It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Newburyport girls hockey coach Josh Freeman likes to check in on what’s going on around the sport at the state level. His team, of course, is one of 86 across both MIAA divisions, and there are plenty of great stories happening both south and west of Exit 81 on I-95.
And when reading a recent article, a quote from Woburn coach Steve Kennedy stuck out to him.
“When you get kids in at a younger age, and they get exposure to older kids who take the right approach to things, they’re going to learn from that and pick up good habits,” said Kennedy. “They’re able to then mentor the next group of kids coming in, because they were taken under the wing of the older kids when they came in.”
Words that immediately made Freeman think of his group of six seniors.
On Saturday night, Newburyport got to experience a “full-circle” moment as a program during a dominant 6-0 win over visiting Marblehead. It was a proper Senior Night celebration for Cody Saboliauskas, Joelyanna Middleton, Riley Freeman, Olivia Wilson, Lainey Pare and Mackenzie Riley, and a chance for the program to reflect on the varsity hockey journeys that each have gone on as Clippers.
Which for some, was a journey that started in middle school.
“When Lainey, Olivia, and Riley joined the team as 8th-graders, we as parents and coaches were a little anxious about having 13-year-olds playing on the same team as 18-year-old seniors,” recalled Freeman. “We knew they could handle the hockey part of it, but the social aspect was either going to make or break them. But to the team’s credit, we had a really amazing group of senior leaders that season who were outstanding humans, and they really did take the younger girls under their wing. Our girls, in turn, were able to really learn and absorb those behaviors from those seniors, and make that a part of who they were as people.
“And the cycle has come full-circle this season, where they’re now the ones mentoring the new batch of 8th- and 9th-graders on the team. In reflecting on their high school careers, I think this is what I’m most proud of them for. That type of positive behavior is contagious, and we’re hoping to see it continue to be passed down year to year for a long time.”
A fact even more impressive when you consider this:
–Middleton is a four-year varsity athlete who goes to Triton.
–Riley is a three-year varsity athlete who goes to Georgetown.
–Then Wilson, Pare and Freeman are all five-year varsity athletes who go to Newburyport.
And as recently as last year, the program had athletes who went to Amesbury.
That’s four different schools, all considered rivals in the Cape Ann League, that have come together to form one cohesive unit. Then throw in that this year’s team also features 7th-grade goalie Catherine Hajjar, as well as 8th-grade twins Harper and Isla Freeman — Riley’s younger sister and all three the daughters of the coach — and you’re talking about a six-year age gap between 12-to-18-year-olds.
But it’s all worked with no fractures in the locker room.
And it’s all due to the leadership of those six seniors.
“It’s always your goal as a coach to win as many games as possible and to be super competitive,” said Freeman. “But at the end of the day, you want your players to have a great high school experience and really learn how to be good community members and great humans. And to their credit, our team is full of great humans!”
And on Saturday night, those “great humans” also won a hockey game.
Newburyport (3-10-0) had little issue racing out to a 3-0 lead after the first period, then doubled it heading into the third before Saboliauskas ultimately earned her second shutout of the year in net. Wilson poured in a hat-trick while also assisting on another tally, and the two-time defending Daily News MVP is now up to 134 career points (78g, 56a). The Clippers would also get goals from Bella Belanger, Harper Palermino and Pare in the victory, and the trio all had an assist along with Maggie Moriarty and Riley Freeman.
“The girls were on fire from the opening faceoff,” said Freeman. “They were super aggressive. They won the majority of the loose puck battles, and they forechecked and backchecked so well all night. It was the perfect Senior Night, and I’m so happy it played out the way it did for the seniors on the team. They deserve it.”
And the season is far from over.
Newburyport still has seven games left to try and get itself back into the Division 1 playoff picture. The Clippers are currently in the middle of a week-long-plus break, and will get back on the ice next Wednesday (2/4) when they travel over to rival Masconomet.