The University of Maine women’s ice hockey team is bringing in eight freshmen as the Black Bears look to improve upon last year’s 11-21-3 campaign.

Fourth-year head coach Molly Engstrom has four defensemen and four forwards joining the program.

“It’s going to be a good class,” said Engstrom, who expects her freshmen to be impactful and contribute right away.

One of the four defensemen, Lulu Rucinski, is from Orono but it’s Orono, Minnesota, not Maine.

The other three defensemen are Paige Fong from Pickering, Ontario, Sade Sandilands from Carstairs, Alberta and Camille Dubuc from Edina, Minn. Dubuc will be a redshirt next season.

The forwards are Isabelle Michaud from Drummond, New Brunswick, Mackenzie Podewell from

Wheaton, Illinois, Darragh Browne from Oakville, Ontario, and Ali Altiman from Thamesville, Ontario.

Engstrom said they wanted to bring in players who could help the team “get better overall” with goal scorers being at the top of the priority list.

“We need a high end forward and we’re getting much closer to that,” said Engstrom, whose Black Bears managed to score only 65 goals in 35 games a year ago.

And they have lost players who combined to score 23 of them.

Michaud could be one of the answers to their goal scoring problems as she is coming off a season at Standstead College where she scored 29 goals and assisted on 34 more for 63 points in 66 games. Stanstead College is a boarding high school in Quebec.

“She has a nice touch on the puck,” said Engstrom. “She was one of the leading scorers on her team and in that league last year. Darragh Browne should bring some speed for us.”

Altiman had 13 goals and eight assists in 40 games for the London Devilettes in the Ontario Women’s Hockey League.

Podewell highlighted her senior year by scoring three goals and adding an assist in four games during the USA Under 19 nationals.

She played for the Chicago Mission.

Browne notched nine goals and 18 assists in 37 games for the Burlington Barracudas in the OWHL.

The incoming defensemen also have offensive components in their games.

Rucinski racked up 15 goals and 24 assists for 39 points in 25 games for Benilde-St. Margaret’s prep school in Minnesota.

Fong had six goals and 14 assists in 41 games for the Whitby Wolves in the OWHL. Sandilands had four goals and 18 assists in 40 games for Etobicoke Dolphins in the OWHL

Dubuc tallied five goals and 14 assists in 26 games for Edina High School.

“Sade was with the Canadian U-18 national team last summer, Lulu has been in the development program for USA Hockey, and Paige is a big, skilled defenseman,” said Engstrom.

Engstrom noted that she may have one of the biggest defense corps in the country with all but one of her blue-liners standing at least 5-foot-7. Junior Sophia Johnson is 5-foot-11 and Fong is 5-10.

Engstrom pointed out that the Black Bears finished strong a year ago, going 3-1-2 in their last six games including an impressive performance in a 4-3 loss at third seed Boston College in the Hockey East quarterfinals, and that they are looking to build on that this coming season.

When she was working her way up through Annville-Cleona’s athletic pipeline, Kendall Cooper idolized Reagan Hess. 

“As a kid, she was always my role model,” Cooper said about the Dutchmen’s former track and field standout and 2017 A-C grad. 

“I remember this one time, our whole family went to the movies and we saw her there,” Cooper continued. “I went over to my dad and I was like, ‘Dad, dad, that’s Reagan Hess! She’s right there!’ I always looked up to her. She was a huge celebrity.” 

Little did Cooper know at the time how much influence Hess would have on her and her career. 

Fast forward to the last two years, when Hess — fresh off a successful stint for Slippery Rock University’s track and field team — returned to A-C to assist coach Caitlin Heller and mentor the Dutchmen’s sprinters.

Hess immediately forged a relationship with Cooper. She coached her up. Encouraged her. She even helped tweak her starts in the blocks. It all added up to Cooper firmly establishing herself as one of the top sprinters in the Lancaster-Lebanon League. 

“I ended up being coached by her, and that was one of the best things ever,” Cooper said. “She’s amazing. It turned out to be everything and more. I can’t even put into words the kind of impact she’s had on me.” 

When it came to picking a college, Cooper’s original plan was to give up track, field hockey and basketball — she was a three-sport standout at A-C — and attend Penn State.

That’s when Hess got in her ear and suggested continuing her sprint prowess at the next level.

Cooper took her advice and switched on the fly. She’s accepted a scholarship offer from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, where she’ll be a business major and run Division I track in the Atlantic 10 Conference. 

