BIDDEFORD — The name is the same, but the Biddeford girls hockey team has a new coach ”“ and a new attitude.
Ashley Potvin takes the reigns from her mother, Marie, after being an assistant last year. For the younger Potvin, it’s been a little crazy, but she said she feels like she’s ready.
“It’s been kind of a whirlwind to start off with,” said Potvin. “We did start two weeks early, but I really feel like I’ve just hit the ground running, and filled some big shoes from my mom.”
Potvin said she hopes that she can emulate how her mother was as a coach, balancing the roles of being both field general and friend.
“I think that she was tough when she needed to be tough, but she was also very approachable, as a coach and as a person,” Potvin said.
Being a player for Biddeford, and now the coach, Potvin said she thinks she has a unique perspective of the program.
“I think it’s awesome having played for the team, and now coaching it. I feel very invested in the program, I think because of that,” said Potvin.
The Tigers are three games into the season, and at 2-1, Potvin said she thinks the team “is off to a really good start.” The Tigers missed the playoffs last year, but Potvin said this team can make it back to the postseason.
“I think that this team has a lot of potential, and a lot of it is going to rely on whether we stay healthy. But I think that this team overall can make a really good playoff run, and get far into the playoffs, if they can continue working hard like they have been, and they continue working together as a team, and growing as a team,” said Potvin.
Hard work is the theme that Potvin is trying to push.
“I am a huge advocate and will always say that hard work is the key to success,” said Potvin. “Every team is going to have two, three, four girls who can really skate and have really been playing for a long time. But the difference is made when those girls who have been playing for two or three years are working hard every day in practice and contribute to the team even with very little experience.”
While these Tigers lack a little in overall experience, with just seven upperclassmen, Potvin said the freshmen and sophomores on the team, will be strong contributors, which has been the case through the first three games.
The pulse of the team is the play of senior captain Darcy Fisher, who Potvin said is a great role model and leads by example, and junior assistant captain Dalani Roy.
Potvin said the progression of younger players such as freshman Katherine Dumoulin and sophomore Brea Rivard will be a key for the Tigers, as will consistency from junior goalie Cassie Ellis.
Potvin has a vision for how she wants the team to play, and it works hand-in-hand with the theme of hard work.
“I want our team to be nitty and gritty ”“ a team that you never feel safe with a lead (against),” said Potvin. “I think a lot of Biddeford teams have that reputation.”
And like many past Biddeford athletic teams, Potvin said she hopes that success soon follows.
— Contact Wil Kramlich at 282-1535, Ext. 323 or follow him on Twitter @WilTalkSports.
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