In its first two years of existence, the Penobscot Pioneers girls ice hockey team went 31-9-1 and reached the Class A North final only to lose to Yarmouth-Freeport by identical 3-1 scores each year.
Head coach Jarrod Williams feels this year’s team is capable of making another run at a state championship.
The Pioneers, composed of players from Brewer High School, Bangor, John Bapst of Bangor, Hermon, Old Town, Orono and Hampden Academy, are off to a 1-2-2 start, but Williams pointed out that they started 3-3 two years ago before stringing together a 13-game unbeaten streak (12-0-1).
The Pioneers have been hit by the injury bug and six of the Brewer players on the roster had an abbreviated preseason because they played for the Witches’ field hockey team that won the Class A North title for the first time ever and played in the state championship game.
“Our first two games of the season felt like preseason games,” said Willliams, noting that they had two preseason games lined up only to have them canceled because one team didn’t have enough players and there was a zamboni issue for the other one.
During a 3-0 loss to Gorham’s six-school cooperative team, all three players on one of his top two scoring lines sustained injuries.
Ella Davis got hurt on the second shift of the game, Jordin Williams got injured on the third shift and Izzy Brideau suffered an injury on the fourth shift.
Sophomores Davis and Brideau sustained concussions and senior Willilams hurt her hamstring.
“Six minutes into the game, that whole line was out. I’ve never seen anything like it,” said the coach.
Brideau and Williams have since returned to the lineup but Davis isn’t likely to return until next week.
Williams, Jarrod’s daughter, was the Pioneers’ leading scorer a year ago with 31 goals and 36 assists. Brideau had seven goals and 19 assists and Davis had seven goals and 13 assists.
And all three are off to good starts as Brideau has a goal and five assists, Davis has three goals and two assists, and Williams has two goals and three assists.
Williams and Davis are from Brewer and Brideau is from John Bapst.
The team’s top scorer is senior center Paige Oakes from Brewer High, who has six goals and two assists.
She scored a team-high 32 goals a year ago and also dished out 12 assists.
Hermon senior Delaney Carr is the right wing on Oakes’ line and Hampden Academy junior Jess Sass is the left wing.
Carr, who had 13 & 12 a year ago, has two goals and an assist and Sass has a goal.
Williams and Oakes were all-state selections a year ago.
The third line features HA junior center Olivia Veves between Orono senior Ayda Sonnenburg and Brewer senior Olivia Veilleux. They have yet to score.
The other forwards are Brewer junior Alexis Badger, John Bapst junior Erin Pierce and Old Town sophomore Kara LeClair.
On defense, Williams has two impressive freshmen in his top two tandems.
Brewer freshman Cayleigh Coleman is paired with Old Town junior Lily Rand and John Bapst freshman Ashlynn Dearborn is teamed up with HA junior Bella Saucier.
Coleman is second on the team in goals with four and she also has one assist.
“She is a real good skater and has one of the hardest shots on the team,” said Williams.
The versatile Coleman moved up to play center in the Gorham game after the injuries to Williams, Brideau and Davis.
Dearborn has a goal and an assist; Saucier has two assists and Rand has an assist.
The smooth-skating Saucier was an all-conference defenseman a year ago but missed the second half of the season due to injury.
“It is so good to have her back. She is our shutdown defenseman,” said Willliams.
Depth on the blue line is provided by Brewer juniors Izzy Long, Haley Tschudy and Mycala Dill along with Old Town sophomore Alyse Sapiel.
Bangor sophomore defenseman Parker Mazzei will miss the season due to injury.
The Pioneers are solid between the pipes with the return of Brewer junior Abbie Derosier and Hampden Academy junior Mariah Coon, who missed last season due to a knee injury.
“Abbie was first team All-State last year and Mariah was 9-1 her freshman year,” pointed out Williams.
Williams said he and assistants Aaron Brideau, Jim Zetes and Chris LaBonte break the season up into three segments.
“The first third of the season, we put players in different positions and see what we have,” explained Willilams. “In the second third, we have our lines (and defense tandems) set and we try to pick up the pace. Then, over the final third, we try to click on all cylinders.
“Once everything gets settled in, we have our lines and we know where everybody is going to be and everybody gets back from injury, I think this team can make a run like our first-year team did,” said Williams.
There are 14 schoolgirl teams in the state, seven in the North and seven in the South.
And Yarmouth/Freeport at 4-0-1 is the only team that hasn’t lost yet.
“Anybody could win it this year,” said Wlliams, who is in his second full season as the head coach after serving as an assistant and interim head coach during the first season.
The Pioneers will travel to Lewiston on Saturday for a noon game against Lewiston/Oak Hill of Wales/Morse of Bath/Lisbon and Mount Ararat of Topsham.
