home to one of the top boys programs in the state.

The Blue Devils, two-time MHSAA champions who finished second in the Division 3 playoffs in 2013 and 2014 and reached the Quarterfinals last year, are 10-4-1 this winter. 

Roque, a forward who also plays on the team's top power play unit, has five goals and 14 assists. She has received a scholarship to play for the University of Wisconsin, which has one of the nation's premier women's hockey programs. The Badgers, coached by former Olympian and NHL star Mark Johnson, are currently ranked second in the country.

"It has really helped me see how college hockey will be," Roque said before a recent practice as the Blue Devils prepared for the Sault Lions Showcase this weekend and games against Dearborn Divine Child and Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice. Sault Ste. Marie is ranked No. 9 in Division 3 this week. 

"It's been a good four years. It has helped me improve every single year," she added. "I've never been the best player on the team, but that has made me work hard to try to be the best player on the team.”

Last season, Roque was one of 15 girls who played on boys high school hockey teams in Michigan and earned Division 3 all-state second team honors.

She also played on the U.S. Women's Under-18 International Ice Hockey Federation world championship team that won gold in 2015. 

"The speed of the guys high school game has helped me prepare for women's college hockey," she said.

While not as fast on the high school ice, Roque knows how to compensate against the boys. Asked for her primary strength, she said, "my smarts on the ice. The guys are very fast, they are very powerful. I have to make the right pass. My stick handling skills are good."

Those skills also give her a decided edge when she does play against other females, such as the IIHF world tourney, where she led the world juniors in face-offs. Even though checking is not allowed in the girls game, her experience in the more physical brand of boys hockey has helped provide a major advantage.

"I do enjoy the checking. The physical part of hockey is great," she said with a chuckle. "Girls hold the puck longer. Guys come at you (faster and harder) and you have to move the puck faster."

Getting knocked around in the corner in boys games is no problem. "I'm not intimidated by anyone on the ice," she said. "I've gotten stronger playing with the guys. I'm clearly not as strong, but I hold my own. It is all really just hockey to me at this point."

Her Sault coach, John Ferroni, said many opposing players and fans are not even aware there is a female on the ice. "She has definitely learned how to manage herself in the boys game," he said. "She is very competitive, sometimes even too competitive."

Indeed, she says, "I try to be the intimidating one on the ice."

That is not surprising since she has grown up with hockey a major part of her life. She began playing at age 4 and her father, Jim, is a former hockey coach at Lake Superior State University. Her uncle, Tom Bissett, is hockey coach at Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern.

"If kids inherit things from their parents, she has inherited her dad's hockey IQ. She picked up the sport and has had a lot of hockey conversations with her father, and she comes from a hockey family," Ferroni said, noting her mother also has a strong athletic background.

Roque, who also has played golf and soccer and boasts 4.0 grade-point average taking advanced placement classes, said playing boys hockey was not a hard decision. She played in the strong Sault boys youth program from day one and realized the boys were the direction to take after playing girls hockey in the fall as an eighth grader.

"She always played with good hockey players, and they always accepted her as a girl," said Ferroni, in his fifth year as Sault coach. He said Roque "understands the game real well and made the commitment a long time ago. She is very dedicated to the sport."

Ferroni said Roque "has decent speed and decent quickness at the boys level. She is a strong skater and is very hard to knock off the puck. She is very elusive and always seems aware of what is going on around her."

That ability to see the game makes her "a playmaker without question" according to Ferroni. "She passes the puck extremely well; she has good, strong passing skills."

Ferroni admits he "had to look at a lot of things before taking her" on the team. After that process concluded, he said, "I knew she would be fine, but no way did I think she would rise to the level she has risen to. I didn't see that (second team all-state) coming."

After checking out girls programs, Roque and Ferroni realized the Sault High School boys team would be the best path to follow. Ferroni said playing against other girls was not fast enough, and the puck movement among the boys was much better.

