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Ice in Their Veins: Women's Relentless Pursuit of the Puck
Women have been playing hockey since the beginning—but their fights took place off the ice.
Hockey wasn’t meant to include girls. Women attracted to the speed, finesse and physicality of the game had to overcome condescending attitudes, lack of resources, legal barriers and even sexual assault in their quest for legitimacy and ice time. For more than 150 years, their gender was questioned, monitored, hidden, disparaged and trivialized. Even so, teams were formed and stars emerged. Early tournaments were catalysts, inspiring pioneers with visions of what could be. From “the miracle maid” of the early 20th century to members of today’s Professional Women's Hockey League, these are the stories of women who truly had ice in their veins.
Hockey wasn’t meant to include girls. Women attracted to the speed, finesse and physicality of the game had to overcome condescending attitudes, lack of resources, legal barriers and even sexual assault in their quest for legitimacy and ice time. For more than 150 years, their gender was questioned, monitored, hidden, disparaged and trivialized. Even so, teams were formed and stars emerged. Early tournaments were catalysts, inspiring pioneers with visions of what could be. From “the miracle maid” of the early 20th century to members of today’s Professional Women's Hockey League, these are the stories of women who truly had ice in their veins.
228 pages, Paperback
Published October 29, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 24, 2024
This book serves as further proof that the male ego knows no bounds; not only it its stories of those that tried to stifle the success of these women at every turn but also in the author’s insistence on starting every chapter by forcibly inserting his own personal narrative.
There were some good stories in here though!!!
There were some good stories in here though!!!
October 30, 2024
100000/10, this is my women's hockey bible now
January 23, 2025
I’m couldn’t wait to read this, as a female hockey player their story is my story. And perfect timing too with the PWHL in its second, record-breaking year. But, I wish the writing was sharper. Lots of incredible women are highlighted, but not in chronological or even regional order. The timeline is hard to keep straight and the tales of these legends jump all over the place. Too bad. Found several grammar mistakes too, which always bums me out.
March 10, 2025
Women's History Month seems like a good time to celebrate our neighbors to the north, specifically the Canadian women who have contributed so much to the development of ice hockey for women over the years.
Ian Kennedy's book, Ice in Their Veins: Women's Relentless Pursuit of the Puck, is a good place to start. Kennedy writes about women's hockey for The Hockey News and his book shows the depth and breadth of his knowledge. But while there is a lot of history to digest, what I enjoyed most about the book was meeting some lesser known women who have been lost to history, given how little coverage women's hockey received prior to 1998. That was the year the first women's ice hockey game was played at the Olympics in Nagano, Japan. The nationally televised games led to the expansion of opportunities for women and girls to play hockey and it fed an exponential growth in media coverage of the women's game.
While Kennedy devotes a fair amount of space to that watershed event (in which the U.S. won the gold medal, by the way), the pages of this book are full of lesser known women and stories about them that I found delightful to read. For instance, there's Albertine Lapensee, who only played for one year, but was so incredibly talented that people assumed she must be a man in disguise. Then there was 9-year-old "Ab" Hoffman, who cut her hair short to look like a boy so that she could play on a boy's youth hockey team. When the powers that be found out Ab was really Abby they let her play anyway because she was so much better than most of her teammates.
The book is far from just a collection of quirky hockey stories though. In a way, it's Kennedy's love letter to women's hockey, a love he came to as a grown man. As he writes in his introduction, Kennedy was a hockey player growing up, but he became disenchanted with the male hockey culture that denigrated women as part of their bonding process. While he grew up loving hockey, he had no idea that there were women who loved it too. "...and to be completely honest, if someone had asked, I would have told them that women didn't belong in hockey," he wrote.
A lightbulb moment for Kennedy came when he stumbled across an article about a woman from his hometown who'd been the first-ever captain of Canada's women's team. He was amazed that he'd never heard of her (even though his mother had gone to high school with her). Kennedy realized that if she had been a man, there'd be tributes to her and maybe even a street named after her. Instead, he soon discovered, her fame was buried in the microfiche at the local library, along with the exploits of many other pioneering hockey women.
