Whitman-Hanson-Pembroke girls hockey team takes on challenge

The Enterprise of Brockton, Mass.
www.enterprisenews.com

By Jessica Scarpati
ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
Posted Mar 12, 2009 @ 01:30 AM
Last update Mar 12, 2009 @ 01:54 AM
PEMBROKE —

Twin sisters Michelle and Laura Crisp grew up figure skating from the age of 3, like ballerinas on ice.

They quit figure skating two years ago, but the 18-year-olds from Hanson still frequent the rink most days — though their days of leotards and sequins are long behind them.

The Whitman-Hanson Regional High School seniors slice through the ice now in padding and helmets, hacking at hockey pucks as two of the 21 players on the Whitman-Hanson/Pembroke girls ice hockey team.

These Panthers spend six days a week slamming into glass barriers on the rink, and as a minority in the sports world, theyre hoping to shatter any glass ceiling in it as well.

A lot of our teachers fool around with us, saying were big tough hockey players, said Laura Crisp, who plays left wing.

Well, are they?

Id say so, she said with a laugh in an interview Wednesday after the teams practice at the Hobomock Arena.

Though the team is just two years old — spurred by a group of local parents who raised thousands of dollars to fund the entire first season — the girls will battle Winchester tonight in the Div. 2 state semifinals at Harvard University.

They are one of 92 girls ice hockey teams — and 1,743 players — recognized by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association. It outranks in popularity girls gymnastics, alpine skiing, golfing and Nordic skiing.

Their numbers pale in comparison to the top three sports for girls in the state — soccer, outdoor track and field, and softball, in that order — which each have more than 300 registered teams and more than 10,000 players statewide.

The state of Minnesota became the first to sanction girls ice hockey as a high school sport in 1994, according to ESPN.

It was all boys up until recently, said senior defense player Adelia DeSisto, 18, of Hanson. But I think were holding our own out here, and we could play some of the lower boys teams out here — and beat them.

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