“I was extremely honored to get to coach Kendall,” Hess said. “She’s a dedicated runner who finds joy in the sport. She’s not just doing it. She has a quiet intensity about her, and she thrives on hard work. And she shows up ready to be a leader every single day. You don’t find hard workers like that anymore.” 

For all of her hard work in track, field hockey and basketball, Cooper is one of five girls tabbed as a finalist for the 2024-25 LNP | LancasterOnline Athlete of the Year award. 

Cooper’s cup runneth over with accomplishments in her senior year.

One of a kind

In field hockey last fall, the quick-trigger forward cashed in with 19 goals and a team-best eight assists, helping A-C win 13 games on the way to the L-L League quarterfinals and the District 3 Class 1A playoffs. Cooper earned Section 3 all-star honors for her efforts.

“Not many kids do three sports, let alone excel that much in all three,” A-C field hockey coach Carrie Gingrich marveled. “For us, she became such an amazing player the last two seasons. Nobody could catch her with her speed. She’s one of a kind. I’ve never coached anyone like her.”

A-C started playing its home field hockey games on a turf surface two years ago. Gingrich slid Cooper to the right wing position to take advantage of her speed, athleticism and crossing ability — plus her improved stick-work skills. She never budged off that position, and Cooper became an offensive force for the Dutchmen. 

“She’ll play an entire game, and maybe even an overtime,” Gingrich said. “And after the game, she’s the one grabbing all the equipment to lug over to the bus. That’s Kendall. That’s what I’ll miss, because she’s such a genuine, amazing person.”

Cooper was born with athletic genes. Dad Chris was a swimmer at Hershey High. Mom Ellen played field hockey and ran track at Lebanon, where she set some school records along the way, including the shot put.

Cooper’s older sister, Allison, played field hockey and ran track for A-C. The siblings were teammates when Allison was a senior and Kendall was a freshman. 

“Those moments,” Kendall said, “I’ll never forget.”

The backbone

In basketball this past winter, the slasher and glass-attacker was a tour-de-force on her way to the bucket. Cooper’s damage: 19.4 points a game — which paced all L-L League players, through the postseason — without even attempting a single 3-pointer, as the Dutchmen won 13 games. 

Cooper was a runaway Section 4 first-team all-star for her hoops prowess.

In a blistering-hot 10-game stretch between Dec. 19 and Jan. 23, Cooper scored 20 or more points in a game nine times, including a career-high 34 points in a nonleague win over Our Lady of the Cross. She followed that up by going 22-22-20-20.

Cooper scored at a 22.5 clip during that 10-game tear, and she scored in double digits in 21 of the Dutchmen’s 22 games. 

“Her senior year was just awesome,” A-C girls basketball coach Wee Sanchez said. “She had that confidence, and that step in her that she could really do this. And not just in track or on the field hockey field; she knew she could also do this in basketball.

“It was pretty cool to see from her freshman year through this past year how much she developed as a basketball player, because when she was a freshman, she was pretty raw.” 

Cooper finished her prep basketball career with 924 points, without a single 3-pointer made. She said she remembers attempting one 3-pointer in her prep career. In a day and age where treys are en vogue, Cooper didn’t bucket a single shot from beyond the arc in four seasons. 

More importantly, she was a key cog on an A-C team that had four straight winning seasons — including 14 victories in her sophomore year — and went 26-17 in section games and 52-36 overall during that clip with Cooper on the floor. 

“Her junior and senior years, she really came out of her shell,” Sanchez said. “She was the backbone of our team. She helped resurrect our program the last four years.”

One in a million

Cooper capped her school year in style this past spring on the track, where the sleek sprinter helped A-C go 5-0 in dual meets and win the Section 3 team championship. 

Her on-track exploits were nothing short of stupendous. 

In the L-L League finals at Hempfield — running against Class 3A competitors, like McCaskey freshman ace Ella Petrosky — Cooper captured silver medals in the 100-meter dash (12.6) and in the 200 (24.8), and she helped A-C claim bronze in the 4×100 relay (49.3).

In the District 3 Class 2A finals at Shippensburg University, Cooper mined two more silver medals in the 100 (12.2) and in the 200 (25.6), and she teamed with Sophia Caporaletti, Miracle Hershey and Jada Morales to help A-C strike gold in the 4×100 (48.6) and in the 4×400 (4:01.7) relays, as the Dutchmen finished second in the team competition, just two points (85) behind Schuylkill Valley (87).

In the PIAA Class 2A finals a week later back at Shippensburg, Cooper finished eighth in the 100 (12.3) and eighth in the 200 (25.9), and again she partnered with Caporaletti, Hershey and Morales to secure silver in the 4×100 (48.4) and a seventh-place finish in the 4×400 (4:05.4).

