LIU won their first league title and the conference’s first automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament last season. They are the preseason favorite, but Saint Anselm and Stonehill both look poised to make it a tough fight until the end of the season. The Sharks saw a number of players enter the transfer portal and will be looking to replace some of their veterans across all positions. They have been very good in the role of upstart the past few seasons, but now they’re at the top and it will be necessary for LIU to begin to shift and mature into the kind of program they want to be long term, not just the one they could be at the beginning. Stonehill took over that newcomer/upstart role last season, but their coach departed after that spectacular season to take the head role at her alma mater, BU and now Stonehill is starting all over again. They have to find a way to harness what they did last season and not let it be a flash in the pan. And Assumption joins the league for their first-ever season, making this an eight team league.
Assumption
Last Season
This is Assumption’s first year with a DI hockey team
Names to Know
Sheridan Terrazzano had 11 goals and 16 assists in two seasons at Post. She’s familiar with the league and more than doubled her point output from freshman to sophomore year. She’s got an even bigger opportunity in front of her here
What to Watch For
There are just three upperclassmen on this roster. It was a smart move to bring in a transfer to start in net. Presumably Carissa Mudrak can build on her experience in the league and represent a calming and steadying force for the Greyhounds on defense, but Terrazzano and Kiersten Browning will have to provide the same elsewhere on the ice and on the bench. The roster is incredibly young and comprised mostly of freshmen. But these are freshmen that decided to take part in founding a program and being part of something historic. I hope the coaching staff can harness some of that drive and intrepid nature and help channel it into offense on the ice.
This league loves an underdog and for new programs to make a big splash. NEWHA has proved to be an amazing incubator for new programs to build up their talent and their program. It’s such a great thing for the growth of women’s hockey. It also makes for some incredibly entertaining games.
Crystal Ball
The preseason coaches poll put them seventh, so I will too.
Franklin Pierce
Last Season
18-15-3, 15-9-3 (fourth). Lost to LIU in the NEWHA semifinals.
Names to Know
The Ravens were super active in the transfer portal, bringing in six new players to help round out the roster. I love that they went for a talented DIII player in Gwen Bowler, among others.
Jill Hertl had the sixth best save percentage in the country in her rookie year. She was absolutely stellar in net and still has so much time to learn and grow. It’s amazing to have such a solid goalie to build from who’s only a sophomore.
What to Watch For
Ten points separate third from sixth place in the preseason poll and it feels like there’s another sizable gap between Franklin Pierce and the teams below them on that ranking. I don’t think backsliding is a big concern, which means there’s nowhere for the Ravens to go but up. They have potential and not a lot to lose and we can only hope the team embraces that mentality and the coaches give the players the opportunity to push a little more, be a tiny bit more reckless and look to take some calculated risks with the potential of big rewards. It feels like FPU could be a pain in the sides of the teams above them in the standings and really have an impact on the way the final standings shake out.
Crystal Ball
I’m putting FPU fourth.
Long Island University
Last Season
20-14-3, 157-4-3 (first). Earned their first-ever NCAA tournament berth. Lost to Wisconsin in the opening round.
Names to Know
Jeannie Wallner was a first-team all-NEWHA selection and led LIU with 15 goals and 29 points last season. The 5’10” forward uses her size to her advantage in front of the net, has a great stride for recovering on defense and is absolutely stellar in big situations. She had four game-winning goals, including the game-winning penalty shot in a showdown for first place against Saint Anselm in early January.
Swedish national Tindra Holm shines in net for the Sharks. She was NEWHA Goalie of the Year, a National Goaltender of the Year Award semifinalist, MVP of the NEWHA tournament after pitching a shutout in the final and was 8th in the country in save percentage. She doesn’t get to play a ton internationally, serving mostly as Emma Soderberg’s backup, but she proves the depth of Sweden’s goaltending when she is in net at LIU.
What to Watch For
Long Island have been a captivating team since the moment they first took the ice a few seasons back. They’ve accomplished a ton in a short time and are now in a position to be the hunted, not the hunters. Their somewhat new status means most of the women on the roster have been playing together as a core for several years. They have a chance this year to really solidify LIU atop the conference and move from charming upstart to intimidating mainstay.
The Sharks aren’t messing around when it comes to scheduling, opening the season home against Northeastern and on the road to visit Minnesota Duluth. They’ll also play Princeton and Quinnipiac later in the season. These kinds of games help the team improve and help them gauge themselves against the rest of the teams in the country. Long Island knocked off a lot of firsts, but they aren’t content with going to the NCAA Tournament and getting blown out in the first round. In a league that won’t necessarily prepare them for the speed and physicality of the postseason, Kelly Nash has made sure the have chances to learn and grow and try and be better prepared for their next NCAA game.
Crystal Ball
Returning most of their pieces and icing one of the best goalies in the country certainly makes it difficult to pick LIU anything other than first.
Post
Last Season
4-29-2, 4-19-1 (sixth). Lost to Stonehill in the opening round of the NEWHA conference tournament.
Names to Know
With the team’s two top scorers moving to Assumption, Maddy Noonan will take on a bigger role in the Eagles’ offense. She was third on the team with 11 points and was named to the NEWHA All-Rookie Team, the first player in program history to receive the honor.
