By ALEX SPONSELLER The Cranston/East Greenwich girls hockey co-op dropped its season opener to visiting Mount St. Charles/Cumberland/Lincoln 9-4 last Friday night in its season opener.

The Thunderbirds trailed 2-1 after one period and would go on to take a brief 3-2 lead in the second. However, the momentum was short lived as Mount exploded for five straight goals to close out the period and put the game out of reach heading to the third.

The Thunderbirds were led by sophomore Braelyn King, who scored all four goals. Goalie Haley Davis had a hard-fought night as well, playing all 45 minutes and facing heavy pressure for the majority of the evening. Davis, Ariel Manzo, Lyric Watts, and Tanvi Ratnam all recorded assists for the Thunderbirds in the loss.

“Going into tonight, we only had two girls who had played youth hockey at a higher level. The majority of the girls just started out two weeks ago when we began practicing. For them to go out there tonight and do what they did, I was very proud of them,” said Cranston-EG coach PJ Bessette.

Although the Thunderbirds roster is inexperienced, Bessette has been pleased with the effort level and expects the team to improve quickly as the season goes on.

“It’s going to be a long year, but this team may be the most fun team we’ve had because they want to play and they want to learn. It makes it easier on us to coach. We’re teaching them right now, the beginning of the season will be tough, but by the end of the season we will be a lot better,” said Bessette.

Bessette was also impressed with King, who made an immediate impact in her varsity hockey debut.

“She’s a beast out there. She did not play last year as a freshman but came in here at scored four goals right away. I did not expect her to control the game the way she did, to score four goals like that is very impressive,” said Bessette. “She’s not in hockey shape yet, but when she is, she’ll be even better. Some of the girls on the bench see her, and you can tell that they are thinking, ‘Wow, I want to play like her.’ That confidence helps the girls aspire to do the same thing.”

The Thunderbirds will next square off against the Toll Gate/Pilgrim/Chariho co-op this Friday evening at the Thayer Arena.