Thus was born his desire to find out as much as he could about these women: how they began playing (in long skirts and on figure skates), how they traveled by train to far-flung towns and provinces to find some competition, and how they defied the stereotypes and the nay-sayers who tried to keep them in their place and off the ice.
Most of the women profiled in Kennedy's book are Canadian, and rightfully so. Canada is, after all, the birthplace of hockey and Team Canada is still the team by which all other teams are measured. There are a few notable exceptions, though. One that I found particularly interesting is the profile of Kelly Dyer, a goalie who played for Northeastern University and on Team USA in the 1990s. Dyer is best known now for her efforts to revolutionize the equipment that women wore while playing hockey. Back when Dyer was playing, women wore jerseys, pants, pads, and gloves that were designed for men, and consequently, they were ill-fitting in one way or another. Dyer, who'd majored in marketing, convinced manufacturers that they could make a lot of money designing equipment for women, so she set about to do just that.
I am a history buff, but it's the journalist in me that's always looking for books to read that go beyond the facts, into the stories behind the games and the news. Kennedy's book does a great job of that.
Thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy of the book, which was published last October.
Ian Kennedy's book, Ice in Their Veins: Women's Relentless Pursuit of the Puck, is a good place to start. Kennedy writes about women's hockey for The Hockey News and his book shows the depth and breadth of his knowledge. But while there is a lot of history to digest, what I enjoyed most about the book was meeting some lesser known women who have been lost to history, given how little coverage women's hockey received prior to 1998. That was the year the first women's ice hockey game was played at the Olympics in Nagano, Japan. The nationally televised games led to the expansion of opportunities for women and girls to play hockey and it fed an exponential growth in media coverage of the women's game.
While Kennedy devotes a fair amount of space to that watershed event (in which the U.S. won the gold medal, by the way), the pages of this book are full of lesser known women and stories about them that I found delightful to read. For instance, there's Albertine Lapensee, who only played for one year, but was so incredibly talented that people assumed she must be a man in disguise. Then there was 9-year-old "Ab" Hoffman, who cut her hair short to look like a boy so that she could play on a boy's youth hockey team. When the powers that be found out Ab was really Abby they let her play anyway because she was so much better than most of her teammates.
The book is far from just a collection of quirky hockey stories though. In a way, it's Kennedy's love letter to women's hockey, a love he came to as a grown man. As he writes in his introduction, Kennedy was a hockey player growing up, but he became disenchanted with the male hockey culture that denigrated women as part of their bonding process. While he grew up loving hockey, he had no idea that there were women who loved it too. "...and to be completely honest, if someone had asked, I would have told them that women didn't belong in hockey," he wrote.
A lightbulb moment for Kennedy came when he stumbled across an article about a woman from his hometown who'd been the first-ever captain of Canada's women's team. He was amazed that he'd never heard of her (even though his mother had gone to high school with her). Kennedy realized that if she had been a man, there'd be tributes to her and maybe even a street named after her. Instead, he soon discovered, her fame was buried in the microfiche at the local library, along with the exploits of many other pioneering hockey women.
Thus was born his desire to find out as much as he could about these women: how they began playing (in long skirts and on figure skates), how they traveled by train to far-flung towns and provinces to find some competition, and how they defied the stereotypes and the nay-sayers who tried to keep them in their place and off the ice.
Most of the women profiled in Kennedy's book are Canadian, and rightfully so. Canada is, after all, the birthplace of hockey and Team Canada is still the team by which all other teams are measured. There are a few notable exceptions, though. One that I found particularly interesting is the profile of Kelly Dyer, a goalie who played for Northeastern University and on Team USA in the 1990s. Dyer is best known now for her efforts to revolutionize the equipment that women wore while playing hockey. Back when Dyer was playing, women wore jerseys, pants, pads, and gloves that were designed for men, and consequently, they were ill-fitting in one way or another. Dyer, who'd majored in marketing, convinced manufacturers that they could make a lot of money designing equipment for women, so she set about to do just that.
