Stars could align again in '25: South Shore high school girls hockey rankings
Anyone for a four-peat?
The Duxbury High girls hockey team did that once, winning four straight MIAA crowns from 2011-14. Now the Dragons are halfway to duplicating that run after bagging a second straight Division 2 title with their recent 4-0 victory over Falmouth at TD Garden.
Notre Dame Academy almost joined them in celebration, but the Cougars lost to St. Mary's-Lynn in triple-overtime in the Division 1 final that kicked off the slate of championship games.
All in all, another fine season for girls hockey programs on the South Shore with Archbishop Williams (Division 1) and Marshfield (Division 2) advancing to the semifinals, Hingham (Division 1), Canton (Division 2) and Milton (Division 2) making quarterfinal appearances, and Pembroke, Plymouth North/South and Braintree all winning first-round games.
An awful lot of the talent on display this winter will be back on the ice next winter as many of the top teams were fueled by freshmen, sophomores and juniors. As Falmouth coach Brian Ferreira noted in defeat, "You look through the entire MIAA, everybody's young right now. There's a huge lull in junior/senior players around the state. There are a ton of good teams with a lot of young players."
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Here's our final top 10 ranking for the season. Final record and previous ranking in parenthesis.
On the bubble: Weymouth (10-10-3), Hanover (9-10-1), Norwell/Scituate/Abington (7-13-1), Whitman-Hanson/Silver Lake (7-13-1)
10. Plymouth North/South (10-9-3, bubble)
As a No. 14 seed in Division 2, the co-op program knocked off No. 19 Beverly/Danvers, 3-1, in the first round before falling to No. 3 Burlington in the Round of 16, snapping a six-game winning streak that got them off the bubble portion of this list. Junior goaltender Gabbie Sidman went 10-6-3 with a 1.33 goals-against average and .956 save percentage. Goals were hard to come by with just 44 on the season, but Sidman kept her team in almost every game.
9. Braintree (10-10-3, 8)
The Wamps put up a valiant fight against top-seeded NDA (the eventual state finalist) before losing 3-1 in the Division 1 Round of 16. Seven of Braintree's losses were by a single goal with four of them coming in overtime. The Cougars skated to ties with Milton and NDA during the regular season. Senior goalie Eva Surette will be a big loss; she allowed only 19 goals on the season. Senior forwards Callie Burchill (17 points) and Emma Walsh (10 points) also will leave a void. Freshman Nora Shea made a huge impact, starting the season at forward before shifting to fill the puck-moving defenseman role.
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8. Pembroke (16-6-0, 6)
The Titans lost in overtime in the Round of 16 to the team (Milton) that in turn lost by a goal to eventual state champ Duxbury in the quarterfinals, so Pembroke wasn't far off the pace in Division 2. The Titans scored regular-season wins over Plymouth North/South, Hanover and Marshfield and lost 1-0 to Duxbury. Junior center Jen Birolini (31 goals, 19 assists) again will be one of the state's top players next winter, and the rest of the cupboard is hardly bare with freshman Hannah D'Angelo (15 goals, 10 assists) and eighth-grader Ella Skeiber (17 goals, 15 assists) making big contributions this season.
7. Canton (19-5-1, 5)
The seventh-seeded Bulldogs probably deserved a better fate in their 4-3 double-OT loss to Falmouth in the Division 2 quarterfinals. Canton had numerous chances to win that one, but Clippers goalie Aspen Devlin was outstanding in both OT periods. Canton had been bidding for a fourth straight trip to the Garden for the Division 2 state final. Senior defenseman Tori Carr will be a big loss, along with senior forwards Izzy Crugnale and Julia Wilkinson, but sophomore standout Izzy Cusack (23 goals, 14 assists) should be back, and sophomore goalie Kate Budway was terrific in replacing graduated legend Carolyn Durand.
More: Falmouth girls hockey ends Canton's run of state finals with double-OT win in Elite Eight
6. Milton (19-5-1, 4)
It was a second straight standout season for the Wildcats, who took eventual Division 2 champ Duxbury down to the wire in a 2-1 loss in the quarterfinals. Milton was 6-12-2 and missed the playoffs in 2021-22, but the Wildcats were 18-2-4 last winter, advancing to the Round of 16, and went a round deeper this time. Senior goalie Lila Chamoun wrapped up a brilliant career – 19-4-1 record/1.27 GAA/.951 save percentage this season; 44-18-8 for her career with 23 shutouts. Junior forward Molly Murphy potted 18 goals this winter and figures to be a focal point next season, along with sophomores Mary Lovett (6 goals, 15 assists) and Sabrina Stone (10 goals, 7 assists).
