The streets are silent and almost empty at 10 p.m. in Marion on a Wednesday night. But inside Tabor Academy’s Travis Roy Ice Rink, the thwack of stick against puck echoes through the arena.

Without an indoor rink at either school, the combined Old Rochester Regional/Fairhaven High School hockey team keeps late hours or none at all. That comes with the sport says Eric Labonte, the team's new head coach and former assistant coach at Bishop Stang High School.

“If you’ve been playing hockey long enough, you've played early and you've played late,” said Labonte.

That’s something many of Labonte’s players are just learning. Like Labonte, the team is full of newcomers.

“We’re really young,” said Labonte. Since last year, the team players to Tabor Academy and most of its seniors.

“We’ve got 15 sophomores, freshmen, and eighth graders,” said the coach. “It’s a learning experience, but next year and the year after the team should be pretty consistent.”

Being young, several team members admitted that they are smaller than most of their competition.

Their size is something of an advantage said sophomore Mason Evich.  “We want it more than the other team. Don’t underestimate us.”

Labonte said the front end of the team’s schedule was challenging, and he’s been focusing on developing the players' skills and helping them to play “with their heads up.”

“We played a lot of really difficult teams,” he said. “The next part of our schedule should ease up on us.”

Despite the challenges facing them, the hockey players season record for the league is 6-5-2.

That has to do in part with the unity on the team. Though the two schools might be rivals in other sports, they get along well in the rink.

With his hands in his pockets and coat zipped up (it’s colder inside than out) hockey dad Doug Pinard watches his son Benjamin and the rest of the team during many of the late night practices.

“They are starting to click and come together,” said Pinard.

Freshman Chris Nadeau is holding out for an South Coast Conference win.

"We have a lot of heart on our team," he said.