If any team could be considered the preseason favorite in girls prep hockey, it might be Phillips Andover.
The Big Blue are coming off a 19-4-2 season and an Elite 8 semifinals appearance, where they fell to Williston. It was Andover's sixth straight season reaching the Elite 8.
Martha Fenton returns plenty of high-end talent and depth throughout the lineup after graduating just three seniors.
"It's a huge chance to build on what we did last year," Fenton said. "So many of them have that feeling of once again getting close but not getting to where they really wanted to go, which is great because I think it will set expectations high. They also know what it takes to get there."
The key for Andover will be managing expectations. Returning senior captains in forward Peyton Kennedy (Sudbury, Mass.) and defender Molly Boyle (Scituate, Mass.), along with a slew of other seniors, will provide critical leadership in that area.
"Having second-year captains coming back is a pretty unusual thing, but with their growth and development, plus other kids on the team who have been captains in other sports, my hope for them is they're coming into the season with eyes wide open," Fenton said. "They know that it takes growth throughout the season, that it's not just going to happen all at once. It's not just all about trying to win a championship, but it's about the process. I think they know that.
"My hope for them is that it's a blast along the way and they have a great time doing it. We'll graduate a really impactful group of seniors this year. I think for them, it's just embracing it and knowing how special it is that these kids have gotten to play together for three or four years."
A stacked forward group
The Big Blue will bring back its entire top-six group from last season.
There's Kennedy, a Middlebury commit who led Andover with 26 points (10 goals) in 25 games, as well as junior Sarah Powers (Lynnfield, Mass.). Powers, who recently committed to Boston College, led the way with 15 goals as part of a career 24-point season.
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Also returning is recent Princeton commit Caroline Averill (Wayland, Mass.), who put up 18 points (eight goals), despite missing a handful of games as she represented Team USA at the IIHF U18 Women's World Championship. Senior Emily Mara (Winchester, Mass.), a BC soccer commit, finished with 23 points (10 goals) as a junior. Meanwhile, junior Northeastern commit Lilly McInerney (North Reading, Mass.) and junior Cornell commit Kiera Bruen (West Roxbury, Mass.) each had 14 points last winter.
Needless to say, there's a lot of firepower coming back.
"It'll be that whole group of '25s and '26s," Fenton said. "The nice thing about this team for the last three or four years is that it's been very balanced. We haven't had sort of one go-to superstar player that we needed to score all the time. We have a lot of kids that can score in the top two if not three lines. I think that takes the pressure off those older kids a little bit. I think they'll really build each other up that way."
Fenton has seen that crop of juniors grow in a number of ways since they first arrived to Andover. She's eager to see them continue to come into their own.
"Probably most importantly from a leadership standpoint, they've all grown into roles that they can be the voices in the locker room and the voices on the ice," Fenton said. "They've all grown their confidence so much. They know what they can do now, and they know what they can do together. That's really great. It's not just about individual development but together as a team. They know what they've got."
The Big Blue will also bring in some potential difference-makers from the MIAA in Maddie Greenwood (Duxbury, Mass.) and Molly Driscoll (Watertown, Mass.). Driscoll, a senior who's committed to Boston University for field hockey, captained Belmont-Watertown last season, posting 27 points (21 goals). Greenwood, meanwhile, was a vital piece of back-to-back D2 state championships at Duxbury. She'll repeat her junior year after tallying 30 points (16 goals) for the Dragons.
"[Maddie] will be a great presence. She just brings great energy and hustle, and she'll be a nice addition for us in the locker room and on the ice," Fenton said. "[Driscoll] is just a tremendous athlete. She's another older kid and a big, strong body for us."
Plenty of potential on defense
On top of the firepower returning up front, Andover also brings back its entire defensive core from last season.
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The Big Blue will lean on two top-flight defenders in Boyle and sophomore Maggie Averill (Wayland, Mass.). Boyle, a Yale commit, and Averill, a highly-regarded 2009 prospect, each had 18 points last season. Each also missed games due to the U18 Women's Worlds.
"With both of them, you've got kids who are super offensively-minded and can also cover for themselves and cover for their teammates really well in the defensive end," Fenton said. "It's great to have the offensive looks that we get from the blue line, and I think they generate a lot just with the way they move the puck up the ice. Then their play in the D zone is pretty extraordinary."
Sophomores Kimee Duplessis (Framingham, Mass.) and Sienna Glass (Andover, Mass.) return as well. Each played significant minutes as a freshman. Duplessis made USA Hockey's Select 16/17 Camp this offseason, while Glass made the Select 15 Camp. Junior Sarah Lackley (Andover, Mass.) will have a chance to see more ice as well.
"Because of the minutes they played last year, my hope is they'll be confident getting really important minutes this year," Fenton said. "I'm hoping that they step right up, that they're not backing down or deferring to anybody."
Andover will also add freshman Vanessa Hall (Saugus, Mass.) to the mix on the blue line. Hall was a standout in the MIAA at St. Mary's as a seventh and eighth-grader. Hall played every minute of last year's D1 state championship, which SMH won in triple overtime. It capped off a 36-point, 28-assist season, which followed 20 points as a seventh-grader.
Fenton is eager to see how high Hall's potential could be.
"She's so understated, and she does not toot her own horn," Fenton said. "When you look at her, you wouldn't say, 'She must be such a stud.' She just has a way about her. It's really great."
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Maya Kou will compete for time on the blue line as well as she enters the fold. An '09 who played boys hockey in Canada, Kou has skated with the Valley Jr. Warriors U16s this fall.
'A rock' in net
Andover boasts stability in the crease with starter Avery Rodeheffer (New Haven, Conn.) back for her senior season.
Rodeheffer posted a .941 save percentage for the Big Blue last season, facing a heavier shot volume than when she posted a .946 in her first year as the starter. She seemed to get better and better as last season progressed.
"She has been a rock for us," Fenton said. "I think the game became more fun for her, and she took some pressure off herself. I hope the pressure's entirely off for her."
Rodeheffer's athletic ability is what's most impressive to Fenton. Rodeheffer took up rowing at Andover last spring. After just one season, she earned a Division 1 commitment to Michigan.
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"She's a beast," Fenton said. "She has that mindset and this incredible ability to just lock in and work hard. She expects that of herself, and she expects it of the people around her. I've been really impressed with how she's prioritized her Assabet hockey team this fall. She could have done other stuff and rowed in the Head of the Charles, but it would have meant not being there for Assabet on Sundays.
"She is 100 percent dialed in and excited about the season."
Behind Rodeheffer, sophomore Codi Pickering (Falmouth, Mass.) returns along with a pair of ninth-grade goaltenders. Pickering posted a .938 save percentage last season in a small sample, facing about a third of the shot volume Rodeheffer did. Fenton believes the crease is in good hands beyond this season.
"It's good because [Avery's] got a deep group of goalie partners to train with and to push her," Fenton said. "I expect her to be in a good place to start."
