Nashua High hockey alums from the classes of 1976 and '78 gathered to play in the annual Alumni Game this past weekend at Conway Arena. From left are Richard “Dicky” Raisanen, Jim Murray, Peter LaPolice, Robert “Skip”Blicker. (Courtesy photo by Peter Bartlett)

NASHUA – Today Nashua hockey history will be made at Conway Arena.

It’s the first day for most high school hockey and basketball teams to start tryouts and practices. But that makes it the first official practice of the Nashua Knights, the first ever Nashua North-South co-op athletic team, putting Nashua hockey under one umbrella for the first time since the final 2003-04 Nashua High season came to a close with The Split looming.

That practice will take place at 3 p.m., and then right after that at 4 p.m. will be the first practice for the Souhegan-Nashua Storm, the first ever all-girls hockey team involving Nashua public high school girls athletes. The team is a tri-op of Souhegan – which has had its own team for several years – plus Nashua North and South. Souhegan is the lead school.

The boys North-South union became almost a necessity as the co-ops the two schools had been involved in for a decade, North-Souhegan and South-Pelham, were fizzling. Pelham had just two players on the team last year while Souhegan’s numbers were dwindling. Pelham found a partner with Timberlane while Souhegan was not able to for this year, as to do it might force a team to move up a division during this current cycle as the enrollment would be added. Once the cycle ends this year, it’s possible players from Souhegan will be able to find a home eyes on joining the Alvirne-Milford co-op and petitioning down to stay in Division II.

The girls numbers were down at Souhegan, as were the results, so it made sense to seek help. And the Sabers had been hockey nomads over the last few years for practices and games, but the Storm will have Conway Arena as their one-and-only home. The girls team is taking over one of the locker rooms of the former Nashua co-ops, with the Knights taking the other room at Conway, right next to each other at the end of the hallway, just off the ice.

The Souhegan-Nashua Storm will play their first official game vs. Pinkerton at the Astros home ice of Tri-Town Arena in Hooksett on Saturday, Dec. 13 at 2:30 p.m. Their first home game is Wednesday Dec. 17 at Conway Arena vs. Keene-Monadnock-Fall Mountain.

The North-South Knights will open up at Bedford on Dec. 17 with their first home game on Saturday Dec. 20 vs. the Manchester Kings tri-op.

HOOP STARTS TOO

Basketball teams will also begin and it will be a different day at Nashua North as Kyle Tave takes over for longtime Titans coach Steve Lane, who stepped down at the end of last season. Tave has coached the McCarthy Middle School (formerly Elm Street) girls team for several years, was also an assistant under former Bishop Guertin girls coach Brad Kreick, and has been a longtime defensive assistant for the Nashua North football team. Thus he’s well-known in North and city basketball circles.

Alvirne has a new boys hoop coach, former Bronco player Sam Bonney-Liles , plus a new boys hockey coach for the Alvirne-Milford co-op, former Rivier University women’s assistant Kathryn Griswold.

Also of note in local girls basketball, Drew Gora is back at the helm at Campbell, while Merrimack has a new coach in Amanda D’Amico. D’Amico, a former Merrimack standout, played college ball at Husson and had been coaching for the AAU-related Basketball Development Program.

Most hoop teams open up on Friday, Dec. 12. However,Wilton-Lyndeborough in Division IV opens up this Saturday at Epping in a girls-boys doubleheader.

Wrestling, bowling and swimming have already started practices. Most wrestling teams open in 10 days while swim teams are anywhere from next weekend (Bishop Guertin, Alvirne) to the following weekend. Check your favorite school’s overall athletics schedule.