DEDHAM, Mass. — Nobles rolled to a 4-0-0 sweep of the Harrington Invitational Tournament with a 4-0 victory over St. Paul's to win its sixth title in eight seasons.
As expected, the Harrington brought the fireworks this weekend. Considering the stacked field among Nobles, St. Paul's, Williston Northampton and Westminster, it's hard to imagine it wouldn't have.
Nearly every game felt close. Lawrence gave Westminster a tight game on Saturday, as did BB&N to St. Paul's in the Day 2 nightcap.
Save for the Bulldogs' championship victory, the most eye-popping result is likely St. Paul's 3-1 win over Williston. It was the back-to-back Elite 8 champions' first loss since Dec. 19, 2021, when they fell to Nobles in the Harrington final. SPS' win was one of the weekend's best games – a tight track meet that featured back-and-forth action.
There's a lot to unpack from that game and the weekend. So, let's dive into some standouts and takeaways from the 42nd Harrington Tournament.
1. Nobles seems like the total package right now. The Bulldogs had a scare against Westminster on Friday, winning 3-2 thanks to Catherine McCool's (West Roxbury, Mass.) first career goal with 28 seconds left in regulation. But aside from that, they rolled right through the tournament en route to the title.
Tom Resor's team finished their slate with a 17-2 differential and shutouts in three of four contests.
A lot of that is due to just how good the Bulldogs were defensively and on the forecheck. That was best on display against St. Paul's, and it's been their trademark so far this season. Nobles gave up very little in Grade-A ice in each of the three games I saw them play. Be it an absolutely stacked blue line or two strong goalies — starter Anya Zupkofska (Braintree, Mass.) and backup Annie Spring (Concord, Mass.) each saw action, played well and had shutouts in the Harrington — it's easy to see why Nobles was so stingy.
Offensively, the Bulldogs created so many of their opportunities off forechecking pressure and funneling shots from the point. They were relentless on pucks, and it created a fire drill for any opposing breakout. It's a repeatable recipe that can hold up against other top teams.
TAKEAWAYS: 5 observations from Nobles' Harrington championship win
They are truly firing on all cylinders as they look to help Resor deliver one more NEPSAC title in his final season.
2. Runner-up St. Paul's showed a lot of resilience this weekend, especially on Saturday.
Kelli Mackey's group outlasted Williston in a thriller that could have gone either way. Tess Mulkerron's (Concord, N.H.) game-winner in the third embodied their effort on Saturday. Mulkerron gained separation for a partial breakaway, protected the puck from the defender and scored five-hole with a back-hander. It was a clutch, hustle play, capping off a strong showing for the second line, which also featured Maude Niemann (Weston, Conn.). SPS goalie Ally Martiniello (Salem, NH), who was their best player throughout the tournament, withstood a late Williston push before Cami Bell (Barre, Vt.) iced it with a long-range empty-netter.
The Big Red had another gritty win in their 3-1 win over BB&N later that night. Special teams dominated the closing moments as BB&N tried to mount a comeback, down 2-1. But Martiniello and St. Paul's defense locked in down the stretch again, bearing down and shutting down plays. Senior defender Georgia Bussey worked the puck free from a board battle before putting it away with an empty-netter. She was reliable in all three zones this weekend, moving the puck quickly, making good reads and getting shots through from the point.
When the Big Red were on their game, they played with a ton of pace, which was on display most against Williston.
3. Bell is the real deal for SPS. It's clear why she's put up the numbers she has the last few years and to start this season. She's an explosive skater with powerful strides who drove play every time she was on the ice. It didn't matter if it was at even strength, the power play or penalty kill, either. Bell has a hard, quick release that she's able to get off well in stride. But there were times I thought she could have driven to the net more, rather than settling for perimeter shots off the rush. Bell didn't light up the scoresheet in the SPS games I caught, but it was impressive how she still found ways to impact the game and create chances, even if things weren't bouncing her way.
4. No, the sky isn't falling at Williston, not even after they had a loss and tie this weekend. Some of the headaches for Christa Talbot Syfu's team this weekend can simply be chalked up to running into hot goalies in Martiniello and Westminster's Julia Matyas. Williston very much passed the eye test with its talent and depth on both sides of the puck. The Wildcats could comfortably roll every line and defensive pair all weekend. Olivia Ferebee is still a top option in net. I thought her best game came on Friday against BB&N. She looked poised, did an excellent job tracking pucks and made plenty of saves on second and third-chance opportunities.
The top line of Monique Lyons (Bedford, Mass.), Nora Curtis and Mia Daley (Lynnfield, Mass.) was dangerous each time it was on the ice, whether at 5-on-5 or the power play. Their power play setup has been a borderline cheat code this season, which continued this weekend. Williston has playmaking and scoring threats everywhere on the top unit, but Curtis was their go-to in the "bumper."Â Her one-timer was unstoppable all weekend.
They'll be just fine.