I am a history buff, but it's the journalist in me that's always looking for books to read that go beyond the facts, into the stories behind the games and the news. Kennedy's book does a great job of that.
Thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy of the book, which was published last October.
April 10, 2026
When I first began to read Ice In Their Veins, I was really excited to read a book about the history of women’s hockey that would shine a light on all of these incredible stories. As I got into the book, though, it became a struggle to read. It was hard to understand parts of the book because the events were not in chronological order, and the stories jumped around. Sometimes I would be reading a part of the book, and it would mention someone who had their own story, but not until further on in the book. In this sense, the whole book felt uncoordinated, like it had been written as a draft and then never organized. I was really disappointed by this because the book was hard to get through and uninteresting from a writing standpoint.
Writing style aside, this was a really fascinating book, as I read about a lot of women in hockey that I had never heard of, and their stories of resilience were truly inspiring. These women had to go through so much more than they get recognition for, and yet they still are cast aside as men are considered better. The fact that these women had to cut their hair short and go by different names so that they could be passed by as boys just to get a chance to play the sport they loved was heartbreaking, and I never realized how much they had gone through to get the sport to where it is today.
Ice In Their Veins made me wonder a lot more about how the inequality between women and men in sports is not recognized nearly enough, and how the journey, the hard work, and the dedication all need to be showcased much more than they are. Female athletes are incredibly resilient in all sports, and it is deeply upsetting that they have to work twice as hard as men to get half the recognition. This book made me wonder how we, in the future, could be more inclusive of everyone in the sports industry, however that may look, and these women whose stories were told in the book would definitely want future generations not to have to struggle just to play at a competitive level.
This book correlates well with the most recent Winter Olympics, where the men's team won gold for the first time in 46 years and were met with a gigantic celebration, while the women's team also won gold for the first time in 8 years, and yet were less celebrated. Women have accomplished so much, and Ice In Their Veins only scratched the surface of the women who have paved the way for future generations of hockey players. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in women’s hockey or hockey in general, as it shares a lot of influential stories.
While I did not love the writing style of this book, the stories were truly inspiring. All of these women who worked so hard deserve to have their stories told, and the fact that this author compiled them into a book was a thoughtful way to celebrate their legacy.
Writing style aside, this was a really fascinating book, as I read about a lot of women in hockey that I had never heard of, and their stories of resilience were truly inspiring. These women had to go through so much more than they get recognition for, and yet they still are cast aside as men are considered better. The fact that these women had to cut their hair short and go by different names so that they could be passed by as boys just to get a chance to play the sport they loved was heartbreaking, and I never realized how much they had gone through to get the sport to where it is today.
Ice In Their Veins made me wonder a lot more about how the inequality between women and men in sports is not recognized nearly enough, and how the journey, the hard work, and the dedication all need to be showcased much more than they are. Female athletes are incredibly resilient in all sports, and it is deeply upsetting that they have to work twice as hard as men to get half the recognition. This book made me wonder how we, in the future, could be more inclusive of everyone in the sports industry, however that may look, and these women whose stories were told in the book would definitely want future generations not to have to struggle just to play at a competitive level.
This book correlates well with the most recent Winter Olympics, where the men's team won gold for the first time in 46 years and were met with a gigantic celebration, while the women's team also won gold for the first time in 8 years, and yet were less celebrated. Women have accomplished so much, and Ice In Their Veins only scratched the surface of the women who have paved the way for future generations of hockey players. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in women’s hockey or hockey in general, as it shares a lot of influential stories.
While I did not love the writing style of this book, the stories were truly inspiring. All of these women who worked so hard deserve to have their stories told, and the fact that this author compiled them into a book was a thoughtful way to celebrate their legacy.
March 22, 2025
There is so much I wish to say about this book. As someone from the same region as the author I was unfamiliar with the important history this area had with women’s hockey. I also enjoyed getting the short sections during each chapter that brought it back to this area and hearing about Kennedy’s personal feelings, attitudes, and growth about hockey as a whole, but especially his beliefs about women’s hockey.
