The Hill School girls hockey team had their first inter-squad scrimmage on Jan. 23. The team split in half with about eight players on each team and played four-on-four hockey for 48 minutes.

“I thought the tempo was really good,” said first-year junior Katie Newkirk.

With 14 new girls on the team, many of the new players had to adjust from the speed and pace of club hockey to the arguably faster and more urgent pace of prep school hockey.

“Prep hockey is definitely more technical and a faster pace than my club team,” said new freshman defenseman Taylor Scott.

Scott was remote this fall so she could play hockey with her club team, the Philadelphia Junior Flyers. She came on campus for the Low Residency Program along with all of the other varsity winter athletes.

“The adjustment has been good, it has just been faster than club, and here people genuinely care about your well-being,” said first-year senior Isabelle Di Liberti. Di Liberti has played on many different teams in her hockey career, most notably the French under-18 girls national hockey team.

Although it was an inter-squad scrimmage, the team carried on as if they were playing any other team. Each team ate at their own separate tables for meals and had their own separate locker rooms.

“There was high intensity and a will to win on both sides,” Di Liberti said.

Every practice of the girls’ hockey team has a different word to focus on, but in each practice and game there is an overarching theme to get after it. 

“We all had a good time and enjoyed ourselves,” Scott said.

Since the scrimmage was four-on-four as opposed to a typical five-on-five, there was a lot more space for players to move around and be creative to make plays.

“We just need to take advantage of our scoring opportunities,” Di Liberti emphasized.

The score of the scrimmage was relatively low and close, since the white team won only 2-1 in overtime. Both teams struggled driving the puck to the net, so the next day coaches Ari Baum, Laura McConney and Megan Toomey held a practice emphasizing the importance of moving to get open without the puck, as well as intensely crashing the net.

Since COVID-19 is still a health concern, no fans were in attendance for the scrimmage. However, the scrimmage was live streamed so families and coaches could watch it.

The team has games scheduled against other teams, but their first games have been postponed due to their opponent’s delay in the opening of their campus. The team is looking forward to their next inter-squad scrimmage, that will be played as a five-on-five with real referees and commentators.