Souhegan-Nashua Storm players celebrate the program's first-ever goal by Sophia Wine (12) in Saturday's season opener at Delta Dental Arena in Hooksett vs. Pinkerton. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

HOOKSETT – It’s not often you hear cheers from inside a locker room of a team that had just suffered an 8-3 season-opening defeat.

But Saturday’s girls hockey game between the experienced, deep Pinkerton Academy Astros and the Souhegan-Nashua Storm was different.

It was history, and that’s what the Storm players were celebrating after their first game ever, the newly formed tri-op between Souhegan, Nashua North and South giving hockey playing girls from the latter two public schools the opportunity to play for their school for the first time ever rather than for a junior program, etc.

“There was a lot of mystery going into it,” Storm coach Shannon Paquette said. “I’m really proud of them. They worked their hardest. We got more goals than we did last year (Souhegan as a lone school). We got two goals last season; we got three today. I think that’s a lot to be proud of. We just wanted to commend their effort and the heart they put into the game.”

The team is split down the middle between Souhegan and Nashua student-athletes, and there is almost half that had not played organized hockey before, or even the sport entirely. It showed in the second period during which the celebration of the program’s first goal ever by Sophia Wine assisted by Briley Landsteiner at 1:32 of the second period, shorthanded, was short-lived.The Astros, after a scoreless first period, responded with seven unanswered goals.

But the Storm responded in a running time third period by outscoring Pinkerton 2-1 to account for the final.

Souhegan-Nashua Storm goalie Charlotte Dezotell makes one of her 84 saves on Pinkerton’s Carmita L’Abbe (15) during Saturday’s season opener at Delta Dental Arena in Hooksett. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

“It was a long second period,” Paquette said. “We had to go in there and say ‘You know what, we have 14 people on our team. They have 20.’ We were tired. We had to adapt and get ready to get into the third period, and that’s where we got some more goals.”

Those came by Anna Foley on a breakaway at 3:36 of the third, assisted by Haley Christianson with a pass up ice, and in the waning seconds of the game by Amelia Warecki, assisted by Landsteiner.

The Astros were led by six goals by Carmita L’Abbe and two by Finley Dunn.

The score could have been worse had it not been for Storm goaltender Charlotte Dezotell, who by the Storm’s count had 84 saves – 37 in the scoreless first, 36 in the second and 11 in the third.

“It was pretty challenging in the first period to figure out everyone’s flow and working together,” said Dezotell, who was a skater for Souhegan last year but has played goal in juniors and was a former junior teammate of L’Abbe. “I think we played really well for our first game.”

And now the history has been made.

“It’s awesome,” said Foley, who as a student in Nashua has been pushing for this for years. “I can’t wait to see the improvement of this team. … I definitely had butterflies at the beginning but the second I got out there I was just so happy to be there, happy to see my family in the stands, and happy to see all the girls having fun. More games to come and I can’t wait to see how it goes.”

Souhegan-Nashua Storm’s Anna Foley, center, battles Pinkerton’s Carmita L’Abbe, left, and Dylan Haverty during Saturday’s season opener at Delta Dental Arena in Hooksett. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)