Rarely, if ever, does a prep hockey season go by without Nobles being a premier factor atop the NEPSAC landscape.
That was the case once again last season as the Bulldogs, fresh off an Elite 8 championship in 2024, returned to the top tournament once again. As the No. 4 seed, Nobles fell to Phillips Andover, 2-1, in the quarterfinals to finish 23-6-1.
"I was very happy with the season we put together," Nobles coach Tom Resor said. "We lost some significant players from the year before, and we were still, in many ways, a pretty young team."
It was the 13th straight season of 23 or more wins for Resor's squad.
"Unfortunately, it didn't end the way we would have liked," Resor said. "I thought the level of play was really, really high among all the prep schools. For us to put together the season we did was quite remarkable.
"Overall, I was really happy with the way we developed as a team, came together and really had an outstanding season."
Like last season, there are key losses to account for, and the Bulldogs won't be short on opportunities for returners as they look to get back on top.
Opportunity among the forwards
The Bulldogs return all but four forwards from last season's team, but three were among their top four producers.
Alexa Georgantas (Foxboro, Mass.) is off to Shattuck-St. Mary's after leading Nobles with 21 goals and 41 points as a freshman, ranking in the top 10 in the NEPSAC in both categories. Meanwhile, former fixtures Molly MacCurtain (Reading, Mass.) and Calleigh Brown (Foxboro, Mass.) are each off to the collegiate ranks. MacCurtain tied for second on the team with 38 points last season, while Brown was fourth with 34 points. The Bulldogs also graduated Sage Albright (Chestnut Hill, Mass.), who is off to the collegiate ranks after seven points at both forward and defense.
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"I think, clearly, we lost some offense," Resor said. "You're always looking for kids to keep improving, and our kids year-to-year have always seemed to do a little bit better."
Fortunately for Nobles, a young core with potential is already in place. Several players are primed to take the reins.
At the forefront is senior co-captain Gretta Hulbig (Foxboro, Mass.). The Yale commit tied MacCurtain with 38 points last season and was second on the team with 17 goals. A lot of the onus also falls onto experienced producers, like Rachel Zhao (Westwood, Mass.) and Ashley Loeber (Weston, Mass.). Zhao, who is uncommitted, had 22 points (13 goals), while Loeber had 12 points (eight goals).
"They're kids who have played a lot already since they were freshmen and have each year produced better numbers," Resor said. "Now, you hope all of them take big steps forward as seniors."
Behind those three seniors is a crop of younger players that has proven capable of producing at the prep level. Sophomore Catherine McCool (West Roxbury, Mass.) has reached at least 22 points and 10 goals in each of her first two seasons. She finished with 27 points as a freshman. Lily Bromley (Carlisle, Mass.) emerged as a heart-and-soul player as a sophomore last season, finishing with a career-best 23 points. The Princeton commit missed the last two games of the season, both 2-1 losses, and her absence was a "big hole" in the Bulldogs' lineup.
"They've already done it for two years, even though they're younger," Resor said.
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One youngster to keep an eye on, in particular, is sophomore forward Francie Ames (Brookline, Mass.). After 14 points (seven goals) as a freshman, the Bulldogs needed her on defense last winter, and she still matched her production from the year prior. Adding her skill back into the forward group could provide a major boost.
"I think she'll continue to excel," Resor said. "She's got a great skillset, is a tremendous skater and sees the ice well. Her feel for the game is tremendous. ... She's one of those players, wherever you put her, she's going to become comfortable because she's good at adapting."
Ames' versatility also offers Nobles flexibility in different situations. Resor could deploy her on defense on the power play, on the penalty kill or late in games.
The Bulldogs also hope to see senior co-captain Addy Keaveney (Westwood, Mass.) and senior Julia Krepelka (Arlington, Mass.) run with increased opportunities. Keaveney, a Trinity commit, had 12 points (eight goals) last winter, while Krepelka, a Babson field hockey commit, had two assists in limited minutes.
