The prep and MIAA hockey seasons are officially behind us.
With that, the focus for some of the region's best skaters shifts back to the club scene with USA Hockey Nationals.
Massachusetts held its championships back in the fall after Thanksgiving. The Boston Jr. Eagles won the 19U division, automatically advancing to nationals. The East Coast Wizards earned an at-large bid. Meanwhile, NAHA won the USA Hockey High School National Championship earlier this month to qualify for nationals.
Meanwhile, the New England district just held its regional championships earlier in March. The Mid-Fairfield Stars won the 19U division, and the Connecticut Polar Bears also qualified for nationals.
All the national tournaments will be held April 2-7. The 19U Tier I tournament will be in Wesley Chapel, Fla., while Tier II will be in East Lansing, Mich., beginning April 3.
We'll break down the region's 16U and 14U representation later. For now, let's dive into how the 19U's stack up.
19U Tier I
There won't be any shortage of players to keep track of in this group down in Florida. This is where most of the stars in the NEPSAC this past season will showcase their skills. Each team is stacked with local talent.
Looking at the Jr. Eagles, there's Nobles standout defenders Sophia Levering (Westwood, Mass.) and Olivia Maffeo (Canton, Mass.), plus goalie Anya Zupkofska (Braintree, Mass.) Each will make the jump to the Division 1 ranks next season with Levering off to Yale, Maffeo to Boston College and Zupkofska to Brown. There's also rising senior Calleigh Brown (Foxboro, Mass.), Nobles' uncommitted top-line center. This could be a big showcase for her after a career season.
The Eagles also boast Tabor defender Kaitlin Sullivan (Needham, Mass.), who will play at Holy Cross next season. Also among the Seawolves' contingent are leading scorers Ayla Abban (Duxbury, Mass.), who will head to Amherst, and Lizzy Greeley (Hyde Park, Mass.), who is uncommitted.
Another Jr. Eagle to watch is St. Paul's Cami Bell (Barre, Vt.). One of the best scorers in the NEPSAC, she'll head to Yale next season. There's also Deerfield rising senior Allison Corrieri (Devens, Mass.) on the blue line. The former MIAA standout had a strong debut season in the prep ranks. Uncommitted Groton senior Veronika Hadamovsky (Groton, Mass.) is another option in net.
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The East Coast Wizards also have a large group to watch, filled with college commits as well. There's Williston stars in senior Caroline Aufiero (Belmont, Mass.), senior Monique Lyons (Bedford, Mass.), rising senior Nora Curtis and rising junior Zola Piekarski. Aufiero, a defender, will play at Clarkson next season, and Lyons, a forward and the NEPSAC's leading scorer this season, will play at Brown. Curtis is uncommitted, and Piekarski is sure to have plenty of college interest, too.
The Wizards also feature Phillips Andover junior and Yale commit Molly Boyle (Scituate, Mass.), as well as Nobles defender Jaime Griswold (Concord, Mass.), who's headed to BC next year. Nobles rising senior forward and Northeastern commit Molly MacCurtain (Reading, Mass.) is up front, too. There's also Thayer star Morgan McGathey (Braintree, Mass.), one of the best forward prospects in the area. She's a Harvard commit. Fellow Harvard commit and Groton senior Keira Ley (Wayland, Mass.) is on defense. Deerfield captain and leading scorer Annie Dinges (Woodstock, Conn) is also among the forwards. She's headed to Harvard next season as well.
The Wizards also feature a trio of BB&N standouts. There are forwards Meg Britt (Arlington, Mass.), who is headed to Bowdoin, and Hannah Weyerhaeuser (Cambridge, Mass.), a junior Yale commit. Goalie Alexsa Caron (Dracut, Mass.) is fresh off an MVP performance in the Large School tournament. She'll be at Stonehill next season. There will be a pair of New Hampton rising senior standouts, too, with UConn defense commit True Thompson and Yale forward commit Kennedy Walker.
With NAHA, you have Kassidy Carmichael (Westford, Mass.), a forward committed to Ohio State for hockey and lacrosse. There's Boston College forward commit Alanna Devlin (Marshfield, Mass.) as well as forward Quinn Taylor (Centerville, Mass.). Fellow BC commit Keira Dempsey (Natick, Mass.) is a do-it-all defender. Carmichael has over 50 goals this season, while Devlin eclipsed 30.
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There's also plenty of NEPSAC star power with the Connecticut teams.
With the Polar Bears, you have Kent standout forwards Megan Duplantie and Mia Montanari (East Hampton, Conn.). Duplantie will play at Dartmouth next year, and Montanari will head to RPI. There's also senior uncommitted goalie Lauren Ferrari, who is coming off a .94 save percentage this season.
Williston rising senior Olivia Ferebee is another strong option in net. Wildcats captain Emily Hamann (Marlborough, Mass.), who will head to Harvard next season, is also up front. Westminster has a pair of strong forwards on the Polar Bears, too, between leading scorer Olivia Gordon (Avon, Conn.), and top goal-getter Adrienne Hall (Simsbury, Conn.). Gordon is off to Middlebury in the fall.
Princeton commit and Loomis Chaffee standout blue-liner Catie Collins (South Burlington, Vt.) is also one to watch with the Polar Bears. There's UNH commit Charlie Roach and Bowdoin commit Bella Schifano (South Portland, Maine) up front as well. Each was a point-per-game player at Hill and Frederick Gunn, respectively, this season.
Rounding out the 19U Tier I grouping is Mid-Fairfield.
Kent is heavily represented here as well with leading scorer Renee Bishop and her sister, Rachel Bishop. They're rising juniors. Quinnipiac commit and defender Sophie Rousseau (Kent, Conn.) will help lead the blue line.
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There's a pair of strong options in net, be it Loomis Chaffee's Leila Fournier (West Kingston, R.I.) or Westminster's Julia Matyas. Matyas had a .93 save percentage this season and will play at Sacred Heart next fall. Fournier is an uncommitted senior. She had a .95 save percentage this season. Loomis rising seniors Grace Morin and Chloe Obser, who each had 17 points, will be up front. Morin is committed to Brown, and Obser is committed to RPI.
Also with Mid-Fairfield are Choate's top scorers Caroline Holm (Cheshire, Conn.) and Norah Morris. The latter will head to Trinity next fall, while the former will play at SHU. There's also Berkshire's Emma McGowan (Burlington, Conn.), a Yale commit.
19U Tier II
Several players deserve mention in Tier II as well. Mid-Fairfield, the Jr. Eagles, the Wizards and the Casco Bay Mariners (Maine) will head to East Lansing.
Mid-Fairfield features the likes of Frederick Gunn standout forwards Jo Wimler (Portland, Conn.) and Jordan Hopping (Newington, Conn.). Choate rising sophomore defender Julianna Iannace is an interesting prospect to keep an eye on.
With the Jr. Eagles, you have Maddie Krepelka (Arlington, Mass.), who had a massive breakout at Nobles as a senior this season, and younger sister Julia Krepelka, a rising junior.
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North Yarmouth Academy's Bailee St. Hilaire (Lewiston, Maine) and Kailyn McIntyre (Brunswick, Maine) are coming off breakout seasons, too.
Looking at the Wizards, Lily Prendergast (Hanover, Mass.) is coming off a phenomenal season with Cushing that saw her put up a .93 save percentage, facing a high shot volume. She'll play at Vermont in the fall. Austin Prep rising junior Faith Steiner (Burlington, Mass.) had a massive season with 34 points in 28 games.
