Carver senior Maddy Butler told her father back in the eighth grade she wanted the high school hockey experience.
Suiting up by herself in an ice rink closet wasn’t what she meant.
For the first time, the Sandwich girls hockey team opened up its doors this year to create a co-op with Bourne, Mashpee and Carver – of which Carver freshman Lily Mulready helped orchestrate. Butler has been a welcomed addition for what will be her only year in the program, providing nearly instant leadership and meaningful minutes as a top-four defenseman.
But last year as a junior, Butler was the only girl on the Middleboro/Carver/Wareham boys hockey team. And before that, it was three years with the boys on Carver/Wareham.
“I’d only be in the locker room with them in-between periods, right before the game and right after the game,” Butler said. “I got changed in closets, conference rooms, ref rooms. … When the other girls were on the team, it was different because we would just talk to each other and it would be fine. But for the most part, the guys kind of just did their thing and we did our thing, and it was just separate.”
In the preseason, Sandwich head coach Billy Ferreira acknowledged the Knights’ decision to move to a co-op was wildly unpopular among opposing coaches. For as much as Ferreira felt it necessary for the program, though, perhaps nobody needed it more than Butler.
When describing her time with the boys, Butler says her experience was pretty good. Carver/Wareham head coach Rich Valatkevicz gave her an honest shot at carving out a role while he was still there. She didn’t get the same locker room experience she got in field hockey and softball, but at least she had a couple of female teammates for the first two years and earned decent ice time.
Yet, once she became the only girl on the team as a sophom*ore, and the program lost Valatkevicz in its morph to Middleboro/Carver/Wareham the following year, the energy shifted.Time on the ice was gone. She had no vocal presence as an upperclassmen, and she understandably couldn’t be in the locker room with the guys.
After playing hockey for longer than she could even remember, she suddenly had no role.
“It almost felt like it was a drag, it wasn’t as fun anymore,” she said. “I was kind of just there.”
“For (players), having a place to hang out before and after games – getting ready all together as a team – it’s just a whole different atmosphere than getting dressed in a closet or a storage room by yourself,” Ferreira added. “It’s half the high school experience. Kind of what it’s all about.”
As unfortunate as the situation was, Butler says the competitiveness in her never even thought about quitting. She wanted to prove she belonged.
While it’s not with the boys, that’s exactly what she’s doing.
As part of a civics project at the end of last year, Mulready worked with administration to help seek out options for girls hockey co-op opportunities. Sandwich came into the mix.
“It was like a game-changer, I love it so much and I’m so glad that we made the switch,” Butler said. “I feel a lot more connected with my team. I feel like I have a lot better friendships with them. They’re easier to work with, and they trust me more than the boys ever did.”
Of course, this is a new dynamic for everyone on the Knights. Ferreira was concerned about how introducing four players from Bourne, three from Carver and one from Mashpee would resonate. That is, up until one of his seniors told him after the introductory meeting how excited she was to play with the newcomers.
Sandwich isn’t off to the season it expected, starting the year at 6-8-2 and ranking at No. 14 in the latest MIAA Div. 2 power rankings. But with the second-highest opponent rating in the division, without losing to the likes of Duxbury, Bishop Feehan, Nauset, Falmouth or Pembroke by more than two goals, nobody is hanging their heads.
Their unity is showing, and it’s been an enjoyable season.
“It’s really been seamless. I credit captains for making it that way and including those players from the get-go,” Ferreira said. “They’re all on the same loop, they’re all on the same page.”
“When practices came around and the first week came around, everyone just clicked and we were all just fine,” Butler added. “I feel like we’re a wicked close team.”
Five years after telling her dad what she wanted to experience in hockey, this is what Butler meant.
Duxbury girls rolling
Winning the Div. 2 state championship already paints a target, and it only gets bigger when you’re labeled by many to get back to TD Garden. So far, though, the Duxbury girls haven’t wavered much.
Before losing in the final 15 seconds to Malden Catholic on Wednesday, the upperclassmen-laden Dragons had allowed just four goals within a 12-game win streak. Their only other loss is to Bishop Feehan in the Tenney Cup, rolling out elite depth en route to a third straight league title.
Just about every game is a difficult opponent. But between its talent, experience and maturity, Duxbury (15-2) has handled the season with poise to rank atop the Div. 2 power rankings.
“We know that we’re going to get everybody’s best,” said Dragons head coach Dan Najarian. “I have girls that have experience and that allows the younger girls to develop, and now my sophom*ore class is really starting to pick it up. … That’s what allows us to sort of keep on trucking. And the girls work hard. They work hard at practice, they work hard every day, they like to win hockey games. It’s fun for them, so they work hard at it.”
One-timers
An up-and-down start for the defending Div. 1 boys state champs has since leveled out, as Pope Francis has won each of its last seven games entering Saturday.
The last of the unbeatens have fallen. The Marblehead boys took down Winthrop on Saturday and the Burlington girls defeated Belmont/Watertown Thursday.
Those Marblehead boys have been on a tear since starting the year at 0-6, winning nine of their next 11 games to rank No. 8 in the latest Div. 3 power rankings.
A season filled with personal accolades added two more, with Sandwich’s Jack Connolly and Franklin’s Ben Paterson each cracking 100 career points.
