Wareham has an iron butterfly in the net

Wareham senior Christina England dreams of the day she can wear a college hockey jersey. The idea of playing hockey in college is always in the back of her mind.

She would face the best competition. Wear her favorite number, 31. She would prove to herself she could do it. All she needs is a chance.

England knows how to handle tough situations, and has already proven her skills on the ice. She has played on a club team for five years, and is now the starting goaltender and only girl on the Wareham boys' hockey team, where she has the confidence of her teammates.

"When she gets out there and starts skating, she belongs out there with us," Wareham center Kyle Vicino said. "They can say all they want that she's a girl, but she's stopping the puck. She's earned that position."

England grew up loving hockey. Her older brothers Trevor and James both played. Their father, Rick England, played hockey and still catches a pickup game here and there.

When England was 8, she jumped at her first chance to be a goaltender. "It was something new and I knew I wanted to try it," England said.

She did well, and kept playing. Over time, the shots she was expected to block got stronger and stronger, and England's mother, Christal England, grew uncomfortable with her daughter playing in goal. Rick England was unsure at first, but gained confidence in his daughter's decision to play. "I don't have the fears I thought I might," he said.

Still, there were moments of concern, such as the time he watched his daughter take a puck in the face mask during a warm-up. Christina later said she could smell the rubber, it hit so hard.

"That made me nervous," her father said. "But her reaction was not to turn her back or go away.... She went right back to the next shooter."

England, who is 5 feet 7 and 155 pounds, says she has benefited from playing both with the boys and on girls' club teams. With the boys, she learned to take advantage of her positions when dealing with players with fast shots. With the girls, she has been able to perfect that skill and maneuver more efficiently.

For the past five years, she has played with the Cape Cod Sharks club team, where she honed her skills and developed friendships. (She also adopted the team's superstitions, including picking up their feet up and crossing their fingers when riding over railroad tracks; and she has to put her uniform on in a certain order on game day.)

"She's played in so many different tournaments and is a very strong butterfly goaltender," Wareham coach Ben Hathaway said. "She doesn't make many mistakes or get out of position."

Last year, Wareham won two games all season. This year, England said she is taking it upon herself to help the team move beyond that mark.

"Not only are you a girl on a guys' team, but you're someone very important on the team.... It puts a little more pressure on you to stay focused and make the saves," she said.

In the first game of the season, England had 43 saves in the 6-1 loss. Against Hull on Dec. 16, she stopped 21 of 25 shots in the 6-4 win.

"Her confidence level is high. You can tell in the way she blocks shots and the way she skates," said senior defenseman Chris McIntosh, who leads a defense that includes Teddy Ikkla. McIntosh said both rely on England to communicate during a game, and she does. "She's like the eyes behind my head," he said.

England said she hopes those skills will land her in a college program. Providence College is among the schools she has been in contact with. She took it upon herself to look up rosters to find out who needs a goaltender and who doesn't for the next three years.

No matter what the outcome, Rick England said, he has no doubt his daughter has the potential to be a goaltender in college.

"That's her dream," he said.

Monique Walker can be reached at mwalker@globe.com.