Back in 2020, when The Forecaster chose the top 10 girls' hockey teams from our coverage area over a 20-year span, it was a time to celebrate the past, as high school sports (along with many other things) had been shut down and the future was unknown. Life eventually returned to normal and new candidates have emerged, shaking up our original list.
Cheverus has won the past two state championships and both of those squads have a legitimate claim to our countdown.
Claims we're about to examine.
Here's a look at the original top 10 list, which was Cheverus-, Greely- and Scarborough-heavy:
Honorable mentions (in chronological order):
2011-12 Greely Rangers (state champion)
2012-13 Scarborough Red Storm (state finalist)
2015-16 Scarborough Red Storm (state finalist)
2017-18 Cheverus Stags (state finalist)
Super-six
6) 2015-16 Greely Rangers (North region finalist)
5) 2012-13 Greely Rangers (state champion)
4) 2018-19 Cheverus Stags (state champion)
3) 2017-18 Greely Rangers (state champion)
2) 2009-10 Cheverus Stags (state champion)
1) 2013-14 Scarborough Red Storm (state champion)
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2022-23 Cheverus Stags' claim
Forecaster/Press Herald file photos.
After dropping a triple-overtime heartbreaker to Scarborough in the 2022 South region semifinals, the Stags had no peer the following season. Featuring the likes of Lily Johnson, Lucy Johnson, Ella Lemieux, Brynn McKenney, Charlotte Miller, Zoe Radford and Mikayla Talbot, Cheverus scored 94 goals in 18 games and only surrendered 29, pitching three shutouts and holding nine other foes to just one goal.
The Stags shot out of the gate with 10 straight victories, including a palpitating 3-2 win over their top competitor, Yarmouth/Freeport. Cheverus would meet its match against Penobscot, falling, 5-3, then struggled late, dropping two of its final three games: 4-2 to Yarmouth/Freeport and 5-2 to Penobscot, but its 15-3 mark gave it the top seed in the South Region.
The Stags were expected to have no trouble with York in the semifinals, after beating the Wildcats twice by a composite 9-2 score during the regular season, but Cheverus had to scratch and claw for 45 minutes, as only a goal from Talbot avoided disaster and produced a 1-0 victory. After returning to form with a decisive 8-1 win over Gorham in the regional final, the Stags went toe-to-toe with Yarmouth/Freeport one final time with a championship at stake and after falling behind, 1-0, after one period, Lucy Johnson put her team on her back, scoring three goals in the second period, and Lemieux (14 saves) and Cheverus' defense did the rest, holding on for a 3-2 victory and the championship finishing 18-3 in the process.
"It's sweet beyond compare," Stags coach Scott Rousseau said. "It's very satisfying for me as a coach because it's a new generation. (A few years ago), we didn't have enough kids to field a team. We went through the hallways begging kids to play to keep the program going. To win with this group, I'm so thrilled."
2023-24 Cheverus Stags' claim
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Perhaps the best collection of Forecaster Country girls' hockey talent ever to take the ice (hang on for that verdict), the Stags went back-to-back, riding the brilliance of multiple players who will go on to star in either ice hockey or field hockey at the next level. Cheverus wore the bulls-eye and wore it very well, as stars like the Johnson sisters, Lemieux, McKenney, Miller, Radford and Talbot returned and were joined by freshman phenom Caroline Rousseau. Just weeks before the season began, many of the ice hockey players celebrated a field hockey crown. That momentum carried over into what would be a most memorable campaign.
This time around, the Stags outscored the opposition, 91-19, in the regular season. The season began with decisive shutout victories over Falmouth (9-0), York (9-0) and St. Dom's (8-0). Cheverus won its first 10 games, including a blanking of Yarmouth/Freeport in a state game rematch and a breathtaking come-from-behind overtime victory over the Beacons (Cape Elizabeth, Portland, South Portland, Waynflete). The Stags did fall once, 2-1 at Yarmouth/Freeport, but closed on a five-game surge to earn the top seed for the South Region playoffs once again.
This time around, there would be no close calls in the postseason. First up, Cheverus dominated Falmouth/Scarborough in the semifinals, 8-2. In the South Region Final, the Stags rolled to a 6-2 win behind a hat trick from Lucy Johnson and two goals from Talbot. Once again, only Yarmouth/Freeport remained and unlike the year before, where Cheverus had to battle for 45 grueling minutes, this time, the coronation came with relative ease, 4-0, thanks to two goals and two assists from Talbot and one goal apiece from Lucy Johnson and Rousseau. Lemieux made 14 saves in her swan song and the Stags finished 18-1 and had left no doubt of their dominance.
"The kids embraced doing what they loved most with the people they love most," Scott Rousseau said. "I loved coaching them. They're special people. I don't know what I've done to be so lucky to have them in my life."
