Harrington Invitational: Full preview and schedule for 2025

The Harrington Invitational is usually one of the top girls prep holiday tournaments to take in.

That remains the case for the 44th edition of the tournament.

Defending champion Williston Northampton is once again one of the top contenders in the NEPSAC. The same goes for perennial power Nobles.

A high-flying St. Paul's squad will surely be a factor during the weekend, and there's upset potential with BB&N, Milton Academy and St. Mark's. Lawrence Academy and Westminster could be tough outs, too.

Milton Division: Milton Academy, St. Mark’s, St. Paul’s, Williston Northampton
Nobles Division: BB&N, Lawrence Academy, Nobles, Westminster

Friday, Dec. 19, at Nobles

• Nobles vs. BB&N, 9:30 a.m.
• Westminster vs. Lawrence, 11:30 a.m.
• St. Paul’s vs. Milton, 1:30 p.m.
• Williston vs. St. Mark’s, 3:30 p.m.
• Nobles vs. Westminster, 5:30 p.m.
• Lawrence vs. BB&N, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Dec. 20, at Milton Academy

• Milton vs. St. Mark’s, 8:30 a.m.
• Williston vs. St. Paul’s, 10:30 a.m.
• Lawrence vs. Nobles, 12:30 p.m.
• BB&N vs. Westminster, 2:30 p.m.
• Milton vs. Williston, 4:30 p.m.
• St. Mark’s vs. St. Paul’s, 6:30 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 21, at Nobles

• No. 4 Nobles vs. No. 4 Milton, 8 a.m.
• No. 3 Nobles vs. No. 3 Milton, 10 a.m.
• Consolation: No. 2 Nobles vs. No. 2 Milton, 12 p.m.
• Championship: No. 1 Nobles vs. No. 1 Milton, 2 p.m.

Let's dive into the top storylines to watch at this year's Harrington Invitational.

1. Will it go chalk with Williston and Nobles?

You've got the top two teams in our girls prep rankings headlining the field between No. 1 Williston and No. 2 Nobles. Will they be on a collision course for the championship?

The Wildcats are 2-0-0 to begin the season, taking down St. Paul's and shutting out then-No. 5 Cushing. Christa Talbot Syfu's squad features high-end talent throughout. Up front, there's Cornell commit Brooke Schlutter, Yale commit Mia Daley (Lynnfield, Mass.), Holy Cross commit Caroline Doherty (Hingham, Mass.), as well as other forwards like Brenna Ziter (Williston, Vt.), Zola Piekarski (Concord, Mass.), Riley Stocker and Ava Carr (Medway, Mass.).

There's also plenty of experience on the blue line, too, between Holy Cross commit Nina Coffee (Old Lyme, Conn.), Amherst commit Yasmine McKenzie (Holden, Mass.) and UNH commit Catie Putt (Norfolk, Mass.). Junior goalie River Grady (Bedford, N.H.) and freshman Olivia Arsenault have been stout in one start each.

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Nobles, meanwhile, is scorching. The Bulldogs are 5-0-0 and lead prep in total offense with a 27-3 scoring differential. Uncommitted senior Rachel Zhao (Westwood, Mass.) has been unconscious thus far with 13 points (nine goals) in five games. Sophomore defender Nora Shea (Braintree, Mass.) isn't far behind with 10 points (three goals), while Zhao's linemates, Francie Ames (Brookline, Mass.; nine points) and Princeton commit Lily Bromley (Carlisle, Mass.; eight points) have been red-hot, too.

Sophomore Catherine McCool (West Roxbury, Mass.), Yale commit Gretta Hulbig (Foxboro, Mass.) and senior defender Maddie Jaeger (Westwood, Mass.) each have five points in five games as well. Four other skaters, including Yale commit Ava Decourcey (Rockland, Mass.), have also found the back of the net. Yale commit Annika Jonas (Weston, Mass.) is one of the top goalies in prep, too.

Both teams play winning brands of hockey. Williston routinely overwhelms opponents with an up-tempo game, while Nobles wears teams down with relentless forechecking. It's no wonder they're atop the prep landscape and among the favorites in the Harrington once again.

