MILTON, Mass. — Williston Northampton rolled to a 4-0-0 sweep of the Harrington Invitational Tournament, finishing with a 3-0 victory over BB&N to win its second title in three seasons.
The Wildcats ended the weekend with three straight shutouts and a 19-1 scoring differential.
The Harrington featured three of our top five teams between Williston, Nobles and BB&N, and others pushing to contend. Some of the weekend's highlights included the Wildcats getting revenge against Nobles, 2-0, in a rematch of last year's Elite 8 title game. You also had BB&N dominating the first two days of the tournament and a tight matchup between Nobles and Lawrence Academy on Friday.
There’s a lot to unpack from the weekend. So, let’s dive into nine takeaways, which include standouts, from the 43rd Harrington Tournament.
1. Williston's top two lines dominate
I wrote on Sunday that Williston was undoubtedly the best team at the Harrington over the weekend, and perhaps the biggest reason why is the strength of their top six forwards. There isn't any sort of drop-off between their top two lines. Those units are balanced, skilled and tough. They executed in all three zones on practically every shift.
Sophomore Mia Daley (Lynnfield, Mass.) looks primed for a monster season. Her release has taken a leap since last season, and it paid off with four goals in four games, including a pair in a 9-0 win over Lawrence Academy on Saturday. She's playing with an assertiveness that goes hand-in-hand with Cornell commit Nora Curtis' swagger on that line. Their left-winger, Riley Stocker, also looks poised for a step from a good freshman season as a strong complement to Curtis and Daley.
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Meanwhile, junior Zola Piekarski (Concord, Mass.), senior Holy Cross commit Violet Carroll (Milton, Mass.) and sophomore Brooke Schlutter dominated as well. Schlutter scored in all four games, including the eventual game-winners against Nobles and BB&N, as well as a pair against Lawrence. She was constantly in the right spots and had a quick release. Carroll and Piekarski, meanwhile, had excellent chemistry all weekend. Piekarski does a lot of little things so well, and her smarts helped her get rewarded. She had two goals and three points, including a highlight-reel goal, against Westminster before a hat trick and five points against Lawrence. Carroll's combo of tenacity, versatility and skill make her a constant threat, too. She had three multi-assist games this weekend and consistently generated Grade-A looks for herself and others. She also did a great job sliding back to run the point on the power play.
2. Williston's steady, understated blue line gets it done
There's no flash on defense for Williston's, and that's a good thing. The Wildcats don't have one singular player on the blue line who will grab the headlines and fill the scoresheet as a dazzling offensive defender. That's a good thing. Whether it's Holy Cross commit Nina Coffee (Old Lyme, Conn.), UNH commit Catie Putt (Norfolk, Mass.), Amherst commit Malaya Anabe or Middlebury commit Alyssa Frazier (Berlin, Vt.) or others, each moved the puck quickly, made good decisions, used their skating when they needed to and defended hard in their own end.
Frazier was particularly impressive against Lawrence and Nobles on Saturday. She recognized skating and passing lanes and helped set up Daley's breakaway goal with a good stretch pass. She had a quick stick, too, digging pucks out and making plays in tight spaces. On Sunday, she made a terrific one-touch pass from the half-wall, coming out of a high cycle with Putt, to set up Schlutter's opening goal.
Putt, meanwhile, was among the standouts in Sunday's championship, capping it off with a tremendous effort for a shorthanded breakaway goal.
3. BB&N boasts physicality, versatility on both sides of the puck
The Knights ran into the hot hand on Sunday, but they were also excellent on the balance of the weekend. I've written plenty about their three headliners on defense — Harvard commit Emi Biotti (Cambridge, Mass.), Northeastern commit Lexi Mara (Winchester, Mass.) and Providence commit Brenna O'Reilly (Burlington, Mass.) — and there's a reason for that. Those three are hard-nosed in their own end and do well facilitating transition. Mara was all over the ice in Friday's 4-0 win against St. Paul's. She used her skating to impact the play in all three zones, activating in the play, which led to good things for BB&N.
