Pinkerton girls hockey thinking big as first varsity season hits stretch run

Lauren Riviere was a little concerned after the first practice for the Pinkerton Academy girls hockey team.

As the Astros got ready for the first varsity season in school history, the sophomore wondered just how could this group, many of whom hadn't been on the ice together before that practice, would do.

"After the first tryout, I was like I just hope we score some goals," Riviere said. "After the first game, I was like OK we can do this. We’re a first-year team, so it’s really exciting. It’s energizing. It’s so fun. You meet a lot of new people and you make new bonds with people. It’s really fun."

Pinkerton lost that first game on Dec. 12 to Bishop Brady-Trinity-West, but scored two goals in the loss. The Astros would drop four more games - including a one-goal loss to Bishop Guertin - before getting their first varsity win, an 8-6 victory over Lebanon-Stevens-Kearsarge.

After Saturday's 7-3 win over Bedford, Pinkerton sits in 11th in the standings, which would give it the final playoff spot in Division I if the season ended now.

"We talked about that if we win a few more games, we’re going to be in a good position to make the playoffs," Pinkerton coach Scott Dunn said. "It’s going to come down to the next three or four games. We put it on the captains and the upperclassmen. It’s on their shoulders. We can’t go out there and play for you. We can tell you what you can do and try to coach you through things, but it’s going to be all about effort."

Pinkerton (3-7) is scheduled to play at Kingswood (1-6) on Wednesday, but then has just three games in February - at home against Bedford on Feb. 9, followed by road games at Bishop Guertin (3-7) on Feb. 12 and at Exeter (7-3-1) on Feb. 23.

A win in two of those games would likely be enough to get the Astros into the postseason in their first year, something that didn't really seem possible when those tryouts started.

"It’s a good feeling," Dunn said. "A lot of folks looked at us and said we’re not going to win a heck of a lot of games, which we really haven’t, but we’ve been close.

"Every game we play in is a good feeling, and it’s a good feeling to know that they’ve come together. None of them had really played together before, maybe some youth hockey. They’re great kids and they’re really a good team. The teamwork they show on and off the ice is awesome."

There are 15 players listed on the roster for this season, a number much smaller than the list of girls who signed up in the early stages of the program's planning. But of that number, 10 of them are underclassmen, including Riviere, freshman Jordan Wasiejko, who had three goals against Bedford; sophomore Kelsey Levesque, who had two goals; and junior Spencer St. Pierre, who also scored.

"We really working hard in practice and trying to make it to playoffs, so we’re pushing in practice so we can push it in games," Riviere said. "After practicing, even the girls who hadn’t played before, they’ve improved a lot and I knew we could win. It’s really exciting and it’s fun."