GIRLS' HOCKEY NOTEBOOK

With strong family ties, Lynnfield’s Sarah Powers, Woburn’s Maddie Soderquist making an early impact on the ice

Lynnfield freshman Sarah Powers has gotten off to a strong start to her career with the Peabody/Lynnfield/North Reading co-op. Jim Davis/Globe Staff

The first few days of tryouts for the Peabody/Lynnfield/North Reading co-op girls’ hockey team, coach Michelle Roach was sick with the flu.

She had no idea who Sarah Powers was.

It didn’t take her long to find out.

The freshman from Lynnfield leads the three-time defending Northeast Hockey League champion Tanners (4-1-1) in points, with four goals and nine assists.

“It’s amazing to see what she does with the puck,” said Roach of the 5-foot-4-inch, left-shot right wing. “It’s crazy. It’s been a really long time since I’ve seen such a dynamic player. She’s just as good in the offensive zone as she is in the defensive zone.”

At 14, Sarah lives and breathes hockey.

She, along with her older brothers, John and Brendan, helped build a rink in the backyard. There are a couple of other family links to the game. Her father, Sean, played at Tabor and Stonehill (her mother, Annie, played soccer at Stonehill). One uncle, Paul Powers, starred at the University of New Hampshire (’77) and was inducted into the university’s athletic hall of fame in 2003. Another uncle, Scott Powers, skated at Harvard, graduating in 1982.

Sarah Powers has strong family ties to hockey, with a father and uncles who all played in college. Jim Davis/Globe Staff

She works out in the family basement, in addition to shooting pucks and honing her stick skills. Her passion extends to the ice: She is first in line for every drill at practice and eagerlystands on the bench, wanting to be involved in every play.

“I hoped that I would have a great season but I didn’t know what it was going to be like,” she said. “It’s amazing to see how supportive the team is.”

Powers immediately developed chemistry with teammates, showcasing her game awareness and adept ability to find passing lanes through traffic. She can take over games with her speed, darting through opponents on the rush.

Like Powers, Woburn freshman Maddie Soderquist grew up around the game. Her father, Ryan, is in his 20th season behind the bench at Bentley, his alma mater. The program’s career leader in goals and points, the elder Soderquist was the youngest Division 1 men’s coach in the country when he was hired in 2002.

But with his daughter, Soderquist has taken a hands-off approach as far as coaching.

“I mean obviously, she’s been around the game for her whole life,” Ryan said. “Quite frankly, I just stayed out of the way. I’m a firm believer that you have to find your own passions.”

Older sister Cora, a senior, is a cross-country, gymnastics, and softball team captain at Woburn. But Maddie, at 5-2, has a passion for the ice. When she was 3, Ryan took Maddie and Cora to a learn to skate program at O’Brien Rink.

“She was just a little peanut,” Ryan said. “We gave her a crate but she pushed it away and zipped across the ice. That’s when we knew that we had something there with her.”

Soderquist has blossomed into a star for the No. 11 Tanners (3-1-1) after collecting 16 goals and 14 assists in 13 games last winter as a eighth-grader. She has 3 goals and 2 assists in three games this season.

“She’s one of those players that I would want my daughter to look up to and model herself after, the way that handles herself on and off the ice,” Woburn coach Steve Kennedy said. “She’s extremely dedicated and disciplined. She’d find a pond if that were the only place that she could skate. Her offensive skill can overshadow her presence in all three zones. She’s tenacious when it comes to leading the backcheck.”

It begins with commitment. In sixth grade, she started making out a to-do list for the next day. It is now routine.

“I love going to the rink every day,” she said. “My favorite memory was scoring my first high school goal. I was spinning as I took the shot and ended up falling on my butt. When I stood up, it was in the net. My teammates were so much bigger than me and they towered over me when jumping on me in celebration. It was something I won’t ever forget.”

Powers and Soderquist are not the only freshmen making an impact. Casey Roth has added scoring touch for 17th-ranked Falmouth (4-2); Caroline Doherty is one of the top players on No. 18 Hingham (3-3).

For the No. 19 Beverly/Danvers co-op (4-2-2), Ipswich’s Bradie Arnold has a 4-6–10 line, yet first-year coach Matt Lampert didn’t know who she was until a day before tryouts.

“She has it all: she can skate, she’s smart, she’s not selfish,” Lampert said. “She’s the whole package.”

Ice chips

All it took for Ursuline Academy to jell as a team was a locked rink door.

A few days a week, the Bears have an early morning practice. In the lead-up to their Saturday game against Dover-Sherborn/Hopkinton, coach Nora Kate O’Brien arrived to the rink for one of those early morning practices to find the rink locked — and with staff absences due to illness, no one was around to unlock it.

So O’Brien pivoted.

“We got a bunch of Dunkin’ coffee and food and went to the gym at school and had a team breakfast,” O’Brien said.

It was that impromptu meal that finally got the team talking to each other. At that point, the Bears were winless. They also have one of the widest age ranges one could ever see in a high school hockey roster. Ursuline’s bench has eight seventh-graders and six seniors, and a whole bunch of players in between. Early in the season, it was hard for the 13-year-olds to find common ground with the 18-year-olds — until their unexpected breakfast.

“That’s when they really started to jell,” O’Brien said.

Whatever was said over their coffee and doughnuts worked — Ursuline (1-3) went on to defeat Dover-Sherborn/Hopkinton, 6-4, earning its first win of the season and of O’Brien’s tenure as head coach.

“In that game, they were communicating better,” O’Brien said. “They were more supportive of each other, and most importantly, they were making plays with each other.”

O’Brien’s goal in taking over her alma mater’s varsity program after three years as an assistant is to bring it to new heights. Regardless of their grade level, her players are buying in, led by senior captains Emily McHugh, Tatiana Stanton and Tess Marchi.

“I want to lay the foundation for the future of the program,” O’Brien said.

▪ Brookline (5-3) is in the middle of a four-game winning streak, and that performance, combined with its participation numbers, could be a sign for bright things to come from the program.

“We had 42 players try out at the beginning of the season, so we are seeing the growth in the program and interest in the sport at the town level that is required to be competitive with the upper echelon of programs in the state,” Brookline coach Nick Sama said.

Senior captain Liv Boyd, has been a big part of Brookline’s recent success, with seven points through eight games.

Games to watch

Wednesday, St. Mary’s at Austin Prep, 4:50 p.m. — It will require a Herculean effort to take down the No. 1 Cougars, but who better to test unbeaten Austin Prep than Catholic Central rival St. Mary’s?

Wednesday, Woburn at Winchester, 5:00 p.m. —These two Middlesex League squads have each recently been dealt some unexpected time off; Woburn has not played since Jan.1. Winchester last played before New Year’s.

Wednesday, Malden Catholic at Peabody/Lynnfield/North Reading, 5:15 p.m. — The No. 11 Lancers suffered their first loss Monday against Archbishop Williams. The road doesn’t get much easier vs. No. 10 Peabody.

Wednesday, Acton-Boxboro/Bromfield at Andover, 7:10 p.m. — Acton Boxborough has impressed so far this season, remaining perfect and allowing only one goal. The No 6. Golden Warriors will be a big test.

Saturday, Falmouth at Sandwich, 4:00 p.m. —The Cape’s top teams face off in what is sure to be a barnburner at Gallo Ice Arena.

Correspondents Kat Cornetta and Olivia Nolan contributed to this story.

Continue reading for just $1
Only $1 for 6 months of unlimited access to Globe.com
Get access now
Thanks for reading Globe.com
Access unlimited articles for only $1.
Get access now