Only one tournament in the girls prep postseason had a No. 1 seed win it all, let alone reach the championship.
In the Small School bracket, it was all New Hampton for the third straight year.
The No. 1 Huskies rolled to their third title in four straight tries after taking down No. 6 St. Mark's, 4-1, in Sunday's championship. Craig Churchill's squad outscored opponents 13-3 in the tournament. They knocked off No. 8 Frederick Gunn, 4-1, in the quarterfinals before taking care of No. 5 St. George's, 5-1, in the semifinals.
At the other end, St. Mark's was one of the best stories of the postseason, making a run to the championship after big-time upsets in the quarterfinals and semis. They shut out No. 3 Governor's, 2-0, before toppling No. 2 Rivers, 3-0.
Various players throughout the tournament had standout performances. Here's our All-Tournament team for the Dorothy Howard Small School field.
MVP: Caroline Thomas
What's most impressive about New Hampton's depth is that there were a handful of players with legitimate MVP cases to make along with Thomas. She took home the honors after putting up five points in three tournament games. She scored twice in the quarterfinals, had two assists in the semis and added an assist in the championship. Thomas was strong in all situations and made a lot of plays that didn't show up on the scoresheet. She provided the screen in front for Kelsey Baker's (Concord, Mass.) goal in the semis, and in the final, Thomas was a strong play-driver and won battles. The Middlebury commit had 22 points across her final 12 games, ending the year on a five-game point streak.
CHAMPS: Loomis survives Andover in Elite 8 | Deerfield blanks Tabor in Large School | New Hampton three-peats in Small School
All-Tournament Team
Forward: Caroline Thomas, New Hampton
Naturally. Thomas also made last season's All-Tournament team.
Forward: Ella Lefebvre, St. Mark's
Lefebvre (Grafton, Mass.) was one of the biggest factors in the Lions' postseason run. St. Mark's leading scorer, the senior potted both goals in the quarterfinals upset of Governor's, and she added another in the semifinals upset of Rivers. In the final, Lefebvre created chances for the Lions and had several opportunities to score.
Forward: Kelsey Baker, New Hampton
Several skaters could have slotted in the remaining forward spot, especially New Hampton's Trinity Walsh, but Baker takes it. Baker had two assists against Gunn, a goal in the semis and a goal in the finals. She was one of the best players on the ice in the championship, and had multiple Grade-A opportunities to score. She finally broke through when her shot ricocheted in off a defender. Go figure.
ALL-TOURNAMENT: All-Elite team | All-Large School team
Defense: True Thompson, New Hampton
Thompson caught fire down the stretch for the Huskies, taking that momentum into the tournament as she finished her season with a seven-game point streak. She had an assist in the quarterfinals and a pair of assists in both the semifinals and championship. One of her assists in the semis was a thing of beauty, floating a high saucer pass to Julia Loughlin (Scituate, Mass.) and sending her in on a 2-on-1. Thompson controlled the ice in all three zones and ran the power play effectively. The UConn commit ended her season with 25 points in her last 11 games.
Defense: Reese Luber, New Hampton
Luber (Norwood, Mass.) returned from a torn ACL midway through the season, and didn't miss a beat for the Huskies. The Williams commit scored in the closing moments of the championship with a one-timer from the left dot to seal the win. She also had a pair of assists in both the quarterfinals and semifinals, good enough for five points in three tournament games. Luber was our Small School tournament MVP and on the All-Tournament team last season.
PREP BRACKETS: Girls Elite 8 | Girls Large School | Girls Small School | Boys Elite 8 | Boys Large School | Boys Small School
Goalie: Jackie Wright, St. Mark's
Wright (Walpole, Mass.) was incredible in the Lions' postseason run. She posted back-to-back shutouts in upset wins in the quarterfinals and semifinals. The Boston University commit made 22 saves against No. 3 Governor's before a 33-save clean sheet against No. 2 Rivers. The 4-1 final in the loss to New Hampton wasn't indicative of how well Wright played as she finished with a whopping 42 saves. She gave St. Mark's every opportunity to win and was a major reason that the Lions held the Huskies at bay for as long as they did through the first two periods. She finished the postseason with a .961 save percentage. On the season, Wright had a .937 save percentage and six shutouts.