High ceilings on defense
One luxury for Nobles is continuity on the back end, rolling over many of the same fixtures from last season's blue line.
Chief among the returners to watch is Ava Decourcey (Rockland, Mass.).
After a strong offseason between Mass. Hockey Festival, Assabet Valley and USA Hockey's Under-18 Women's National Team Festival, Decourcey enters the new season with a chance to shine for the Bulldogs.
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"(Her ceiling) is incredibly high," Resor said. "Ava adapted really well for us, coming from where she was playing maybe two-thirds of the game and really needed to score. For us, we didn't need her to do quite as much. I think she was very conscious of taking care of the defensive zone, and maybe there were times when she maybe deferred to others."
Decourcey put up 16 goals and 24 points as one of prep's top scoring defenders at Tilton in 2023-2024, but the Yale commit finished with 11 points (four goals) in her first season at Nobles. With last year's experience under her belt, Resor sees a path for the junior to enter elite company.
"It's going to give her a little more freedom to step up and take advantage of her offensive skillset, which is tremendous. That's something we're really expecting her to do more of and become an Olivia Maffeo or Sophia Levering type of contributor, where we can get as much offense as we do defense from her."
Maffeo (Canton, Mass.), now at Boston College, and Levering (Westwood, Mass.), now at Yale, helped lead the Bulldogs to the title in 2024. Both were dominant forces in all three zones.
Among the other headliners on defense are sophomores Reese Engel (Westwood, Mass.) and Nora Shea (Braintree, Mass.), as well as senior Maddie Jaeger (Westwood, Mass.).
Engel and Shea showed more than their fair share of promise, stepping into key roles as freshmen. Engel had 11 points (10 assists), while Shea posted nine (six assists).
"They played with confidence and played a lot of key minutes," Resor said. "What I really like about them is they're not afraid to make plays with the puck, whether they're carrying it, creating plays at the offensive blue line and so forth."
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Jaeger, a Providence field hockey commit, also had nine points (eight assists) on the blue line last winter.
"She's been really, really consistent for us," Resor said. "She's a strong, physical player and a great athlete. I think she's someone who's a very underrated player and easily could have played college hockey if she had chosen that route. Right now, that gives us a good core of four, and hopefully we'll have others emerge there to help us keep (Ames) up front."
The Bulldogs also know they'll be able to rely on Yale commit Annika Jonas (Weston, Mass.) in net. The junior had a .950 save percentage in her first year as the starter last season.
Managing expectations
Nobles is always in the mix. In the last 21 seasons, the Bulldogs have finished with fewer than 21 wins just once. While there are question marks, Resor knows how to get the most out of his teams.
"You know, I'm cautiously optimistic," Resor said. "For us, it will be about where the goals will come from. We're not maybe as deep as we've been in years past, so hopefully we'll stay healthy."
He'll find out a lot about this season's squad in the early going.
They'll scrimmage NAHA and Lovell Academy before the season. Meanwhile, the beginning of the schedule includes matchups against three-time defending Small School champ New Hampton and reigning Elite 8 champion Loomis Chaffee. Before they know it, it'll be another tough test at the Harrington Invitational, which features the likes of Williston Northampton, BB&N, St. Paul's and more.
Few litmus tests are tougher to begin the season.
"It's more focusing on those first few weeks and getting as much as you can out of that," Resor said. "It gives us insight into, sort of, what we think we have and where people should go to maximize our potential."
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It's not anything Resor is a stranger to, either, in his lengthy tenure behind the bench.
After initially planning to retire at the end of the 2023-24 season, Resor decided to return last season before again staying on for 2025-26 alongside longtime assistant Steve Cedorchuk. Resor plans to continue his year-by-year approach.
"Last year, we waited until mid-January to make a decision, and I think it'll sort of be that way again," Resor said. "Nobles has been very good to us, and it went very well last year. We loved it. That's how we sort of look at it again this season. One year at a time now."
