A Confident Start to the Season for Girls’ Varsity Hockey
The Rivers girls’ varsity hockey team opens the winter season with confidence, experience, and a clear competitive goal. According to Captain Chloe Chitkara ’26, the team’s main goal is to make it to the Elite 8 Tournament. Rivers has made the small school tournament the last two seasons, but is hopeful to break through into the Elite 8, which pulls the best eight teams from across New England regardless of size. “Although we’ve been predicted to be number 10 this year by the New England Hockey Journal, I believe that our team has the capability to be in the top eight and have a really successful season,” Chitkara said.
This year’s schedule includes several major matchups that will define the standings. Heading into the season, Chitkara listed New Hampton School, The Hill School, Williston Northampton School, and Dexter Southfield School as key competitors. The team fell 0–2 to Williston Northampton at the beginning of January, but they defeated New Hampton 1–0 and The Hill School 5–0 in December. Both Chitkara and Brooke Bartlett ’27 shared the same answer when asked which game they are most excited for this season: Dexter Southfield.
“The past two years we’ve beaten them, and it’s just one of the best wins we can have in our season, so I’m really excited to play them again later on in the season,” said Chitkara. Bartlett added, “It’s a long-standing rivalry, and there is always so much on the line. Both teams come out with everything they have, and it’s always such a high-paced game.” The team faced off against Dexter in the finals of the Dexter Southfield Holiday Tournament back in December, where they came up short in a five overtime thriller. The teams will meet again on February 27 in the final game of the regular season.
Since most of the roster has grown together over several seasons, team chemistry is a major source of confidence. The team’s level of connection is not just about familiarity on the ice. “In my eyes, our team is very well bonded and connected on and off the ice, which will only help us in our play during games,” said Chitkara. “The cross-grade dynamic is really good and everyone is really close with each other across all grades, not just our own, which is something special about Rivers Athletics that you don’t always see on other teams.”
Bartlett echoed the sentiment, speaking from her experience as a five-year returner to the Rivers hockey program. For her, coming back to the rink each season is not just about competition. “Everyone has been together for the past few years; it feels like coming home,” she said. “The locker room is so fun; everyone is friends with everyone, and it’s really a great environment.”
Along with chemistry, experience and roster depth appear stronger than ever this season. “This year, we have four solid lines of forwards and multiple defensive lines that are all stable and capable of making smart plays and executing in games,” Chitkara said. She has high hopes for how this will unfold during competition. “I think this year, especially, we have a bench full of players who can contribute a lot to our team’s success on the ice, and I’d love to see as many people contribute their skill sets as possible.”
Bartlett also emphasized that the team succeeds through shared responsibility rather than relying on a single player. “There is no one standout player; all of us contribute to our wins in different ways,” she said. She noted that improvement across the roster has been significant. “Everyone really got better during the off-season, and we didn’t lose many key players from last season, so it’s only up from here.”
Head Coach Keith McLean has directly shaped the team’s work ethic. One thing McLean reminds the team regularly is the importance of effort and relentlessness. “Coach Keith has laid down his expectations and goals for us in how we play and what we want our team identity to be when other teams play [or] see us,” Chitkara said. “One of the things that he says is to be opportunistic and gritty. We like to say, always ‘hunt down the puck’ wherever you are and outwork everyone on the ice when you’re out there, which speaks to our team’s huge work ethic and motivation to put our best selves onto the ice at all times.”
Bartlett described McLean’s coaching style as one that allows creativity while still pushing the team to excel. “Keith really does a great job encouraging creativity to move the puck and experiment with our lines,” she said. “He gives us some structure, but after that, he lets us go out to play.”
With experience, depth, strong leadership, and a shared team identity centered on work ethic, Rivers girls’ varsity hockey team is ready to compete with the best. “We’re getting better and better every day, and I think it’s reflected well in our scores,” Chitkara said. “I’d like for people to know how much we all care and how much we put forward for ourselves and each other.”
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