ORONO, Maine — When the University of Maine women’s hockey team opens its season against New Hampshire at 4 p.m. Saturday, Waterville’s Katy Massey will be playing her 100th career game for the Black Bears.
She hasn’t missed a game in her three-plus seasons. And she will be wearing an “A” on her jersey as an alternate captain.
What is remarkable is that when she was a senior playing an important role on the Waterville High School boys team, she was told by the UMaine coaching staff she had no future playing hockey at Maine.
“We thought she was a great person but we kept telling her if she came to Maine, she’d be quitting hockey,” said Maine head coach Richard Reichenbach, who was an assistant at the time. “I evaluated her as a mid-level or high-level Division III player. There wasn’t a spot for her.”
But when a player got sick and returned home, a spot opened up.
That just meant Massey could try out. Nothing was guaranteed.
The players undergo a number of conditioning tests when they return to campus.
“Katy did real well,” said Reichenbach. “And she trained on her own even though she knew there might not be a tryout opportunity for her. She didn’t even have our summer [workout] program.”
Massey always held out hope that she would get an opportunity, so she worked out diligently.
“I thought, ‘’What if someone gets hurt or transfers?’ There could be an opening and if I wasn’t ready for that, my opportunity was gone.
“I thought about that a lot. I didn’t even get a summer job. My focus was on training in case something did happen. I was thinking very positively,” said Massey.
“I came in pretty strong and in pretty good shape. How I did in the testing was a big reason why I made the team,” added Massey who credited her two “great” high school coaches, track and soccer coach Ian Wilson and hockey coach Dennis Martin, with teaching her how to maintain her conditioning.
Massey also sensed that her attitude and compatibility with her teammates were going to be evaluated.
“[The coaches] knew where I was as a hockey player. They wanted to see my attitude and work ethic and how I blended in with the team,” said Massey.
“She fit in real well. She is so positive and so full of energy and she cares about everybody,” said Reichenbach.
Massey could have attended a Division III school and had a sizeable role immediately, “but it wouldn’t have meant as much,” she said.
“I loved the idea of playing for my state university,” she said.
Making the team was an “amazing feeling” but Massey wasn’t going to be complacent and worked tirelessly to improve.
She played sparingly as a freshman but did appear in all 34 games. She had a goal and an assist.
She became a regular her sophomore year and had 5 & 5 in 33 games. She followed that up with 2 & 2 in 32 games last year.
Reichenbach and Massey agree that there was a significant transition from a boys checking league to a women’s nonchecking league.
“It’s a huge disadvantage,” said Reichenbach. “She had to change the way she played.”
“It’s completely different,” acknowledged Massey. “There’s much more movement in the women’s game. It’s so fast. You have to work to get open. You have to support the puck.”
Even though Massey played more on the periphery at Waterville High, she never shied away from a confrontation even though she stands just 5 foot, ½ inch.
“She was fearless,” said Martin. “Katy wasn’t a girl playing hockey. She was a hockey player who just so happened to be a girl.”
“We had some big players but she would mix it up with them,” recalled former Bangor High coach Denis Collins.
The daughter of Scott and Brigitte Massey was part of six state championship teams at Waterville High, four in track and one each in hockey and soccer. She was a state titlist in the 100-yard dash.
She played on the top line in hockey her senior year and was on the power play and penalty-killing units.
“She knows the game and knows where to be,” said Martin. “And she had a super work ethic.”
She has been more of a defensive specialist/penalty-killer in college and she has been valuable in those roles.
“She is one of the best defensive forwards in our league and is one of the most effective players on our team,” said Reichenbach. “She’s like a little buzzsaw. She never slows up and is always around the puck. She has the ability to play an entire 45-second shift at full speed. She makes our practices better with her effort and attitude.
“Her story is amazing,” said Reichenbach, who has rewarded her with some scholarship money.
She has caught the eye of rival coaches.
“She is a real hard worker. I’ve noticed her more and more as she has gone on at Maine,” said Providence coach Bob Deraney.
Wilson called Massey “inspirational.”
“She never gave up. She never accepted ‘no’ for an answer,” he said.
Her Black Bear teammates say they hold her in the highest regard.
Senior winger Hailey Browne called her a “role model. She’s a leader and a force on the ice every day in practice and in games. She always gives everything she has.”
“She has been a big part of the program,” said senior center and captain Jennifer More.
In addition to her hockey accomplishments, Massey carries a 4.0 grade-point average as a psychology major and has been a Hockey East Top Student-Athlete all three years.
She hopes to be more prolific offensively this season and says she is sad that her final year is upon her.
“It has gone by so fast. But I couldn’t have asked for any more than this. Just coming here and getting a chance to play was a dream of mine. This has far exceeded my expectations. And to have my teammates see me as a leader has really meant a lot to me,” she said.