We're almost there. It's the final week of the New England girls prep hockey regular season. Soon enough, the brackets will be out, and it'll be a mad dash to crown some champions.
So, this also marks the final top performers of the regular season.
Last week, there were a ton of key matchups that had ramifications on seeding, be it teams playing spoiler, others coming through in key spots to solidify their spots, and more. You had Thayer upsetting Nobles, Cushing picking up a big win over Deerfield, Dexter Southfield beating Cushing, Williston Northampton beating Loomis Chaffee and New Hampton handing Dexter its first loss of the year.
At the end of it all, everything turned out to be more or less a wash in our top 10 rankings and the current and projected playoff fields. Either way, there were still many high-end performances to unpack.
A friendly reminder: attending every NEPSAC girls prep hockey game in New England is impossible, so we rely on reports from coaches, parents and social media accounts to select the performers in a given week. If you have a nominee, please email me at patrick.donnelly@hockeyjournal.com.
Let’s dive in.
Kayleigh Norton
Austin Prep, Class of 2027, F, right shot
Hometown: Pelham, NH
Norton had six points across two wins for AP over the weekend. She had a hand in all three goals in a 3-1 win at Pomfret, scoring twice and adding an assist. She followed it up with a goal and two assists in a 5-4 win over Kimball Union.
Hannah Weyerhaeuser
BB&N, 9/3/2006, F, right shot, 5-6
Hometown: Cambridge, Mass.
NCAA: Yale
Weyerhaeuser had four points over two wins for the Knights. She had an assist in a 5-2 win at Tabor before putting up three points (two assists) in a 7-1 win over Lawrence Academy.
Izzy King
BB&N, 2/16/07, F, left shot, 5-4
Hometown: Bedford, Mass.
NCAA: Providence
King had four goals across the two wins for BB&N. She scored at Tabor before coming through with a hat trick to lead the way against Lawrence.
RANKINGS: The final girls prep top 10 of the regular season
Ella Souza
Berwick, 09/2007, D, left shot, 5-5
Hometown: Portsmouth, NH
NCAA: New Hampshire
Souza came out firing with five points in Berwick's 8-0 win over Newton Country Day. She scored twice and added three assists.
Parker Caldara
Canterbury, 9/28/2007, F, right shot, 5-3
Hometown: Scarsdale, NY
NCAA: Wesleyan
Caldara had six points in three games for Canterbury last week. She had two assists in a 6-4 loss to Millbrook before adding an assist in a 3-2 win at Frederick Gunn. She was also a major factor in a 4-3 win over Hotchkiss, putting up two goals and an assist.
Bella Freitas
Cushing, 08/2009, F, right shot
Hometown: Everett, Mass.
Freitas is back among the top performers after she took over the game in Cushing's 5-4 win over Deerfield. The win was big. It helped solidify the Penguins' Elite 8 standing and may have shut the door on Deerfield's hopes. Freitas finished with two goals and an assist, opening the scoring, setting up Julia Lambert's (Wilmington, Mass.) go-ahead goal late in the second and scoring an end-to-end beauty for a go-ahead goal in the third.
Chloe Cleaves
Deerfield, 11/27/2007, D, left shot, 5-8
Hometown: Riverside, Conn.
NCAA: Yale
Cleaves' point streak is now up to six games after she had five points in three games for Deerfield last week. She had an assist in a 5-4 loss to Cushing before adding a goal and two assists in a 6-1 win over Hotchkiss. She also scored in a 3-0 win over Kent.
Allie Corrieri
Deerfield, 5/6/2006, D, right shot
Hometown: Devens, Mass.
NCAA: Colby
Corrieri also had five points in three games for the Big Green. She scored a goal and added an assist in the loss to Cushing. The senior also had two assists against Hotchkiss and another helper against Kent.
BACK-AND-FORTH: 16 standouts, takeaways from Cushing’s 5-4 win over Deerfield
Annabelle Aitken
Dexter Southfield, 11/24/2008, G, catches right, 5-5
Hometown: Winchester, Mass.
Aitken was a major factor in Dexter's 1-0, bounce-back win over Cushing in a preview of a possible Elite 8 matchup. The sophomore made 33 saves for the shutout.
Tina Scalese
Groton, 1/17/2008, F, right shot, 5-3
Hometown: West Boylston, Mass.
NCAA: Princeton
Scalese had four points in two games for Groton last week. She had two assists in a 4-0 win over Brooks before adding a pair of goals in a 3-2 win over St. George's.
Maddie Cronan
Groton, 9/10/2006, F, left shot, 5-7
Hometown: Ashland, Mass.
NCAA: Colgate
Cronan also had four points across the Zebras' two wins last week. She had a goal and an assist against Brooks and two assists against St. George's.
Gabriella Cohen
Hoosac, 2007, G, catches left, 5-3
Hometown: Indian Trail, NC
Cohen had another busy week in the crease for Hoosac, going 2-1-0 across three starts with a .943 save percentage amid a heavy shot volume. She made 23 saves as Hoosac dominated Newton Country Day in an 11-1 win last Wednesday. At the Hill School Invitational over the weekend, Cohen turned aside 70 of 75 shots in a lopsided, 5-2 loss to Hill. In her second start of the weekend, she made 41 saves in a 6-2 win over Shady Side Academy.
Sarah Lawson
Hoosac, 2008, F, right shot
Lawson had six points in four games at the Hill Invitational. She scored Hoosac's lone goal in an 8-1 loss to Portledge before scoring a hat trick and adding an assist in a 6-2 win over Shady Side. She also had a goal in an 8-2 loss to Mount.
