Of the teams outside the Elite 8 last season, New Hampton had a case to lead the pack.
The Huskies captured their second straight Small School title in their third straight trip to the championship, beating Groton for the second year in a row. It capped off a 16-6-6 season for New Hampton, boasting one of the NEPSAC's most potent offenses.
After graduating just four seniors, the Huskies bring back nine of their top 10 leading scorers. Such a deep core will be a difference-maker for coach Craig Churchill.
"It's huge," Churchill said. "One of the biggest things as a coach is building culture, right? As I've been here now for 15 years, that culture is pretty solidified, so we know what we want, we have our principles and we have our habits as a team. When you have that many kids returning, you have less of that work to do, which is awesome. You can actually focus on the other stuff, like team building, skill development and habit development.
"We have such a great core group. Our seniors have been to the Small School championship three years in a row. So, they know what it takes to win. They know what it takes to be unselfish, to be a part of a team, to make sacrifices for the greater good. Having that group back is incredible."
The next step for New Hampton is the Elite 8. They have the firepower to compete in the upper echelon, but Churchill knows his group can't fixate on a singular outcome.
"We're very process-oriented," he said. "We set goals for ourselves, but the problem with goals is they inevitably allow you to become more results-focused, and we try to stay away from that. Obviously, the goal when you start the season is to win at the highest level possible, so for us, that's the Elite 8. That's always the goal, but that's not the focus. The focus is, what can we do as a group to become better this year than we were last year? If we can continue to get better, the results will fall into place."
A deep forward group
The Huskies have the luxury of returning their top six scoring forwards from last season.
Senior Julia Loughlin (Scituate, Mass.), a New Hampshire commit, will center the top line once again after leading New Hampton forwards with 31 points (14 goals) last season. Senior Yale commit Kennedy Walker is back on the wing after a 27-point (13-goal) season. Meanwhile, senior Middlebury commit Trinity Walsh will return to the lineup after missing last season with a torn ACL.
Churchill has high hopes for Walsh with a clean bill of health after a strong fall with the Boston Jr. Eagles U19s. He's eager to see her back playing with "reckless abandon."
"She's chomping at the bit to get going this season," he said. "My assistant coach saw her skating at a captain's skate and said, 'I didn't realize she was this good.' Trinity is the real deal.
"If she doesn't get hurt last year, she's playing Division 1 hockey somewhere next year. She's an absolute beast. There are those people that have such high compete, and you can't teach it. She's one of those kids."
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Churchill expects senior Colby commit Kayleigh Michaud-Nolan (Wells, Maine) to center the second line alongside senior Middlebury commit Caroline Thomas and junior Kelsey Baker (Concord, Mass.). Michaud-Nolan (five goals) and Thomas (12 goals) each had 23-point seasons last winter, and Baker had 22 points (12 goals).
"We're not over-coaching a lot on systems in the offensive zone, so we've worked really hard with this group to develop that creativity over the years and this is kind of like their swan song," Churchill said. "I'm super excited to see how they can put this all together in their final year.
"Our top two lines are going to be absolutely ridiculous. I don't know if I've ever had two forward lines that are as deep and talented as this group or have the chemistry these kids have."
Sophomore Emma MacPherson (Sandwich, Mass.) could give the Huskies an X-factor outside of the top six as well. She's coming off a six-goal, 13-point freshman year.
"You have a kid like Emma MacPherson on your third line, and she could potentially be a first-line player at just about any prep school," Churchill said. "She's just an absolute animal, and she's a sophomore. The depth is insane to think about."
High-level talent on defense
On top of all the firepower back in the fold up front, New Hampton also brings back last season's leading scorer, defender True Thompson.
Thompson put up 35 points (27 assists) in 30 games on the blue line last season, finishing in the top 15 in NEPSAC scoring. The UConn commit skates with a loaded East Coast Wizards U19 squad in the fall, alongside Walker and Loughlin.
Even after establishing herself as one of the best players in prep last winter, Churchill believes there's still so much room for Thompson to grow, whether with her posture and stick defensively or finding even more ways to power the offense.
"She can continue to get better. She's very good, but she's still a little raw," he said. "She's one of the most coachable kids. We've developed a strong relationship and talk regularly knowing what the expectations are. I demand a lot from her, and she takes it and welcomes it.
"She's like all the great players. She knows what she's gonna do with the puck before she even gets it. So, she's always ready, no matter what the scenario is."
The Huskies will also return key blue-liners in Reese Luber (Norwood, Mass.) and Drew Hayhurst.
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Luber put up 12 points (six goals) on defense and had a strong postseason, too, but New Hampton will be without her for the start of the season, after she tore her ACL in the spring. She's ahead of schedule in her recovery, though.
"She's already back on the ice for 'expected contact,' as they say, and we hope to have her back in January at some point," Churchill said. "I'm hopeful that she'll be back when she needs to be, and we'll be ready to go."
Luber's absence will put more expectations on Hayhurst, who had a goal and four assists last season. Churchill hopes she can step into a key role. It starts with instilling that confidence in her.
"I need her to be a top-four defender," he said. "She comes with pretty good offensive ability, she can handle the puck, she can shoot and she's got a quick release. ... We're going to work hard with her to try to help her build that confidence because she can be a big-impact kid if she can play to her potential this year, which I'm confident she will."
A pair of additions are also expected to play big minutes from the jump, too. The Huskies add Roxie Merrick out of Alaska as well as Addy Peel (Scarborough, Maine), a transfer from Brooks. Peel had nine points (four goals) last season before making USA Hockey's Select 16/17 camp after a standout New England District camp.
She gives Churchill another elite skillset on the back end.
"Addy has the ability to play an offensive game somewhat similar to True's," he said. "She's going to be very difficult to get around, defensively. She's big, rangy and has a long reach. I think she's going to be a real good shutdown defender."
It all makes for a formidable defensive core, health-permitting, that gives the Huskies plenty of options, both at even strength and on special teams.
"She's a huge add, especially with Reese being hurt," Churchill said. "That gives us a legitimate one-two punch with Addy and True. Then, when Reese comes back, you put Addy, True, Reese and Drew out there as your top four. That's legitimate."
The plan in net
The key for New Hampton will be who steps up in the crease after Vera Lee graduated.
"That's our biggest question mark," Churchill said.
Lee, now a freshman goalie at UNH, was the backbone of both Small School titles for the Huskies. She had a .920 save percentage last season.
Churchill expects junior Cara Kuczek (Lowell, Mass.) will have a chance to see a strong workload early on. Kuczak posted a .927 save percentage in a small sample last season.
"She's showed a lot of promise at times, so I'm hopeful she's going to step up," Churchill said. "The shoes are going to be big to fill, and we're working hard to get here there. She'll have the early nod. She's been around, and she's got the experience."
The Huskies also add an '08 in Elizabeth Vincent, who played boys hockey at Académie St.-Louis in Quebec. Vincent, who skated with the Valley Jr. Warriors this fall, could take on a bigger role, but New Hampton wants to make sure she properly acclimates to prep hockey.
"I just want to make sure we're easing her in and not throwing her in too soon," Churchill said. "She's very talented. She could be one of the more talented goalies we've ever had, but it's going to take a little bit of time for her, for sure."
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But replacing Lee in one fell swoop is easier said than done. Churchill anticipates both Kuczek and Vincent will need to make an impact this season.
"It's probably going to be the case that we'll have to rely on both goalies this year, whereas we relied on Vera alone the last couple of years," Churchill said. "They're both going to have to step."
