Continuing the trend of schools who completed their first season in the LEC, we turn our attention to the women’s game for the first time (at least in this conference). Despite an incredible postseason run in 2023-2024, the Huskies were unable to replicate their postseason success in their final year in the NEHC. With four year starter Haley McKim graduating at the end of last season, goaltending was a question for the first time since Covid in Gorham, ME. Junior transfer (Morrisville) Maggie Jones answered the bell in 2025-2026. Let’s dive into the season.

Opening night for the Huskies came in the comfort of their home as one of their in-state, interconference rivals, UNE came to town. After a tightly contested, low event first period, the Huskies struck for the first time as Sydnee Chaisson gave them their first lead of the season. Unfortunately, Lainie Lemieux answered right back, sending the game tied into the second intermission. In the sixth minute Adria Tebo put an unassisted goal past Jones, and the Huskies were unable to respond, handing them a tough opening night loss. The next day they traveled down to Beverly, MA to play a CNE favorite in Endicott. The Gulls dictated possession for most of the game, despite giving USM four power play opportunities (Endicott had five of their own). Teaghan Hall scored the game’s only goal for Endicott in the second period. Jones was great stopping 34 of 35 on the evening, but the skaters just couldn’t solve Casey Moritz.

After two difficult losses to CNE teams, the Huskies ventured out to Henniker for their first LEC intraconference game against NEC. The offense got flowing early as Madison Chagnon put the Huskies up 1-0 in the game’s fourth minute. Discipline continued to plague USM as they took four penalties to the Pilgrims zero in the opening frames, but that didn’t stop Audrey Donahue from extending the lead to two goals before the second intermission. Charlotte Hughes and Caroline Thompson added two insurance tallies in the third to secure USM’s first win of the season. Jones stopped 21 in the shutout. The Huskies returned home to host the UMass Boston Beacons the following day. Both teams played stellar defense in this game, limiting the shot on goal to a 24-17 ratio (in favor of the Beacons). Leah Bosch and Jones were terrific on the shots they did face, but unfortunately for the home crowd Aisling McFadden netted the game’s first and only goal one minute into the third period to secure a 1-0 victory for the Beacons.

The next Friday the Huskies faced another former NEHC foe in Castleton. For the second time this season, USM struck in the first period after being shutout, as Hughes gave them a 1-0 lead. It would not survive the second period; however, as Castleton found an equalizer in the sixteenth minute. Following a tightly played third period, the game remained deadlocked at one, forcing an overtime period. It did not last long as Olivia Stewart put a shot past Gianna McCusker to secure the Huskies’ second win.

USM had a full seven day break from games before their first visit to Northfield, VT to play the early season conference favorites of Norwich. Jordan Brady struck in the first period for the Cadets, setting the tone for the rest of the game. By the final buzzer Norwich had secured a 5-0 victory in a game where the Huskies were outshot 51-9. Jones was quite good stopping 46. In Saturday’s game against Plymouth State, the Huskies’ scoring woes carried over into the first forty minutes of the contest. Jillian Jackson broke through in the sixth minute to give USM a 1-0 lead. Donahue added an insurance marker in the thirteenth minute to secure a 2-0 win. Jones stopped 16 for her second shutout of the season.

USM traveled out to Waterville for another in-state matchup against 13th ranked Colby College. The Mules struck twice in the opening period, creating an uphill climb for the Huskies. Chaisson got one back in the fourth minute of the second period to halve the lead, but Molly Lefebvre brought the Colby lead back to three early in the third. Chaisson scored a second goal late, but USM ran out of time to bring the game to a draw. This was an impressive effort in a game where they were outshot 40 to 13.Ten days later they ventured down to Keene State to play another team with a fantastic goalie in Ai Chung. Despite throwing 44 shots on Chung, only Jackson was able to beat her in the nineteenth minute of the first period. Jones was once again perfect with 25 stops in a game where the Huskies needed all of them.

