By Andy Hutchison

WESTPORT — The Staples hockey team is joining forces with Norwalk and Brien McMahon high schools to form “STORMAC,” with coach Matt Bohn and company looking forward to a solid season. 

The team includes 11 players from Staples, six from McMahon and three from Norwalk High.

The STORMAC name is derived from “ST (Staples), “OR” (Norwalk) and “MAC” (McMahon).

“It definitely helps with the lineup, as neither program would have had enough to field a team this year,” Bohn said. “Even with the low numbers, we have a lot of guys from all three schools who are going to be pieces and important to our success on and off the ice.”

Captains from Staples are senior defenseman Harry Goodburn and senior forward Cooper Paul, along with McMahon senior forward Thatcher Cullen, McMahon junior defenseman Mac Lawton and Norwalk junior D man Austin Minoff.

Among other key players are Staples sophomore goaltender Alistair Mukhtar and McMahon junior forward Berkeley Johnson.

“The boys have been working hard and, more importantly, coming together as one unit. My biggest goal for us this year is to see us really build chemistry and support for one another,” the coach said. “Starting a new co-op like this is never super smooth, but if the players understand that we’re in this together, a lot of good can happen sooner than later.

“We have a strong leadership group. Coaches met with the captains before the season to discuss leadership skills and how they can effectively bring guys along,” Bohn added. “The captains bought in early and have done a great job leading by example in these first two weeks. We’ll keep trying to stack great days on top of each other and get a little better every week.”

STORMAC opens the season at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday when the Joel Barlow co-op squad comes to the Milford Ice Pavilion.

The team looks forward to a Jan. 20 contest with Milford, which shares a home rink with the Staples-led squad. Face-off is at 1 p.m.

Bohn dubbed it the “Battle of the Barn.” The team also will host a “Shoulder Check” game that day to raise awareness about mental health.

(Game schedules are subject to change; click for the latest updates.)

Andy Hutchison has been covering school sports — including Staples athletics — as well as news and feature stories in Fairfield County, since the 1990s.