Published March 31, 2024 by Travis Lazarczyk, Portland Press Herald.
The senior led the state in scoring while leading the Portland co-op to the regional championship game.
Bob Mills coached Marina Bassett in her four years of high school hockey, and even he was surprised by some of the things she did on the ice this season.
“I think she was really in a class by herself this season,” said Mills, who coached Bassett on the South Portland/Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete co-op team for two seasons, then the past two as a member of the Portland Beacons when Portland and Deering joined the co-op. “Any time she had the puck on her stick, we had a scoring chance.”
A South Portland senior, Bassett was far and away the most prolific scorer in the state this season, with 58 goals and 17 assists for 75 points in 21 games. Bassett was a leader on a team that reached the South final and capped her season as winner of the Becky Schaffer Award, presented annually to the top senior girls hockey player in the state.
For her efforts, Bassett is the Varsity Maine Girls Hockey Player of the Year.
Bassett’s earned Varsity Maine All-State honors all four years. She finished with an eye-popping 150 goals and 78 assists for 228 points in her career. She hit two major milestones this season, scoring her 100th career goal in a 7-4 win over St. Dom’s on Dec. 7, and recording her 200th career point on Jan. 7 with a goal in a 9-3 win over York.
“I play hockey year-round, and knew I wanted my senior year would be special to me,” Bassett said. “I knew I had to play my best. That motivated me to go out and do the work.”
Bassett said she’ll work on her shot almost every day, as well as stick handling. That helped as she saw more attention from opposing defenses each season. Opponents would try to get the first forechecker on Bassett, Mills said, or shadow her through the neutral zone before a second layer of defense converged on Bassett once she arrived in the offensive zone. More often than not, it didn’t work.
Bassett scored at least one point in 19 of the Beacons’ 21 games. She scored three or more goals 13 times, including a midseason run of seven consecutive games in which Bassett recorded a total of 28 goals. The Beacons went 6-1 in those games.
“Her skating and stick-handling ability were always a plus, but what she did even better his year was escape pressure,” Mills said. “She had confidence and motivation right from the start.”
If Bassett wasn’t open, she was able to find a teammate. Jane Flynn (17 goals) and Libby Hooper (12 goals) were among the Beacons’ other scoring threats.
One of Bassett’s greatest assets on the ice sounds simple, Mills said, but it’s something rare to see in high school players: she never had to look down to make sure she still had the puck securely on her stick. Bassett sees the ice better than any player in the state, Mills said.
Bassett said that comes from knowing she put in the work.
“I make sure I keep my head up,” she said. “If I’m facing down the ice, I can make a play. You need to know you can trust yourself.”
Bassett plans to continue her hockey career next year at Rivier University. She said the recruiting process began when Bassett played in summer showcase tournaments. She then visited the school’s Nashua, New Hampshire, campus and met head coach Marykate Drinkwater. A 2020 graduate of the University of New England, Drinkwater began her coaching career as an assistant coach with the Biddeford co-op girls hockey team.
“I liked (Drinkwater), and I liked the school,” Bassett said.