This winter season, Newtown High School girls’ hockey players are continuing to compete and thrive in the Masuk-led co-op hockey program. Along with multiple girls from Masuk, Joel Barlow, New Milford, Shelton, and Lauralton Hall, NHS students Annie Fowler, Rory Coon, and Mia Paltauf have helped the team to some success on the ice. Newtown resident and defender Rinie Hawke, who attends Lauralton Hall, is also part of the team.

NHS has been a part of this combined program for five seasons, and the team has provided numerous high school girls with the opportunity to play on a competitive team for their respective schools while also meeting and forming connections with students from other districts. Although this season is modified from previous years due to the coronavirus, the team has still managed to practice and play at the Rinks at Shelton in the last couple of weeks.

Hawke, a sophomore, has been on skates since the age of 3, and this season marks her ninth year playing hockey.

“Having a high school hockey team, especially going to a small private school, feels like a privilege. It also gives me a sense of community and pride in my team, especially when we all come from different schools,” Hawke said.

NHS sophomore forward Paltauf, whose brother plays on the NHS boys’ hockey team, has also been playing hockey competitively going on nine years and is now in her second season on the Masuk team. She finds herself extremely grateful for Newtown’s participation with the program.

“Not many schools have a girls’ team or even a hockey team at all, so I’m incredibly grateful that my school offers it. My experience has been great so far. I’ve made many new amazing friends and I’m always so excited to see them at practices and games,” Paltauf said.

For NHS freshman Rory Coon, this team has allowed her to further her hockey experience of four years and provided her with a way to work toward continuing to play in college.

“I’m happy to have the opportunity to play hockey in a high school league. It’s really fun and I’ve learned a lot of new skills. My intention is to continue playing after high school if given the opportunity,” Coon said.

The Masuk team will honor Fowler, a senior forward, as she completes her fourth year on the team. Fowler played hockey on and off in childhood but wasn’t given an opportunity to get back into hockey until she got to high school.

“Over the past four years, my experience has been amazing. It’s a really great program and it’s great to be able to meet girls from other schools that we normally wouldn’t have a chance to get to know,” Fowler said.

The program is hitting its stride, with great participation from all six schools. In the first couple of years, the team had to play at the club hockey level but was granted access into a varsity league in the last few seasons.

“The program is still fairly new, and normally we wouldn’t have an opportunity to play if it wasn’t for the co-op, but there are enough girls across all six schools to have a varsity and JV team. It’s a really welcoming program and anyone can play, even if you’ve never skated before,” Fowler said.

The team went 2-3 in February, defeating a Hamden-led co-op team twice, 4-3 in the season opener and 5-1 on February 24. The girls are scheduled to play seven games in March to close out the season.