5. Violet Carroll (Milton, Mass.), who played forward on a line with Lyons and Curtis last season, has been on the back end for Williston. This weekend, she absolutely looked the part on defense. I thought Carroll was dynamic, especially with the puck, as a blue-liner during the tournament. Her skating ability allowed her to lead the rush herself or evade pressure with some nice edgework before starting the breakout. She had good stick positioning in the defensive zone and made nice, quick reads to kill plays in her own end.
Offensively, Carroll's vision and shot stood out at the point. She quarterbacked the Wildcats' near-automatic power play, and she was unafraid to shoot the puck. She has a heavy one-timer and gets wrist and snapshots off quickly, loading the stick well. Her shot is absolutely a weapon from the point.
HOLIDAY TOURNAMENTS:Â Click or tap here to see what happened in every girls prep holiday tournament
She was particularly impactful on Sunday in the absence of Caroline Aufiero (Belmont, Mass.). During a 4-on-4, Carroll took advantage of the extra space. She recognized a skating lane in the neutral zone, exploding for a partial break before scoring five-hole to give Williston a 2-1 lead in the third.
6. We're going to be hearing a lot about Daley over the next few years. She had been making an impact as a playmaker coming into the tournament, but she flashed her scoring touch over the weekend. A freshman, she rode shotgun on Williston's top line with Lyons and Curtis, and it's clear she belongs. She has great offensive instincts, scans the offensive zone well and makes quick decisions with the puck. She and Lyons combined for some pretty passing sequences on some of Curtis' goals. Daley also had a pair of goals on Saturday, cashing in on a rebound in front against St. Paul's before flashing an accurate release off a face-off against Milton.
7. Westminster was a little bit under the radar entering the tournament, but like St. Paul's, it left a good impression. Their top line of freshman Bella Zapata, senior Olivia Gordon (Avon, Conn.) and senior Olivia Emerson (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) carried the play. They were the only trio to consistently generate chances in their tie with Williston.
Gordon and Zapata had a strong connection, combining for some pretty goals. On Saturday against Lawrence, they ran a great give-and-go in the neutral zone, with Gordon dishing a no-look pass to Zapata at the blue line. She drove into the zone, got the goalie moving with her to open up space on the far side and took advantage. They combined on a 2-on-1 goal for Zapata on Sunday against Williston. She scored on a similar shot. Much like Daley, we're going to hear a lot about Zapata moving forward. She's undersized but shifty. She held up well to the physicality.
Talia Ondy (Newtown, Conn.) played a solid 200-foot game over the weekend, dominating at the dot. She has a strong one-timer from the left circle on the power play, too. It got her on the board in a gutsy last-second loss to Nobles on Friday.
Like SPS' Martiniello, Matyas was busy in the crease for much of the weekend. She was especially strong in the face of an onslaught in the tie with Williston. She's confident in the crease, consistently square to shooters and anticipates really well.
8. BB&N's offense really missed Yale commit Hannah Weyerhaeuser (Cambridge, Mass.), who's sidelined with an injury. Ed Bourget's group had 1.5 goals per game on the weekend. Save for a late push against St. Paul's, BB&N had a tough time sustaining pressure. Weyerhaeuser's ability to take over games and fill the scoresheet would have made a huge difference.
Senior Meg Britt (Arlington, Mass.), a Bowdoin commit, did a great job around the net in the offensive zone. She tucked in a loose puck to get the Knights on the board late against St. Paul's. It was good on her to locate the puck amid a net-front frenzy and jam it in. Harvard commit Emi Biotti (Cambridge, Mass.) showed well as a two-way defender for the Knights against Williston and SPS, too. She made good first passes on breakouts and created chances from the offensive blue line. She had an outstanding effort during the third period against St. Paul's in what looked like a broken play at her blue line, making a diving effort on a 50-50 puck to complete a pass and kickstart the rush.
9. Lawrence junior Gena Cookinham (Gilmanton Ironworks, NH) and sophomore Nuala Gibbs stood out on the Spartans' top line against Westminster. I was especially impressed with Gibbs, who is a smooth, fast skater. She and Cookinham had great chemistry together, going toe-to-toe with Westminster's top line in a tight 1-0 loss. The pair was the main source of Lawrence's offensive output throughout the game. Gibbs has a knack for finding space in the dangerous areas of the ice. She's definitely someone to keep an eye on going forward.
10. A lot of the preseason attention for Nobles, at least for me, fell onto Olivia Maffeo's (Canton, Mass.) transition back to defense after playing up front the last two prep seasons. But fellow headliner Sophia Levering (Westwood, Mass.) has been fantastic to start the season, and that was particularly true this weekend. The Yale commit doesn't have a lot of frills to her game, which is a good thing when she does everything well on the back end.
She's an effortless skater, unafraid to jumpstart the rush with her legs. Her head was constantly up, scanning for passing lanes, and she kept things simple with the puck. Against St. Paul's, Levering had an end-to-end rush, exploding past an opposing forechecker in her own end and bursting through the neutral zone before cutting into the slot for a dangerous look. Martiniello made the save, though. Levering does a good job of keeping her shots low and getting them through from long range. It paid off with her goal against St. Mark's on Saturday.
