Last Sunday, the Oyster River-Portsmouth ClipperCats girls hockey team tore up ConVal-Conant 9-0.
After a stellar performance from the girls, they celebrated their senior night game with a resounding win on February 18th. The ClipperCats currently have a season record of 14-3, and ConVal-Conant now has a record 0-15.
The win was largely thanks to their lightning start. Eliza Farwell (‘26) put one in early, followed quickly by a goal from Megan Rinko (‘26). This broke the game open; just 7 minutes in, the ClipperCats found themselves up 5-0.
After the quick start, they began slowing down, using it as a good chance to let the players who don’t play as much get some experience. Assistant Captain Kira Jakobs (‘25), who hit her 100th career point in the game prior, said, “We like to get our players that don’t get to score as much on the ice and get them chances. To see the smile on their faces means a lot to us.”
This year, the team only had one senior to celebrate, Eliza Wheeler, who is also the team’s captain. Before the game, the team made it clear that she meant a lot to them. “They decorated the locker room. I got flowers and presents, and they made many posters for me. It was all really sweet.”
Emma Sahr (‘25), who netted the fifth goal, had this to say about Wheeler: “She is a big symbol of kindness. She’s always encouraging people to make the right decision — on the ice and off the ice.”
Midway through the second period, Sierra Mikolaities (‘25) scored her first high school goal. Wheeler said, “It was awesome. I remember when I scored my first goal, so it was a full circle moment. It was really important and really special for her.”
After this, the ClipperCats only scored once more to make the final score 9-0.
It’s been a rough season for ConVal Conant. Being winless can be difficult for a team but Bob Shulte, who’s had a line of granddaughters on the ConVal-Conant team, has a different way of thinking about it. “It never goes the way they want; they get beat, they’ve never made the playoffs, but the girls enjoy it. They’re at least playing the game. They all like to play hockey,” he said.
On the flip side, it’s been mostly smooth sailing for the ClipperCats. The only bumps have come during one or two goal games against top five opponents. However, they have proven they can beat good teams, besting the current number one seed Pinkerton 4-2 earlier this month.
After the ClipperCats senior night win, they head into their last regular season game tonight against Hanover who are 11-3-1 and the 3 seed.
– Kevin Kell
Image Courtesy of Lily Fitzgerald
Mouth of the River 
Leave a Reply