The holidays are here and that means it's tournament time in prep hockey. Each year, the Patsy K. Odden Invitational at Taft delivers, featuring some of the best teams in the NEPSAC.
This season looks to be no different as the tournament hits its 40th anniversary.
The slate features some potential forces in Phillips Andover and Tabor as well as other teams sure to be in the mix, like Kent, Loomis Chaffee and Taft.
This year's tournament will kick off on Thursday, Dec. 14, and conclude on Friday, Dec. 15, with games played at both rinks on Taft's campus. Andover has taken home back-to-back Odden tournament titles.
There are two divisions of four teams each.
Group A:
- Andover
- Kent
- Tabor
- Taft
Group B:
- Choate
- Hotchkiss
- Lawrenceville
- Loomis Chaffee
Here is the full schedule:
Thursday, Dec. 14
- Taft vs. Kent, 9 a.m., Odden Arena
- Tabor vs. Andover, 9:30 a.m., Mays Rink
- Loomis Chaffee vs. Choate, 10:45 a.m., Odden Arena
- Lawrenceville vs. Hotchkiss, 11:15 a.m., Mays Rink
- Taft vs. Andover, 2:45 p.m., Odden Arena
- Kent vs. Tabor, 3:15 p.m., Mays Rink
- Loomis Chaffee vs. Lawrenceville, 4:30 p.m., Odden Arena
- Choate vs. Hotchkiss, 5 p.m., Mays Rink
Friday, Dec. 15
- Taft vs. Tabor, 9 a.m., Odden Arena
- Andover vs. Kent, 9:30 a.m., Mays Rink
- Hotchkiss vs. Loomis Chaffee, 10:45 a.m., Odden Arena
- Choate vs. Lawrenceville, 11:15 a.m., Mays Rink
- Consolation – No. 2 Group A vs. No. 2 Group B, 2:30 p.m., Mays Rink
- Championship – No. 1 Group A vs. No. 1 Group B, 2:30 p.m., Odden Arena
All games played at Taft
Now that we know the schedule, here’s a full breakdown of every team competing in the Odden tournament.
Andover
The Big Blue are surely the favorites entering the tournament as back-to-back champions.
Andover is yet to get its season underway, opening the slate against Dexter Southfield on Friday, Dec. 8. Despite graduating eight seniors, Martha Fenton's team looks poised for another big year after reaching the Elite 8 final last season.
It's not often that a team has two players that could each make their own case for best player in the NEPSAC, but that's what defender Molly Boyle (Scituate, Mass.), a Yale commit, and sophomore forward Caroline Averill (Wayland, Mass.) could do. Also on the backend, freshman Maggie Averill (Wayland, Mass.) projects as one of the best 2008-born defense prospects.
Even after losing a lot of firepower from last year's team, Boyle and Maggie's offensive prowess from the blue line, to go along with Caroline's playmaking ability, should keep Andover in good hands. Shea Freda (Lexington, Mass.) and Peyton Kennedy (Sudbury, Mass.) also bring key experience to the table.
Choate
After falling to Loomis Chaffee in a scrimmage, Choate's offense has come alive for a 2-0-0 start to their regular season. The Wild Boars kicked things off with a 5-4 win over Lawrence before a 4-0 shutout over Greenwich.
Choate got contributions throughout the lineup in each of their two wins. Sophomore Natalie Beach (Darien, Conn.), a Mid-Fairfield Stars standout, picked up her first goal as part of a hat trick against Lawrence, while junior Taylor Rossiter also picked up her first varsity goal. Bella Welch, who also plays club for Mid-Fairfield, scored her first goal against Greenwich. Sophomore goalie Clara Kang (Guilford, Conn.) earned her first varsity win and shutout against Greenwich as well.
The Wild Boars also expect a strong year from senior goalie Elsa Haakonsen (Trumbull, Conn.), a Manhattanville College commit, in addition to senior forwards Caroline Holm (Cheshire, Conn.) and Norah Morris, a co-captain. Each earned All-NEPSAC honorable mention last season.
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Hotchkiss
Hotchkiss rattled off two straight wins to open their season, including a 7-2 drubbing of Hoosac before a 4-2 comeback victory over Frederick Gunn. But they fell to Lawrenceville, 4-1, last time out.
Head coach Kelsie Fralick has an extremely veteran-heavy team with nine seniors.
Both goalies, senior Steph Ionescu (Fairfield, Conn.) and sophomore Nikki Ferraro (New Canaan, Conn.) have seen action so far. Senior forward Bri Rockwood found the back of the net twice in each of their wins, while at least seven different skaters have gotten on the board as well, including freshman Marygrace Lawry and sophomore Alyssa Filmer.
