Other than when used as a name, is there any evidence of the word “puck” before Hockey

Solution 1:

The OED's first example of the word "puck" in the modern sense comes from the Boston Daily Globe in 1866:

In hockey a flat piece of rubber, say four inches long by three wide and about an inch thick, called a ‘puck’, is used.

There's a much older definition of the word:

An evil, malicious, or mischievous spirit or demon of popular belief.

The OED has examples of this definition going back to 1378. According to the etymology, this meaning is even older:

Probably cognate with Old Icelandic púki mischievous demon, the Devil

You are correct in thinking that the use of the name "puck" for the small rubber disc likely came from the verb "poke." Around the same time that the black biscuit got its name, the verb "to puck" had been developed as an offshoot of "to poke." Here's how the OED defines that infinitive version of "puck":

To hit or strike; to butt; to box.