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Up front, whether it's Brown commit Anika Singh (Lexington, Mass.), Providence commit Izzy King (Bedford, Mass.), Yale commit Hannah Weyerhaeuser (Cambridge, Mass.), Williams commit Savana Littlewood (Braintree, Mass.) or sophomore Kate Glantz (Burlington, Mass.), the Knights can play any style. They have both the skill and the edge to impact any type of game, just like the blue-liners, and they all play hard for Ed Bourget. King and Weyerhaeuser in particular had strong weekends driving play in transition and in the offensive zone. One of the main reasons the win against St. Paul's went the way it did was the Knights simply wore SPS down. Similar to how Williston took them down on Sunday, BB&N was relentless and had layers in all three zones, making things miserable on exits and entries.
It's also a treat to see what combos BB&N might roll out at any moment. The top power play unit features the aforementioned three defenders, while the second unit has five forwards. Props to the Knights for the creativity.
4. Lily Bromley leads a young group of Nobles forwards taking big steps
Bromley (Carlisle, Mass.) has stood out in every game I've seen Nobles play this season. One of my biggest takeaways from the weekend is that she has the chance to be a star in prep and potentially beyond. The sophomore is a force, already so strong and physically dominant as a 2009, which continues a trait she showed at Mass. Hockey's Final 40 last spring. She wins battles, has a heavy, accurate release and puts herself in good spots in the offensive zone. It led to multi-goal outings against Lawrence and Milton. Alexa Georgantas (Foxboro, Mass.) is also among a big, young core making key strides. The freshman didn't find the scoresheet at the Harrington but made a difference with her speed and playmaking. She's a speedy, elusive skater who is hard to contain 1-on-1.
Among the upperclassmen, Yale commit Gretta Hulbig (Foxboro, Mass.) and Brown commit Rachel Zhao (Westwood, Mass.) have found higher levels after breakout seasons last winter. Hulbig consistently took over shifts throughout the weekend, driving to middle ice and getting quality scoring chances. She's found another level of confidence. Hulbig and Zhao are both very strong on their skates and work well in the cycle. Defenders struggled to knock them off pucks all weekend. Zhao was rewarded with a multi-goal outing against Milton on Sunday.
5. Nobles' newcomers on defense fit seamlessly
Be it sophomore Ava Decourcey (Rockland, Mass.) or freshman Nora Shea (Braintree, Mass.) and Reese Engel (Westwood, Mass.), Nobles' revamped blue line looked solid. The three work well with incumbents like Laney Mead (Bedford, Mass.), Maddie Jaeger (Westwood, Mass.) and Francie Ames (Brookline, Mass.).
Shea and Engel, two former MIAA standouts, are both rangy with long reaches, and they both keep things simple in the defensive and offensive zones. Along with Decourcey, they pushed the pace and moved the puck well in transition. Shea was rewarded with a late insurance goal in Saturday's 2-0 win over Westminster, burying a slap shot from the left point on the power play.
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Decourcey, meanwhile, had an excellent showing in the offensive zone. The former Tilton standout read the play well and was constantly in motion, rotating and facilitating offense with good low-to-high or high-to-low plays. She makes a good first pass with nice timing, leading forwards into open space to skate with it. She did well in the defensive zone against Williston, tying up forwards and also laying out to block a key chance for Daley on a penalty kill. Against Milton, Decourcey had a strong shooting chance at the point after a slick stop-and-start to shake off a defender. Later, she set up Zhao's first goal. Decourcey had all day to regroup behind the net with Milton changing. She recognized it and hit Zhao on the tape with a good stretch pass, sending her in for a partial break.
6. Susannah Ward, McKenna Ruland do it all on the blue line for Milton
Ward (Dedham, Mass.) and Ruland play similar styles on the left side for the Mustangs. They're responsible in the defensive zone on top of being strong puck-movers. A lot of Milton's transition play flowed through them. They found skating lanes and used their legs to successfully move the puck.
Ward, a senior captain, had a hat trick against St. Mark's in Friday's opening game. She scored off the rush twice. Her first came after a nice cut around a defender in the neutral zone, walking in and firing a wrister inside the left post from the right circle. Later, she stole the puck out high in the defensive zone and led the counter rush the other way, going top shelf from the left dot. She finished the hat trick with a power play goal. After some quick, decisive puck movement out high, Ward put a quick, hard wrister on net that found a way through. Against Nobles, she helped Milton out of a jam when they were under duress on a penalty kill. Ward had a critical shot block, recovered and skated it out herself to alleviate the pressure.
