The most exciting week of the girls prep school hockey season is here.
Twenty teams have qualified for the New England Prep School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) postseason. Games will be played on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.
At the end of Sunday, New England champions will be crowned in three divisions: Elite 8 (Chuck Vernon Tournament), Large School (Patsy Odden Tournament) and Small School (Dorothy Howard Tournament).
The top seed in the eight-team Elite 8 is Williston Northampton (21-1), while Deerfield (9-4-4) is the No. 1 seed in the six-team Large School bracket. Dexter Southfield (13-5-3) is the team to beat in the Small School tournament field, also comprised of six teams.
Deerfield and Buckingham Browne & Nichols (11-10-3) have earned first-round byes and will advance to the semifinals in the Large School division.
In the Small School division, Dexter Southfield and Vermont Academy (19-3-2) also won’t have to play on Wednesday.
The regular season ended last Saturday and competition for the 20 spots was fierce. No champions were crowned last winter due to the pandemic.
In 2020, the champions were Nobles (Elite 8), St. Paul’s (Large) and Cushing (Small).
Here’s a look at the fields.
Elite 8
1. Williston Northampton (21-1)
2. Noble and Greenough (23-0-3)
3. Cushing (17-4-4)
4. Phillips Andover (13-4-4)
5. Loomis Chafee (13-5-4)
6. Tabor (13-4-4)
7. St. Paul’s (17-5-1)
8. Kent (12-5-0)
Quarterfinals
Kent at Williston; Loomis at Andover; Tabor at Cushing; St. Paul’s at Nobles
Notes: The two heavyweights are Williston Northampton and Nobles. The only team to hand Williston a loss was Noble in a 2-0 setback on Dec. 19 … Loomis Chaffee tied Nobles twice, 0-0 and 1-1 … Nobles only allowed seven goals in its last nine games … The Dedham school features sharpshooter Emmy O’Leary (34-29-63), who scored the game-winning goal in a tight 5-4 win over Andover in the 2020 Elite 8 championship game … During a current seven-game win streak, St. Paul’s has outscored opponents 25-7 … The last loss for Cushing - which went 8-0-2 in February - occurred in a 1-0 loss to Nobles on Jan. 28 … Andover went 2-3 in its last five, but the losses were to Williston, Nobles and Loomis … Tabor enters with just one loss in its final 13 games, a 3-1 defeat to Nobles … After a 7-1 loss to Williston, Kent put together an eight-game win streak and outscored opponents 29-11.
Cushing head coach Valerie Bono likes the way her team is playing but says Williston and Nobles are definitely worthy of their rankings.
“They’re incredible teams. Well coached. Lots of depth. They’re the favorites,” Bono said. “There’s only one team that’s going to win their last game. It’s really tight. There is honestly not one team I want to face. I think the league is so strong and so talented.”
Cushing has plenty of firepower with the likes of Sammy Taber (26-23-49), Mia Langlois (25-14-39) and Lily Brazis (14-18-32).
Large School
1. Deerfield (9-4-4)
2. Buckingham Browne & Nichols (11-10-3)
3. Choate (11-8-5)
4. Taft (11-8-2)
5. Governor’s Academy (13-7-2)
6. Hotchkiss (8-9-1)
Quarterfinals
Governor’s at Taft; Hotchkiss at Choate (Deerfield, BB&N with byes)
Notes: Deerfield fell 3-2 in OT on Feb. 23 to Williston, beat Loomis in the regular-season finale, 2-1 … BB&N won three in a row before a 6-0 loss to Williston to end the regular season … Choate skated to a 3-3 tie with a strong Cushing squad to enter the playoffs … Taft won its final four games, allowing only three goals in that stretch … Governor’s started the season 6-0, closed with a 4-1 victory over Brooks. The leading scorers for Governor’s are Lily Shannon (26-26-52) and Kelly Harty (21-26-47) … Hotchkiss went 2-3 down the stretch, but that’s a bit misleading: All the losses were by one goal.
Small School
1. Dexter Southfield (13-5-3)
2. Vermont Academy (19-3-1)
3. New Hampton (14-9-2)
4. Lawrence Academy (10-9-3)
5. Rivers School (13-9-2)
6. Brooks (13-9-3)
Quarterfinals
Rivers at Lawrence; Brooks at New Hampton (Dexter Southfield, Vermont with byes)
Notes: Behind goaltender Maika Paquin, Vermont had a strong campaign despite a 4-0 loss to St. Paul’s to end the regular season … Paquin has a .940 save percentage … Dexter went 1-3-1 in its final five games, but all three losses were to playoff teams … New Hampton closed with a 6-1 surge, the only setback a one-goal loss to Vermont … Lawrence also played well down the stretch, going 4-1-2, including a 3-3 tie with Cushing … Rivers skated to a 4-1 win over Lawrence as part of a 4-1-1 close to the regular season … Brooks prepped for the playoffs by going 4-2-1 in its final seven games.
New Hampton head coach Craig Churchill is proud of how his team played down the stretch despite the absences of several players.
“I think we’re pretty dialed in right now. I think it’s really competitive,” he said of the Small School bracket. There’s a lot of good hockey players, a lot of strong teams and a lot of good coaches. I think it’s anybody’s game.”
Junior forward Julia Pellerin (15-20-35) leads the scoring attack and classmate Jansen Lucas only has 15 goals.
