Early in the second period of Salve Regina’s game with No. 13 ranked Norwich in mid-November, with the game still scoreless, Reese Pereira had the puck in the left face-off circle. She looked up for an open teammate and saw her older sister, Emma, out by the blue line.

In a scene familiar to anyone who played Mansfield/Oliver Ames during the two seasons that the sisters teamed up for the Warriors, Emma took the pass, weaved through a couple of Norwich defenders, and ripped a slap shot past the goalie to put Salve in front.

This was the kind of moment that the pair hoped would happen when they became college teammates – Emma, a senior defenseman closing out an impressive four years with the Seahawks, and Reese, a freshman forward just getting started with her collegiate career.

“It’s always fun having your sister playing with you,” Emma said. “We played at MOA together for a little bit, but it’s so much different here. We get to spend so much more time together on and off the ice. Just being able to have your best friend there is awesome.”

Reese added, “Talking to other teammates about your personal play is hard, but with Emma she knows me the best of anyone on the team and she knows what I’m capable of, so she’ll be honest with me and tell me what I can work on. It’s really helpful having her there and having that support system and just knowing that she’s there for me.”

Both were three-sport standouts at Oliver Ames, playing soccer in the fall, hockey in the winter, and lacrosse in the spring. When they took the ice together for Mansfield/OA, it was the first time that the pair had gotten the chance to play organized hockey on the same team. They had played some pond hockey around Easton or worked on skills but this was a different experience.

At the time, Emma was a junior who had already established herself as a player to watch in the newly formed Hockomock League (2018-2019 was the inaugural season). Reese joined as a talented freshman on a squad that had title aspirations.

“I wanted to be attached at her hip and around her a lot but I knew that I had to make other friends and get to know the team,” Reese explained. “We work off each other really well. We’re very different players but it works really well when we’re out there together.”

“It was really fun,” Emma said. “We can read off each other really well. We just know what the other is thinking of doing. Even now, playing 3-v-3 drills in practice, it’s really fun to be able to go out there together.”

Emma played all four years at OA, but after her sophomore season Reese elected to transfer to the ISL and played at Lawrence Academy (Groton, Conn.).

“It was a really difficult decision,” she admitted. “I had my friends and I really enjoyed OA and I like playing with MOA and all the girls there, so it was really hard to leave that behind. I knew that to better myself more, I needed to switch up and challenge myself. That really took my play to the next level and coming to Salve was a much easier transition.”

Selecting a college to play at wasn’t an easy process for Emma, but after conversations with Salve coach David Lun, she elected to play college hockey and decided to go to Newport.

“He made me really excited to come here,” she said. “Also, Newport as a whole is just the best place you could ever come to school. I love it down here. I also met some of the girls on the team before committing and they were just great people that I’d want to be friends with.”

A contributor from her first season at Salve, Emma has six goals and nine assists over the past two seasons. The positive experiences that she’s had on and off the ice also played a role in Reese’s decision to come to Salve, although in the beginning Emma tried not to influence her sister’s decision.

“Once she said she was interested in Salve then me and everyone on the team was trying to sell her on it,” Emma said.

According to Reese, “Seeing her experience the first three years was very much selling it to me. It’s very hard when you see her having so much fun with the team and playing hockey there and overall her whole experience. It was really hard to not want to go to Salve.”

The transition from high school or prep school hockey to the pace of the college game is a difficult one. Emma noted that even in her four years at Salve, the game keeps getting tougher and the teams keep getting better, increasing the challenge for new players. Having your sister on the ice with you definitely helps with the adjustment.

“It was a little nerve-wracking,” Reese said about her first shift in an exhibition game against Curry. “I was definitely a little bit nervous and it took me a little while to get into the groove of things and the pace.”

“I remember one of our first shifts together, I remember having a sequence up on the blue line and it’s just much fun playing together when we have plays that we like to do and we kind of just know where each other’s going to be. It was really exciting.”

Emma said, “Freshman year is all about trial and error and you really figure out how you’re going to be as a player, especially on a new team, and it definitely comes with a lot of ‘a few steps forward, a few steps back.’ She’s adapting much better than you’d ever hope.”

Being able to share all of these experiences with each other has added a different dimension to this season. Knowing that they have this one winter on the ice together makes them appreciate the moments a little more.

“It’s the best-case scenario,” Emma said. “To be able to play with your sister in your last year of college hockey and to just share the ice. I was talking to my parents about it and they kept saying to just cherish this season and how awesome and one-of-a-kind the experience is. I don’t want the season to tick down and end because it’s been by far the best.”

Reese agreed, “We’ve talked about how much we have to feel grateful for every practice that we’re out there together, even in the mornings, because it’s only going to be lasting so much longer. Every time I get out there I’m just trying to enjoy it and spend more time with her because next year is going to be really different when she’s gone.”

After a win against Castleton (Vt.) on Friday night (Emma was a plus-2 in the game), Salve is 9-7 on the season and 7-2 in its first season in the New England Hockey Conference (NEHC). The Seahawks are currently third in the league standings.

The only thing better than getting to play with your sister is winning with your sister and Emma and Reese are both hoping to cap the season with a run at a title.

“Winning the conference has been the goal since the beginning of the season,” Reese said. “I just think it’s about who’s going to heat up at the right time and I feel like we have that potential. I’m also just looking forward to cherishing the moments with my sister and the rest of the team, day-in, day-out.”

“I would love to make a little playoff run,” Emma said. “No better way to end than a little Cinderella season. I also just want to have fun with all of my teammates because you don’t get the chance to play with 30 of your best friends very often and I only get a few more months of it.”