Ruland, a sophomore, has a lot of promise. She scored a great goal against St. Mark's, chipping a self-pass around a defender at her own blue line before she was off to the races on an odd-numbered rush, scoring with a good wrist shot inside the left post from the right dot. Although she has a smaller frame, Ruland faired well in some unfavorable matchups. Against Nobles, she did a great job of establishing body position on Calleigh Brown (Foxboro, Mass.), preventing a clean entry and breaking up the rush. In the third, Ruland did a nice job asserting herself and stepping into passing lanes in the neutral zone. She broke up a couple of exits after an icing for Nobles, getting the puck back in deep to hem the Bulldogs in. Later, she intercepted a pass and led transition the other way.
7. Milton's top line had a strong weekend
With Susannah Ward, Ruland and Ruth Chen having good weekends on defense for Milton, the Mustangs' top trio of Mary Quatrale (Pembroke, Mass.), Jessie Ward (Dedham, Mass.) and Maddie Bonavita (Longmeadow, Mass.) held their end of the bargain up front.
The three make up a physical, sizable and strong unit that excelled on the forecheck. They generated most of their chances by disrupting passing and skating lanes and hemming the opposition in.
Quatrale uses her size to her advantage offensively, driving play as she outmuscles defenders and protects pucks. She provided a key screen in front on Susannah Ward's power play goal against St. Mark's.
Against Nobles, the top line was one of the few units that consistently got pucks behind Nobles' defenders and generated pressure. It was good to see them get rewarded when Jessie Ward scored five-hole off a third-period face-off.
8. Encouraging signs for St. Paul's, Westminster and St. Mark's
The early-season ups and downs continued for all three teams. SPS went 2-2-0 on the weekend, falling to BB&N and Milton while beating St. Mark's and Lawrence Academy. St. Mark's ended on a high note with a win over Westminster on Sunday, avoiding a winless weekend. Westminster was not as fortunate, going 0-4-0.
Nevertheless, there are positives to take into 2025.
Junior Chelsea Bell (Barre, Vt.) impressed on the blue line for SPS. She moved the puck well, using her legs to get clean exits. Bell's a confident, patient puck carrier and a smooth skater. The score was not indicative of new goalie Paige MacPhee's performance against BB&N either before senior Brooklyn Godziak, a Western New England commit, entered in relief. MacPhee made big save after big save, robbing Glantz and Weyerhaeuser as well as a Molly Halloran (Belmont, Mass.) breakaway. Boston College commit Maude Niemann looked faster and more confident from last season. She drove play on a line with newcomer Maealie Glanzer.
Similar to the goaltending for SPS, the box scores might not indicate how vital Kate Epke (Guilford, Conn.) was to Westminster. The sophomore faced a high shot volume against Williston and Nobles but made a ton of strong saves. She anticipated passes and shots and was strong moving in her crease and tracking pucks. She made several desperation saves against Williston, including a ridiculous pad stop on Piekarski on a 2-on-1. Sophomore forward Bella Zapata impressed with her skating ability once again, too, showcasing good speed and efficient strides.
For St. Mark's, freshman Allie Sauls had success generating scoring chances. She scored a nice power play goal against Milton on a 2-on-1. She took a stretch pass in stride for the quick up. Once she saw the pass wasn't there, Sauls picked the top right corner with a strong wrister from the right dot for a pretty goal.
9. How will Lawrence Academy respond?
The Spartans came into the Harrington amid a good start to their season. They were 3-2-0 entering the weekend but sit 4-5-0 going into the holiday break. Lawrence struggled to generate offense outside of their top line of Norwich commit Gena Cookinham (Gilmanton Iron Works, NH), Ava Glab and Kayla Rice (Walpole, Mass.). They led the way in a strong start against Nobles, with Cookinham opening the scoring in the second period. Rice kept a play alive at the half wall and fed Glab in the high slot as a 2-on-1 developed. Glab found Cookinham at the far post, and she buried the rebound after the initial chance wouldn't go. It was a good example of what makes them effective as a unit.
But Nobles woke up after that goal and took it to Lawrence for the rest of the game. The Spartans looked flat the next morning and struggled in a 9-0 loss to Williston. Nikki Petrich's team responded with a 4-2 win over Westminster on Saturday night but fell to St. Paul's, 1-0, on Sunday morning.
Still, there's a lot of hockey left this season, and Lawrence shouldn't let a bad week (they also fell to Exeter the Wednesday before the tournament) derail a good start. After winning four games last season, they've already matched that total. There are positives to build on entering the new year.
