An ice hockey rivalry between Greenwich Academy, an established program that’s been competing for numerous seasons, and Greenwich Country Day, a new program just starting out, is forming.

On Thursday, the Gators and Tigers faced off at Chelsea Piers Connecticut and an outstanding performance by eighth-grader Kate Hall powered Greenwich Academy to victory.

Performing well beyond her years, Hall recorded a hat trick with one assist to lead Greenwich Academy to a 6-1 win over Greenwich Country Day School at Chelsea Piers in Stamford.

“We’re happy to play them, it’s a great competitive game every time we play them,” Greenwich Academy coach Erin Brawley said of playing GCDS. “A lot of them do know each other, so it’s always fun to play against your friends. We’ve enjoyed it.”

GA and GCDS tested their skills against each other three times last season and will meet again this winter on Feb. 13.

“GCDS has a good team, they did well,” Brawley said. “It was a closer game than 6-1. They worked hard and we worked hard and I am looking forward to the next one already.”

The win was the third of the season for GA, which held a 2-0 lead on Greenwich Country Day after the first period and a 3-0 advantage following two periods of action.

Hall ‘s unassisted goal with 13:38 remaining in the first period gave GA a 1-0 lead. Payton Williams scored off an assist from Rebecca Arpano, giving Greenwich Academy a 2-0 edge at the 5:08 mark of the opening period. In the second period, Hall struck again, this time scoring off a pass from Molly Roth, making it 3-0 with 15:18 left in the period.

“The first period, the girls were excited,” Brawley said. “The pucks weren’t bouncing our way, but they kept grinding and kept fighting through it. They found a way to grind it out and get two goals out of the period. We regrouped in the locker room and the second and third period were great. We killed off two 5-on-3 penalties, which was big for us. They were able to settle in and got the job done.”

Hall completed her hat trick with 11:48 to go in the third period, putting GA ahead, 4-0.

“She’s a great hockey player and is competitive and works hard in games,” Brawley said of Hall. “It was nice to see her get this first career hat trick. We’ve been working hard on the power play, so to get a power play goal was exciting for her and the team. Kate is a hard worker she a great defenseman and she has a big shot from the point.”

With the Gators on a power play, Williams scored off a Hall assist in the third period, making it 5-0. Chloe Cleves also assisted on the Gators’ fifth goal. At the 8:02 mark of the final period, Lila Cabot tallied off a Molly Roth assist for GA’s sixth goal.

Brawley was pleased with how GA created goals and scoring opportunities.

“This week in practice, we focused a lot on our forecheck and pinning teams in the zone,” Brawley said. “Once we pin them in, we want to win the battle and get to the net. The puck movement was great.”

Greenwich Country Day School got on the scoreboard when Victoria Tesoro scored with 2:03 left to play in the third period. Olivia Fagan assisted on Tesoro’s tally.

For Greenwich Academy, senior Liana Seeley made 15 saves in the winning effort. Morgan Dall had 24 saves for Greenwich Country Day. Up next for Greenwich Academy is a scrimmage game against Darien tomorrow at 12:30 p.m., then a game against Hotchkiss School on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. at Chelsea Piers Connecticut in Stamford.

Greenwich Country Day School plays Northfield Mount Hermon tomorrow at Chelsea Piers at 2:30 p.m.