Paige Galpin knew from a very young age that she wanted to be a goaltender.
Watching her between the pipes, it seems like a role she was destined to play – always cool, calm and collected, Galpin looks at ease in net, stopping most every puck that gets shoveled her way. It’s part talent, part hard work, part chemistry – she’s grown up playing hockey, and the netminder has laced up her skates with a few of her current Easthampton High School teammates since they were young.
“I grew up playing with a lot of these boys. We all grew up playing Nonotuck, so I was familiar with all of them growing up and they’re always like brothers to me,” Galpin said. “We’re very close. They’ve always respected me, supported me.”
But though she’s played boys’ hockey most of her life, she never got the chance to play on a team with her own brother, Tyler, until this year, when she joined an Easthampton varsity squad that Tyler captains. Both Galpins grew up playing the sport, and are thick as thieves, but their age gap and Paige’s decision to make the switch to girls’ hockey at the age of 12 kept them apart until now.
Now that Tyler’s a senior, it’s one of their last chances to join forces on the ice, something that Paige said factored into her decision to switch back to boys’ hockey.
“I really grew up watching my brother’s first couple years playing. I grew up playing boys hockey myself. When I was around 12 years old I started playing girls hockey, and I loved that. I had a good time with Pope [Francis], I played with the girls over the summer, but turned back to boys [hockey] and fell in love with it again,” Galpin said. “I love being here. I love playing for this team. They’re a great group of boys and they really respect me, which is really great.”
The Galpins form the backbone of the Easthampton squad. Paige, only a sophomore, is quite literally the team’s last line of defense, and though the season is early, she’s proven more than capable of taking control in net. Tyler is one of the team’s strongest leaders both on the ice and in the locker room with the ‘C’ on his chest.
“He’s very vocal in the locker room. He says things that I don’t have to say – even though I want it to be said, but he’ll do it for me. So that’s great to have,” Easthampton head coach Tim Pfau said. “I let kids vote on captains… You can’t vote for yourself, (and) he had 19 out of 20 ballots as number one. He had every kid but himself as that ‘C,’ so he’s earned that locker room, he’s earned the respect.”
This is Pfau’s first year as the varsity head coach of the Eagles, and his first year coaching Paige. He’s been blown away by her talent in the limited time he’s seen her play. In just her first game with the Eagles, Galpin had to make some truly jaw-dropping saves, and it’s only furthered Pfau’s respect for her talent.
“I think it’s awesome that she’s here with us. Even that save in the third [period] where she drove across the crease, that kept us in the game at that point,” Pfau said on Galpin’s play against Greenfield in the season opener last week. “She could go as far as she wants, and she’s got the skills. I thought she was eating pucks that first period, they were bombarding her, and I said, ‘Wow. She’s got the skills.’”
But more importantly than Tyler’s leadership and Paige’s goaltending talent is the bond the two have as siblings. Hockey, like many sports, is a game where chemistry is an incredibly important intangible in team-building. For Paige and Tyler, who have quite literally grown up together, that connection is rock solid.
“It’s a dream come true for me, really. I’ve always wanted to play with my sister, just to have that special bond on and off the ice is just incomparable,” Tyler said. “It’s the greatest feeling ever knowing that I can trust the person in the net more than anybody I ever have in my entire life, because she’s my sister… She’s my best friend and honestly the greatest sister I can ever ask for.”
“He’s a great leader, a great role model for me,” Paige said. “He’s always supporting me since day one, since the first time I put on skates, he’s been there for me.”
It’s a perfect way for Tyler to finish out his high school hockey career, and for Paige to jump back into the boys hockey sphere. The two of them will play side-by-side for the rest of the season, exactly the way they’d hoped to. Though Tyler is going to miss his sister when he graduates next spring, he’s glad they’ll be able to make one more year of memories together.
“I love you Paige, if you’re reading this, and I’m so excited and thankful that you’re playing goalie behind me in my final year of youth hockey, so thank you for everything. I’m gonna miss you,” Tyler said.