Loomis Chaffee had one of the deepest, most experienced teams in girls prep hockey last winter.
The Pelicans also had some of the highest-end talent, with eight college commits, including six Division 1 recruits, on the roster.
It showed, as the Pelicans went 21-4-0 in the regular season before rolling to a repeat Elite 8 title as the No. 5 seed to finish 24-4-0. An aside: that Loomis was the fifth seed shows how deep the NEPSAC was on contenders last season.
But it's time to turn the page to 2026-27.
Can the Pelicans contend for a third straight title?
Zoomed-out view
It'll be a new-look Loomis Chaffee squad this season.
While plenty of key holdovers remain from the last two championship-winning squads, the Pelicans graduated its starting goaltender, two leading scorers and top three blue-liners.
"The biggest thing for this year is we graduated a class of eight that had been a really large, really strong class for four years," coach Liz Leyden said. "So, it's new leadership and lots of new roles for kids across the board, but especially up front."
But the Pelicans' returners have been meaningful contributors over the last two seasons.
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"This is going to be a team where our identity is about the collective effort," Leyden said. "We're going to have to be really strong from the back end, gritty, hard-nosed and just relentless. Knowing this is going to be by committee is going to be really fun and will allow the girls to support one another as we move forward."
Five seniors return along with six juniors. While just three freshmen, all forwards, were part of last season's group, each has followed promising debut campaigns with strong summers and fall seasons.
"The girls are super excited and know what it takes to be committed for a full season, but I think our personnel looks different than it has," Leyden said.
Among the seniors, Easton Pramuka (Amherst) and Brooke Murphy (Colby) will take on bigger roles up front, while Alexine Beaulieu (Hudson, N.H.; RPI) and Lizzie Orszulak (Longmeadow, Mass.), a Yale soccer commit, offer key experience on the blue line. Forward Mabel Cullen (Wilton, Conn.) will also be a key part of the leadership group.
"Easton and Brooke had really solid years last year and have had really good falls," Leyden said. "On defense, Alexine and Lizzie have played complementary, significant roles, and they're ready to step into more leadership.
"Mabel Cullen, in terms of the culture of our team, is just an incredible kid ... in terms of what she brings every day to our locker room and the way she pulls people together. I'm excited to see what these five can all do."
The last few years
Loomis, which has posted back-to-back 20-win seasons, has firmly claimed the mountaintop of girls prep hockey over the past two seasons, beating Phillips Andover for the Elite 8 crown in 2025 before knocking off Deerfield last season.
The Pelicans also reached the semifinals in 2024.
The Class of 2026 laid much of that foundation, whether it was Lindsay Stepnowski (South Glastonbury, Conn.; Harvard), Annie Schwarz (Fairfield, Conn.; Yale), Megan Hosman (Penn State), Carly Dann (Hanover, N.H.; Cornell), Adeline Roper (Kennebunkport, Maine; Williams), Hattie Willard (Wesleyan) or Bella Zolezzi (Assumption).
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That murderer's row at all three positions made the Pelicans one of the most well-rounded teams in prep, tying for third in goals for (115) and goals-against (30).
Even 2025's senior class was loaded with Catie Collins (South Burlington, Vt.; Princeton), Chloe Obser (RPI), Ellie Lachance (West Hartford, Conn.; Colby) and Megan Duplantie (Union).
Needless to say, the next core learned from the best.
"Our depth is so important, and they push each other along the way, which challenges and makes everybody better, but they have a blast while doing it. That's kind of the identity of our team," Leyden said. "The juniors have seen two years of this, and they're excited to make more of a stamp on their team."
The coach
Leyden took the helm at Loomis Chaffee in 2009 after spending three seasons as head coach at Hebron.
As a player, Leyden played four seasons at Middlebury, where she won three straight NCAA Division 3 titles from 2004-2006 in addition to NESCAC league titles in 2003, 2005 and 2006. She scored the game-winning goal in the 2004 national championship.
During her time at Loomis, the Pelicans have compiled a 270-102-30 record and 13 straight postseason appearances in addition to the repeat championships. Loomis has also continually produced Division 1 and 3 prospects during her tenure.
Who will the stars be?
Much of the onus will fall on the likes of Pramuka, Murphy, Beaulieu and Orszulak.
Pramuka has a big opportunity to build on a breakout junior season as Loomis' top-scoring returner. After seasons of 12 and 15 points, she had 23 (11 goals) as a junior. She was also clutch in the postseason, scoring twice in the Elite 8 championship. The Mid Fairfield Stars standout parlayed it into a commitment to Amherst College.