In the first of two interconference games before the winter break, USM continued their schedule of intrastate, interconference opponents against Bowdoin. Bowdoin struck in the seventeenth minute of the first, and again in the third minute of the second period to claim an early lead. USM bit back with a goal from Anna Elizarkov in the ninth minute of the third. Despite their best efforts, Bea Palmer put the game out of reach with a late third period goal for Bowdoin. To end out the calendar year, USM journeyed down to Rhode Island for a match with Johnson and Wales. Another strong defensive battle broke out in Pawtucket, as Jones and Katelyn Cardoso only faced a combined 45 shot-on-goal. Alexia Labre broke through for JWU in the eight minute of the third, but Jackson answered almost immediately for the Huskies. For the second time this season, USM was in overtime for less than two minutes, as Chagnon put the game to rest.

USM opened the schedule after the break with a rematch against UNE. Lainie Lemieux caught USM flat footed early with a goal sixty-four seconds into the game. After a lull, Adria Tebo extended their lead in the second. Gracelyn Kock halved the UNE lead just past the midpoint in the third, but Jamie Dupont answered in eighty-two seconds for the Nor’easters to restore the lead.Chagnon struck a minute later, but the Huskies couldn’t find a third goal, dropping the contest 3-2.

For the first time all season, USM played back-to-back against an opponent with two consecutive home games against NEC. Friday’s game saw Megan Gawley start for the Huskies. Donahue struck first for USM in the eleventh minute of the second period, but Alexis Hornsby brought the game to even in the eighth minute of the third. In a stunner, Molly Jones beat Gawley in the fifteenth minute to put the Pilgrims out from 2-1. Despite the shot board reading 46 to 15, USM couldn’t find an equalizer. In the rematch, USM’s offense broke through early with a fifth minute goal by Hughes. The second period didn’t see any changes to the scoreboard before a more intense third. Hughes and Mackenzie Woodford scored in quick succession to give USM a 3-0 lead. Meadow Gilchrist brought the lead to two, but a late insurance marker from Jackson put the game out of reach.

The next weekend featured back-to-back road games in another rematch with the UMass Boston Beacons. Bosch and Jones gave us another even duel. Nolan Shea and Maggie Lynch got the Beacons out to a 2-0 lead before the midway point in the first period, but Jackson halved the lead before the intermission. Chaisson brought the game to even in the fifth minute of the second, and a tense defensive battle ensued over the final thirty-six minutes of regulation and five minutes of OT until the game concluded in a 2-2 draw. In the rematch, the Huskies’ scoring finally broke through. Jones scored fifty-two seconds into the game. The Beacons answered with two first period goals of their own, but Koch answered in the last thirty seconds of the frame to carry a tie into the intermission. Chagnon gave USM a lead late in the second period, but UMass Boston even the score in the seventh minute of the third. Jackson beat Veronika Hadamovsky in the seventeenth minute, and a late Saige MacLeod goal secured a 5-3 win for the Huskies.

USM traveled back to Castleton for their next series. After a quiet first, the Huskies struck twice in the second period on goals from Chagnon and Jackson. Despite a late period push by the Spartans (fueled by power plays), Gawley kept the game 2-0. Elizarkov extended the lead to three early in the third before a pair of insurance goals by Chagnon and Ellie Eigner put the game to rest at 5-0. The rematch doubled the game’s goal total. Chagnon struck first for USM, but was answered by Brooke Noble by the end of the frame. Noble scored again in the first minute of the second period, while Moa Carlsson, Brooke, and Caris Erickson gave Castleton a 5-1 lead. Elizarkov scored in the final minute of the second to cut the lead to three. Hughes scored a pair of goals in the first half of the third to bring the Huskies within one goal, but a late Mikayla Brightman goal extended Castleton’s lead back to two, and the clock ended USM’s comeback bid.

In their final non-conference game of the year, the Huskies hosted another former NEHC foe in Salve Regina. An eventful first period carried a 2-2 tie into intermission. Salve struck twice in the first half of the second before a goal from Josie Arrants in the last fifteen seconds of the period brought USM back within one. Ashtyn Bringardner restored the lead to two in the third minute of the final period. Chagnon answered back in the seventh minute, but the Huskies could not secure another goal, dropping the game 5-4.

