Despite the start of spring sports at Deerfield, the hockey season is not over for 12 Deerfield hockey student-athletes as they compete with their respective club teams for a national title at the USA Hockey National Tournament this week.
Three Big Green teammates, Sean McAvoy ’19, Thomas Gale ’19 and Bret Pastor ‘18 are competing at the national tournament in Philadelphia, PA with their club team the Mid-Fairfield Rangers in the boys Youth, Tier I 18U Division. In their opening game of the tournament, the boys earned an 8-4 win over the Anaheim Jr. Ducks. The squad will return to the ice later today to face-off against Shattuck St. Mary’s. The team will close out round robin play this Saturday against the Eastern Mass Senators.
Nine Big Green skaters are representing four different club teams and will be competing in two age divisions in the girls’ national tournament taking place in Marlborough, MA. In the Tier 1 16U division, two teams – the Boston Jr. Eagles and Mid Fairfield Stars – include three Deerfield players. Aurora Devereaux ’20, Ellia Chiang ’21 and their Boston Jr. Eagle teammates may face-off against fellow Big Green teammate Christian Halloran ’20 of the Mid Fairfield Stars in the quarterfinals. Both sides, earned wins in their opening games. The Boston Jr. Eagles defeated Dallas Stars Elite 5-1 and Christina notched a goal in Mid Fairfield’s dominant win over the Washington Pride, 11-0. Both teams have 2 more pool games to play before the playoff bracket is set.
The Tier I 19U age division includes six Big Green players and two teams, the Boston Jr. Eagles and the Assabet Valley. In their opening game of the tournament, Mary Edmonds ’19, Deirdre Mullowney ’19, Ali Dougal ’18, and Elizabeth Hernberg ’19 combined their offensive and defensive Big Green on-ice chemistry to earn an 11-0 win over the Washington Pride. In their remaining 2 pool games, they will play against the Connecticut Polar Bears and the Chicago Mission. Erin DeMarco ’19 and Raegan Hill ’19 play for the Assabet Valley team and round out the Deerfield skaters at the national tournament. They fell to the Anaheim Lady Ducks, 2-6 yesterday and are back on the ice today to face-off against Team Colorado. They will play Shattuck St. Mary’s in their final game of pool play.
Tournament playoff games will begin on Sunday, April 8th for qualifying teams and the national title championship games for the girls divisions will take place on Monday, April 9th and the boys division championship game is set for Tuesday, April 10th.
For complete tournament information visit: https://nationals.usahockey.com/
Good luck! Go Big Green!
Youth, Tier I 18U
Mid Fairfield Rangers (Pool – USA) – Sean McAvoy, Thomas Gale & Bret Pastor
Girls, Tier I 16U
Boston Jr. Eagles (Pool – USA) – Aurora Devereaux & Ellia Chiang
Mid Fairfield Stars (Pool – Olympic) – Christina Halloran
Girls, Tier I 19U
Boston Jr. Eagles (Pool – Liberty) – Mary Edmonds, Deirdre Mullowney, Ali Dougal & Elizabeth Hernberg
Assabet Valley (Pool – USA) – Erin DeMarco & Raegan Hill