Injuries were an issue last season and yet, the Noble & Greenough girls hockey team still got the job done. With health and some experience on its side yet again, Nobles is aware of what it will take to earn another Division 1 NEPSAC title this season.
Nobles went 26-3-3 last season as head coach Tom Resor was USA Today’s Girls Hockey Coach of the Year. Needless to say, enjoying that level of success has to be a confidence booster for the girls in the program.
“I think it gives them extra confidence coming into the season knowing what they achieved,” Resor said. “They found a way to get it done and finish on the highest note we could. You just don’t want to be overconfident now. It took a lot of hard work and we got some breaks along the way. It’s an incredibly talented and competitive field that keeps getting stronger every year. We know what it takes, though, and that we can’t cut corners to get there.”
After all, Nobles overcame adversity, particularly the injuries to a pair of freshmen — Jenna McDonald, a Harvard commit, on defense as well as forward Katie Pyne, who is committed to Boston College. The two are just a part of the talented and experienced team that Nobles has coming back this winter.
The defensive depth that Nobles has amassed allows the team to stand out from the crowd. Nobles has six returning players on this side of the puck who saw ice time last season, not including McDonald. Senior Lily Farden, who was a member of gold medal-winning Team USA at the IIHF Under-18 World Championship, is the leader of the unit.
Offensively, the team will have to try to make up for the departure of Katie Tresca, who is now playing at Harvard, and to do so, it will be looking for a more spread-out scoring effort. Senior forwards Courtney Hyland, who led the team in points last season, and Maddie Bayard, who plays strong two-way hockey, as well as junior Maeve Connolly, who has been with the program since she was in seventh grade, are expected to be a part of that effort.
“We have a lot of forwards returning who have experience this year,” Resor said, “and I know they’ve been working hard both over the summer and for the fall for their club teams. We’re hoping everyone improves a little bit on their production and we can make up for those lost goals.”
It also should provide the team with a boost after losing its starting goaltender from last year to graduation. Sophomore Taylor Hyland appears to be in position to take over in net, as she attended a USA Hockey 16/17 Player Development Camp over the summer.
While Nobles appears to have the right pieces in place to contend again losing seven players to graduation, the team will be challenged by the rest of the region.
“We’re excited about the season and know that every year, the competition and depth of the programs keep getting stronger,” Resor said, “so we’re in a really good place with all of the great youth programs and the coaching they get there.”
Down in D-2
Vermont Academy is coming off an exceptionally strong season (33-2-1) in which it claimed the Division 2 NEPSAC title. Last season, the offense was simply explosive (4.97 goals per game) and the defense and goaltending were sharp (1.76 goals allowed per game).
While there are certainly reasons for Vermont to be confident in the team is has coming back, winning back-to-back championships is never an easy task, especially for a team that lost two of its top three point scorers who combined for 171 points last season. In all, Vermont lost seven players to graduation, including the majority of the defense and the starting goaltender.
Still, with junior forward Kristyna Kaltounkova (51 goals, 33 assists last year) leading the charge offensively, it’s hard to imagine scoring goals will be an issue. Plus, senior Sarah Jacobelli (.922 save percentage and 1.89 GAA) made a handful of starts in net during the team’s championship run and excelled.
Kimball Union is another team worth watching closely. KUA is coming off a respectable 15-7-5 campaign and returns all but two of its regular skaters. Much of KUA’s trouble last season came against Vermont Academy (0-3-1 in four games), but the team could be in a position to thrive this season given its experience.
Kimball Union did lose two of its top three forwards, but the entire defensive unit remains, as does senior goaltender Seana Perkins, who played well when filling in for Maddie Long last season. On defense, senior Molly Flanagan, who was an All-NEPSAC honorable mention player on defense last season, is back and looks to spearhead the unit. Senior Olive Scull and junior Bella Parento return with experience.
Depth-wise, the team did not have the most bodies on defense last season, so it relied on some two-way players to fill the void, including Angelina Tommola at times, although the now-senior primarily is a forward. Additions on that side of the puck could help make the team more potent this time around.
For Kimball Union, the biggest question might be whether or not it can make up for some of the lost offensive production.
Keep a watch out
Brooks School senior goaltender Caroline Kukas, a St. Anselm’s commit, was the NEPSAC Division 2 Player of the Year last season, so she will be in a position to shine again this season and lead her team. It certainly helps that her team will have Caroline Cutter on defense, as she earned a All-NEPSAC Division 2 honorable mention nod last season.
On the attack, Vermont Academy junior Kaltounkova, a Colgate commit who earned a spot on the All-NEPSAC Division 2 team at forward, is poised to have another big year playing for the defending champs. Defensively, Rivers School senior defender Leslie Schwartz, another All-NEPSAC Division 2 player, helps her team stop opposing offenses.
Up in Division 1, senior forwards Julia Nearis of Kent School and Northeastern commit Jessica Schryver of Loomis Chaffee are in position to lead their respective teams on the attack; they were both on the All-NEPSAC Division 1 team last season. On defense, seniors Lauren DeBlois of New Hampton, a Providence commit, and Farden of Noble & Greenough were selected.
A pair of Buckingham Browne & Nichols players are worth watching closely since both of them have multiple years of eligibility remaining: junior forward Molly Griffin and sophomore defender Mia Biotti. Griffin, a Northeastern commit, and Biotti, who is Harvard bound after her prep career, were both NEPSAC Division 1 honorable mentions at their respective positions last season.