COACHING NEWS:Â Tom Resor to return for another season at Nobles
Geena Cookinham
Lawrence Academy, 2005, F, right shot, 5-5
Hometown: Gilmanton Iron Works, NH
NCAA: Norwich
The senior had four points across the first two of Lawrence's three games last week. She factored into every goal in a 3-1 win at Middlesex, scoring once and adding two assists. She also scored their lone goal in a 7-1 loss to BB&N.
Janie Martin
Middlesex, 2008, F, right shot, 5-5
Hometown: Burlington, Mass.
The junior had four points in two games over the weekend for Middlesex. She had a goal and an assist in a 5-2 win at Brooks and powered a 2-1 win at Holderness, scoring both goals.
Piper Smith
Millbrook, 2007, F, left shot, 5-8
Hometown: Colleyville, TX
NCAA: SUNY Plattsburgh
Smith put up seven points in three games for the Mustangs last week. She scored four goals in a 6-4 win over Canterbury and added the lone goal in a 7-1 loss to Lawrenceville. Smith followed it up with two assists in a 6-3 loss to Kent.
Madison Caramante
Mount Saint Charles, Class of 2028, F, right shot
Hometown: Glocester, R.I.
Caramante had nine points in four games for Mount at the Hill School Invitational over the weekend. She scored Mount's lone goal in a 3-1 loss to Hill. She had four points (two goals) in a 12-1 win over Shady Side Academy before scoring twice in a 7-4 loss to Portledge. Caramante capped it off with a goal and an assist in an 8-2 win against Hoosac.
Alexa Buco
Mount Saint Charles, 1/8/2010, F, left shot, 5-6
Hometown: Cranston, R.I.
Buco put up 10 points over Mount's final three games at the Hill Invitational over the weekend. She had a hat trick as part of a four-point outing against Shady Side before adding two assists against Portledge. The high-scoring eighth-grader finished the weekend off with four goals against Hoosac.
MIAA BRACKETS: Division 1 girls | Division 2 girls | Division 1 boys | Division 2 boys | Division 3 boys | Division 4 boys
True Thompson
New Hampton, 10/11/06, D, left shot, 5-8
Hometown: Voorhees, NJ
NCAA: Connecticut
The UConn commit was a huge factor in New Hampton's 4-3 upset over Dexter Southfield last week, dealing the Shields their first loss of the season. She had a hand in all four of the Huskies' goals, scoring once and adding three assists. She also added an assist in a 4-0 win over Brewster.
Kelsey Baker
New Hampton, Class of 2026, F, right shot
Hometown: Concord, Mass.
Baker had five points in three games, getting on the board in all three of New Hampton's wins. She had a goal and an assist against Dexter. She also had two assists in a 4-2 win over Proctor and another helper versus Brewster.
Emily Mara
Phillips Andover, 2/27/2007, F, right shot, 5-6
Hometown: Winchester, Mass.
NCAA: Boston College (soccer)
Mara helped Andover come back to tie Nobles, 3-3, posting a goal and an assist. She followed it up with three points, including two goals, in a 5-0 win over Worcester Academy.
Maria Gray
Phillips Exeter, 8/7/2007, F, left shot, 5-7
Hometown: Monona, Wis.
NCAA: Vermont
Gray had six points over three games in the past week. She exploded for four points, including two goals, in a high-scoring, 7-4 win over St. Paul's. She also had two helpers in a 7-0 win over Berwick.
Paisley Meyer
Phillips Exeter, 8/3/2009, F, left shot, 5-6
Hometown: Greenland, NH
Meyer had six points for Exeter last week. She had three points with a goal and two assists in the win over SPS. She followed it up with two goals and an assist in the win over Berwick.
MIAA PREDICTIONS: Picking the girls brackets | Picking the Division 1 boys bracket
Sydney Kelm
Pomfret, Class of 2028, G, catches left
Hometown: Erie, Colo.
Kelm made over 45 saves in each of her starts last week, posting a .955 save percentage. She made 47 stops in a 3-1 loss to AP before turning aside 59 of 61 shots in a 2-0 loss at Thayer.
Caroline Humber
St. Paul's, 11-28-2006, F, left shot
Hometown: Concord, Mass.
NCAA: Wesleyan
Humber had five points in the first two of three games for SPS last week. She had three points with a goal and two assists in SPS' 7-4 loss to Exeter. She then came through with a pair of goals in a 4-0 win over Tilton.
Morgan McGathey
Thayer, 8/30/2006, F, right shot, 5-5
Hometown: Braintree, Mass.
NCAA: Harvard
McGathey has goals in five straight games with 11 in that span. She scored in all three of Thayer's wins last week, putting up six goals to reach a new career high (34). She had three points (two goals) in a 4-0 win over St. Mark's, and she came through with a hat trick in a massive win at Nobles. McGathey capped it off with a goal in a 2-0 win over Pomfret.
Evelyn Lacey
Tilton, 10/22/07, G, catches left, 5-8
Hometown: Braintree, Mass.
Lacey had another busy week in the crease for the Rams, finishing with a .947 save percentage. She made 65 saves in a 3-2 win at KUA before turning aside 31 shots in a 4-0 loss at St. Paul's. Lacey also made 30 saves in a 1-0 loss to St. Mark's. She's faced 1,014 shots this season, the most in the NEPSAC.
Zola Piekarski
Williston Northampton, 11/3/2006, F, right shot, 5-3
Hometown: Concord, Mass.
Piekarski had a big week for the Wildcats with five points over two wins. She had a hat trick and an assist in an 8-0 win over Mount Saint Charles. She followed it up with a goal in a 4-0 win over a top-three foe in Loomis Chaffee. Piekarski now has goals in three straight and five of her last six, and she has points in seven straight.
