Adrianna Boucher (left) and Sofia Gardula are two members of the Shrewsbury girls hockey team. (Photo/Evan Walsh)
SHREWSBURY – What the Colonials lack in continuity, they have in leadership.
After an MIAA Division 1 quarterfinal appearance last year, the Shrewsbury girls hockey team — which includes athletes from Shrewsbury, Westborough and Wachusett — bid farewell to 10 players. In their place, 11 freshmen joined the team, quickly getting themselves accustomed to 17th-year Head Coach Frank Panarelli’s system. This freshman class is the biggest Panarelli has had.
With the influx of newcomers, leadership becomes all the more important — and that’s where Sofia Gardula has found her role.
Inspired by a handful of family members who love the sport, Gardula started playing hockey in about the seventh grade, late for many players. Her on-ice experience was further limited by the pandemic. But Gardula still loved hockey, and as a freshman, she joined the Shrewsbury girls hockey team as a manager, helping the them however she could.
“It was important to me because of the culture — it was so fun to be with everybody. I had some friends going into the season, and I made a lot of new ones. I was able to be involved with everybody, and it was a great year,” said Gardula. “I really enjoy the atmosphere and team. It’s just a really positive atmosphere. Everybody’s picking everybody up all the time.”
Gardula dressed every game her sophomore year, when Shrewsbury went on an epic run that ended with the Division 1 championship. She said winning the title was “electric.”
Sofia Gardula in action. (Photo/Pamela Panarelli)
This year, the one-time manager is leading the Colonials. Gardula’s teammates elected her team captain this season — a ringing endorsement of how much this Shrewsbury senior means to the team.
“She came on as a manager and the girls just took to her. She’s just a great kid. There’s nobody that’s ever said anything bad about her. She got to dress sophomore year, and that was the state championship year — she dressed every game. She got voted captain and that, to me, goes a long way. She’s a great leader, vocal on the bench, supportive, and never complains,” said Panarelli.
“I think that every player on a successful team has a role. It’s not just about being the leading scorer or the amount of saves that the goalie makes. Sometimes it is more than that; it’s the person who improves the life of everyone on the team. That is who Sofia is to me — the backbone that keeps everyone in line and together,” said Panarelli’s wife, Pamela.
From manager to captain, Gardula has remained humble. Did she ever expect to lead the Colonials?
“Absolutely not, it was the last thing I expected. There have been so many great leaders before me — hockey, other sports, and in general — so I’ve taken after them, I guess, but it’s just so nice to be recognized by my teammates,” Gardula said. “To be the leader on the bench, staying positive, to be looked up to. It’s awesome.”
Alongside fellow captains Blaire Fay and Lauren Albertson, Gardula has embraced the difficult task of uniting student-athletes from three different schools and guiding all the freshmen. It hasn’t been easy, said Gardula, but she feels “like we’re all coming together” at this point in the season. Her teammates agree.
“They’ve done a really good job throughout the season of helping us keep a positive mindset. Sofia’s always really enthusiastic about everything, and she’s always happy to support everyone else, even when we’re having a rough game. I think our captains do a really great job of expressing that we always have a chance to come back,” said sophomore Adrianna Boucher.
Boucher is another important piece of the Shrewsbury girls hockey team’s puzzle. After hardly playing at all last year, Boucher has become the team’s starting goalie, replacing Risa Montoya, the program’s all-time-winningest in that position. While Boucher has big skates to fill, she’s worked hard at her craft — and the time sitting behind Montoya helped more than it hurt.
“I learned so much from Risa, especially always being able to see her in practice,” said Boucher. “I felt a little pressure at the beginning, because she left behind a really big legacy. She played such a big role personally and was such a big inspiration to me, so there was pressure coming into the net, but overall, I just go out there with her in mind, trying to make her proud.”
“She was just a sponge — every practice, every game, she was just obsessed with Risa’s movements and the way she carried herself. After last year, I told her to just play as much hockey as she can — games, camps. And she did. She came so prepared this year. It was the first practice, and wow, you could see a big difference. She’s carrying herself extremely well,” said Frank Panarelli.
Boucher has certainly earned the respect of her teammates.
“She’s been doing a great job of it. As goalie, you’re the backbone of the team — it ends with you. Adrianna’s been doing a really great job, and I give her all the credit in the world. She has such thick skin. When we make mistakes on the ice, most of the time, she’s able to end the mistake right there,” said Gardula.
