By John Orrell, Contributing Writer
Shrewsbury – Not often does a student-athlete stand so close to shattering school records in her chosen sport than does Shrewsbury High School’s Delaney Couture.
As a freshman on the girls’ varsity ice hockey team, 14-year-old Couture has already notched achievements that many of her fellow competitors might only dream of. On Feb. 6, she conquered a milestone that is nearly unimaginable to grasp – her 100th point collected in a post-season qualifying victory over Longmeadow High School at Westborough’s Northstar Forum.
With that 100th point recorded, she now trails former Colonial skater and 2013 graduate Samantha Direda by just 41 points. With 70 goals and 31 assists in her back pocket, the inevitability of Couture notching 41 points over three more hockey seasons to eclipse that record is about as sure as a bet can be.
“There’s no question that 300 is within her reach,” affirmed eighth-year Shrewsbury High School (SHS) head coach Frank Panarelli, who has coached Couture since her break-in to high school hockey in the seventh grade. “Players like Delaney don’t come along very often. She’s just such a hard worker. She loves the game and is so focused on hockey, but when the games are going on it’s not all just about her. She’s very team-oriented and well-liked by her teammates.”
Couture’s venture into the sport of ice hockey can be largely credited to Panarelli, who also happens to be her uncle and the one who first put her on skates. It was nearly love at first sight. Encouragement and influence also came from Panarelli’s daughter, Francesca, a 2015 College of the Holy Cross graduate who was a four-year captain and League All-Star for the Crusaders.
“My uncle had been kind of pushing my parents, encouraging me to play hockey,” Couture explained. “Ever since he took me skating I just loved it and jumped right into it and have loved it ever since then.
“I want to be able to play at a college level one day. Francesca has been such a good player and knows the sport very well. I wanted to be really attached to a sport just the way she was and I knew that hockey was the sport for me ever since I started playing it.
“My dream college that I wanted to play for since I was very young is BC (Boston College) and I’ve always had an Olympic dream to be on the women’s team for the Olympics.”
Her 100th point scored on that cold February night versus Longmeadow will go down as her biggest thrill in her young hockey career. She was recognized with stoppage of play and announcement that drew a standing ovation from spectators who shared in Couture’s special accomplishment.
“I didn’t really know the puck went in the net at first and then my teammates came over to me and I just screamed,” she said of her milestone moment. “I was so excited. Everyone in the crowd was screaming and I was so excited because I’d been so nervous about it. Once I got it, I knew I could focus on just playing hockey because I was so caught up in getting that.”
Competing against players five and six years older than she as a fledgling seventh-grader was at times intimidating, but not something that was anywhere near discouraging. Her love of the sport was too great to back down and before long it was as if she had been skating at the high school level for years.
“I remember we played Leominster [High School] and they had some pretty big girls and I was kind of intimidated, but as it went on I got less intimidated because I was pretty tall when I was in seventh grade,” said Couture, who wears jersey number 13 for SHS and is impervious to superstition.
With her athleticism, her interest in playing other sports was almost a given as she entered high school. She was team MVP in field hockey in the fall and plans to compete in lacrosse when ice hockey season comes to an end. Field hockey was an adjustment, almost like hockey without the skates, but the first obstacle she needed to get past, and did so quite quickly, was an essential tool of the trade.
“It took a little adjusting as to how short the stick is and not being able to use the backhand of the stick but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” said Couture, grinning. “I eventually got used to it.”