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01/30/2019 11:00 PMKatie St. Peter is known for stepping up to fill any role necessary as a member of the Amity-North Haven-Cheshire girls’ ice hockey team. Typically a winger, Katie demonstrated her selflessness during her sophomore season, when she volunteered to play goalie because the Blades needed someone in the net. Now a senior at North Haven, Katie continues to contribute to her club in every way she can.
“We lost our goalie, because she went to go play for a different team that year, so me and another girl on the team stepped up to play goalie that year. It was a really cool and scary experience,” says Katie. “I had a lot of fun that year. I loved it. It was really cool to see a whole different side of the game.”
After going 6-0 in goal during her sophomore year, Katie returned to the flank as a wing last winter. This season, she’s suiting up as a wing on the second line for the Blades, who’ve shaken off a slow start by winning six of their last seven games.
“This year, we needed a goalie, and I was thinking of stepping up again, but we had another girl come in, and she is playing now,” Katie says. “I really love playing and skating around, trying to get goals. It was too restricting just standing there the whole game for me.”
Head Coach John Peschell was impressed with how Katie performed in her goalkeeper’s role. Peschell also loves the energy that Katie displays as a skater for his squad.
“She’s always involved in the play, and she has a very active stick. She’s active in the offensive zone,” says Peschell. “She’s a gritty kid that has a lot of heart and desire. She wants to do well and always gives 100 percent out on the ice.”
Katie gives a great effort for the Blades while dealing the challenge of having epilepsy, which she was diagnosed with at the beginning of her freshman season. The condition threatened to keep Katie off the ice, but then she started taking medication to treat it.
“I didn’t know if I was going to continue to play, because it took me a while to get used to being on so much medication. It makes me extra tired, but struggling through that and getting through it makes me push harder during practice to get myself as best as I can, because it makes me where I’m a little behind everybody,” Katie says. “I really just want to focus on getting better each practice and listening to what my coaches have to tell me what I need to improve on each practice, so I can help the team each week.”
Katie started skating when she was just two years old due to the influence of her brother Jason and sister Alex, who were already on the ice. Katie was a figure skater until the 5th grade, when she decided to give hockey a try. Katie says the sport was more challenging than she anticipated.
“I just think I wanted to change things up. I think there were more opportunities in ice hockey, and I was going to my brother’s hockey games, and I was enjoying that more than figure skating. That’s why I decided to make the change,” says Katie. “It was definitely different to learn. It wasn’t just skating, but now I had to do stuff with the puck. It was a much bigger difference than I expected.”
Katie adds that her brother Jason helped her get up to speed during the early stages of her ice hockey career. Katie learned a great deal as a result of attending Stick Time hockey lessons at Northford Ice Pavilion.
“I practiced with my brother a lot,” she says. “We would do shooting drills out in my driveway, and sometimes he would take me to Stick Time, and that really helped me.”
Katie loves competing alongside athletes from multiple towns as a member of Amity-North Haven-Cheshire co-op squad. While that scenario doesn’t always work out for some teams, Katie feels thrilled that the Blades are playing with great chemistry and using it to win games.
“It’s honestly amazing. I love all the girls on the team. We have such a close bond,” says Katie. “I made so many friends, and that’s one reason I decided to skate again this year. I wasn’t sure if I was going to, but this team means so much to me, and I wanted to skate with my teammates again for my senior year.”