Hess still holds the A-C record in the 100 and the 200. But Cooper, Caporaletti, Hershey and Morales now own the Dutchmen’s 4×100 and 4×400 relay records, snapping the previous marks set by Hess and her crew. 

That relay unit this spring used a green baton — affectionately known as ”Pickle” — that Hess gifted the crew. It’s the baton Hess and her teammates used at A-C, and she took it to Slippery Rock before taking it out of dry dock for the Dutchmen to use.

“It just made it a little more special for them,” Hess said. “It will be a tradition now moving forward.” 

Who was the keeper of Pickle the baton this past season? Cooper. 

“Kendall was phenomenal at everything,” Heller said, “and she was so easy to coach. She doesn’t have an ego, and she always wanted to work and do things for the team. She’s probably your one-in-a-million kid. She’s the one that people will want to be compared to now. And not just for her athletic ability, but because of her personality and the person she is.

“Kendall came to practice with a smile on her face every single day. She’s kind to everyone. And she’s such a good leader. She set the standard.” 

And not just on the track. Or on the field hockey pitch. Or on the basketball court. Cooper was her class president all four years. She was in the National Honor Society. She even served as the student council president in her senior year.

“She did so much for the school,” Gingrich said. “She was involved with everything.” 

Hometown hero

Cooper’s extracurricular list is as long as it is impressive, with one activity and one club after another.

Tack on a whopping 12 varsity letters — “those are a moment of pride for me,” Cooper said, “and it shows me everything I’ve been able to accomplish” — and the coveted Pop Kelchner award as Lebanon County’s top student-athlete for this past school year, and it’s safe to say that Cooper squeezed every last drop out of her high school experience.

“She did it all,” Heller said. “She’s going to be missed because she was so involved with everything. From ninth grade on, she was always here.” 

Running. Breaking records. Scoring goals. Making buckets. Pulling down rebounds. Protecting Pickle. Presiding over her class. Mentoring. Always lending a helping hand. This, that, and dozens of other things in between.

“My goal was always just to push myself and be the best I could be,” Cooper said. “I just wanted to work the hardest I could all the time and give it my all to be the best player and the best teammate I could be. If any coach asked me to do anything, I was going to do it.”

Like Hess before her, now Cooper is the role model. Now she’s the athlete all the little girls in the greater Annville and Cleona areas look up to. They all want to be the next Kendall. 

“I always tried to set a good example in everything I’ve done,” Cooper said. “I love the people here, and I wouldn’t be the person I am today without Annville. Being able to represent this town — a small town, but a town that has been able to produce so many great teams and great athletes — is simply amazing.”

Feature Photo: IG / @abbynewhook

Just over six years ago, Abby Newhook sat beside her brother, Alex, at the 2019 NHL Draft, wondering what a similar moment might be like for herself.

She no longer has to wonder.

Abby, then 16, remembers exactly what she was thinking while sitting alongside the entire Newhook family when Alex was selected 16th overall by the Colorado Avalanche at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

“When I was sitting in those stands, I kept thinking, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if we had this for women’s hockey?’ Being at Alex’s draft and seeing everything he went through and dreaming of something like that for the women’s side – the fact it became a reality is just amazing. It almost leaves you speechless.”

On June 24, Abby was drafted 34th overall by the Boston Fleet at the PWHL Draft.

It was a surreal moment for Abby, who became just the second player from Newfoundland and Labrador to be drafted into the PWHL, following Maggie Connors of the Toronto Sceptres.

“It was so awesome,” said the 22-year-old, who played four seasons with Boston College, captaining the team in her final two years. “My family was all there, my agents were there, nine of my friends – seven girls from Boston College and two girls from back home – were there, too.”

Alex, 24, now with the Montreal Canadiens, was one of the first to congratulate his sister when her name was called.

“The most memorable part of the draft for me was when Abby got drafted to Boston,” said the centreman, who raised the Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2022. “It was such a special moment for her and our family.”

Abby, who was named the Hockey East Pro Ambitions Rookie of the Year in 2021–22 and a finalist for the WCHA National Rookie of the Year, was thrilled to share her big day with her brother.

“I am so glad he was able to be there for me at my draft, to be able to experience that with him, and also having gone through that, he gave me so many great tips and pieces of advice, sitting beside me the whole time and reassuring me that everything was good.

