AUBURN — Coach Dana Berube was confident the freshman class would come in and make an impact for the Edward Little/Leavitt/Poland/Monmouth/Oxford Hills girls hockey team.

The first-year players, led by Leksi Langevin, Adalyn Martin and Paige Fecteau, have delivered and helped the Red Hornets to a 4-2-2 start.

“Honestly, they’re kind of meeting what I expected out of a couple of them because they’re just good hockey players,” Berube said. “They’re mature for their age. They’re competitive. If you see the way they work in practice, they get the results that they do when they’re out in the game, so that’s been really good.”

Junior defender Avery Cologna said the Red Hornets expected to be better than last season, when they went 7-12, and the freshman have provided an extra boost.

“We’ve been doing actually really good this year, compared to last year,” Cologna said. “A lot of our newcomers have helped us a lot this year. I think we’ve built structure more as a team, and we’ve bonded more this year.”

Langevin leads the Red Hornets with 17 goals and seven assists in eight games, while Martin has eight goals and four assists and is second in points on the team. Fecteau, who has played goalie in all eight games this season, ranks fifth in the state with a 2.38 goals-against average (minimum five games) and fourth with a .896 save percentage.

The freshmen class also includes Adeline Langan (two goals, two assists), Fiona Connolly, Savannah Boulay (two assists) and Phaedra DiBiase (one goal, one assist).

Berube said Langevin’s practice habits make her “a special player,” and that Martin is a great skater and stickhandler. The two play on the same line and both attend Poland Regional High School.

“I think the chemistry between us has been good because we both go to the same school and we’re friends on and off of the ice, which helps us find and know where she’s going to be or I’m going to be on the ice,” Langevin said.

Fecteau skated with the Edward Little co-op the past few seasons. She enjoyed the challenge of facing high schoolers while she was in middle school, and also was able to get to know some her future teammates.

“It was actually, it was really exciting,” Fecteau said. “I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time, been waiting a long time, practicing with them sometimes, just getting ready, but it was really nice to finally join this team.”

Berube compared Fecteau’s readiness to play her freshman year to former Red Hornets goalie Manny Guimond, who won the 2020 Becky Schaffer Award.

Team chemistry has been a key reason for the Red Hornets’ success this season. Part of that was developed through playing youth hockey together combined with the culture of the team.

“The team is really supportive of each other,” Fecteau said. “If somebody, like, needs help or is tired, they get out and somebody else comes in, or we’re always there to support each other and back each other up.”

Berube said the Red Hornets’ challenging schedule has helped the young group adjust to the high school level. They have already played two-time defending North champion Yarmouth/Freeport twice, including a 3-3 tie on Nov. 30. They tied the Penobscot Pioneers 2-2 and defeated the Portland co-op 8-3. They also have two wins over the York co-op and one over Greely/Gray-New Gloucester.

The Red Hornets dropped their season-opener against Brunswick on Nov. 27, then didn’t lose again until a 5-3 setback to Yarmouth/Freeport on Dec. 31.

“So, really, we’ve been super competitive in every game. So that, I’m really excited about,” Berube said. “So now it’s get back to work and get ready for some other big games coming up.”

Berube said he’s still teaching the team how to play with a lead, as well as mental toughness and avoiding both overconfidence and frustration.

Cologna said this year’s success is just the beginning for the Red Hornets, especially with a roster that has only three seniors.

“I think it’ll only get better as years go on,” Cologna said. “We’re expecting more next year.”