It's all about playing your best hockey at the right time.
Deerfield and Tabor certainly knew that.
The season came down to the No. 2 Big Green and the No. 5 Seawolves in the Large School championship. In the end, Deerfield took a 2-0 win in a goalie duel to earn their first title since 2001.
The Big Green made a legitimate late push for the Elite 8 down the stretch. Their road in the tournament featured a dramatic comeback against No. 7 Milton Academy, 3-2 in overtime, in the quarterfinals before a 3-1 win over No. 6 Kent in the semis.
Tabor, meanwhile, had to win a pair of one-goal upsets to reach the championship. The Seawolves came back in the third period for a 2-1 win over No. 4 Phillips Exeter in the first round. Then, they took down No. 1 Thayer in overtime, 3-2.
Various players throughout the tournament had outstanding showings. Let’s dive into this year’s Patsy Odden Large School All-Tournament team and MVP.
MVP: Campbell Krotee
Krotee (Darien, Conn.) saved her best for last. She didn't face a high volume of shots in the first two games, making just nine saves against Milton before turning aside 18 shots against Kent. But in the championship, she was outstanding, making 29 saves for the shutout. Krotee was fantastic early as Tabor built momentum with some first-period power plays, and in the second, she came up with a pair of clutch breakaway saves after Deerfield took the lead. She was sharp again in the third, especially on a lengthy 5-on-3 for Tabor and amid heavy pressure around her net. She made a great save late on Grace Stirling's bid in tight, stretching the right pad to deny it at the last second. Krotee, a Holy Cross commit, will play a postgrad year at Williston in 2025-26.
CHAMPS: Loomis survives Andover in Elite 8 | Deerfield blanks Tabor in Large School | New Hampton three-peats in Small School
All-Tournament Team
Forward: Sophie Frost, Deerfield
Frost was a huge part of the Big Green's offensive output this season as their highest-scoring forward. The junior came through in the playoffs. She had a pair of assists in Deerfield's thrilling third-period comeback against Milton before they won in overtime. In the semifinals against Kent, Frost opened the scoring with a critical early goal, crashing the net and burying a rebound in front.
Forward: Lilly Shaughnessy, Tabor
Shaughnessy (Medfield, Mass.) was as clutch as they come for the Seawolves in their run to the title game. The junior helped author a third-period comeback with a goal in the quarterfinals against Exeter, one of two unanswered in the third period for Tabor. She also came through with a pair of goals, including the game-winner, in the Seawolves' overtime upset of Thayer in the semis.
Forward: Kate Sullivan, Thayer
The lone representative outside of the semifinalist teams, Sullivan (Hingham, Mass.) and linemate Morgan McGathey (Braintree, Mass.) were two of the biggest heartbeats of the Tigers' offense all season long, and that continued in the postseason. Sullivan was a force in the quarterfinals and the semifinals. She had a five-point game in a high-scoring, 6-3 win over No. 8 St. Paul's in the quarterfinals, scoring twice and adding three assists. In the semis, the UNH-bound forward had a goal and an assist, finishing with three goals and seven points in two tournament games.
ALL-ELITE 8: All-Tournament team after Loomis Chaffee's win over Phillips Andover
Defense: Chloe Cleaves, Deerfield
Cleaves (Riverside, Conn.), Deerfield's leading scorer, was dynamic in the tournament. She pushed the pace and moved the puck effectively. She was clutch in the quarterfinals, authoring the Big Green's comeback with two third-period goals. Her late equalizer was a thing of beauty, picking the top right corner from the right dot. In the championship, the Yale commit assisted Allie Corrieri's opening goal before icing the win with an empty-netter with seven seconds left.
Defense: Allie Corrieri, Deerfield
Corrieri (Devens, Mass.) also saved her best for last. The Colby commit came through with the game-winning goal in the championship. She put a quick, hard wrist shot from the top of the umbrella perfectly off the bottom-left post and in for a power-play goal in the second. It capped off a big senior season in which she had career-highs in goals (nine) and points (23), good enough for second on the team in the latter category. She also led Deerfield with 14 assists.
Goalie: Campbell Krotee, Deerfield
Naturally.
PREP BRACKETS: Girls Elite 8 | Girls Large School | Girls Small School | Boys Elite 8 | Boys Large School | Boys Small School
Tabor's Avery Olson (Rockport, Mass.) had a strong case of her own. The Connecticut College commit made 43 saves in the first round against Exeter before two more stout performances in the semis and championship. She went toe-to-toe with Krotee and played more than well enough for her team to win. In the end, Krotee's MVP performance gave her the edge.