“It’s a super-exciting event and they did an amazing job putting it on. You have no idea where you are going to end up. There were definitely some nerves, and it felt like 20 minutes between each pick, when it’s really own two minutes. But I was more excited than nervous.”  

Not long after the draft, side-by-side ‘then and now’ photos of the Newhook siblings at their respective drafts made the rounds on social media.

“When I saw that photo, I thought, ‘That seems like forever ago,’” said Abby. “It’s wild.”

Looking back, Abby is proud of the path that led her to the PWHL – and is thrilled to be going from fan to player in the league.

“I have been lucky enough to play with girls in the league – Hannah Bilka, Cayla Barnes, Abbey Levy – and some other some Boston College alums like Megan Keller and Alex Carpenter, who I have been lucky enough to watch over the past few years.

“It’s not only great to have a league for young girls to aspire to play in, but also to see the league expand the number of teams because of its great fan base.”

It’s a dream come true – and one Abby still can’t fully believe.

“It was unbelievable. I still feel I haven’t totally processed it. But to wake up the next morning and realize it was real – that was the best feeling. It makes you want to start things right up now.”

For now, she’s taking time to rest before ramping up training ahead of the 2025–26 PWHL season.

Abby will also be back on home ice soon, joining her good friend and Toronto Sceptres forward Maggie Connors as a guest coach at Camp Connors, a girls’ hockey camp taking place at CBS Arena in Conception Bay South, Newfoundland, from July 15-18.

“Maggie is having her first-ever hockey camp, so I’m going to be there helping out the young girls who are participating in it.”

Later in July, she’ll also attend the second annual Alex Newhook & Friends Golf Classic in St. John’s. Last year’s event raised more than $113,000 for the REAL Program, Iris Kirby House and the Cancer Care Foundation – all St. John’s based charities.

It will be another chance for the siblings to reflect on an unforgettable few months.

“Abby and I have a great relationship and have always been very close,” said Alex. “We played on the same team in Atom with the Avalon Celtics, where she played up with my age group. I remember that team and the tournaments we played in very well. It was cool to be able to play together and to have those memories.”

And while Abby was always game, she didn’t exactly get the best deal when it came to ball hockey.

“Aside from that, playing ball hockey together outside our house was always fun, although I’d usually throw Abby in net when me and my buddies would play. It made her tougher, so I guess she has me to thank for that.”

Friendly jabs aside, Alex’s pride in his sister is unmistakable.

“Abby has worked so hard to get here and I’ve been lucky to watch her grow into the person and player she’s become today.

“I’m happy she ended up in Boston – it seems like a great fit and she’s super excited.” 

STANDISH, Maine – Backed by a strong mix of veterans and young players, the rapid growth of several first-years, and a landmark Senior Day win, the Saint Joseph’s College volleyball team continued its upward trajectory during the 2024 campaign. Under Head Coach Jon Roberts, the Monks posted a 15–17 overall record and a 10–5 GNAC mark—marking the program’s second-consecutive double-digit win season in conference play. 

REGULAR SEASON:

The Monks opened the year with a series of competitive non-conference contests and gained momentum in October, reeling off five straight wins from October 12–26 over NEC, Albertus Magnus, Elms, Thomas, and Rivier. The 3–1 victory over Rivier on Senior Day marked a historic breakthrough, as Saint Joseph’s defeated the Raiders for the first time since 1999, snapping a 24-match losing streak in the series.

Saint Joseph’s finished the regular season at 14-16 overall and 10–5 in GNAC play, matching the program’s conference win total from 2023 while earning the No. 6 seed in the postseason tournament.

POSTSEASON:

Entering the GNAC Tournament as the sixth seed, the Monks made noise once again by upsetting third-seeded and reigning GNAC Champion Regis College on the road in the quarterfinals, 3–1. It marked the second consecutive year Saint Joseph’s won a postseason match. The Monks’ playoff run came to a close two days later with a 3–1 setback to perennial power Johnson & Wales in the semifinals.

Sophomore Greta Mackintosh earned All-Tournament Team honors after totaling 16 kills and eight block assists in the two GNAC postseason bouts.

NOTEWORTHY INDIVIDUALS:

Junior outside hitter Victoria Briones turned in another standout season and was named Second Team All-GNAC for the second year in a row. Despite missing eight matches, she led the team in kills (218), kills per set (2.53), digs (262), digs per set (3.05), points (255), and points per set (2.97).

Freshman Riley Greenley emerged as the team’s starting setter and played in all 32 matches, collecting 463 assists, 162 digs, 35 service aces, and 22 kills. Her efforts earned her GNAC Rookie of the Week honors twice (Nov. 4, Nov. 11).