What to Watch For
Seven players departed the program in the offseason. There are now nine rookies on a roster missing many of last year’s key pieces. CoachGretchen Silverman will be looking to continue to establish the solid footing necessary for the program to grow from and solidify the character and identity of Post Women’s Hockey. I’d imagine there will be some growing pains.
Post were 40th of 42 teams in team offense and dead last in team defense, but interestingly were in the top 15 in the nation on the penalty kill. They’re also one of the more penalized teams in the country. They need to figure out how to bring the same intensity they have during the PK to the rest of the game
Crystal Ball
It could be a long rebuilding kind of year for Post. I have them sixth.
Sacred Heart
Last Season
16-18-3, 12-10-2 (fifth). Lost to Franklin Pierce in the NEWHA quarterfinals.
Names to Know
Carley Greene and Molly Elmore split time in net last season, but there are not four goalies on this roster and it will be interesting to see how those minutes get split and who steps up to earn the bulk of the time, particularly now that Sacred Heart has added Abbie Ives as an assistant coach. There’s a big opportunity here to use her knowledge and for all four women to learn a lot.
What to Watch For
Coach Thomas O’Malley went out in the offseason and brought in a handful of players with tons of potential that weren’t getting a lot of ice time at bigger schools. Now he’ll look to use the experience of these players to build up an offense that was fifth in the conference in scoring and shore up a defense that was third best in NEWHA.
In a close season where I think a few conference points will separate first from fifth, the Pioneers have a very friendly run to the end of the regular season. They have to make sure they keep focus and earn all the points they should from teams below them in the standings, something they have sometimes struggled with.
Several Pioneers put up double digit assists while scoring just a few goals. This team seems determined to dish the puck and I hope we see them get a little more aggressive overall on offense and put the puck on the net.
Crystal Ball
I gave Franklin Pierce the edge, so I have Sacred Heart fifth but I also think people may be underestimating them.
Saint Anselm
Last Season
18-17-4, 14-6-4 (second). Lost to LIU in the NEWHA championship game.
Names to KnowAlexandra Lalonde played about 130 minutes in net last season, but with Allie Kelley off to Syracuse, suddenly Saint Anselm is in need of a starter. They bring in rookie Courtney Stagman from Andover, Minnesota who could very well challenge for the role.
Senior Natalie Tulchinsky flourished with the Hawks last season after transferring from Boston College where she’d managed four goals and four assists in two seasons. Last year she lead Saint Anselm with 20 goals and her 42 points were good for second on the team. She’ll come back with a lot of swagger and should be fun to watch now that she’s comfortable.
What to Watch For
The coaches picked Saint Anselm second, but I’m just not sure. They were streaky to start the year last season and though they closed out the regular season with three straight wins and went on a run in the conference tournament, they had just one other regular season win in the second half.
The Hawks played nine overtime games last season and won just two. They also had four ties. They need to find that little bit extra to end the game in regulation and they need to have the fortitude and fitness to keep those overtime games from slipping out of their grasp. I’d really like to see them run together more wins and weekend sweeps before I believe they can be at the top of this conference at the end of the season.
Crystal Ball
I think the battle at the top of the table this year will be very interesting and could shake out with any of the top three as winners. For now, I’m putting Saint Anselm third.
St. Michael’s
Last Season
2-26-4, 1-19-4 (seventh). Lost to Saint Anselm in the opening round of the NEWHA tournament.
Names to Know
Junior Angelina Ruiz has a great instinct for when to unleash her shot and pick her spot through traffic. She needs a couple of linemates that can match that energy and really attack on offense. She also needs to be smarter and stay out of the penalty box. There’s a reckless passion that she’s got to find a better balance with.
What to Watch For
With just four players scoring ten or more points last season, the Purple Knights have to find a way to muster up more offense. They’re a little older and more experienced in net and on defense this season and now they need to trust what they learned last season so they can be more aggressive and push more on offense.
Crystal Ball
I think they’ll finish eighth
Stonehill
Last Season
19-16-2, 14-9-1 (third). Lost to Saint Anselm in the NEWHA tournament semifinals.
Names to Know
Alexis Petford was an absolute superstar last season, leading the conference in goals and points – in fact, her 28 goals were good for third-best in the country. She’s the reigning NEWHA Rookie of the Year and was on the USCHO All-Rookie Team.
New head coach Lee-J Mirasolo is getting her first shot at the helm after 12 years as a DI assistant. There are big shoes to fill here after what Tara Watchorn did in just one season and Mirasolo is coming from Harvard, a program whose coach came under fire with allegations of abuse and was eventually allowed to retire. There’s a lot of possible baggage and Mirasolo will be looking to step out of that shadow and prove that Stonehill made a good choice in giving her a shot.
What to Watch For
Can the Skyhawks repeat their debut performance? Starting with Alexis Petford leading the offense certainly helps. This is a solid team that didn’t turnover many players, but did get a whole new coaching staff. Will the players and their new coach mesh? Will implementing a whole new way of doing things just a year after they began be too much to handle? I don’t think so, but if we see Stonehill stumble this season, I can’t imagine looking back and not understanding why. There’s a lot that could go wrong and a lot that could go right and how the staff and players navigate that maze will determine which wins out.
Crystal Ball
After such a stellar premiere, I’m giving them nudge at second, but they’ll have to look out for Saint Anselm.
