The Whitman-Hanson/Pembroke girls hockey team returned to the MIAA tournament last year behind strong senior play and a boost from a talented group of freshmen. With only one senior on the team this year, WHP’s hopes will rest even more upon the shoulders of its young skaters.

Captain Kelsey Murray is the only member of the Class of 2012 from either school, and the underclassmen nearly double the total number of upperclassmen with 11 freshmen and sophomores to six juniors and seniors.

“The 2012 WHP team is very young,” head coach Joe Coulter said. “[But] I'm very excited about the upcoming season.”

The “Kid Line” of Jane Morrisette, Michaela McIsaac and Sophia Nogueira made a splash as freshmen last season, and will shoulder the bulk of the scoring load as sophomores this season. Murray, assistant captain Jackie Sullivan and junior Victoria Burke are also back this season, giving WHP two seasoned scoring lines.

The biggest holes for the team will be in the back where Alex Davis and Tricia Stacy anchored the defense for four years, and Kelly Travers did the same in net. Coulter will be counting on assistant captain Ali McLeod for veteran leadership of the defensive lines, and she will get some help from fellow junior Paige Caswell and sophomores Maddy Reardon and Jess Govoni, who all saw ice time last season.

While Travers was the workhorse in goal for WHP each of the last four seasons, the team is not without experience in net with junior Melissa Hatch. Hatch has been the backup since her freshman season and saw her share of action while waiting patiently to take over the starting job as an upperclassman.

The team is also hoping freshmen Nicole Halloran, Gina Deacetis, Cassidy Peinert, and Alison Webster, along with first-year sophomores Kerry Coady and Kristen Miglietta, can give the team some quality minutes as they look to make a dent in one of the toughest leagues in the state. The 2010/11 league champions, the Duxbury Dragons, went on to win the state championship, and WHP’s non-league schedule isn’t much easier with games against Fontbonne, Franklin, Canton and Weymouth.

“[W]e have a very tough schedule this season,” Coulter said. “[But] we have a great group of girls on this team, two great schools and working with the new [athletic directors] from both have been fantastic … Great parents and fans and the team is very lucky to have Coach Deb Johnson and Coach Dan Mastrogiacomo (Mastro) back for another season as wel. We have added Brianna DeCoste, a Senior from Pembroke HS as the team’s manager.”