The Whaler girls hockey team is playing their best hockey since the program began three years ago. They have scored 15 goals in three games so far this season after scoring just 28 goals in 13 games last winter. Senior captain Evelyn Fey is a significant reason why Nantucket appears to have taken a large leap as a program this year.
Fey scored four goals in the Whalers 8-3 win over the Old Rochester Bulldogs Wednesday evening. In the Whaler’s previous game on December 22, Fey tallied four assists. Fey has four goals and six assists for 10 points through her team’s first three games. She is on pace for an incredible 66 regular season points this year.
Fey continues to assert herself as the best all-around hockey player who has ever suited up for the Whaler girls hockey team’s program in its young history.
“So far this season has been going very well for me,” Fey said. “I already feel like I have gotten better since our first game of the season.”
But it isn’t as if Fey’s level of play has come out of nowhere. She was already an excellent player entering her senior year. She scored 15 of the 28 goals for Nantucket last season. Fey plays in every situation for head coach Liz Collins’ team whether it be on the penalty kill, power play, taking defensive face-offs, or key offensive zone draws.
As the Whalers most consistent player and top center, Fey draws the opposing team’s toughest defenders night in and night out in an attempt by coaches to slow her down.
To combat this strategy by her opponents, Fey said she wanted to improve her playmaking abilities this year and build on the five assists she tallied last season. She has already passed that mark with her six assists through her team’s first three games. Now her focus is on blowing that mark out of the water and getting her teammates more involved in the scoring.
“I would really like to get some of the new girls some opportunities to score,” Fey said. “I’m going to try to set them up with a solid pass right by the net. I just feel like that would be so exciting for them.”
Fey said her love for hockey developed early on in her life. She picked up a stick for the first time at the age of four and hasn’t looked back since. She grew up playing hockey with her brothers Ethan and Gavin, who were key contributors for Nantucket’s boys team in the past, and with her sister Jillian, who is currently playing for Boston College’s Div. I hockey program.
Fey has rode her passion for hockey to a productive high school hockey career and is in the midst of her second season as a team captain. She said her goal as one of the leaders of this team has been to establish a positive team culture for the program.
“The team chemistry is really fun,” Fey said. “We go into every game with positive attitudes and low expectations, which ends up helping us succeed. We have always taken this team in a very lighthearted way and nothing too serious.”
But for Fey, bringing a positive mindset to the rink for practices and games isn’t enough.
“I try to make sure that everyone has respect for our coaches,” she said. “I think that is very important, especially with the younger girls.”
Fey said sophomore winger Emerson Pekarcik is someone who has helped her become a better player. She said Pekarcik helps her reach her potential on and off the ice.
“We work so well together,” Fey said of Pekarcik. “We also just get each other. We have so much fun both on and off the ice together.”
Fey said sophomore goalie Caroline Allen has allowed her to play more confident and take more chances offensively.
“I love having her in net,” Fey said of Allen. “If someone skates around me on the team I know she always has my back and will save the shot. She makes me feel very secure during the games.”
Fey will look to add to her point total and more importantly, help her team earn their third consecutive win on Saturday, January 8, when they host the Falmouth Clippers at 5:15 p.m.