2. St. Paul's enters red-hot

Only Nobles has scored more goals than St. Paul's in prep so far. The Big Red boast a 25-7 differential after rattling off three straight shutouts last week, taking down Lawrence Academy, Middlesex and Holderness with a 13-0 differential.

They also have a 10-3 win over Brewster, with the lone blemish coming in a 4-2 loss against Williston.

Fortunately for SPS, they'll get a rematch with Williston, facing them on Saturday morning. The Big Red upset the Wildcats in a Saturday-morning tilt in the 2024 Harrington, avenging an earlier loss. SPS will also face Milton Academy on Friday and St. Mark's on Saturday evening.

The production hasn't come from just a handful of players, either. Kelli Mackey's group has been getting key contributions throughout.

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Freshman Kelsey MacPherson (Hopkinton, Mass.) leads the way with 10 points (three goals). Not far behind is junior Boston University commit Erin Flaherty (Boston, Mass.) with nine points (four goals), as well as sophomore defender Maddy Humber (Concord, Mass.) with eight points (two goals).

Three other skaters also have five points in five games: senior SUNY Plattsburgh commit Tess Mulkerron (Concord, N.H.), sophomore forward Cadence Crowley (North Reading, Mass.) and senior Brown commit Maggie Berleth (Manchester, N.H.). Four other skaters have found the back of the net as well, including three with two goals apiece.

SPS has depth up front to go along with defenders like Humber, Berleth, Middlebury commit Chelsea Bell (Barre, Vt.) and Emma Burke (Braintree, Mass.) who can push for offense.

Neither junior Paige MacPhee nor freshman Julia Alessandro (Barrington, R.I.) has been tested a ton in the wins, although MacPhee made 48 saves against Williston. MacPhee is also coming off a strong showing for the 19U Boston Junior Eagles at the Mass. Hockey state tournament.

3. Can Milton Academy get going?

The Mustangs are without a win so far, sitting 0-2-1. They've also played a challenging schedule against Thayer, New Hampton and No. 9 Phillips Exeter.

It won't get easier at the Harrington, where Milton will open with St. Paul's before facing St. Mark's and Williston. That's not exactly the schedule you're hoping to see when you're searching for your first win.

But the Mustangs showed promise in their tie with Thayer in the opener, forechecking hard, capitalizing on mistakes and getting stout goaltending from Ava Scannell (Arlington, Mass.). The senior Northeastern commit is Milton's path to upsets.

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If the likes of Mary (Holy Cross) and Sadie Quatrale (Pembroke, Mass.), McKenna Ruland and Molly Gooch (Scarborough, Maine) can force turnovers and score timely goals up front, the Mustangs will be in good shape. Ruth Chen and Clara Ryan (Chestnut Hill, Mass.) will be key on defense, too.

4. What to make of BB&N?

We could learn a lot about the new-look Knights this weekend. Jori Balsam's group enters at 2-2-0, with top-10 losses to Dexter and Deerfield, bookended by wins over Pomfret and Brooks.

BB&N gets a tough draw with Nobles out of the gates before taking on Lawrence and Westminster.

So far, the Knights' top forwards have been as advertised. Brown commits Anika Singh (Lexington, Mass.) and Kate Glantz (Burlington, Mass.) each have four points in four games. Power forwards Molly Halloran (Belmont, Mass.) and Mary Murray (Hingham, Mass.) each have three points.

Freshman defender Sydney Young (Needham, Mass.) has had a terrific start to her prep career with four points in four games, too, while experienced blue-liners Aislin VanVliet (Belmont, Mass.) and Zoe Beck (Lincoln, Mass.) have chipped in goals. Junior goalie Barbara Ma (Cambridge, Mass.) will be an X-factor, too. She had over 31 saves against Dexter and 35 against Deerfield.

I'll be curious to see if BB&N's experienced leaders can continue to get it done, and which youngsters can step up. The Knights did reach the Harrington final last year.

5. Can St. Mark's shock its division?

The Lions are 2-3-0 heading into the Harrington after making a Cinderella run to the Small School final last March. They've shut out Westminster and Pomfret and lost to Nobles, Deerfield (in overtime) and Portsmouth Abbey.

