Now it's time for the fun part: predictions.
The girls Elite 8 begins on Wednesday. Nobles is gunning for a second straight title. Meanwhile, Williston is going for third title in four years and a fourth trip to the championship.
I was perfect in my Elite 8 predictions last season, so naturally, I'm gonna bat 1.000 again, right? (Sorry to cross sports).
For those keeping score at home, I came out firing in my first foray into NEPSAC tournament predictions in 2024. I went a perfect 7-for-7 with the Elite 8, 4-for-5 in the Large School tournament and 3-for-5 with the Small School bracket, making for 14-for-17.
This year's bracket is not short on contenders. I could just as easily see a bunch of upsets as I could see the quarterfinals going chalk.
So what'll it be? Let's get into the predictions.
No. 1 Williston Northampton vs. No. 8 Groton
What happens when an unstoppable force collides with an immovable object? We might just find out in this matchup.
Williston was the wire-to-wire best team in prep, taking over No. 1 in the rankings after the first week and never looking back. The Wildcats were undefeated until the second-to-last game of the regular season. Groton, meanwhile, is one of the hottest teams in prep. The Zebras, who reached the last two Small School championships, made a hell of a push late in the regular season, winning four straight and 11 of 12 to charge into the Elite 8.
Groton's path to an upset is timely, clutch scoring and continued excellence from Nora Wilson (Weybridge, Vt.) in net. Wilson has hit her stride in the crease throughout the Zebras' surge. Meanwhile, Tim LeRoy can rely on Tina Scalese (West Boylston, Mass.) and the rest of the top line with Maddie Cronan (Ashland, Mass.) and Jaelyn Trudell (Andover, Mass.). Scalese always finds a way to impact a game, and that line has a penchant for coming up in the clutch. If Williston shuts them down, it'll be incumbent upon Hazel Hughes (Lancaster, Mass.) and Ella Nannene (Acton, Mass.) to step up.
PREP BRACKETS: Girls Elite 8 | Girls Large School | Girls Small School | Boys Elite 8 | Boys Large School | Boys Small School
The Wildcats are No. 1 for a reason, though. They've got one of the premier skaters in prep with Violet Carroll (Milton, Mass.), whose 41 points (13 goals) are the third-highest in prep. Her 28 assists also lead the region. Behind her, there's a ton of high-level talent, whether it's Nora Curtis, Mia Daley (Lynnfield, Mass.), Brooke Schlutter, Zola Piekarski (Concord, Mass.) and more. On defense, Christa Talbot Syfu's team has plenty of size and a tremendous ability to both shut down other teams and move the puck effectively. Whether it's Alyssa Frazier (Berlin, Vt.), Malaya Anabe, Nina Coffee (Old Lyme, Conn.), Catie Putt (Norfolk, Mass.) and more, it's one of the most understated, effective defensive cores in the NEPSAC. Olivia Ferebee can meet any challenge in net, too.
Williston is just so deep and strong everywhere you look.
Prediction:Â Williston wins, 4-2
No. 2 Loomis Chaffee vs. No. 7 Cushing
This game has it all.
You've got two of the top offenses in prep. After missing the playoffs entirely, Valerie Bono-Bunker's Cushing squad leads the region with 131 goals-for, while Loomis is fifth at 100. You've got some of the top producers in the entire NEPSAC, too. The Penguins' Bella Freitas (Everett, Mass.) is third in goals (24) and tied for second points (42). Cushing's Madi Soderquist (Woburn, Mass.) and Loomis' Lindsay Stepnowski (South Glastonbury, Conn.) are in the top 10 with 37 points. The Pelicans' Annie Schwarz (Fairfield, Conn.) is among the top scorers with 33 points, and her 23 assists are sixth in the NEPSAC. Each team has gotten great goaltending this season, too, whether it's Adeline Roper (Kennebunk, Maine) for Loomis or Sadie Bellissimo for Cushing.
ELITE 8 PREVIEW: Breaking down every team in this year’s bracket
There are great matchups with the forward lines. Outside of Freitas and Soderquist, Cushing boasts Julia Lambert (Wilmington, Mass.), Brooke Harb (Atkinson, N.H.), Brooke Fallon (Bedford, N.H.) and more. Loomis, meanwhile, can also roll out Chloe Obser, Ellie Lachance (West Hartford, Conn.), Megan Duplantie and more.
Where the Pelicans gain an advantage is on defense. Cushing has good experience and size on defense, especially with Taylor Buckley (Woburn, Mass.), but the Penguins can't match up with Loomis' murderer's row of Megan Hosman, Catie Collins (South Burlington, Vt.) and Carly Dann (Hanover, N.H.). All three can move the puck and play shut-down defense with the best of them. Liz Leyden's team has arguably the deepest blue line in New England.