"We afforded her and gave her a great opportunity," Ferroni said. "She walked into a good, strong program as a freshman and was not just being a player, but was a real solid player. She definitely has raised the bar around here for girls.

"She has helped us as much as we have helped her."

Roque said Wisconsin "was the right fit for me. I loved everything about it, about Madison. Everything is about hockey. I just couldn't go anywhere else."

Roque also received scholarship offers from women's programs at North Dakota, Boston College and Boston University, among other schools.

This school year's participation figures will not be compiled until the spring, but about 250 girls total played on MHSAA boys teams in 2014-15.

Denny Grall retired in 2012 after 39 years at the Escanaba Daily Press and four at the Green Bay Press-Gazette, plus 15 months for WLST radio in Escanaba; he served as the Daily Press sports editor from 1970-80 and again from 1984-2012. Grall was inducted into the Upper Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame in 2002 and serves as its executive secretary. E-mail him at sportsdenesky@gmail.com with story ideas for the Upper Peninsula.

PHOTOS: (Top) Sault Ste. Marie's Abby Roque positions herself near the net during one of her team's games. (Middle) Roque is the first girl to play on the Sault's boys hockey team. (Below) Roque, here on her U.S. Under-18 team, brings international experience to the high school season. (Photos courtesy of the Sault Ste. Marie athletic department.)

Multi-Sport Coach Kalleward Molds Multi-School Eagles Into Formidable Foe

By Pam Shebest
Special for MHSAA.com

January 21, 2025

KALAMAZOO – When it comes to hockey, JD Kalleward has a different challenge than many high school coaches.

Southwest CorridorHis Kalamazoo Eagles team is a cooperative of six schools: Richland Gull Lake, Parchment, Vicksburg, Plainwell, Kalamazoo Christian and Paw Paw.

That is not a problem for Kalleward, who has more than 30 years of coaching experience to help meld his players into a family.

“In the locker room we sit by our linemates,” Gull Lake senior forward Carter Dominowski said. “My line is one from Vicksburg, one from Gull Lake. 

“It’s all team bonding, hanging out, having fun. We have team dinners every Tuesday (at The Nest at Wings Event Center, where the Eagles practice).”

Kalleward went from Eagles assistant coach to head coach when Matt Kruzich stepped down after last season. The team has rebounded from a 1-3 start this winter to reach 8-7 with eight games remaining before the start of the MHSAA Tournament. 

“JD was the perfect replacement for many reasons: his meticulous preparation, practice planning, management skills,” Kruzich said. “But most of all, I’ve seen the positive impact that he has had on 100 percent of young men and hockey players specifically.”

Gull Lake is the sponsoring school and providing nine of the 23 players.

“It’s a challenge.” Kalleward said of bringing the players together. “You work together, do exercises for bonding in preseason, and you make certain they’re playing for each other.”

The veteran coach has almost 1,000 high school hockey games under his skates. Add the 170 games coaching lacrosse, and he has eclipsed that milestone total.

Coaching across multiple net games

Kalleward started his coaching career with Art Missias in KOHA youth hockey, then moved to Portage Northern when Missias took that head coaching job in 1986. He took over the Northern coaching reins five years later when Missias retired.

Kalleward expanded his coaching experience, becoming Northern’s assistant boys lacrosse coach for three years until being named head coach in 2016.

Comparing hockey and lacrosse, Kalleward said the field sport is a bit harder to coach because of numbers.

Kalleward and his Portage Northern lacrosse team receive the Matt Thrasher trophy in 2019 from then-Portage Central athletic director Joe Wallace (speaking into microphone).“Both are chess games, and both are very fluid,” he said. “Lacrosse has 10 (players) instead of six, but it’s also easier to hide some of your weaker kids in lacrosse.”

Kalleward has had more success in lacrosse, making the MHSAA Division 2 Quarterfinals three of the last five years and winning the Southwest Michigan Athletic Conference three times.

Kalleward said he enjoys coaching both sports, and there are some common elements – especially defensively.