St. Mark's will have its work cut out for itself against Williston, St. Paul's and Milton.

Nevertheless, Kerstin Matthews' squad has skill both up front and on defense, which will make them one of the more interesting sleepers to watch this weekend.

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Allie Sauls and Caroline Kreuz (Worcester, Mass.), two standouts with the 16U Boston Junior Eagles, have rolled right into the prep season with strong starts. Sauls is already on her way to a breakout year with five points (three goals) in five games. She had six points (five goals) last season. Kreuz isn't far behind with three points (one goal), already matching her output from last winter. Sophomore Sammi Ruzzo (North Smithfield, R.I.) and newcomer Jocelyn Gray (Hanover, Mass.) provided boosts as well with three points (one goal) each.

Junior defender Kayleigh Koen (Canton, Mass.) has kept momentum from a strong fall with the 19U Junior Eagles as well, posting four assists. Abbey Deroeve (Charlestown, Mass.) is a key addition on defense, too. Freshman goalies Melanie Allen (Norwood, Mass.) and Erin Drew (Methuen, Mass.) have been busy in net.

6. Can Lawrence Academy and Westminster pull off upsets?

Lawrence (0-4-0) and Westminster (0-3-0) are each searching for their first wins heading into the weekend. They'll open the Harrington with a head-to-head on Friday, before facing BB&N and Nobles in the remainder of group play.

LA has lost to Choate, St. Paul's, Tabor and St. George's, getting outscored 16-2. Nikki Petrich's group will rely on Assumption commit Courtney Shifrin  (Southboro, Mass.) to get them going, along with sophomore forwards Violet Safari (Wayland, Mass.) and Kylie Livingstone (Auburn, N.H.), along with defender Katelyn Nickerson (Framingham, Mass.). Goalies Keagan Gray (Canton, Mass.) and Olivia Doucette (South Hamilton, Mass.) could steal a game, too.

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Westminster, meanwhile, fell to St. Mark's, The Hill School, Kent and Loomis Chaffee with a 16-3 differential. Top junior forwards Bella Zapata, a Stonehill commit, and Mya Polastry (West Springfield, Mass.) each have a goal and an assist. Their skill will need to shine through. Senior defender Izzy Hurkala (Darien, Conn.) has found the back of the net, too. Junior goalies Kate Epke (Guilford, Conn.) and Liesel Kocourek have been busy so far.

7. Uncommitted prospects to track

Up to this point, you may have caught on that there are a lot of high-end college commits taking the ice this weekend, be they the stars for Williston, Nobles, St. Paul's, BB&N and more.

But what about the uncommitted upperclassmen still looking for a commitment?

Zhao has got to be at or near the top of that list of prospects. The right-shot forward is strong, good on the forecheck and can finish around the net. After back-to-back 20-plus-point seasons as a sophomore and junior, the senior is well on her way to a career season.

MacPhee, who was among our uncommitted 19U standouts from the Mass. state tournament, is coming off a solid sophomore year at St. Paul's in which she posted a .919 save percentage. In a small sample so far, she has a .924.

Meanwhile, Williston's Stocker plays a powerful game that has translated to two strong seasons in prep already. She had 18 points (eight goals) as a freshman before 12 points (11 assists) as a sophomore. The junior, who is also a standout with the 19U Connecticut Polar Bears, drives hard to the net and finds open space.

BB&N and St. Mark's have a handful of hopefuls to keep an eye on, too.

Halloran took a big step forward as a sophomore last season for BB&N, and the power forward is off to a good start this season. She finds a lot of success around the net. Murray, another junior, has started well, too. On the blue line, VanVliet has good awareness and poise with the puck on breakouts and in transition. Ma is also coming off a terrific sophomore season in net with a .941 save percentage.

A pair of defenders to watch are St. Mark's Koen and Milton's Chen. Koen is steady in all three zones and has a good reach at 5-foot-7. She showed well at the Mass. state tournament. Chen, meanwhile, isn't afraid to take chances and has good straight-line speed.

Westminster's Polastry is a good puck-carrier who gets to the net and has solid vision. She was among our breakout forward candidates entering the season, along with Halloran and Murray. VanVliet was one of our breakout defender candidates.

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