The Bearcats get a shot at redemption when they open the Odden tournament against Lawrenceville.
Kent
The Lions are off and running on a 3-0-0 start under new head coach Sam Ftorek. They've been rolling with a 2-1 win over Berkshire, a 5-2 win over Hill School and most recently, a 3-1 result against Westminster.
Kent's most important players have started strong, too, with Quinnipiac commit Sophie Rousseau (Kent, Conn.), Dartmouth commit Megan Duplantie and RPI commit Mia Montanari (East Hampton, Conn.) each finding the scoresheet in the early going.
Lauren Ferrari, who Ftorek called Kent's "security blanket" has had a solid start, too, allowing just four goals through three games. The Lions also expect stout contributions from blue-liners Elizabeth Bonner, a Connecticut college commit, and Caitlin Pierce.
Lawrenceville
Coming off a 15-4-2 run last season, Lawrenceville is 1-1-0 out of the gates after being shut out, 3-0, by Taft before their 4-1 win over Hotchkiss. Nicole Uliasz has a young group this year with 12 underclassmen between eight freshmen and four sophomores.
Senior co-captain and forward Stella Costabile, a Syracuse commit, found the back of the net against Hotchkiss before some strong two-way play to close out the win. Freshman Lyla Picker has also made a strong impression in the early going. Junior defender Ellie Dimatos got on the board against Hotchkiss as well.
They have a chance to continue their momentum against Berkshire before the Odden tournament.
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Loomis Chaffee
After a scrimmage win against Choate, Loomis has stumbled out of the gates, falling at Nobles, 3-0, before dropping their home-opener against Deerfield, 2-1.
Liz Leyden's team checked in at seventh in each of our first two rankings to open the season. Their hard, physical defensive effort against an opportunistic Nobles team was impressive.
The Pelicans have two games to get on track going into the Odden tournament. There is plenty of talent for that to happen, both up front and on defense. They returned their leading scorers from last season, juniors Chloe Obser and Grace Morin, who make up two of four returners from the top six. There's also a sizable sophomore class that impressed as freshmen, be it forwards Lindsay Stepnowski (South Glastonbury, Conn.) and Annie Schwarz (Fairfield, Conn.) or defenders Carly Dann (Hanover, N.H.) and Megan Hosman. Junior Catie Collins (South Burlington, Vt.) and senior Emma Hannah (Newtown, Conn.) also lead the blue line. Both goalies, senior Leila Fournier(West Kingston, R.I.) and sophomore Adeline Roper (Kennebunkport, Maine) are back, too.
Tabor
Eric Long's team has made the Elite 8 for six straight seasons, and this year shouldn't be any different. The Seawolves are off to a 2-0-0 start, thanks to a 4-1 win against Cushing and a 5-2 result over Rivers.
Even after losing six seniors last year, Tabor brings back a strong core with three of their top five producers from last season, as well as their top two defenders.
Up front, co-captains Lizzy Greeley (Hyde Park, Mass.), last year's leading scorer, and Ayla Abban (Duxbury, Mass.), an Amherst commit, lead the way. Whitney Dacko (Walpole, Mass.) and Julianna Goffredo are expected to take jumps, too. On defense, few boast a one-two punch quite like Kaitlin Sullivan (Needham, Mass.) and Adeline Paskowski (Plymouth, Mass). Long is also confident in Tabor's two new goalies, Avery Olson (Rockport, Mass.) out of Northfield Mount Hermon and Elizabeth Jacobsson out of Groton.
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Taft
The hosts of the Odden tournament, Taft has come out firing with four straight wins to open their season. It knocked off Millbrook, Lawrenceville, Frederick Gunn and Berkshire with a combined margin of 10-3. The Rhinos also had shutouts in their first two games.
The three-time NEPSAC champions and last year's Large School runners-up have gotten contributions from some newcomers in the early going. Sophomores Julianna Picard (Madison, Conn.) and Brooke McLaughlin (Wilbraham, Mass.) as well as junior Brighton McMahon (Hebron, Conn.) have each found the back of the net so far.
MacKenzie Lancaster's team has relied on senior goaltender and co-captain Truus van Wees (Ridgefield, Conn.), who earned All-NEPSAC honorable mention last season. The Rhinos also have high expectations for their fellow co-captains, senior defender Maisy Ricciardelli (Darien, Conn.) and senior forward Kyla O'Byrne.