“In hockey, you have to keep your head on a swivel, be aware of your surroundings the entire time,” he said. “Same in lacrosse. Always one more pass you’re looking to make.”

When it comes to drills, especially in hockey, the coach readily admits to “stealing” them from other programs to instruct his players.

“That’s how you learn,” he said, naming drills after former coaching friends. “(Portage Central’s) Jim Murray drills. (Kalamazoo Wings) Mark Reeds drills, (Western Michigan University’s) Bill Wilkinson drills, (K-Wings) Ken Hitchcock drills, (Fox Motors AAA U16) Travis Richards drills.”

Learning more than hockey

Kalleward coaches life skills as well as hockey techniques, assistant coach Ken Rogers said.

“These kids aren’t going to be NHL players after high school, so it’s trying to develop some responsibility, some accountability, what’s it like to be on your own,” Rogers said. “We’ve got a lot of seniors, and they’re going to be away from home next year. 

Eagles assistant coach Ken Rogers. “For most of them, that’s a big step in their lives. What we try to do along with hockey is instill those life lessons. Being part of a hockey team, you’re going to have to face those challenges when you get a job, become a good employee.”

Kalleward, who is on the ice with the team every day but Sunday, said that with tournaments the Eagles play 25 games a season plus MHSAA playoffs.

“I enjoy coaching,” he said. “We’re not here for you to try to be the next Sidney Crosby, that next pro. We’re here to have a good experience in high school, be competitive, have fun.

“I’m very big about life lessons. I’m very old school: manners, how we behave in public, address each other.”

Gull Lake senior defenseman Evan Kares appreciates that leadership.

“He has taught me to make smart decisions,” Kares said. “He’s developed the way I think about hockey and the way I play. He’s really introduced the physical aspect for me. I’m still not there yet, but I’m working on it.”

Forward Hank Livingston, another Gull Lake senior, added, “He’s always pushing the team to be the best players and best young men we can be. He’s always trying to help everyone.”

Kalleward, standing, coaches his Eagles hockey team.Other Gull Lake players are Owen Anderson, Joey Blondia, Henry Ludmer, Ryan Rocco, Henry Worgess and Jacob Worgess. Players from Vicksburg are Aidyn Garza, Blaine Herson, Cody Klesko and Grant Stopher, while the two from Paw Paw are Colton Gronau and Caleb Ranger. 

Kalamazoo Christian players are Isaac Riggs, Matthew Rohrer, Ryan Rohrer and Ari Wilkinson. The lone Comstock player is Brody Woolsey. Ryan Baranoski, and Carter Monette are from Plainwell and Kayden Hailey is from Parchment.

One of the downsides to coaching hockey is how player numbers are dwindling, Kalleward said.

The South Central Michigan Hockey League is down to six teams and four besides the Eagles are co-ops: the Capital City Capitals (Lansing), Eastside Stars (East Lansing), Kalamazoo United, and Portage. Mattawan is the only team that is not made up of players from multiple schools.

“That’s the sad thing about hockey,” Kalleward said. “It’s hard to grow the sport with the expense. I like to joke that (renting the ice) costs $6 a minute.”

Pam ShebestPam Shebest served as a sportswriter at the Kalamazoo Gazette from 1985-2009 after 11 years part-time with the Gazette while teaching French and English at White Pigeon High School. She can be reached at pamkzoo@aol.com with story ideas for Calhoun, Kalamazoo and Van Buren counties.

PHOTOS (Top) Kalamazoo Eagles coach JD Kalleward talks strategy with Gull Lake seniors (from left) Hank Livingston, Evan Kares and Carter Dominowski. (2) Kalleward and his Portage Northern lacrosse team receive the Matt Thrasher trophy in 2019 from then-Portage Central athletic director Joe Wallace (speaking into microphone). (3) Eagles assistant coach Ken Rogers. (4) Kalleward, standing, coaches his Eagles hockey team. (Top photo and headshot by Pam Shebest. Lacrosse and hockey game photos courtesy of JD Kalleward.)