Rachael Burum sped down the ice, breaking in alone on the Falmouth High goalie. With a pair of defensemen in pursuit, the Marshfield High sophomore waited until the last second to unleash the puck.

Her bid was denied by the Clippers goalie, and the referee’s whistle sounded sharply in Hobomock Arena in Pembroke.

Trailing 2-o in the first period of their late December matchup, the Rams were reeling.

Burum put her head down as she skated off for a line change. Before she reached the bench, she received a fist bump, along with a word of encouragement from teammate Olivia Mastrangelo as the fellow sophomore’s line took the ice.

That kind of support extends beyond the 20-game high school season.

Burum and Mastrangelo are also teammates on the Boston Breakers U-16 club team. Both are part of a growing number of girls, both prep and public, lacing up their skates for club hockey when their high school squads aren’t in season.

“To have two people on your team who play at that level for a majority of the year, almost twice as long as the high school year, helps,’’ said Don McNeil , coach at Marshfield, as well as the U-16 Breakers program.

“When they get [to high school], they’re a step above.’’

His Breakers start their season in June and play tournaments against other club teams from New England and Canada during the summer and fall.

There are practice sessions to work on skill development and summer league games against players from area Division 2 and 3 college programs. The regular club season starts in September, and usually ends around Thanksgiving, just before the start of the high school season.

McNeil said between the club and high school season, players like Burum and Mastrangelo can suit up for 60 games per calendar year.

“We’re definitely a lot closer on and off the ice,’’ Mastrangelo said. “We’re always together.’’

Burum says the pair have played together with the Breakers since fourth grade.

Often, in high school matchups, they will faceoff against teammates from their club team.

In a recent 1-0 win over Pembroke, Burum and Mastrangelo fired shots at goalie Kaitlyn Hathaway, a Breakers teammate.

“We’re all friends,’’ Burum said. “It’s frequent trash talk.’’

Participation in girls’ club hockey has soared in the past 20 years, and as the game continues to grow, players such as Burum and Mastrangelo are getting the chance to play.

Carl Gray , commissioner of the New England Girls Hockey League and the founder of the reknowned Assabet Valley club program, said that in the past two decades, the number of girls’ club teams has more than doubled — with over 180 active clubs in Southern New England alone.

“It gets competitive,’’ Gray said.

Tom Resor, longtime coach of the girls’ program at Noble & Greenough in Dedham, said all 24 players on his current roster play club.

“There’s many more programs in the greater Boston area for kids to choose from and I think it makes for better competition for the kids, and they don’t have to travel as much to play good competition,’’ Resor said, adding that girls who want to take their game to the collegiate level benefit from their club affiliation.

“The club teams probably get the most exposure,’’ Resor said.

“[Scouts] can keep tabs on kids who are a recruitable age and even look down the lines for younger kids.’’

Resor said that typically, scouts notice a player at a club event and then follow that girl’s progress once the high school season starts.

Nobles defenseman Lily Farden, a freshman from Hingham who plays for the U-16 East Coast Wizards, says she has already had discussions with colleges.

“There are so many more college coaches at club events than high school ones because you can see a lot of the good players playing in one place,’’ Farden said.

Farden said the Wizards mostly play in the fall season, so that she is able to balance her responsibilities with other sports.

“It’s really pretty easy [to balance],’’ said Farden, who also plays field hockey and lacrosse at Nobles.

“They organize it around high school sports so I never miss anything.’’

Archbishop Williams forward Emma Crocker, a senior from Abington, plays for the U-19 Breakers.

“[The club season] ends the day before the high school season starts, so it’s not like I’m sitting around for two weeks . . . it definitely prepares you.’’

Gordie McClay, athletic director at Archbishop Williams, said that the preparation and practice that players like Crocker received from the club ranks has made the high school game more competitive and exciting.

“If you had said to us, 15 years ago or 13 years ago that we’d see this kind of caliber game, I guess we thought ‘hopefully we’d get there,’’’ McClay said.

“It’s great hockey, it’s fun to watch.’’

McClay loves that the club game provides the flexibility to juggle other sports and academics. He said he hopes the best players don’t leave the high school game and play strictly club, which tends to happen on the boys’ circuit.

For McClay, the current balance is perfect.

“I’m hoping the girls never get there. I don’t mean that in a negative way,’’ McClay said.

“I just think high school girls hockey has come so far and has such a positive impact on the community. We want them to play.’’

Matt MacCormack can be reached at matt.maccormack@globe.com.