Junior Regan Noonan was a dominant presence at the net, finishing the year ranked sixth in the GNAC in blocks per set (0.77), eighth in solo blocks (20), and 10th in total blocks (62).

Sophomores Larisa Comolli and Greta Mackintosh emerged as key contributors with promising upside. Comolli tallied 115 kills, a .180 attack percentage, 23 service aces, and 33 total blocks, while Mackintosh added 142 kills and 28 blocks.

RECORDS & MILESTONES:

Victoria Briones reached a significant milestone on November 12th during the Monks’ GNAC quarterfinal win at Regis, becoming the eighth player in program history to surpass 1,000 career digs. She also eclipsed the 600-kill and 800-point marks during the season.

Senior Hanna Webster capped her four-year career ranked among the program’s top performers, finishing third in matches played (120), fifth in attack percentage (.202) and block assists (110), eighth in total blocks (146), and 12th in both sets played (383) and kills (482).

Senior Maggie Sylvester wrapped up a distinguished career with 659 kills, 102 blocks, 2,136 total attacks, and 751.5 points. She leaves the program ranked fifth in kills per set (2.0), sixth in total attacks, eighth in total kills, and 10th in total points.

NCAA RANKINGS:

Saint Joseph’s ranked 28th in NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball in opponents’ hitting percentage, limiting teams to a .111 mark over the course of the season.

West, a 6-foot-6, 215-pound left-winger on the ice, is 17 and eligible for this year’s NHL Draft because he turns 18 before the cut-off date on Sept. 15.

As a junior, West led the Hornets to the state quarterfinals in football and semifinals in hockey.

On the ice, West scored 27 goals with 22 assists in 31 games. As a quarterback, he threw for 2,592 yards with 37 touchdowns against just four interceptions. 

West made it clear to NHL teams ahead of the draft that he will focus on hockey after this football season.

“It’s super important for me to play this season just because I want to stay loyal to my teammates,” West said. “I made it really clear that my only goal is to win a state championship and be loyal to my teammates and my community and then head to Fargo and get going with hockey.”

West said his goals coming into high school were to win both a hockey and football state title in his career. He got the job done with his skates during his sophomore season when he had 15 goals and 23 assists for the state champion Hornets.

That same year he nearly won a state title in football. Down 28-21 with less than 30 seconds left, West threw a touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 1-point at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Hornets went for a 2-point conversion and were stopped on a play so close, it had to go to video review. Edina fell 28-27.

West has been the starting quarterback the past two seasons and has racked up 5,217 yards and 65 touchdowns. Rated a three-star quarterback prospect by 247Sports, he has earned offers from Kent State, Marshall, Miami (Ohio) and South Dakota. He is committed to Michigan State to play hockey.

Edina is a prestigious hockey school with at least 13 players drafted since 2009, including New York Islanders left wing Anders Lee.

Like West, Lee was also a prolific quarterback who won state player of the year in Minnesota during a 2008 season in which he passed for over 2,000 yards and ran for another 1,000. Lee had a bright future in both sports and was selected in the fourth round of the NHL Draft. He stuck with hockey and has 289 career goals in his Islanders career including four straight 20-plus goal seasons.

West said that Lee reached out to him earlier this year and that the two have stayed in contact.

“He is a really great guy, it was nice to really get advice from someone who kinda went through it,” West said at the press conference. “Obviously you can talk to your parents or people from the community, but it’s kind of hard to find a guy that went through the same thing.”

West has played on elite hockey teams since he was young. Three players from his Minnesota Blades 14U team from the 2021-22 season were selected in this year’s draft with nearly a dozen more committed to play at elite hockey colleges like North Dakota or Wisconsin.

Chicago’s first-round pick was a freshman at Edina in 2022-23 and immediately made an impact under head coach Curt Giles, who has won five state championships in his tenure and is a 14-year NHL veteran.

Giles played on two teams that reached the Stanley Cup Finals and has an Olympic silver medal. Playing for Canada in the 1992 Winter games, Giles scored the go-ahead goal in the third period of Canada’s semifinal win over Czechoslovakia.

West made an impact immediately for Giles. As a freshman he scored nine goals with 18 assists as Edina lost in the state championship game. As a sophomore he scored 38 points and the Hornets won the state crown. Last season he tallied 1.6 points per game and became one of the top NHL Draft prospects in the nation.

Now, he is at the Chicago Blackhawks Development Camp with his fellow draft picks before heading back to Minnesota to get ready for the football season.