http://tsn.ca/ncaa/news_story.asp?id=157674
Sweden's goalie quits bid to play with men
Kim Martin
Associated Press
3/8/2006 1:59:35 PM
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) - Swedish Olympic hockey star Kim Martin will have to wait for her chance to play against the men.
Fears of violating U.S. college rules have forced the 20-year-old goalie to cancel her plans to become the first woman to play in a men's pro game in Sweden.
Martin was scheduled to play for the Malmo Redhawks against Bofors on Wednesday in the last round of the second-tier Allsvenskan league, but the club changed its mind after Martin's future university warned that she may lose her amateur status.
"It's a shame, because I've been waiting for this for a long time," Martin said.
Martin was not to be paid for the game, but the University of Minnesota-Duluth - where Martin will enroll this fall - warned Malmo on Tuesday that she may still lose her NCAA eligibility because the rules state that college athletes are not allowed to have played in professional leagues.
"According to the (NCAA) rules, it could be interpreted that she loses her amateur status," Malmo president Tomas Stenberg said. "No one has been able to tell us what would happen. We don't dare take the risk that something will happen and she loses her future in college hockey in the USA."
The club said Duluth had previously given the green light for the game, but changed its mind this week.
"This whole situation is tragic for everyone involved, and especially for Kim who will not get the chance to show what she can do," the club said on its website.
Martin led Sweden to an upset win over the United States in a penalty shootout in the Olympic semifinals in Turin last month. Sweden lost to Canada 4-1 in the final.
Both Malmo and Bofors have already secured spots in a qualifying group that will vie for promotion to the Swedish Elite League.
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