As early as eighth grade, Bella Schifano knew she wanted to play prep school hockey.
It wasn’t until her sophomore year at South Portland High School in Maine that Schifano realized which prep school she wanted to attend. Her former high school teammate, Abbey Agrodnia, had transferred to Frederick Gunn School in Connecticut the year before, and Schifano could tell Agrodnia was a better skater.
“When (Abbey) would come home we would skate together, I could see her improvement, and I knew that’s what I wanted, too,” Schifano said. “She definitely had an impact on me going away to a school and convinced me that it’s the right thing to do.”
Agrodnia and Schifano, two key players on a Maine team that finished state runner-up in 2020, have been reunited at Gunn. The Highlanders didn’t compete last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so both girls are playing prep hockey for the first time.
It’s a faster, more physical game at Gunn, but Agrodnia says playing with her old teammate has been helpful.
“I was super excited when I heard she was coming back,” Agrodnia said of Schifano. “I already know some of her tendencies, so on the ice, it’s going to be a little bit easier for me to play with her. … Whenever I’m on the ice with her, I know where she’s going to be, which is great.”
That chemistry developed while playing for the Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete/South Portland co-op program in the 2019-20 season. Agrodnia, a 5-foot-7 defender who recently committed to Endicott, tallied 14 goals and 16 assists while dominating the blue line.
Schifano, then a freshman, scored 27 goals and 19 assists for the Capers. She also came in clutch, scoring in the regional final against Scarborough thanks to an assist from Agrodnia. That team reached the state finals, ultimately losing to Lewiston 1-0 in overtime.
“We had a lot of great girls on the team that brought a lot of different things to the table and helped us have a very successful season,” Schifano said. “I think the best thing that year was that we all had fun. Nobody went to practice and didn’t want to be there. We all wanted to be there, we all wanted to get better.”
After that season, Agrodnia knew she was ready to move on to prep school. She looked into a number of schools, deciding on the Frederick Gunn School after a great visit to campus.
Highlanders coach Dan Allen said Agrodnia is a physical defender with a great hockey IQ. But it’s the senior’s coachability that has helped her adjust to a challenging style of play.
“She asks a lot of questions. She’s constantly coming to me and being like, ‘Do you want me to do this? Do you think I’m better off doing this in this situation?’ ” Allen said. “She’s very curious as far as asking me or other coaches on the staff how to continue to develop and get better.”
Agrodnia’s dad coached her when she was younger, and she wasn’t always open to his constructive criticism. Now, Agrodnia knows the importance of taking feedback and applying it to her game.
“One of the best traits you can have is being open-minded and being able to take in other perspectives to advance your game,” Agrodnia said. “It’s not just being coachable by a coach, it’s being coachable by a teammate as well, which I think has been very helpful in advancing my game.”
After seeing how a year at Gunn improved Agrodnia’s skills, Schifano visited the Gunn campus herself. Agrodnia was actually her tour guide, as she did her part to recruit the 5-foot-4 playmaker.
Schifano already has stood out for the Highlanders, scoring twice in an early-season game against Greenfield Academy. Allen believes the forward’s ceiling is unlimited.
“She’s very offensively gifted,” Allen said. “She can drive offense just through herself for her linemates. At the NCAA level, what a lot of coaches are going to be looking for are players that can do that. … She has good hands, she can shoot the puck, she sees the ice very well offensively.”
Schifano has the skill-set to thrive at Gunn, but the transition from public school to a boarding school 250 miles from home is still a lot to handle. It helps that Schifano is one of 10 sophomores on the roster and is far from the only newcomer on campus.
Of course, the best thing for Schifano is having Agrodnia as a veteran leader. Schifano says Agrodnia has made sure to get her former teammate out of her comfort zone, something Schifano loves.
“She allowed me to come out of it but still feel somewhat comfortable, to get to know other people,” Schifano said. “She guided me through some stuff that I might not have known. I couldn’t have asked for a better person to do that. She’s been amazing and she’s still helping me to this day.”
It might take a bit for Agrodnia and Schifano to fully acclimate to prep school play. But they take comfort in going through it together, teammates again.
“If she messes up, if I mess up, we look to each other, we’re like, ‘It’s OK, we’ll get it right the next drill,’ ” Agrodnia said. “I think it’s all just knowing you’re going to make mistakes and keeping your head up and in the game.”
