Olivia King’s hockey education involved an accelerated class earlier this month.
The 14-year-old King, who will be a freshman at Old Town High School this fall, played for the Under-15 Varsity-Red Prospects girls team, based in Fredericton, New Brunswick, in the Geneva Futures Hockey Challenge in Geneva, Switzerland.
She was the only American on the Canadian team.
She had the opportunity to play against U15 national team players from several European countries including Finland, Slovakia, Switzerland and France.
The V-Reds lost to Finland, Slovakia and Switzerland in pool play and then fell to Sweden, 1-0, in their crossover game before beating France 3-1 to finish sixth.
The Czech Republic defeated Finland in the gold medal game.
“We saw some very talented national team players,” David Peterson, general manager of the V-Reds, said. “Olivia did very well. We were proud of her. All of our kids did well. They worked hard. It was eye-opening for them.”
Peterson admitted he didn’t know what to expect, since it was the team’s first appearance in the tournament and the caliber of competition was greater than he anticipated.
“We played pretty well,” King, a 5-foot-6 defenseman who has played hockey since age 4, said. “We got better as the tournament went along.”
King said the team had to adapt to the Olympic-sized ice sheet, which usually is 10 to 15 feet wider and longer than a typical North American rink.
“The coaches told us to stay between the dots,” King said. “There was a lot more space out there.”
King didn’t register any points, but said she did get a few shots on goal from the point.
She said the 10-day experience exceeded her expectations. It was her first trip out of the country.
“We were right near a lake, and we could see the Alps. It was beautiful,” King said.
She added her team had the chance to interact with players from other teams.
“It was a lot of fun,” she said. “We wound up meeting the French team at a pizza party. We played some games with them. Some of the players on our team spoke French.”
King played for the Maine Moose Bantam Tier II boys team out of Augusta and earned a berth on the V-Reds team after attending a tryout.
She will play for the Lewiston-Auburn-based Gladiators U-16 team before and after her freshman campaign with the Old Town-Orono cooperative team in the Eastern Maine Class B high school ranks.
King is playing in a three-day girls showcase tournament in Estero, Florida, in front of college coaches.
She said her goal is to improve all aspects of her game in preparation for playing with the Gladiators and the Old Town-Orono Black Bears.