The prep and MIAA hockey seasons are officially in the rearview.
With that, the focus for many 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. Assabet Valley won the 19U division over NAHA, automatically advancing to nationals. NAHA, the East Coast Wizards and the Massachusetts Spitfires also earned bids. NAHA is coming off a win in the JWHL U19 championship.
Meanwhile, the New England district just held its regional championships earlier in March. The Mid-Fairfield Stars won the 19U division to qualify.
The 19U, 16U and 14U Tier I tournaments will be right here in Massachusetts at the New England Sports Center in Marlboro from April 1-6.
We’ll break down the region’s 16U representation later. For now, let’s get into who to watch among the 19U's.
Assabet Valley
One thing a lot of these teams have in common is stacked rosters chock full of college hockey commits. That's especially true for Assabet.
Among the forwards, you've got some of the top scorers in the NEPSAC, like Groton's Tina Scalese (West Boylston, Mass.). The Princeton commit finished tied for second in goals (25), posting 38 points in 22 games as a junior. Her linemate, Colgate commit Maddie Cronan (Ashland, Mass.), is coming off a senior season in which she put up 35 points (15 goals) in 24 games.
Cushing's Madi Soderquist (Woburn, Mass.), a UNH commit, broke out for 20 goals and 38 points in 33 games as a junior.
There's plenty of representation for Phillips Andover, Dexter Southfield and St. Paul's, too.
From Andover, there's Princeton commit Caroline Averill (Wayland, Mass.), Boston College commits Emily Mara (Winchester, Mass.) and Sarah Powers (Lynnfield, Mass.), as well as Middlebury commit Peyton Kennedy (Sudbury, Mass.). On defense, there's Yale commit Molly Boyle (Scituate, Mass.) and Maggie Averill (Wayland, Mass.). The latter will be eligible to commit on June 15. Goalie Avery Rodeheffer (New Haven, Conn.), a Michigan rowing commit, is in the mix, too.
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From Dexter, there's top center Evelyn Doyle (Needham, Mass.), a Yale commit, as well as UNH commit Elizabeth Allen (Brookline, Mass.) and Colby commit Marion Legge (Cohasset, Mass.). On the blue line, BC commit Maddie Murphy (Dorchester, Mass.) was one of the most productive defenders in prep with 31 points (10 goals) as a senior.
Wesleyan commit Caroline Humber (Concord, Mass.) and BC commit Maude Niemann were among St. Paul's most productive skaters this season. The same goes for UNH commit Ella Souza (Portsmouth, N.H.) at Berwick.
You've also got defenders like BB&N's Lexi Mara (Winchester, Mass.), a Northeastern commit, and Taylor Senecal (Essex Junction, Vt.). Senecal, a Colgate commit, returned to her hometown high school for her senior season, leading Essex to a Vermont state championship. She had four points in the final.
Liz Luong (Framingham, Mass.) was excellent in net in Assabet's win over NAHA in November, and she carried that into the prep season with a .931 save percentage.
East Coast Wizards
Count the Wizards among the powerhouses loaded with commits.
Morgan McGathey (Braintree, Mass.) leads the way. The Harvard commit led the NEPSAC this year with 58 points in 28 games. Her 39 goals were the most in the NEPSAC since Colgate forward Kristýna Kaltoynková scored 45 at Vermont Academy in 2019-20.
Behind McGathey, there's New Hampton's Kennedy Walker (Middleton, Mass.). The Yale commit finished second in the NEPSAC with 46 points (24 goals). Teammate True Thompson, a UConn commit, led all prep defenders with 38 points (11 goals). Also among the New Hampton contingent is UNH commit Julia Loughlin (Scituate, Mass.). All three helped the Huskies win a third straight Small School title.
There's plenty of representation from BB&N, too, led by Yale commit Hannah Weyerhaeuser (Cambridge, Mass.), who had 36 points as a senior. Providence commits Izzy King (Bedford, Mass.) and Brenna O'Reilly as well as Harvard commit Emi Biotti (Cambridge, Mass.) and Williams commit Savana Littlewood were key to the Knights reaching the Elite 8 semis as a No. 6 seed.
ALL-TOURNAMENT: All-Elite 8 team | All-Large School team | All-Small School team
Nobles' Molly MacCurtain (North Reading, Mass.), a Northeastern commit, had 38 points this season. Uncommitted forward Rachel Zhao (Westwood, Mass.) and Williams commit Laney Mead (Bedford, Mass.) were key for the Bulldogs, as was Annika Jonas (Weston, Mass.). One of the top goalies in prep, Jonas had a .950 save percentage as a sophomore.
From Cushing, there's St. Anselm commit Taylor Buckley (Woburn, Mass.) on defense as well as Union commit Sadie Bellissimo. Another top option in net, Bellissimo had a .933 save percentage as a junior.
There are several others to watch, too, whether it's Williston's Nora Curtis, a Cornell commit, Deerfield's Ava Giroux (St. Albans, Vt.) or Tabor's Adeline Paskowski (Plymouth, Mass.), a Colby commit.
Massachusetts Spitfires
The Spitfires feature some of the more intriguing prospects in the region.
There's Loomis Chaffee's Lindsay Stepnowski (South Glastonbury, Conn.). Fresh off leading Loomis to an Elite 8 title and earning MVP honors, the Harvard commit had 44 points (25 goals).
