Talking on the phone about his team and how it truly earned its first playoff berth, Pembroke hockey coach Marc Noel was asked if he was pleased with his team’s play as it enters the most exciting time in program history.

Like any coach knows, those types of questions are perhaps best answered by the team itself. So, Noel turned it over to the source.

“So guys, how do you think we’re playing right now?” Noel said as he turned from the phone receiver to his players, who were watching film of a recent game.

Shouts of “good” and “excellent” floated in from the background as Noel brought his cell phone back to his ear.

“Did you get any of that?” The message was loud and clear, though a phone call wasn’t necessary to convey it. With wins in three of its last four games to close the regular season, Pembroke certainly made sure all those in Division III got the message of the brand of hockey it’s played of late. The Spartans closed the year with a 6-1 win over Con-Val on Saturday, Feb. 24, not long after testing Souhegan in a 7-4 loss on Feb. 21 and defeating Belmont- Gilford, 4-1, the weekend prior.

Thanks to that strong finish and Laconia’s 6-2 loss to Somersworth on Feb. 21, the Spartans clinched their first playoff berth in at least five years, and in essence, it’s first postseason trip ever. The last time Pembroke made the playoffs, the state featured only two divisions and every team involved made it to the second season.

That’s made it all the sweeter for the Spartans this year as they’ve charged into the state tournament as the league’s sixth and final seed. They are scheduled to face third-seeded Souhegan for the second time in 10 days, on Saturday, March 3, for the right to play Kennett four days later in the semifinals.

Though it dropped both regular- season contests to the Sabres by 7-4 and 5-3 margins, Pembroke is still optimistic, especially considering Souhegan’s last game, a 4-1 loss to Portsmouth on Saturday. The setback cost it a first-round bye, while it moved the Clippers past Pembroke into the fifth seed for the playoffs.

More importantly, Noel said, it proved that any of the league’s teams is capable of taking one another down at any time.

“I was just watching the film (from the 7-4 loss to Souhegan) a few moments ago, and we pretty much dominated for the first five minutes of play,” Noel said.

“The breakdown for us is mental mistakes. We have to minimize the mental mistakes during the game, both on offense and defense, and if we can do that, I think we have a very good opportunity to surprise them.”