Girls Growing the Game

Each year the month of March is dedicated to celebrating women around the world. However, the Colorado Avalanche organization works with great women who grow the game of hockey all-year. Throughout March the team recognized a handful of these women in-game in honor of their dedication to growing the sport for all.

Laura Lippman

Laura is the first female Off-Ice Official Crew Supervisor in NHL history. She began her hockey journey as a young girl when her dad started as an off-ice official in Denver in 1967. By the age of 9, she was keeping radio stats and when she graduated from college, she joined the Off-Ice Official Crew of the Denver Grizzlies. Today, she manages our Avs Off-Ice Official Game Night crew of 20, which includes more women than any other crew in the NHL! Laura wants to encourage girls and women to get involved in officiating- both on and off the ice.
Michele Amidon

Michele Amidon is our Colorado Avalanche NHL Female Ambassador. She began her hockey journey at 10 years old as she watched from the sidelines as her brothers played. With less than 5,000 women and girls playing hockey in the US at that time, she begged her parents to let her play and they took the risk. Her passion only continued to grow as she continued on to play hockey in college. Now, she plays in the Women's Association of Colorado Hockey and organizes a co-ed adult drop-in skate called Amidon's Benders. She wants to continue to grow the game by exposing hockey to the non-traditional demographic.
Danielle Bernstein

Jodee Bowness

Jodee is the Vice President of Ticket Sales & Service for the Colorado Avalanche and has worked for the team for 8 years. She grew up around the sports industry as her father worked in the NBA and she found herself never wanting to leave the arena. After studying Sports Management in college, Jodee began her sports career working in Minor League Baseball in Ashville, North Carolina. Her favorite part about her role is helping people make incredible memories at Avalanche games and watching Avs Faithful amp up Ball Arena every time the team takes the ice. Jodee continues to be a strong role model for females looking to break into the business side of hockey.
Taylor Patrick

Taylor is the Colorado Avalanche Amateur Hockey Development Coordinator. Taylor got her start working in hockey as a summer intern for the Pittsburgh Penguins during college. The passion she felt in this role only intensified and led her to working in her college Athletic Department at the University of Denver where, after graduating, she strived to work in the NHL, specifically for the Avs. But her love of the sport was there from the start as Taylor comes from a long line of hockey legends, including her dad Craig Patrick, who helped coach the US team to their gold medal win in the Miracle on Ice. Currently, Taylor works to instill that same passion of hockey into the youth of Colorado and continues to break down barriers of entry to the game of hockey and ensure that hockey is for everyone.
Suzanne Borchert

Susan Cohig

Susan is currently the Executive Vice President of Club Business Affairs with the National Hockey League and she works with all 32 NHL Clubs on sales, marketing, business development and policy matters. Born and raised in Colorado, she began her sports career in Denver working for the Nuggets & Avalanche in sponsorship sales and service before she joined the NHL in 1996. Susan's biggest piece of advice to other women wanting to work in sports is to learn everything about business operations, including sales and revenue development. Susan was honored as a 2020 Woman of the Year by WISE, a leading organization and resource for women in sports.
Jesse Compher

Jesse plays for Team USA and was a silver medalist at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. She started playing at three years old because she used to watch her older brother, JT, skate around the rink and fell in love with the sport as soon as she stepped on the ice. Growing up, Jesse was the only girl on her team, but that only inspired her to work harder and prove that she wasn't only as good as the boys, but better. She went on to play Division 1 hockey at Boston University where she served as a captain. Jesse wants to introduce as many girls as possible to the game of hockey and show them that they have a place in this sport. Looking forward, Jesse hopes that by the time the girls she is inspiring now get out of college, there will be a professional women's hockey league for them to play in.
Renee Hess

Renee is the Founder and Executive Director of Black Girl Hockey Club. She grew up a sports fan in Southern California and was hooked on hockey the moment she saw her first live game! Renee noticed the absence of Black women in the stands so she was inspired to create Black Girl Hockey Club to show that Black women belong in all levels of hockey, from fans to executives. Renee works with various teams and arenas to further build the Black Girl Hockey Club community through encouraging and employing Black women to get involved at all levels of the game.