Gabriella "Gabie" Figueroa (born February 21, 1992)[1] is an American former professional ice hockey player who played for the New York Riveters of the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL).
| Gabie Figueroa | |||
|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) Figueroa in 2015 | |||
| Born |
February 21, 1992 Branchburg, New Jersey, USA | ||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) | ||
| Weight | 146 lb (66 kg; 10 st 6 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | New York Riveters | ||
| Playing career | 2009–2017 | ||
Playing career
editFigueroa was originally a defenseman.[2] She first played hockey when she was a 9-year-old.[3][4] She got into the sport because a bunch of her brother's friends from school were playing.[5] Before every game, she tapes her own stick. She believes doing so increases her puck control.[3]
Youth
editShe played youth hockey for a number of clubs including Bridgewater Bears, Princeton Tiger Lilies, New Jersey Colonials and Connecticut Polar Bears and The Lawrenceville School.[6] Playing for Lawrenceville, she was named an all state player three times.[4] As a youth player, she sometimes played on all girls teams and mixed gender teams at the same time.[5]
Collegiate
editFigueroa attended college at Princeton University, where she played for the women's ice hockey team.[2][7] Her senior season in 2013-2014 finished with 13 points on 12 assists and a goal.[6] After finishing her career at Princeton, she initially believed her playing days were over because of the lack of opportunities for women to play after college.[3]
NWHL
editOn August 15, 2015, Figueroa joined the New York Riveters for the inaugural 2015/16 NWHL season.[8][2][7][3][9][10] Because of salary cap restraints, most players needed to work other jobs including Figueroa who made the league minimum of $10,000. As a result, she only trained with the team two times a week with games played on Sunday.[2][7][3] When not training, she worked as a project engineer for Gilbane Building Company.[2][3] That season, she played in all 18 regular season games for the team, along with making post-season appearances.[11] She also played in the first game ever played in the league when the Riveters took on the Connecticut Whales.[12] She also scored the team's first ever goal.[13]
In 2016, she participated in the NWHL Free Agent Camp, watched by general managers from several teams in the league. She was one of only three defenders playing for her team in a scrimmage match.[14][15] In September 2016, it was announced that Figueroa would join the practice squad for the New York Riveters in their 2016/17 season.[16][11] Playing for the Riveters in 2017, injuries to other players meant she sometimes was playing as a forward. By mid-season, she had scored three times for her team.[17]
National team
editShe played for the United States women's u-18 national ice hockey team.[3] With the team for the 2010 IIHF U-18 World Championship, she won a silver medal.[6][4]
Coaching
editIn 2016, she was involved with running a USA Hockey ADM clinic.[4]
Personal
editOriginally from Branchburg, New Jersey,[7] Figueroa attended college at Princeton University. Figueroa graduated from Princeton in 2014 with a degree in structural engineering.[2][7][3]
References
edit- ^ "Gabie Figueroa - Player Profile - Ice Hockey". Eurosport. Archived from the original on February 19, 2023. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f Desai, Priya (June 5, 2016). "For Riveters' Gabie Figueroa, hockey is more than a game". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "What It's Like To Be One Of The First Pro Female Hockey Players In The U.S." MTV News. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Ice Hockey: New Jersey Devils, USA Hockey host first Girls Youth Hockey ADM clinic in Newark". NJ.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2016. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- ^ a b Bazis, Nicole (November 5, 2015). "Feminism Scores a Hat Trick with Women's Hockey League | Fordham Observer". Fordham Observer. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- ^ a b c Feil, Justin (August 27, 2015). "PRINCETON: Figueroa's passion is following her to work". centraljersey.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Kreda, Allan (February 20, 2016). "For Players in a New Women's League, a Rink Isn't the Only Office". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
- ^ Lighthouse Hockey (August 15, 2015). "Riveters sign defenseman Gabie Figueroa". SB Nation. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
- ^ "NWHL Three Stars: Pride put up 7 goals on Riveters; Power play big for Whale". Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- ^ "The Riveters' Lack of Puck Luck Saves the Whale, 3-1". Archived from the original on August 23, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- ^ a b "NWHL: New York Riveters sign five practice players - Excelle Sports". Excelle Sports. September 3, 2016. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- ^ Pendrys, David F. (October 16, 2015). "Connecticut Whale beat New York Riveters in first-ever NWHL game". SportzEdge. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- ^ "Everything You Need to Know About the Boston Pride's Home Opener". Boston Magazine. Archived from the original on August 14, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- ^ "NWHL Free Agent Camp Notebook". The Victory Press. June 14, 2016. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- ^ "MyWSports | Growing The Games Together". MyWSports | Growing The Games Together. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
- ^ Nelson, Dustin L. (September 3, 2016). "New York Riveters Announce Practice Squad Players". The Hockey Writers. Archived from the original on August 14, 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
- ^ "Riveters Hope New Signing Lauren Wash Will Spark Third Line". www.fanragsports.com. Archived from the original on August 13, 2017. Retrieved August 13, 2017.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com