The scrapes of skates slicing across the ice and the cheers from high school fans filled the rink as the girls varsity hockey team secured a hard-fought playoff berth against the Archbishop Williams Bishops for the first time in 15 years.
After four years of being on the verge of the playoffs, the team finally climbed the hurdle with newfound success born from the grit and sisterhood among the players. The team made the playoffs with a record of 10-9-1, a significant improvement from the previous year when the team had a record of 7-13.
Although one moment cannot represent the team’s success, senior and captain Izzy Paes said the team finally made its breakthrough in a game against the Natick Redhawks, who were ranked 13th this season.
“We were losing 2-0, and in the last two minutes, we tied it up. That’s when we realized, ‘Oh, we can actually compete with these teams now.’ Last year, we lost to them by a lot,” Paes said.
The team takes pride in being an underdog. Paes said the team’s hard work and confidence are what make them shine on the ice.
“I want to prove that the seeding doesn’t matter. They’re ranked way higher than us—we’re 28th, and they’re fifth—but I just want to show that it doesn’t matter where you’re ranked. We just have to go out there, work hard, and hopefully play well,” Paes said.
Senior Shayna Chin, a key piece in the Warriors offensive scheme quit hockey her junior year but said she has created a close bond with her upperclassmen teammates making her return. According to Chin, playing with them the last four years has created an everlasting bond; through hardships and struggles, her teammates have stuck by her side.
“Last season was really rocky, and there was a lot of uncertainty about whether we’d even have a team. That’s one of the biggest reasons I left last year. What brought me back was my teammates, especially the girls in my grade—we’ve been playing together for so long. It’s not just about the games and practices; we spend a lot of time together off the ice too,” Chin said.
Paes said there is a strong bond that unites the team. She said that their connection reaches beyond the ice and creates a sense of community among players.
“We’re all just really close. We’re like a family. I spend most of my days with the hockey team, and I’m even close with the younger players. We’ve spent so much time together that we got really close really fast,” Paes said.
In previous years, the team was able to practice at Walter Brown Arena. This season, however, they were not able to do so, and this presented the major challenge of navigating ice times. However, senior and captain Etta Reed said the team was able to push through.
“I think the biggest challenge was having really early and really late practices. Sometimes, we were just so tired, and it was difficult to get the energy up for games the next day. But we worked through it,” Reed said.
The athletes had constant strain from the varying times of practice and the ever-changing routines, which negatively impacted their performance in games.
“It was really hard to get our bodies adjusted. It felt like we were never settled into a certain rink or schedule.” Chin said.
In any sport, the bond between teammates can make a major difference both on and off the ice. For this group of players, their connection and chemistry go beyond just wearing the same jersey.
“I think the biggest connection on the team is between us seniors and the juniors. We’ve played together for four years, and some of us even played together before high school,” Chin said. “It means a lot that we get to end our hockey careers—at least for many of us—by making the playoffs for the first time.”