Up next was a home series with the red hot Norwich Cadets. After a scoreless first period from Gawley, Olivia Boyer got Norwich out in front in the nineteenth minute of the second period; however, Chagnon was quick to respond to carry the tie into the intermission. Despite an immense goaltending effort, Boyer struck again in the seventeenth minute to give Norwich a lead. Alex Leslie buried an insurance goal in the final minute to secure a 3-1 outcome (Gawley stopped 53 of 56). The rematch saw Shannon Murphy get USM a lead over the Cadets just over two minutes into the game. Maggie Hunter answered eight minutes later to send the game to the intermission even. Dani Ammons gave Norwich a lead late in the second, but MacLeod equalized it with sixty-five second left. The tie didn’t last long as Boyer buried two more goals for her hat trick in the first six minutes of the period to collect a 4-2 victory.

Heading into a series with Plymouth State, the Huskies got themselves into another high scoring affair. The Panthers closed three quick strikes in the opening twelve minutes of the game, putting USM behind the eight ball. Sophia Capone cut the lead to two in the thirteenth minute, and Chagnon slimmed the lead further with six seconds left in the period. Lilli Warnock answered twenty-two seconds into the middle period, restoring the Panthers’ two goal lead. Chagnon scored her second of the game to cut the lead again, but an answer from Sofia Cuozzo restored it. MacLeod brought the lead to one in the twelfth minute of the third, but USM was unable to find another goal late. USM fixed their biggest mistake in the rematch by getting out to a 1-0 lead sixteen seconds into the game on a goal from Koch. Plymouth tied the game before the end of the period, and gave themselves a one goal lead on a Jaqueline Martin goal late in the second. Caroline Thompson scored the equalizer in the eighth minute of the third period. Finding the puck luck they’d been missing, Shannon Murphy and Koch scored a pair of late goals to secure a 4-2 win for the Huskies.

USM hosted Keene State for their final series of the regular season. Donahue got the Huskies out to a 1-0 lead in the first period, and the skaters bombarded Chung for three periods. Caroline Thompson extended the USM lead to 2-0 in the third period, and it didn’t change again after that. Jones stopped all thirteen shots she faced for her third shutout of the season. Jackson scored just over five-and-a-half minutes into the rematch to give USM its first lead, but Ellie Patrick evened the game up just before the halfway point in the period. Patrick would nip Gawley again in the second period to give Keene State a 2-1 lead. Just before the midway point in the third period, Emma McNeil extended the Owls’ lead to 3-1. Jackson cut the lead to one in the seventeenth minute, but the Huskies couldn’t find the equalizer, dropping the finale 3-2.

After going 9-8-1 in LEC play, the Huskies finished third in the standings and earned the right to host Plymouth State in the first round of the playoffs. Jones and Jorja Moore played to a scoreless draw in the opening twenty. Jackson scored on a power play goal in the seventh minute of the second period to give USM the lead, and Hughes would do the same in the seventeenth minute to extend it to 2-0. Despite a great, late effort from the Panthers, Donahue scored at the fifteen-minute marker in the third, giving the Huskies a 3-0 lead. For the fourth time this season, Jones was perfect, stopping 22 of 22, and USM advanced to the LEC semi-finals.

A fourth showdown with the Beacons. Another showdown between Bosch and Jones brought the game to a deadlock after one. Chagnon broke the tie in the third minute of the second period, but Grace Lynch erased the USM lead just three minutes later. A late trip by the Huskies proved to be fatal. Sixteen seconds in a woman advantage in the nineteenth minute, Grace Lynch scored her second of the game. USM ran out of time to find the equalizer bringing their season to an end. 

Overall, this season was successful for Southern Maine. The ending to the year was tough because they’d played very well in tight games all year, but there were plenty of great team and individual results. The team produced one Superstar, one Star, and two Fringe Star skaters this season in Chagnon, Donahue, Jackson, and Koch, respectively. Despite missing the Star threshold by a sliver, Hughes had a tremendous first season. With Koch, Hughes, and Capone as foundational underclassmen, coach Lauziere has a lot to build around. Almost more impressive than having four Star caliber scorers for the Huskies was having zero Replacement level producers in their regular lineup. Every player with at least ten games played was above the 20th percentile in scoring this season, which is a great indicator that their system draws scoring impact out of the entire roster. In goal, USM also has a reliable tandem moving forward. With a GSAA of 10.19, Jones landed in the 88th percentile of all goalies in the nation this season. Despite Gawley’s rate being lower, the experience against great teams is instrumental to her development to being one of the nation’s best goalies in a year or two. With several potential star skaters and goalies entrenched heading into 2026-2027, the future looks bright in Gorham.