Early Outlook on Harvard

Harvard looks poised to repeat their output from their past years. The Olympics won’t faze big powerhouse teams like Harvard, who could return as many as 17 skaters pending team selections for the Canadian and US national teams. Seven new skaters will look to keep Harvard one of the top five women’s college hockey programs in the nation.

Courtesy of goCrimson.com

Although Harvard has lost their points leader, they will be returning six of its top seven scorers next season. After coming so close to an ECAC championship, and losing to BC in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament, next years Crimson team will be looking to build on their successes and become a greater threat to the western powerhouses. The two incoming forwards will be looked upon to make an immediate impact and help their teammates as soon as the season starts.

Courtesy of The Ivy League

Four defenseman will be coming in next season, ensuring that the Crimson defensive core stays strong. Thanks to their outstanding defense, and Emerence Machmeyer’s goaltending, the Crimson were able to earn a 24-7-3 record on the season. Harvard has no problem playing a solid defensive game and each player they have brought in will only complement what is already in place in Cambridge. There is also the addition of a goaltender to next year’s squad. She will most likely be fighting for the second spot against Molly Tissenbaum, while Maschmeyer will get most of the starts in net. She had a fantastic rookie season, earning a save percentage of .949, and is already on track to becoming one of the most powerful goalies of women’s hockey.

Katey Stone, Crimson head coach, will not be present during the upcoming season because she will be coaching the Olympic team. Maura Crowell will take her place, and has announced that recently graduated goaltender, Laura Bellamy, will be joining her on the bench. It will be interesting to see how this new Crimson team will fare for a season; but even with the Olympic losses, they are still a force to be reckoned with.

To read the release about the Crimson incoming class, click here. To read about Laura Bellamy’s appointment, click here.

Early Outlook on UVM

Courtesy of UVM's Twitter account

After graduating only three seniors, UVM will be bringing in eight new faces to their squad for the 2013-2014 season. With the potential loss of offensive powerhouse Amanda Pelkey to the US Women’s team and Klara Myren to the Swedish national team, it seems that Coach Plumer has brought in a class that will add needed depth to the Catamounts.

Last year, most of the Catamount squad was made up of sophomores or juniors; at least three of the starting players in the games were sophomores. If these younger members of the team can keep producing, UVM could become a force within the Hockey East. With only the loss of one of their top five scorers from last year, the Catamounts will have the opportunity within the next two years to climb up the rankings. Five forwards will be joining the Catamounts this fall to add depth to the forward core. All of them will be expected to make an immediate contribution to the team.

Sarah Campbell Courtesy of Alex Eldeman Photography

At defense, Coach Plumer and his staff have brought in two girls who could not only make an impact on defense, but on the scoreboard as well. The strong defense, and standout goalie Roxanne Douville, were part of the reason why the Catamounts were able to keep BU within one goal, and why they tied BC late in the season. Douville will be returning next season, and expect her to continue her strong run next season. The coaching staff has added a new goalie to the roster so it will be interesting to see how much playing time is divided between the two of them.

With a plethora of returning players, UVM has poised itself well to be able to build on their past season and improve their position in the standings. Pelkey and Myren are both essential to the Catamount offense, so Coach Plumer will be looking heavily on this incoming class to contribute from the start.

To read the release from UVM, click here.

Early Outlook on Boston College

It’s that time of the year when teams are releasing incoming classes and schedules for the upcoming season. It seems as though half of the Hockey East schools have release their incoming class, while everyone else has released the 2013-2014 schedule. This “Early Outlook” posts will mainly be seeing how teams left off and where they could be heading with the new additions to their teams.

Courtesy of BC Interruption

Next year, Boston College will have six new faces join their already strong squad, replacing the seven graduating seniors who helped lead the Eagles to their third straight frozen four appearance. Going into next season, the Eagles will be without senior defenseman, and captain, Blake Bolden. Bolden was the driving force of that defence, and was a tremendous role model for her teammates. Thanks to her, the Eagles have become a very strong defensive minded team. Boston College will always be a threat because Coach Crowley has established a defensive system that works, and has recruited players who thrive in that system. The Eagles will be welcoming two new defenseman to the team this upcoming season.

Alex Carpenter is one of the most powerful and dominating forwards who currently competes at the collegiate level. The Eagles could potentially lose their three most powerful forwards to the USA Olympic team: Carpenter, Emily Field and Haley Skarupa. Even if these players make the US National Team, Crowley has made sure to bring in four forwards to help ensure the depth of the Eagles offense. Were it not for the Olympics, the Eagles would be returning all five of their top scores.

Courtesy of boston.com

Next season, the Eagles will also be left without their starting goaltender Corinne Boyles. Her backup, Megan Miller, played in 10 games last season, earning a 2.39 save percentage. She seems ready to step up into the starting spot, and should be a tough barrier to break through.

The Eagles are in a good position to repeat their Frozen Four appearance, even if it is without their top three scorers. Their defensive corps is strong enough to handle their Hockey East opponents, as well as the out of conference teams they will play. With the US training camp only five days away, it will be interesting to see what decisions are made, and which teams will take the bigger hits. 

The official announcement of the BC class of 2017 can be found here.