**Updated Best of the Best**
So, with all of that in mind, here's the new list:
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Honorable mentions
2011-12 Greely Rangers, 16-5, state champion
While the Rangers lost three games in a row late in the regular season, and dropped five games overall, they overcame injury to Meg Finlay, Paige Tuller and Freyja Victory and flipped the switch when the playoffs began and embarked on a stirring run to the championship. Greely, featuring standout goalie Emma Seymour, along with key contributors Chelsey Andrews, Etta Copenhagen, Ceci Hodgkins, Monica Howland, Sarah Kurland and Mary Morrison, scored 15 goals and allowed just three in the postseason. In the semifinals, Greely avenged two regular season losses with a 1-0 win over Leavitt-Edward Little, as Seymour made 13 saves and Howland scored the game's lone goal early in the third period. The Rangers drew top-ranked Brunswick in the regional final and had no trouble advancing, 7-2, as the offense came to life. In the state final, as was the case in the semifinals, Greely drew an opponent, Falmouth, which had beaten it twice (by 4-1 scores) in the regular season, but the Rangers weren't going to be denied, winning with surprising ease, 7-1. Copenhagen, Howland and Kurland paced the offense with two goals apiece (Hodgkins also scored, while Tuller returned to action and had a pair of assists and Finlay came back and had an assist as well). Seymour brought the curtain down on her amazing postseason by stopping 28 shots.
2012-13 Greely Rangers, 18-2-1, state champion
The first team to repeat during the MPA era. Greely, which replaced standout goalie Emma Seymour with untested sophomore Maura Perry, was paced offensively by Etta Copenhagen, Meg Finlay, Sarah Kurland, Mary Morrison (remember her name), Paige Tuller and Maura Verrill, and had to scratch and claw for a second championship, but was up for the challenge. The Rangers earned a bye into the semifinals, then eliminated Brunswick, 5-1, as Finlay, Kurland, Morrison, Tuller and Verrill all scored. In the regional final, Greely blanked Leavitt-Edward Little, 3-0, behind goals from Copenhagen, Kurland and Tuller. Scarborough awaited in the state final and three periods didn't produce a single goal. The championship would be decided in overtime, where Morrison etched her name into lore, scoring (from Kurland) on a wrister through traffic at 3:44 of the extra session, giving the Rangers the 1-0 victory and back-to-back honors.
2015-16 Greely Rangers, 19-1, North region runner-up
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This Greely team couldn't quite finish the job, but for 19 games, the Rangers simply had no equal. Led by standouts Danita Storey and Courtney Sullivan, along with Emilee McGillicuddy, Erin Molloy, Jayme Morrison, Bridget Roberts, Kylie Rogers, Ellie Schad, Maura Verrill and goalie Veronica Todd, Greely earned a bye into the semifinals and beat Leavitt/Edward Little, 5-1 (McGillicuddy, Roberts, Schad, Storey and Sullivan all tickled the twine). The Rangers then met St. Dom's in what proved to be an epic and heartbreaking regional final. Storey had two first period goals and things were looking good, but the Saints rallied to go on top, 3-2. Schad tied it, then St. Dom's went on top again, but McGillicuddy scored (after Todd was pulled for an extra skater) with 43 seconds remaining. Just when overtime appeared imminent, however, the Saints won in shocking fashion, on a goal with 3.7 seconds left and just like that Greely's quest for perfection was dashed, 5-4.
2017-18 Cheverus Stags, 19-2, state runner-up
For most of the season, Cheverus appeared en route to a coronation, but the Stags ultimately fell just short of a championship. Cheverus, which featured standouts like Abby Lamontagne, Zoe Mazur, Emma McCauley, Sarah Noyes, the Pompeo sisters, Lucia and Sophia, Caitlin Wolff, Hannah Woodford and goalie Anna Smith, went 17-1 in the regular season, then blanked Scarborough in the semifinals, 4-0 (Lamontagne had a hat trick and Sophia Pompeo also scored) and pulled away to down Portland/Deering, 8-2, in the regional final (behind two goals apiece from Lamontagne, McCauley and Lucia Pompeo and one apiece from Olivia Adams and Noyes). The state game versus Greely would be a different story, as the offense went cold. Cheverus managed just one goal, from Sophie Pompeo, and the title the Stags so fervently sought went to Greely instead, 3-1.
