PEABODY — Coming off its best season in program history can never be easy for any team. But for the Peabody/Lynnfield girls hockey team, that’s a challenge the Tanners are eager to tackle.
The Tanners, who finished last year 9-9-3, broke the program record for wins, finished the regular season above .500 for the first time, won their first Carlin Cup and qualified for the state tournament for the first time in program history.
“We accomplished a lot last season and there’s a lot to be proud of, but there’s also a lot to build on,” said third-year coach Michelle Roach. “We lost five seniors, so we’re going to have to find ways to fill some key holes and that’ll be tough. But we have a lot of great players returning.”
Goalie Abby Buckley is one of 14 returning players Roach is looking to this year to step up and help the Tanners achieve another first this year, as in first tournament victory.
“As always, our goal is to compete in the league and be a strong presence in the league and then obviously to qualify for the tournament again and get past that first round,” said Roach.
The Tanners look to be strong behind the blue line with an experienced group of three returning seniors, all of whom have multiple years of varsity experience. Leading the way is all-star Kaydee Purcell along with Mae Norton and junior Charlotte Grant. Purcell, Norton, Cassie Mirasolo and Buckley will serve as captains.
“We tend to build our team from the net out, so we are lucky to have a strong group of returning players behind the blue line,” said Roach. “We also have freshman Reilly Ganter, who we are getting up to speed in the defensive rotation. It all starts with protecting our house. As long as we do not get outworked, we will compete.”
With only five seniors and six juniors, Peabody is young with 11 underclassmen making up more than half of the 21-man roster.
Up top, the Tanners return depth and experience.
The Mirasolo sisters, senior Cassie and sophomore Sammie, head up the group of returning forwards and will again man the first line with a player as yet undetermined. Cassie is a 4-year varsity veteran, while Sammie had a breakout season last year as a freshman.
“We lost Erin Hunter off that line from last year, so we are still figuring out who works best together,” said Roach.
Also returning are senior forwards Alycia Gillen and Sarah Buckley and junior forward Kathryn DiGiulio, junior forwards Molly Smedira and Nina Dunn and Jessica Robert and Charlotte Grant, also juniors. Carolyn Garofoli, a sophomore, is back for a second varsity season.
The Tanners’ first home game at McVann O’Keefe Rink is Dec. 13 against Marblehead. The 3rd annual Carlin Cup game against Bishop Fenwick is set for Feb. 19 at McVann O’Keefe Rink. That game will kickoff off a Carlin Cup doubleheader at 11 a.m., following with the Peabody and Fenwick boys teams taking the ice at 2 p.m.
“The last two seasons we have done a really good job of building a good foundation and showing people that we are a very competitive squad and I’m hoping we will really find our identity this year,” said Roach. “We are really pumped and excited for the season to start knowing that we have made strides in building the program. We would love to win a tournament game this year, so that’s the ultimate goal, to make it past the first round.”