2013-2014 Recruiting Class

Since Dave Flint has been head coach at Northeastern, he has done a phenomenal job in recruiting strong players into the program; this year's incoming class in no exception. With the help of assistant coaches Jeff Pelligrini and Linda Lundrigan, the future of the program looks extremely promising.

Let’s start with the three forwards who will look to support the fast-paced offence:

Katie MacSorley: Courtesy of the Huntington News

Having spent the past three seasons at Loomis Chaffee, Melissa Haganey seems very well prepared for the Division I level. As Flint quoted in the release, Haganey “possesses speed and skill and will add depth to the forwards.” Haganey seems like a strong player who will be able to support any and all of her teammates, and could easily be placed on a line with Claire Santostefano. Next we have Hayley Masters, a strong and gritty Canadian player who will be able to add some size to the forward lines. Expect Masters to continue her aggressive style of play next year with fellow Canadian Katie MacSorley or the equally strong Lucie Povova. She is one of two “power forwards” coming in for next season. The other is Hayley Scamurra, from western New York. Having played this past season with a Canadian team, she also brings size and grit to the Husky squad. Flint has stated that she has “a high hockey IQ and will be counted on to make an immediate impact.” She seems like a great playmaker who could easily be put on a line with Kendall Coyne, Paige Savage or Kelly Wallace.

Kelly Wallace: Courtesy of Hockey East Online

The incoming forward class will add more depth to the team for next year, something that is definitely needed considering the fact that it is an Olympic year and the team could potentially lose Coyne, Savage and Povova for a large portion of the year.

This being said, it is important to keep the defensive unit as strong as possible. Defense produces offense, and it seems that Maggie DiMasi lives by this since she recorded 21 assists during this past season. Flint has brought in two strong defenseman who will add to their already consistent core.

Bella Sinsigalli has spent the past four years playing for the Berkshire School in western Mass. She stands tall at 5’9’’ and is a very strong skater, unafraid to move up the ice with the puck when required. Sinsigalli is also a quick player with a strong backcheck and will add tremendous depth to the defensive corps. The other defensive recruit is Heather Mottau who spent the past four seasons playing for Shattuck St. Mary’s. She is an offensive minded defenseman who will be able to step in and support the forwards in the offensive zone. Flint states that he “expects her to contribute right away.” The already strong and quick Husky defense have two great new additions in Sinsigalli and Mottau.

Chloe Desjardins: Courtesy of Hebdo Regionaux

Flint has also recruited a goalie for next year, Sara Foss who previously spent two season at the National Sports Academy in Lake Placid, NY. Foss is an agile and athletic goalie who will be looked on to support Chloe Desjardins next year at the number two spot. There were times during last season when Desjardins looked overplayed and tired, and having a strong supporting goalie is important for any program. Foss will be great as Desjardins’ backup, and will receive a lot of playing time in her rookie year.

Casey Pickett: Courtesy of Hockey East Online

These six players will look to fill the shoes of Casey Pickett, Rachel Llanes, Siena Falino and Casie Fields. It will be a challenge but all of these players are ready to compete in one of the biggest stages in women’s hockey. Not only will these girls make an impact on the ice, but also in the community and classroom here at Northeastern.

If you want to read the original release, click here. All quotes and information were taken from that release.

2012-2013 Season Recap

It has been 3 months since the Northeastern Women’s Hockey team’s season ended, and as we look towards the future of this growing program, it is important to look back on a successful season and set the bar even higher.

Courtesy of news@Northeastern

The NU Women’s Hockey team posted an impressive 23-11-2 record during the 2012-2013 season. Overall, the Huskies had a very impressive season, beating Frozen Four finalists BC and BU in order to claim their second straight, and 16th overall, Beanpot Championship title. Unfortunately their season had to come to an end on March 10th as they lost to BU in the WHEA Championship game by a score for 5-2.

Looking back on this past season, I see nothing but good things for the future. The team only graduated two of their top five scorers (Pickett and Llanes), and the new additions to last years team show no sign of slowing down. 

Paige Savage had a breakout rookie season scoring 9 goals and 14 assists for 23 points, 6th among her teammates. Fellow freshman Tori Hickel played a large impact on the blue line, registering 3 goals 10 assists, and although Jordan Hampton was out for the second half of the season due to a hip injury, she is a strong and steady force on defense who can be relied when needed. All of last years returning players were able to increase their output and contributions from previous seasons.

Kendall Coyne was able to reach the 100 career point mark, with an impressive 37 goals and 31 assists on the year (ranked 7th nationally). Casey Pickett and Rachel Llanes were also able to reach the 100 career point mark, with Pickett placed 11th on the all time scoring list. Kelly Wallace was able to double her output from the 2011-2012 season and Maggie DiMasi registered 21 assists for 23 total points, the most among defenseman on the team. Although every team has its standout players in terms of points, the Huskies saw contribution from every single member of the team. Junior captains Maggie Brennolt and Katie MacSorley were great leaders for this team, constantly pushing themselves to become better and encouraging their teammates to follow in their footsteps. Ann Doherty and Colleen Murphy both had great seasons on the blue line, and Claire Santostefano was a force on offense.

The Huskies have set themselves up for success for years to come, and under the direction of Head Coach Dave Flint, the team can do nothing but continue their success next season.
 
To read the final release for the Women’s Hockey team, click here. For team awards at the end of the year banquet, click here. For team statistics, click here.