Williston Northampton has plenty of representation, led by Violet Carroll (Milton, Mass.). The Holy Cross commit led the NEPSAC with 30 assists (45 points). There are also defenders Catie Putt (Norfolk, Mass.), a UNH commit, and Yasmine McKenzie, who is uncommitted.
One player to watch in particular is Caroline Doherty (Hingham, Mass.). The Holy Cross commit will do a postgrad year in prep next season. She recently led Hingham to the MIAA Division 1 title, posting a hat trick in the final. She finished her high school career with 152 goals and 234 points.
Nobles' Gretta Hulbig (Foxboro, Mass.), a Yale commit, and Thayer's Kate Sullivan (Hingham, Mass.), a UNH commit, were among the NEPSAC's top producers this season. Brooks' Bella Mondolfi (Waltham, Mass.), a Merrimack commit, and Dexter's Maddie Funk (Duxbury, Mass.), a Northeastern commit.
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There are also Brown commits in BB&N's Anika Singh (Lexington, Mass.) and St. Paul's Maggie Berleth (Manchester, N.H.).
Along with Berleth, Putt and McKenzie, other defenders to watch are Dexter's Alaina Dunn (Walpole, Mass.), a BC commit; Nobles' Maddie Jaeger (Westwood, Mass.), a Providence field hockey commit, as well as Milton's Susannah Ward (Dedham, Mass.), a Middlebury commit.
In net, St. Mark's Jackie Wright (Walpole, Mass.) is fresh off a stellar postseason in prep. The BU commit led the Lions on a run to the Small School final as a No. 6 seed, posting a .933 save percentage as a senior.
Among the key uncommitted players to watch are Tabor forwards Jen Birolini (Pembroke, Mass.) and Lilly Shaughnessy (Medfield, Mass.) as well as Thayer defender Abby DeAnzeris (Needham, Mass.) and Milton forward Mary Quatrale (Pembroke, Mass.). There's also goalie Evelyn Lacey (Braintree, Mass.), who posted a .956 save percentage as a junior while making the most saves (1,114) on the most shots (1,165) in prep.
Mid Fairfield CT Stars
The Stars have plenty of contributors from Loomis' run to the Elite 8 title.
RPI commit Chloe Obser was one of the top scorers in the region with 34 points (15 goals), as was Yale commit Annie Schwarz (Fairfield, Conn.), who had 37 points (26 assists). Penn State commit Megan Hosman had 28 points (20 assists) on defense, while forward Bella Zolezzi chipped in two goals in the championship. Uncommitted goalie Adeline Roper (Kennebunk, Maine) had a .943 save percentage.
There's plenty of representation from Kent and Deerfield, too. Forward Renee Bishop led Kent with 27 points (12 goals). Rachel Bishop had 26 points (20 assists) on defense. Both are committed to Cornell. Delaware commit Eva Mayo was key for Kent as well. Meanwhile, Yale commit Chloe Cleaves (Riverside, Conn.) led Deerfield with 28 points (16 goals) as a junior on defense. Brown commit Keira Austen (Darien, Conn.) was critical to the Big Green's run to the Large School title, too.
CHAMPS: Loomis survives Andover in Elite 8 | Deerfield blanks Tabor in Large School | New Hampton three-peats in Small School
Uncommitted forward Sophia Busa led Berkshire with 23 points (17 goals) as a junior this season, while SUNY Plattsburgh commit Piper Smith led Millbrook with 32 points (20 goals) as a senior.
Among others to watch is St. Paul's Ava Hunter, a St. Anselm commit. There's also Choate's Nani Keyes (Guilford, Conn.) and Annie Forker (Stratford, Conn.) as well as Hotchkiss' Lila Snow, a Hamilton commit.
NAHA
The Hawks feature plenty of high-end prospects and commits as well.
Headlining the New England natives is Kassidy Carmichael (Westford, Mass.). Committed to Ohio State for hockey and lacrosse, Carmichael led NAHA with 40 goals and 76 points in 49 games this season. BU commit Quinn Taylor (Centerville, Mass.) posted 43 points (22 goals) in 49 games. Quinnipiac commit Cassidy Lobisser (Bellingham, Mass.) and RPI commit Mia Montanari (East Hampton, Conn.) each had 36 points in 49 games. Montanari is a former standout at Kent before moving to NAHA for a postgrad season.
There's also Dartmouth commit Mallory Farrell (Marlboro, Mass.), UNH commit Ireland Frederickson (Concord, N.H.) and uncommitted defender Olivia Bonarrigo (Walpole, Mass.).
Shattuck-St. Mary's
Shattuck-St. Mary's also includes a handful of New England natives to keep tabs on.
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Defenders Emma Cerruti (Norwood, Mass.) and Sophie Morrow (Darien, Conn.) help lead the blue line at Shattuck. Cerruti is committed to Wisconsin, and Morrow is committed to Penn State.
Forward Grace Morin, a Brown commit, was a standout at Loomis Chaffee last season.
Bishop Kearney Selects
Meanwhile, BK Selects boasts Megan Healy (South Burlington, Vt.). The defender is committed to Princeton. Keep an eye on Nela Lopušanová, one of the most exciting prospects in the world. The Slovak phenom is committed to Wisconsin.