Murphy, likewise, has been a consistent producer over three seasons with the Pelicans. The Connecticut Polar Bears standout, who recently committed to Colby, is relentless with her speed and ability to keep plays alive and create offense around the net.
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On the back end, four upperclassmen will be tasked with maintaining Loomis' high defensive standard. Leyden relies on her blue-liners to push the pace in transition in addition to sound defensive play.
Beaulieu and Orszulak are well-versed in that area, as are juniors Amaya McNeil (Fairfield, Conn.) and Mia Lynch. The latter two took major steps as sophomores, as McNeil had eight points (one goal) to Lynch's 12 (four goals).
McNeil, who recently committed to Holy Cross, advanced to USA Hockey's Under-18 Women's National Team Festival after standing out at 16/17 Camp.
With McNeil and Lynch continuing to come into their own alongside Beaulieu and Orszulak, Loomis is positioned to handle the departures of Hosman, Dann and Willard.
"That's a big three, but Mia and Amaya are really good puck-moving defensemen who are consistently steady, strong across the board, and (junior)Â Zoe Helmers is another one," Leyden said. "We're going to have a lot of girls who can play and are going to be trusted, who like to get involved in the offense."
Newcomers
Among the newcomers who Loomis is eager to see is defender Bess Elkins. The '11 was a standout at Mass. Hockey Festival in the spring before reaching National 15 Camp.
"Her skating is really strong, and the way that she plays D really fits our style in terms of jumping into the play, being a solid skater and really playing in all three zones," Leyden said.
Forward June Kleiner, a fellow Polar Bears standout along with Elkins, is entering the mix, too. The '12 also reached 15 Camp.
The Pelicans are also adding '12 goalie Brooke Xu, who was a standout with the New Jersey Rockets, a AAA boys program.
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"For us to have two goalies that can play means that practice is better, that they push each other and everybody keeps improving," Leyden said.
Breakout candidates
At the top of the list of breakout candidates are the three sophomore forwards back in the fold, Lexi Buco (North Providence, R.I.), Scarlett Robinson (Fairfield, Conn.) and Sophie DiGioia (Milford, Conn.). Each was a strong contributor as a freshman.
Buco is the second-leading scorer among the returners after posting 16 points (eight goals). DiGioia, meanwhile, had 13 points (seven goals), and Murphy had 11 (three goals). Buco and Robinson, both '10s, each made USA Hockey's National 16/17 Camp over the summer, while DiGioia, an '11, made National 15 Camp.
The trio, which formed the Pelicans' second power play unit last season along with McNeil and Lynch, drew high praise from Leyden. The three forwards remind her of Stepnowski and Schwarz when they were entering their sophomore seasons.
"I'm really excited for the three of them, and each of them brings something different to the game," Leyden said. "When they play together, they complement each other really well, but all three of them are high-skill players.Â
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"The three of them were all actually more productive as freshmen than I may have thought they might be, so they're ready to take on some pretty significant things."
Also on any list of breakout candidates at Loomis is junior goalie Emily Hosman, who is set to take on the starting role after Roper's departure.
Hosman, an '09 standing at 5-foot-10, took on more minutes last season and was excellent with a .982 save percentage, denying 160 of 163 shots. She opened with six straight shutouts before allowing a goal and finished with 10 clean sheets. It followed a .957 save percentage in a smaller sample as a freshman.
"I'm psyched for Emily because she had an unreal year last year, and she played meaningful minutes for us," Leyden said. "For her, it's being excited for this, being confident and knowing her game. She's a very good goalie who takes up a lot of net, so it's going to be hard to score on us. She's in a really solid place mentally and is excited for the opportunity ahead."
The ceiling
Few teams have won three straight titles.
No one has done it in 16 years. Nobles was the last to do it in the top bracket, winning three consecutive Division 1 titles in 2008, 2009 and 2010. New Hampton was the most recent program to three-peat in any capacity, with three straight Small School crowns in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Governor's also won four straight Division 2 titles from 2008 to 2011.
Between its stable of reliable experience, emerging new core and exciting youngsters, Loomis certainly has what it takes to contend again. Will it be enough for the three-peat?
"Every year is a new year, and it's just continually reminding people of that," Leyden said. "I really care about the process, and if we do the right thing every day, the outcomes take care of themselves. I am just relentless in that. It's about what's in front of your face, how you do it and how you support each other."