It was fascinating to read about the countless number of women who came before and hear their stories. Growing up in a small town I faced a lot of sexism from a young age by being told I was a great player but couldn’t play in higher level hockey due to being a girl. I was the only girl my age from my town that played and I often felt alone. There were girls older and younger than me that played but it didn’t feel the same as having someone the same age as me. I had to change in supply closets, cupboards under the stairs and public washrooms growing up. I still remember when a girls change room was built in my local arena. I remember the fight for a girls league, the successes and failures of that league and the hockey politics that impacted my love of the game. Hearing the stories of these women who fought, who would take great lengths to play the game they loved, helped me understand that I wasn’t alone in my experience. That these women faced similar things as me and worse things too. I did not know about Justine Blainey’s fight to play on boys teams, and how because of that fight I was able to play with boys growing up.
I personally believe this book should be available in schools especially in my community as there is so much to be learned from it. There were some spelling and punctuation mistakes at times, and I can understand why other reviewers would have liked the book to be more timeline like. Although I personally enjoyed the themed chapters. That being said I think Ice In Their Veins: Women’s Relentless Pursuit of the Puck is a great read for anyone who played hockey, wished they played but couldn’t, or is just interested in women’s hockey history. I would definitely recommend giving this book a read.
It was fascinating to read about the countless number of women who came before and hear their stories. Growing up in a small town I faced a lot of sexism from a young age by being told I was a great player but couldn’t play in higher level hockey due to being a girl. I was the only girl my age from my town that played and I often felt alone. There were girls older and younger than me that played but it didn’t feel the same as having someone the same age as me. I had to change in supply closets, cupboards under the stairs and public washrooms growing up. I still remember when a girls change room was built in my local arena. I remember the fight for a girls league, the successes and failures of that league and the hockey politics that impacted my love of the game. Hearing the stories of these women who fought, who would take great lengths to play the game they loved, helped me understand that I wasn’t alone in my experience. That these women faced similar things as me and worse things too. I did not know about Justine Blainey’s fight to play on boys teams, and how because of that fight I was able to play with boys growing up.
I personally believe this book should be available in schools especially in my community as there is so much to be learned from it. There were some spelling and punctuation mistakes at times, and I can understand why other reviewers would have liked the book to be more timeline like. Although I personally enjoyed the themed chapters. That being said I think Ice In Their Veins: Women’s Relentless Pursuit of the Puck is a great read for anyone who played hockey, wished they played but couldn’t, or is just interested in women’s hockey history. I would definitely recommend giving this book a read.
March 15, 2026
While I have been a hockey fan since I was a kid, I am relatively new to women’s hockey. There were no real opportunities to watch women’s hockey. Like many, I was glued to my TV screen watching Team USA go for and win gold and was introduced to the PWHL through learning more about the incredible women kicking ass on the ice. Because I’m also a nerd, I was curious to learn more about the PWHL, so I picked up this book. It’s a quick read and I found it interesting and disheartening to read about the journey to founding the PWHL. The story was full of obstacles put in place by men and a completely misogynistic system which was upsetting to read about, but I also found myself inspired by generations of women who found ways to play and move the game forward for future generations.
July 21, 2026
I didn't grow up around hockey and started working in the industry a few years ago. I have a passing knowledge about NHL history, but regrettably knew very little about the origins of women's hockey or the tumultuous path to the PWHL. These stories opened my eyes to the pioneers who fought uphill battles for basic recognition and respect, as well as how the struggle for equality continues despite success at the club and international levels. I initially appreciated the author inserting personal anecdotes about toxic masculinity in each chapter, but it didn't really go anywhere and began to distract from the larger point.
March 19, 2025
The book chronicles the history of women's hockey, from the earliest days until the formation of the PWHL in 2023. Kennedy focuses on individuals to make his point, showing how the women playing the game faced obstacles at every turn, but continued to keep moving, determined to play the game. It shows that it has been a difficult time for female hockey players, but the book itself is quite enlightening, and ends on cautious optimism with the puck drop for the inaugural PWHL game.
December 29, 2024
women !!!!!!!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews