We're just 29 days from the start of the tournaments in girls prep hockey.
There's a lot to unpack from the last seven days as we enter the closing stretch of the regular season.
There were high-end matchups practically everywhere you looked. You had Phillips Andover taking down Cushing on Wednesday, while Loomis Chaffee knocked off BB&N and Thayer edged Rivers. Over the weekend, Cushing took down BB&N, and Loomis took care of Phillips Exeter. Among other matchups, Andover tied BB&N and fell to Deerfield.
After all of it, the top three remained unchanged, while several teams slid up in the rankings, including Thayer, who entered the top five. Further down the top 10, BB&N is on the ropes, and Groton is back in the mix as they surge into the home stretch.
Let's dive in.
1. Williston Northampton (15-0-1)
Previous ranking: 1
Head coach: Christa Talbot Syfu
Next game: at Taft, Feb. 5, 4:45 p.m.
The Wildcats continued to roll right along, remaining in the top spot after earning high-scoring wins. They took down Austin Prep, 9-0, before taking care of Hotchkiss in an 11-0 blowout. In the win over AP, Violet Carroll (Milton, Mass.) scored a goal and added three assists to become the 11th player in program history to reach the 100-point threshold for her career. She followed it up with three points (one goal) versus Hotchkiss. Ava Carr (Medway, Mass.) and Keira Gould scored their first career goals in the game against AP, and Mia Daley (Lynnfield, Mass.) and Nora Curtis helped lead the way against Hotchkiss with four points (two goals) each. Williston remains USHR's projected No. 1 seed if the Elite 8 were to start today. They'll visit Taft on Wednesday before a layoff ahead of next week's slate.
2. Dexter Southfield (12-0-4)
Previous ranking: 2
Head coach: Maggie Taverna
Next game: vs. Phillips Exeter, Feb. 5, 4:45 p.m.
The Shields picked up a pair of wins last week to stay at No. 2. They first knocked off a tough Tabor team, 3-1, on the road before rolling past Brooks, 8-0 at home. Three different skaters found the back of the net versus Tabor, and Devon Moore (Milton, Mass.) had a pair of assists. Sawyer Merrill (Hingham, Mass.) scored twice against Brooks, and Maggie Chudzinski had a goal and an assist. Maddie Perkins (Milton, Mass.) also notched her first career goal against Brooks. Dexter is the No. 2 seed in the Elite 8 field as of right now. A tough week lies ahead with tests against Phillips Exeter at home on Wednesday before visiting St. George's on Saturday.
3. Loomis Chaffee (15-1-1)
Previous ranking: 3
Head coach: Liz Leyden
Next game: vs. Frederick Gunn, Feb. 5, 5 p.m.
The Pelicans stayed put at No. 3 after taking home four wins. They took care of BB&N, 4-1, last Wednesday before Greenwich Academy forfeited Friday's matchup. On Saturday, they picked up a good win over Phillips Exeter, 4-2, on the road before shutting out Westminster, 7-0, on Monday. Four different skaters scored against BB&N, including Lindsay Stepnowski (South Glastonbury, Conn.), Ellie Lachance (West Hartford, Conn.) and Chloe Obser, who each had a goal and an assist in the win. Loomis jumped up to the projected No. 3 seed in the Elite 8 if it were to start today. They'll host Gunn on Wednesday before a layoff ahead of a visit to Cushing next Friday.
TOP PERFORMERS: Top girls prep performers from Jan. 22-28
4. Nobles (14-3-0)
Previous ranking: 5
Head coach: Tom Resor
Next game: vs. St. George's, Feb. 5, 3:15 p.m.
The Bulldogs jumped one spot after going 2-0-0 last week. They took down Lawrence Academy, 8-0, on the road before a 2-1 win at St. Paul's. Gretta Hulbig (Foxboro, Mass.) scored the game-winner against SPS with less than three minutes to go after Francie Ames (Brookline, Mass.) tied it midway through the third. Addy Keaveney (Westwood, Mass.) and Catherine McCool (West Roxbury, Mass.) each had a pair in the win over Lawrence. If the Elite 8 were to start today, Nobles would be the sixth seed. They'll host St. George's on Wednesday before visiting Cushing on Friday. The Bulldogs will also travel to Brooks on Saturday.
5. Thayer (14-1-2)
Previous ranking: 7
Head coach: Michael Flynn
Next game: vs. Brooks, Feb. 5, 5 p.m.
The Tigers advanced into the top five, jumping two spots after picking up three more wins to respond to the loss to Dexter two weeks ago. They picked up a quality win over Rivers, 3-2, before taking down Tilton, 3-0. Thayer ended the week with a 4-2 win over Middlesex. Morgan McGathey (Braintree, Mass.) had a hat trick against Tilton, and Wren Abboud (Weymouth, Mass.) scored a pair versus Middlesex. Abby DeAnzeris (Needham, Mass.) and Madi Call (Dedham, Mass.) were among three different goal-scorers against Rivers. Thayer is currently No. 5 in the projected Elite 8 field. They'll host Brooks on Wednesday before St. Paul's on Saturday.
6. Cushing (19-3-0)
Previous ranking: 4
Head coach: Valerie Bono-Bunker
Next game: at New Hampton, Feb. 5, 4 p.m.
The Penguins dropped two spots after a 1-1-0 week. They fell at Phillips Andover, 4-2, on Wednesday before bouncing back with a 3-2 win at BB&N over the weekend. Bella Freitas (Everett, Mass.) extended her NEPSAC scoring lead with a pair of goals against Andover and an assist versus BB&N. Meanwhile, Brooke Harb (Atkinson, N.H.) scored the game-winner late in the third against BB&N. Cushing is the projected fourth seed in the Elite 8 as of right now. They'll face a pair of tall orders this week, visiting New Hampton on Wednesday before hosting Nobles on Friday.
STATEMENT WIN: 11 standouts, takeaways from Phillips Andover’s win over Cushing
7. Phillips Andover (10-2-2)
Previous ranking: 6
Head coach: Martha Fenton
Next game: vs. Tabor, Feb. 5, 3:30 p.m.
Andover looked poise to see a nice jump in the rankings after beating Cushing at home, but they stumbled over the weekend, tying BB&N, 2-2, and losing to Deerfield, 1-0. Sarah Powers (Lynnfield, Mass.) scored twice against Cushing, and Emily Mara (Winchester, Mass.) scored against BB&N after posting a goal and an assist versus Cushing. Right now, Andover would be the No. 7 seed in the Elite 8. The Big Blue aren't out of the woods yet, either. They'll host Tabor on Wednesday before visiting New Hampton on Friday.
8. Deerfield (12-3-2)
Previous ranking: 10
Head coach: Brooke Fernandez
Next game: at St. Paul's, Feb. 5, 5 p.m.
Deerfield jumped two spots after extending their winning streak to five straight. They're unbeaten in nine straight, too, going 8-0-1 since Dec. 21. The Big Green took down Pomfret, 3-0, before upsetting Andover, 1-0. They've picked up shutouts in three straight, too. Brady Wierl came through the lone goal versus Andover, while Peyton Wierl was among three different scorers against Pomfret. Deerfield currently holds the No. 1 seed in the Large School tournament. They'll look to stay hot when they visit St. Paul's on Wednesday.
9. Groton (11-3-2)
Previous ranking: NR
Head coach: Tim LeRoy
Next game: vs. Middlesex, Feb. 5, 2:45 p.m.
The Zebras stormed back into the rankings after picking up their fifth win in a row. It's their first time in the top 10 since before the holiday break. They've got four straight shutouts to their credit, going back to a 2-0 win over Rivers on Jan. 25. Last week, Groton knocked off Governor's, 2-0, SPS, 3-0, and Holderness, 4-0. Nora Wilson (Weybridge, Vt.) has found a groove in the crease, turning aside 28 shots against Gov's and making 25 saves versus SPS. Maddie Cronan (Ashland, Mass.) had a goal and an assist versus Gov's before adding two goals and a helper against Holderness. Groton jumped into the No. 8 seed in the Elite 8 projection. They'll look to keep rolling against Middlesex on Wednesday before hosting Lawrence Academy on Friday.
10. BB&N (9-6-2)
Previous ranking: 8
Head coach: Ed Bourget
Next game: at Governor's, Feb. 5, 3:15 p.m.
The Knights slid after a winless week, going 0-2-1, after losing to Loomis and Cushing and tying Andover. They dropped out of the current Elite 8 field, slipping to the No. 2 seed in the projected Large School field with a slight edge over Exeter, if it were to start today. Hannah Weyerhaeuser's (Cambridge, Mass.) hot streak continued, though, as she scored against Loomis and Cushing. It'll hardly get any easier for BB&N over the next few weeks, starting with Governor's, Milton and Exeter this week.
Dropped out: Phillips Exeter (10-4-1)
In the hunt:Â Phillip Exeter, Rivers (9-7-1), New Hampton (10-5-2), Tabor (8-7-1), Berkshire (8-6-2)