Prediction:Â Loomis wins, 4-3
No. 3 Dexter Southfield vs. No. 6 BB&N
A rematch of last year's Large School championship, this is one of the most intriguing matchups on the docket, and I could see it going either way. Very little separates these two teams head-to-head. Just look at the 3-3 tie earlier this season or the 1-0 win for BB&N in last year's title fight.
At one end, take Dexter. Maggie Taverna's group has been one of the very best in prep, although they've had a couple slip-ups of late, dropping two of their last four. On the other side, take BB&N. Ed Bourget's Knights have won nine of their last 11, storming back into the Elite 8 picture.
Both teams have gotten good performances out of both goaltenders, whether it's Dexter's Annabelle Aitken (Winchester, Mass.) and Addie Sutherland (West Roxbury, Mass.) or BB&N's Barbara Ma (Cambridge, Mass.) and Eva Mai Whyte (Natick, Mass.). Both sides have premier blue-liners. With Dexter, you've got BC commits Maddie Murphy (Dorchester, Mass.) and Alaina Dunn (Walpole, Mass.) as well as youngster Maggie Chudzinski (Needham, Mass.) and more. Meanwhile, BB&N boasts Harvard commit Emi Biotti (Cambridge, Mass.), Northeastern commit Lexi Mara (Winchester, Mass.) and Providence commit Brenna O'Reilly (Burlington, Mass.), among others.
WHY EACH TEAM COULD WIN: Girls Large School breakdown | Girls Small School breakdown
This comes down to who can get the extra goal.
BB&N has the edge on Dexter in terms of total offense with 91 goals-for on the year, compared to 82 for Dexter.
The Knights have also gotten ample production from their top two lines between Hannah Weyerhaueser (Cambridge, Mass.), Izzy King (Bedford, Mass.), Anika Singh (Lexington, Mass.), Savana Littlewood (Braintree, Mass.), Kate Glantz (Burlington, Mass.) and Molly Halloran (Belmont, Mass.). Weyerhaueser has been scorching in the back half of the season. Since Jan. 1, she has 15 goals and 25 points in 18 games, and she's scored in four straight (seven goals).
Meanwhile, Dexter's had key production from its top three lines. Evelyn Doyle (Needham, Mass.) is one of the region's best two-way centers, and she's coming off a good closing stretch with 11 points (seven goals) in 13 games since Jan. 17. Sawyer Merrill (Hingham, Mass.), Maddie Funk (Duxbury, Mass.) and Maggie Lovering (Scituate, Mass.) have been among forwards chipping in consistently, too.
Ultimately, I lean towards the hotter offense. BB&N gets the extra goal.
Prediction:Â BB&N wins, 2-1
No. 4 Nobles vs. No. 5 Phillips Andover
This truly feels like a coin flip. These two sides met just two weeks ago, settling for a draw after Andover fought back to tie it, 3-3, late in the third. That felt emblematic of a potential playoff matchup between the two.
Nobles might have the deepest forward group in prep with the ability to role three lines with legitimate scoring threats. Seven forwards have over 20 points, and four have over 30 this season. Freshman Alexa Georgantas (Foxboro, Mass.) is one of the top producers in the NEPSAC with 40 points (21 goals). She headlines a group that has a mix of youth and experience, be it Gretta Hulbig (Foxboro, Mass.), Molly MacCurtain (Reading, Mass.), Calleigh Brown (Foxboro, Mass.), Catherine McCool (West Roxbury, Mass.), Lily Bromley (Carlisle, Mass.) and more. Each line forechecks hard, cycles the puck well and creates chances. On the blue line, Francie Ames (Brookline, Mass.) has stepped up to lead a reshaped core that has looked the part. Speaking of which, Annika Jonas (Weston, Mass.) has been fantastic in net during her first season as the starter.
MVP CANDIDATES: 18 players who could win MVP in the girls Elite 8
Meanwhile, Andover's top-two lines can match up with anyone in prep. You've got Caroline Averill (Wayland, Mass.), Sarah Powers (Lynnfield, Mass.) and Emily Mara (Winchester, Mass.) on one unit, while Peyton Kennedy (Sudbury, Mass.), Lilly McInerney (North Reading, Mass.) and Keira Bruen (West Roxbury, Mass.) make up the other. Both lines play at a high pace and have great chemistry. On defense, the Big Blue have two of the premier puck-movers in prep with Molly Boyle (Scituate, Mass.) and Maggie Averill (Wayland, Mass.). Kimee Duplessis (Framingham, Mass.) and Sienna Glass (Andover, Mass.) have taken nice steps this season, and Marie Lee (Southboro, Mass.) has stepped up in the crease of late.
There's elite talent and strong role players on both sides. At the end of the day, I've got to lean towards Nobles' depth among the forwards.
Prediction:Â Nobles wins, 5-4
