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Redhawks ‘Learning How To Believe’ Amid Program Turnaround
Junior Ray Whiteley handles the puck during Barnstable/Upper Cape Tech/Cape Cod Tech’s 5-2 win against West/East Bridgewater on Jan. 14. EREZ BEN-AKIVA PHOTOS
Sophomore Kayla David skates during the Redhawks’ win, their fourth of the season.
Freshman Sophia Fellows, right, smiles after scoring his first career varsity goal.
HYANNIS – The Barnstable/Upper Cape Tech/Cape Cod Tech girls hockey team has bounced back tremendously from last year’s winless record.
Only a season ago, the Redhawks finished 0-17-0, a difficult bottoming-out of the program. The 2025-26 team, under first-year head coach Justin DeSorgher, instantly put that all in the rearview mirror.
They won their first two games this year (5-1 against West/East Bridgewater and 10-2 against Nantucket) and sat just a game below .500 (4-5) as of Tuesday.
They won their first two games this year (5-1 against West/East Bridgewater and 10-2 against Nantucket) and sat just a game below .500 (4-5) as of Tuesday.
Last year was tough, and the players needed a confidence boost. They achieved that and then some with the two consecutive wins at the outset. The games allowed the Redhawks, DeSorgher said, “to feel good about themselves and how they play.”
“We've had some ups and downs,” DeSorgher said. “We're in a tough league. We play some good teams, but this group is learning how to believe in themselves, how to believe in each other, how to believe in winning.”
On Jan. 14, the Redhawks earned their fourth victory of the season by beating West/East Bridgewater 5-2 in their second meeting of the season. The win also goes down as a comeback; West/East Bridgewater led 1-0 about 10 minutes in before Barnstable/UCT/CCT scored five unanswered goals.
Eighth grader Cat Cannon scored in the first period and freshman Sophia Fellows recorded her first varsity goal in the third. In between, junior Cate Buckler scored three times in the second period.
“The second period was everything we asked them to do,” DeSorgher said. “The kids responded. They had a lot of intensity. They really moved their feet. They moved the puck better. They played with purpose.”
The hat trick by Buckler was a performance she’s been delivering since she was 7 years old, according to DeSorgher.
“Cate's a supremely talented offensive player,” he said. “She has an unbelievable motor, and she has that X factor of just willing herself to make plays and make things happen. She's one of our best players. She's one of the best players in the league.”
Everybody on the roster saw time on the ice during the win against West/East Bridgewater, and the Redhawks have gotten contributions from multiple players. Buckler, junior Leah Bertling and junior Emma DaSilva wear captain letters “because they set positive examples for the girls in a lot of different ways, whether it's working hard or their work off of the ice or the way that they communicate with their teammates,” DeSorgher said.
The coaching staff, meanwhile, isn’t changed entirely from last season. While DeSorgher and assistant coach Michael Gage were new, assistant coach Caroline Larson returned to the team. The coaches, it would appear, entered the program with something of a vision.
“We had a plan coming in,” DeSorgher said. “We know what we need to do. We know what we want to do. It's just about implementing it and getting the girls to buy in. Maybe those first couple wins helped them buy in, but they’re working really hard for us.”
The Redhawks, now playing in Division 2, are also in line for a berth in the state tournament. They were ranked 29th as of Tuesday.
And while Barnstable/UCT/CCT’s wins to this point act as four huge testaments to just how far they’ve turned everything around, the focus isn’t on results but rather process. After last week’s game against West/East Bridgewater for example, DeSorgher was pleased with the play in the second period but not the first or third.
“I don't mind losing a game if our process is good, and I'm not thrilled with winning if our process is poor, right?” he said. “But again, for this group, we're always happy to take a win. It's hard to win hockey games, and these guys put enough effort in to get that win tonight.”
The light at the end of that tunnel — that process — is elevating the Redhawks to playoff contenders and championship challengers. That all begins this season by getting the players to have faith and confidence in what they’re doing, to start believing.
“This year is about building a culture in the locker room, on the ice, setting expectations, getting these kids to buy in and play hockey the way that we know that they should,” DeSorgher said. “It's just a process.”
Eighth grader Cat Cannon scored in the first period and freshman Sophia Fellows recorded her first varsity goal in the third. In between, junior Cate Buckler scored three times in the second period.
“The second period was everything we asked them to do,” DeSorgher said. “The kids responded. They had a lot of intensity. They really moved their feet. They moved the puck better. They played with purpose.”
The hat trick by Buckler was a performance she’s been delivering since she was 7 years old, according to DeSorgher.
“Cate's a supremely talented offensive player,” he said. “She has an unbelievable motor, and she has that X factor of just willing herself to make plays and make things happen. She's one of our best players. She's one of the best players in the league.”
Everybody on the roster saw time on the ice during the win against West/East Bridgewater, and the Redhawks have gotten contributions from multiple players. Buckler, junior Leah Bertling and junior Emma DaSilva wear captain letters “because they set positive examples for the girls in a lot of different ways, whether it's working hard or their work off of the ice or the way that they communicate with their teammates,” DeSorgher said.
The coaching staff, meanwhile, isn’t changed entirely from last season. While DeSorgher and assistant coach Michael Gage were new, assistant coach Caroline Larson returned to the team. The coaches, it would appear, entered the program with something of a vision.
“We had a plan coming in,” DeSorgher said. “We know what we need to do. We know what we want to do. It's just about implementing it and getting the girls to buy in. Maybe those first couple wins helped them buy in, but they’re working really hard for us.”
The Redhawks, now playing in Division 2, are also in line for a berth in the state tournament. They were ranked 29th as of Tuesday.
And while Barnstable/UCT/CCT’s wins to this point act as four huge testaments to just how far they’ve turned everything around, the focus isn’t on results but rather process. After last week’s game against West/East Bridgewater for example, DeSorgher was pleased with the play in the second period but not the first or third.
“I don't mind losing a game if our process is good, and I'm not thrilled with winning if our process is poor, right?” he said. “But again, for this group, we're always happy to take a win. It's hard to win hockey games, and these guys put enough effort in to get that win tonight.”
The light at the end of that tunnel — that process — is elevating the Redhawks to playoff contenders and championship challengers. That all begins this season by getting the players to have faith and confidence in what they’re doing, to start believing.
“This year is about building a culture in the locker room, on the ice, setting expectations, getting these kids to buy in and play hockey the way that we know that they should,” DeSorgher said. “It's just a process.”
