It's a new era at Cushing.
The Penguins promoted Brandy Fisher-Bailey to head coach. She'll succeed Valerie Bono-Bunker (Woburn, Mass.), who is retiring after eight seasons behind the bench at Cushing.
Fisher-Bailey served as associate head coach under Bono-Bunker and worked part-time in admissions this past season.
"I was lucky enough to make the move to Cushing last year," Fisher-Bailey, who will also take on a full-time role in admissions, said. "I'm super excited (for next year)."
Fisher-Bailey was previously the head coach at Thayer from 2021 to 2024, compiling a 38-33-7 record. She's also a coach with the Massachusetts Spitfires.
As a player, Fisher-Bailey played four seasons of Division 1 hockey at the University of New Hampshire after her prep career at Governor's Academy. As a senior in 1997-98, Fisher-Bailey led UNH to a national championship and earned the inaugural Patty Kazmaier Award, presented annually to the top player in Division 1 women's college hockey. She posted a career-high 81 points (42 goals) en route to 240 points (129 goals) for her collegiate career. Fisher-Bailey also won two silver medals with Team USA at the World Championships in 1999 and 2000.
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Last season offered a critical opportunity for Fisher-Bailey to become ingrained within the program.
"It was so important," Fisher-Bailey said. "Val runs that program like a pro team, and Cushing, in general, goes above and beyond for their girls hockey program. For me to see that and be a part of it was incredible. It's also great to be able to get to know the girls, who they are and their style of play. It just makes the transition this next year all that much easier."
Cushing enjoyed arguably its best season under Bono-Bunker this past winter, winning the Watkins Tournament and reaching the Elite 8 as they finished 24-7-1. The Penguins led prep in total offense with 133 goals-for as they finished with their highest win total during Bono-Bunker's tenure. It was a big jump from the 2023-24 season, where Cushing went 14-14-1 and barely missed the Small School tournament.
After being named coach in 2016, Bono-Bunker compiled a 111-102-14 record, including a Small School championship in 2020, two Watkins Tournament titles, two Elite 8 appearances and two Small School tournament appearances. She was named NEHJ's Coach of the Year for 2025.
"It was pretty eye-opening when you look at the way the program has been handled and run," Fisher-Bailey said. "Coach Val cared for it so deeply, and it shows.
"To be able to run with what Val has built and continue what she's done. It's pretty helpful. Not a lot of coaches get to do that, but it was by design. That's something Val thought through. It's a testament to who she is as a coach. I'm excited to carry on what she's built, which is a program to be really proud of."
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The Penguins will return much of the same core from last season, despite graduating six seniors, four of whom were defenders.
Co-captain Brooke Harb (Atkinson, N.H.) returns to help head the leadership group, which will also include Julia Lambert (Wilmington, Mass.), Madi Soderquist (Woburn, Mass.) and Sadie Bellissimo.
"The nice thing about next year is we sort of have the same team," Fisher-Bailey said. "Our defense will be a little different. I think what will be important, in terms of continuing the leadership from the captains and leading off what Val has started, is the incredible sense of team. They are leaders like that who have been here long enough to continue that.
"Our motto is 'Family First.' That's something when you go to Cushing, all the girls know when they walk into the locker room, it's family."
In total, 12 upperclassmen will be back in the fold. Leading scorer Bella Freitas (Everett, Mass.), NEHJ's Rookie of the Year, is expected back after finishing tied for second in goals (25) and fourth for points (43) in prep as a freshman. Soderquist posted 38 points (20 goals), while Harb, Lambert, Brooke Fallon (Bedford, N.H.) and Lily Winckler each eclipsed 20 points and double-digits for goals. Bellissimo was one of the best goalies in prep with a .933 save percentage.
It would be easy to sit back on the success of last season. Fisher-Bailey knows there is another level to find, given how big her team's freshmen and sophomore classes were this past season.
"One thing is they're all going to be a year older," Fisher-Bailey said. "We were a pretty young team. Strength and conditioning in the summer is a big piece that they're all committed to. ... Just building on things that we did last year, like our forechecks and our systems. Because we have sort of the same kids, we can just tweak a little and get better at those. It's a pretty unique situation to have the same team. We're fortunate in that, but there's also pressure, too, making sure we're ready to play and compete when the season starts. "
Fisher-Bailey is a "work-ethic coach." She likes her teams to have high compete in all three zones and a strong hockey IQ. The Penguins' familiarity with one another makes the latter all the easier to develop.
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"Give me everything you have," Fisher-Bailey said. "And we'll be great."
It's easy to point to wins, losses, points, on-ice play and college commitments as measuring sticks for success. That's especially easy for a program that has established itself the way Cushing has, carding strong seasons and developing college hockey stars like Boston College's Sammy Taber (Tewksbury, Mass.).
But Fisher-Bailey understands developing players is about much more than that.
"Obviously, wins are fun, and getting incredible college commitments is fun," she said. "For me, it's mentoring these girls — and Val did this very well, too — developing them as hockey players but also developing the best humans. I always ask the question, 'Who are you without hockey?'
"Hockey is a big piece of who we are. It's a big piece of our tradition, and our girls love it. But it's also about making sure that they are happy, healthy and cared for."
