It didn't take long for Cushing to re-establish itself among the NEPSAC's best. After narrowly missing the playoffs in 2023-24, the Penguins roared back.
No one in prep won more games in the regular season than Cushing, who went 24-7-1. They reached the Elite 8 as the No. 7 seed before falling to eventual champion Loomis Chaffee in the quarterfinals. It was a big jump from the previous season's 14-14-1 finish.
"We had a really strong season. We were an offensive force," Penguins coach Brandy Fisher-Bailey said.
Cushing will have a new look as it looks to build on last season's success, with Fisher-Bailey taking over as coach after Valerie Bono-Bunker retired, following eight seasons behind the bench.
Fisher-Bailey already has a year at Cushing under her belt after serving as associate head coach last season. She previously coached at Thayer from 2021-2024. That experience will be key, as well as a deep, seasoned returning core.
"We have the same great, strong leadership from last year that is going to come right back this year, so we're pretty lucky about that," Fisher-Bailey said.
So, what will it take for Cushing to find another level?
Plenty of firepower up front
No one in prep scored more goals than Cushing last season.
The Penguins have a chance to replicate the same production with a deep group of elite firepower returning to the fold, including 10 of their top 12 scorers from last winter.
"We have three or four lines that can put the puck in the net, so I'd definitely say our team identity will be (offense)," Fisher-Bailey said. "We're going to constantly be talking about getting to the net, fighting for pucks. That's how we play anyway."
Among the headliners is sophomore Bella Freitas (Everett, Mass.), who instantly became one of the NEPSAC's most dangerous offensive threats as a freshman last winter. She finished with 25 goals and 43 points in 33 games.
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"When she came her freshman year and stepped in, you would have never known that she'd never played in this league," Fisher-Bailey said. "I think her not understanding sort of the lay of the land was what made her so good.
"She'd go out against, say, Williston, and there was no stress or anxiety. She just went out and scored goals. I think her not knowing what she didn't know was probably one of her most positive traits."
Freitas turned heads at Mass. Hockey's Festival and Final 40, and she plied her trade against some of the nation's best prospects at USA Hockey's Under-18 Women's National Festival in August. The Penguins believe she's only beginning to scratch the surface.
"She's just gotten bigger, and she trains really hard," Fisher-Bailey said. "Her confidence, her strength and her speed just keep getting better, and she's not even close to her ceiling, which is really fun."
Freitas also drew a comparison to a star that Fisher-Bailey coached at Thayer.
"She's a super committed, hard-working and modest kid who doesn't know how good she is. She doesn't take anything for granted," Fisher-Bailey said. "She kind of reminds me of Morgan McGathey. They're different styles of players, but they have that sort of grind, passion and work ethic with their habits and not really knowing how good they are in our league."
McGathey (Braintree, Mass.), one of the region's top prospects, is beginning her freshman season at Harvard after a dominant, prolific prep career. She led the NEPSAC in scoring last winter.
In addition to Freitas, Cushing brings back five other 20-plus point-getters in senior New Hampshire commit Madi Soderquist (Woburn, Mass.), senior Stonehill commit Julia Lambert (Wilmington, Mass.), junior Brooke Fallon (Bedford, N.H.), senior Stonehill commit Brooke Harb (Atkinson, N.H.) and senior St. Anselm commit Lily Winckler.
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Harb, Lambert and Soderquist will make up three of Cushing's four captains this season.
Soderquist posted 20 goals and 38 points, while Lambert had 18 goals and 28 points. Fallon finished with 25 points (10 goals), while Harb (23 points) and Winckler (20 points) each had 14 goals. Molly Bardol (Walpole, Mass.) is also back after scoring 18 points (four goals) as a freshman.
Like Freitas, they'll be at the forefront of a loaded forward group.
"We have a lot of goal-scorers, and we need them to continue to stay focused and do that," Fisher-Bailey said. "They all need to continue to share the puck. They did a good job of that last year, and it didn't matter who scored. That's what's really fun to see. ... We could put any line out last year and they could get the job done."
Tightening up defensively
One area of focus for the Penguins will be the back end. While the Penguins had prep's top offense, they also gave up the most goals-against (74) of any Elite 8 team.
"We can't just rely on our offensive force," Fisher-Bailey said. "We have a lot of great firepower up front, but defensively, I think that's something we need to do a better job with this year. I know with the kiddos we have, we'll be able to do that."
Complicating matters is the fact that Cushing graduated four regulars from last season's defense. As such, the Penguins plan to ask a lot of their young, new-look blue line.
"We have some sophomores who are pretty strong," Fisher-Bailey said. "They're only sophomores, but they'll step up and be leaders on the blue line for us, for sure."
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Among the returners are sophomores Caroline Harrington, Blake Metcalf (Scarborough, Maine), Natalia Maserati and Jaclyn King (Hanover, Mass.). The Penguins will also add sophomore Emersyn Fisher-Bailey (Duxbury, Mass.), Brandy's daughter, to the mix.
Harrington had nine points (two goals) on the blue line last year, while Maserati had four (one goal). Metcalf posted three points (one goal), and King had two assists. Fisher-Bailey had a career season as a freshman with Thayer, posting 14 assists after she had four points (three assists) as an eighth-grader.
"If you look at it, they've all played two to three years in the NEPSAC," Brandy Fisher-Bailey said. "So, they have to step right in and be ready to go, ready to compete, ready to advance the puck and to be leaders on our team, too."
One area of strength that will help ease the transition for the youngsters will be in net, where Cushing has two strong options.
Back in the fold is senior captain Sadie Bellissimo, an RPI commit. Bellissimo was one of the best goalies in prep last winter, posting a .933 save percentage amidst a high shot volume. The 928 shots she faced were by far the most of any Elite 8 goalie, nearly doubling the next closest total, which was the 584 shots Nobles' Annika Jonas (Weston, Mass.) faced.
"She's one of the best goaltenders in the NEPSAC," Fisher-Bailey said of Bellissimo.
The Penguins also added repeat junior Ines Khamis to the mix. Khamis, a standout with Assabet, played the previous two seasons at St. Mark's in a timeshare with Jackie Wright (Walpole, Mass.), who's now at Boston University. Khamis impressed as a sophomore with a .927 save percentage but dipped to an .873 marker last season.
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Fisher-Bailey understands the importance of being able to rely on two experienced goaltenders throughout the season.
"It's gonna be huge," Fisher-Bailey. We leaned on Sadie a ton last year, and our kids have a ton of confidence in both goalies. The coaching staff does as well. Having them ready to go every game and the fact that they can compete in practice and push each other, it's huge. Sadie has said numerous times she's excited to have that."
Building off of last season
Entering 2024-25, Bono-Bunker felt the Penguins had a chance to surprise some teams as things came together for what was also a big returning group.
It's safe to say it was mission accomplished as Fisher-Bailey felt Cushing proved itself among that upper echelon of teams.
This time around, the standard and competition will be even higher. Improving upon last winter's run will be easier said than done.
Teams want to play Cushing, they want to beat Cushing and they want to upset Cushing," Fisher-Bailey said. "It's going to be magnified this year."
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Couple the returning firepower with valuable experience playing in meaningful games down the stretch in February and March, the expectations are even higher for the Penguins.
"Our goal is to win the whole thing this year," Fisher-Bailey said. "We did get a taste of the Elite 8, and we don't love the way the season ended. So, with that, we have a lot to work on and a lot to prove this year. Teams are going to be coming at us hard, so we're gonna be prepared to attain the goals we're gonna set for ourselves."