More: Comeback 'Cats: Murphy's OT winner sends Milton girls hockey to Division 2 Elite Eight
5. Hingham (18-6-1, 3)
The fifth-seeded Harborwomen opened the playoffs with back-to-back shutout wins over No. 28 Shawsheen Valley Tech and No. 12 North Andover before losing to No. 4 Malden Catholic, 4-1, in the Division 1 quarterfinals. Senior forward Reese Pompeo was one of those "glue"/culture players who will be hard to replace, but Hingham is stacked with returning talent for 2024-25, led by Caroline Doherty, who had 27 goals and 9 assists as a junior. Classmate Addy Garrity (15 goals, 16 assists) and freshmen Hannah Lasch (14 goals) and Callie Crean (8 goals) should provide scoring punch at forward, and freshman defenseman Shea Richardson was a breakout star with 16 points.
4. Marshfield (15-9-0, 7)
The Rams came close to making it an all-Patriot League Division 2 state final, losing to Falmouth 2-0 (with an empty net goal) in the semis. Seeded 11th, Marshfield knocked off No. 22 Norwell/Scituate/Abington, No. 27 Leominster and No. 3 Burlington to get within one win of the Garden. The Rams had been on an 11-1 hot streak going into the Falmouth game with the lone loss a 1-0 defeat against Milton. Sophomore goaltender Morgan Murphy posted a 1.57 GAA and looms large for next season. Sophomores Sarah McIntyre (15 goals, 15 assists) and Kayla Leonard (16 goals, 11 assists) and freshman Julia Lemire (11 goals, 13 assists) also are future stars.
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3. Archbishop Williams (12-11-2, 9)
Forget the overall record, which was dragged down by a ghastly 1-6 start to the season. Once the Bishops figured it out, they were one of the best teams in the state. Seeded 11th, Archies made it all the way to the Division 1 semifinals, losing in OT to eventual champ St. Mary's-Lynn. Junior goalie Kate McLeish was one of the best winter stories on any team in any sport, grabbing the starting job after starting the season No. 4 on the depth chart. Classmate Caroline Batchelder, of Braintree, (15 goals, 9 assists) became the program's all-time leading scorer, and fellow junior Shea Nolan, of Quincy, chipped in with 21 points.
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2. Notre Dame Academy (18-5-2, 2)
The Cougars came about as close as humanly possible to winning a Division 1 state crown for the first time since 2017, falling to St. Mary's-Lynn, 5-4, in triple-overtime in the state final at the Garden. Eighth-grader Emma Burke tied it up with 7.3 seconds left in regulation, and NDA survived multiple OT penalty kills before finally succumbing to the last St. Mary's power play. Senior goalie Ava Larkin (1.05 GAA, .945 save percentage) will be missed next season, along with standout defenseman Sarah Francis (2 goals, 10 assists). Sophomore forward Devon Moore (21 goals, 7 assists) will anchor the 2024-25 team, along with junior Sarah White (8 goals, 13 assists).
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1. Duxbury (24-3-0, 1)
The Dragons stormed to their latest crown, winning their last nine games (starting with a 2-0 shutout of Division 1 power NDA on Feb. 15) and outscoring their five playoff opponents 18-4. The top-seeded Dragons knocked out three top-10 seeds in the playoffs (No. 9 Milton, No. 5 Algonquin, No. 2 Falmouth) and scored regular-season wins over the likes of NDA, Hingham, Pembroke, Marshfield, Canton and Archbishop Williams. Losing senior goalie Anna McGinty (21-3, 0.98 GAA, .943 save percentage, 9 shutouts) will sting, but there's an embarrassment of offensive riches returning next season with Maddie Greenwood (17 goals, 15 assists), Addy Harrington (16 goals, 15 assists), Zoey Madigan (12 goals, 22 assists) and Meghan Carney (12 goals, 13 assists).
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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: South Shore high school girls hockey top 10 rankings
