GRIFFINS' STAFFER PURSUES DREAM OF PLAYING PRO HOCKEY

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Tara Boliard, a season ticket sales account executive for the Grand Rapids Griffins, has been invited to participate in one of three free agent camps that the National Women’s Hockey League will hold next month.

Having recently completed its inaugural season, the NWHL holds the distinction of being the first U.S women's hockey league to pay its players. The league’s four northeastern-based teams counted eight members of the silver medal-winning 2014 U.S. Olympic Women’s Hockey Team among its player ranks last season.

A 28-year-old forward and defenseman, Boliard will showcase her talents June 24-26 at HarborCenter in Buffalo, N.Y., in hopes of securing a contract with either the Boston Pride, Buffalo Beauts, Connecticut Whale or New York Riveters. In preparation for this opportunity, she is resigning from her position with the Griffins this Friday, May 27 to dedicate herself to a full-time regimen of skating and off-ice training.

“If I want to compete with the best players in the world I need to skate every day and commit four hours to the gym every morning,” said Boliard. “The Griffins have been outstanding in accommodating my schedule to this point and I can’t thank them enough, but it’s time to get more intense with my training.”

While earning a sports marketing degree from Davenport University, Boliard captained the Panthers during the ACHA Division I program’s first two seasons in 2013-14 (6-7—13 in 15 GP) and 2014-15 (2-9—11 in 20 GP), overcoming a broken leg suffered during her senior season in 2013-14 to earn a fifth year of eligibility.

The Canton, Mich., native spent her freshman through junior seasons at Buffalo State College after walking on to the NCAA Division III team in 2010-11 (0-1—1 in 19 GP). She earned All-Academic Team honors in both 2011-12 (1-1—2 in 25 GP) and 2012-13 (2-5—7 in 25 GP).

Boliard began playing hockey at age 13 for Little Caesars. She competed for Team USA Selects as a 17-year-old then later was a member of Little Caesars’ senior A national championship team before embarking on her college career.

While concluding her academic and athletic career at Davenport, Boliard spent the 2014-15 season as an inside sales intern for the Griffins, finishing her tenure as the top ticket and revenue-producing group sales intern in the department’s history. Following a brief ticket sales stint with the Detroit Tigers, she returned to the Griffins full time last August and is projected to finish third in the AHL in new season ticket sales for 2015-16.