WINTHROP — Most high school student-athletes are fortunate when they play four seasons on a varsity team. Coaches covet the rare four-year varsity players that have the skillset to come in as freshmen and make a swift impact.
Winthrop girls hockey center Catie O’Shea made an impact in her first season on the ice with Vikings, only that took place five years ago when she was a seventh-grader. Now, in her senior campaign, O’Shea has emerged as one of the best centers in the Northeastern Hockey League. She’s also helped lead the Vikings to another promising postseason appearance.
“Catie’s the absolute hardest worker that I’ve ever coached,” Winthrop coach Anthony Martucci said. “I’ve been coaching for 21 years and she’s by far the hardest worker. She’s an extremely tough leader and she’s tough. She leads by example.”
Coming into the season, O’Shea was focused on leading her teammates by example. She was voted a team captain prior to the start of the season.
“This year I wanted to be the best leader for my team that I could be,” O’Shea, a Lynn native, said. “I wanted to motivate them to be their best, especially the younger girls. If you set a good example for the younger players they’ll have a good idea of what being a leader is like. That translates to practices and games.”
Through 16 games, Winthrop’s 10-4-1 with two regular season games remaining. The Vikings cemented their bid in the state tournament with a 6-2 win over Medford last week.
“We’re all positive,” O’Shea, a senior who studies veterinary science at Essex Tech, said. “If we play our lines the way we’re supposed to, we can go far. We know what it takes and we have the right mindset. We’re a lot closer as a team and I feel we have the knowledge. It’s more of a team effort than anything individual.”
Last winter, the Vikings finished the regular season at 12-6 and earned the No. 11 seed in the Division 1 North bracket. They were bounced from the tournament in the first round after a 4-2 loss to No. 6 Westford Academy.
After clinching states last week, the Vikings have made it a priority to get themselves ready for a deep run at the tournament this time around.
“We’re focusing on the tournament and having that style of play to get us prepared for what it’s going to be like,” O’Shea said. “We’ll take it one game at a time and see what works, see what doesn’t, what lines work and keep our speed. Our speed has been very good for us this year. I’m looking forward to the rest of the season. I don’t want it to end, I believe we have a real shot to go far.”
O’Shea admitted the team needed to make improvements as the season took its course. Tweaks in their passing, powerplay and game approach have helped the Vikings improve throughout the winter.
“Our passing has been a lot better this year than it has in years past,” O’Shea said. “We’re not afraid to give up the puck. That’s led to us scoring a lot of goals and ultimately it leads to our success.
O’Shea added, “We’ve improved on the way we approach games. We were much more reserved at the start of the season. We’re a lot more focused and we’ve improved on our desire to win. We’ve also improved our powerplay and that has helped us be successful.”
As O’Shea nears the closing stretch of her final season on the team, Martucci looks back on everything she’s accomplished over the past six years with pride. Finding student athletes who can contribute to a varsity team for six years isn’t common.
“It’s a very rare thing,” Martucci said. “Sometimes you see it at the goalie position, but it’s very unique to get girls from the seventh grade. She came in as a seventh grader as a raw player. She’s worked hard since she showed up. I remember her taking important faceoffs as a seventh grader. We’ve had confidence in her since she joined the team.”
Martucci added that it’s no mystery the Vikings have emerged as a state tournament mainstay, and a Northeastern Hockey League Contender, as O’Shea has grown into her role as a team leader. She was named a league all-star earlier this week.
“She’s probably one of the best 3-zone players in Division 1,” Martucci said. “She plays in all 3-zones as good as anyone I’ve ever seen. She’s great in the defensive zone, in the neutral zone, she works hard on the forecheck and always looks to set up our offense as well.”
O’Shea likes the direction of the team moving forward. The Vikings have a handful of younger players on their roster who’ve made key contributions this season, just as O’Shea did as a seventh-grader.
“A lot of the younger girls are very talented, more talented than we’ve had in recent years,” O’Shea said. “They bring a certain characteristic with them that shows how talented they are and it’s amazing to watch. They’re only making the program stronger.”