The Super Six
6) 2009-10 Cheverus Stags, 21-0, state champion
One of two local teams to ever go 21-0 and win a championship, the Stags were unstoppable in the second year of MPA-sanctioned play back when the overall talent level wasn't quite what it is today. Cheverus, which featured a dominant goalie in Saundrine Lanouette (who surrendered only five goals all season), as well as potent scorers Alyssa Audet, Grace Fitzpatrick, Emily Sawchuck and Sage Witham and all-stars Sarah LaQuerre and Caitlin Pleau, appeared title-bound from the get-go and didn't disappoint. After an undefeated regular season, the Stags earned a bye into the semifinals where they shut down York, 7-1, as Audet, Katie Roy and Sawchuck all had two goals, helping Cheverus rally from its first deficit of the season. Next up was Falmouth in the regional final and while the Stags were held in check (just one goal in the first two periods), they added a pair in the third period for a 3-0 win (Fitzpatrick, Witham and Pleau found the net, while Lanouette stopped 18 shots for the shutout). Cheverus' final step to the pinnacle was a doozy, having to beat defending champion Lewiston in Lewiston and it didn't come without some anxious moments. The contest was scoreless until 3:36 remained, when Audet broke through with a rebound goal. Brianna Amato provided some breathing room and Sawchuck's empty netter clinched it and Lanouette's 18 saves played a huge part as well in the 3-0 victory.
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5) 2018-19 Cheverus Stags, 18-2-1, state champion
After a heartbreaking end to the prior season, Cheverus, featuring top scorers Madison Courtois, Abby Lamontagne, Terryn MacDonald, Zoe Mazur, Sarah Noyes, Lucia Pompeo, Sophia Pompeo and Hannah Woodford and solid goalkeeping from Trinity Atwater, wound up the last team standing. After earning a bye into the semifinals, the Stags had to face Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete/South Portland, a team they had handled twice by a composite 10-4 margin. This time around, Cheverus couldn't score until the second overtime, when Lucia Pompeo produced a 1-0 victory (Atwater was huge with 23 saves). Scarborough then stymied the Stags for more than 45 minutes in a memorable regional final. Cheverus fell behind, 2-0, and had to rally. Lamontagne and Mazur scored third period goals to tie it, then Noyes played the hero in overtime. Lewiston awaited in the final, where Lamontagne scored two goals and Atwater was exceptional between the pipes, making 31 saves, in a palpitating 2-1 victory.
4) 2022-23 Cheverus Stags (see above)
3) 2017-18 Greely Rangers, 19-3, state champion
The Rangers weren't expected to go all the way, but eventual Becky Schaffer Award winner Courtney Sullivan etched her name in program lore and thanks to her heroics, along with those of many others, including All-Stater Bridget Roberts, All-Region selections Camilla Lattanzi, Jayme Morrison and Leah Walker and goalie Jordyn Owens, Greely saved its best for last, avenged a pair of regular season losses and won its third and most recent championship. Edward Little/Leavitt/Poland was up first in the quarterfinals and the Rangers rolled, 9-1, behind five goals from Sullivan and three from Molly Horton. In the semifinals, the Greely served up its first dose of revenge, eliminating St. Dom's by a surprisingly decisive 7-2 margin, as Sullivan scored two goals and added five assists, Roberts had two goals and two assists and Horton scored a pair of goals and produced an assist. The regional final versus Lewiston would be grueling, but ultimately rewarding. Horton, Roberts and Madison Pelletier scored in regulation, but the Rangers couldn't hold a 3-1 lead. The game would go to overtime and eventually to a second OT, where Walker scored the biggest goal of her life, giving Greely the 4-3 win and a ticket to the state final against a seemingly invincible Cheverus squad. After a scoreless first period, Sullivan scored in the second, but the Stags answered. Sullivan struck again in the third period and this time, Cheverus couldn't respond. Sullivan added one more goal for the hat trick, Owens made 11 saves and the Rangers had the 3-1 victory and the championship.
2) 2013-14 Scarborough Red Storm, 21-0, state champion
After so many close calls, the Red Storm became the Perfect Storm and the Championship Storm. Scarborough featured freshman standout Sami Shoebottom, key offensive contributors Lizzy Gross, Alyssa Hulst and Kristen Murray, all-stars Riley McKeown, Lily Nygren and Rachael Wallace and stellar goalie Devan Kane and simply wouldn't be denied its date with destiny. After earning a bye into the semifinals, the Red Storm met Cape Elizabeth/Waynflete and dominated, 11-1, as Hulst had four goals, Gross added three and Shoebottom finished with a pair. Falmouth was next and again Scarborough was unrelenting, rolling to a 7-0 victory behind Shoebottom's four goals, two goals from Gross and another from Hulst. The Red Storm had to play Lewiston in Lewiston to earn their crown and they passed the test. This time, it would be Gross playing the hero, as she scored all three goals. Kane stopped 20 shots in her swan song and Scarborough had the win, 3-1, and the championship.
1) 2023-24 Cheverus Stags (see above)
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