CT Futures Cup
|
Gretchen Silverman
|
Gretchen Silverman is the head coach of the Taft girls’ varsity hockey team. Over the past few years she has worked at various US National Development Camps and Festivals, including the U-15 camp in St. Cloud, MN, the New England District camp and the Rocky Mountain/Pacific District camp. Gretchen has served as a motivational speaker for the 2018 Women’s Olympic Team, and the US U-18 National Team. She has coached youth hockey at all levels, and is currently USA Hockey level 4 certified. In her playing days, Gretchen led Dartmouth College as a senior captain, and remains the program’s all-time leading scorer with 189 goals and 123 assists. She helped team USA capture its first Olympic Gold Medal in 1998.
|
Head Coaches:
Ashley Bairos
|
Ashley Bairos currently serves as the head girls’ varsity hockey coach at Choate. She is a 2010 graduate of Middlebury College, after which she played several years in the SDHL (Sweden). Upon returning to the United States, Ashley began her coaching career with specific attention to skating technique and edge work. Working with
athletes of all ages, Ashley focuses on improving one’s technical skill in all areas of his or her game. Off the ice, she has coached physical performance for several years both during the school year and in the summers. |
Sarah Hughson
|
Sarah Hughson graduated from Elmira College in 2018, where she played both hockey and lacrosse. With the hockey team she competed in the NCAA Championship tournament each year. During her senior year she was recognized as an ACHA/CCM First team All-American, the UCHC Player of the year and tournament MVP, and Elmira College's Female Athlete of the Year. She graduated from the Frederick Gunn School in 2014. She played two seasons for the CT Whale and was awarded the Foundation Award. Hughson has served as the assistant coach for the girls’ varsity hockey and lacrosse teams at Choate, and is currently coaching for the Greenwich Country Day School.
|
Mackenzie Lancaster
|
Mackenzie played for the Quinnipiac Women’s Ice Hockey Team, and served as the assistant captain in her senior season. Prior to Quinnipiac, she played for the Berkshire School. She is currently the assistant coach at Connecticut College.
|
Madie Leidt
|
Madie Leidt is currently one of the most prolific players in the NESCAC league. As a student at the Taft School, Madie was a tri-varsity captain for a total of six years, leading the soccer, hockey and softball teams in both her junior and senior years.
|
Lisa Marshall
|
Lisa Marshall joined Berkshire after leading Vermont Academy to the 2018 New England Preparatory School Athletic Council Division II Championship. Prior to coaching the Wildcats, Coach Marshall served as an assistant coach at Rochester Institute of Technology and Penn State University, where she was responsible for all recruiting efforts, practice planning, and implementation. A graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy and Elmira College, Ms. Marshall was named to the College Hockey America Academic All-Star Team, the ECAC West All-Academic Team and helped Elmira win a National Championship in 2013.
|
Sue Merz
|
As a member of the U.S. Women’s National Hockey Team from 1990-2002, Sue Merz was a defensemen on the first U.S. Olympic Women’s Hockey Team. Winning Olympic Gold (Nagano ’98) and Silver (Salt Lake City ’02) and six Silver World Championships, Sue has been one of the pioneers that elevated women’s hockey globally. Along with her gold medal teammates, she was inducted into the USA Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009. Sue played hockey at the University of New Hampshire (’90-’94) winning a national championship in 1991 and was a member of the Connecticut Polar Bears Girls’ Midget National Championship team the previous year. Today, Sue is a successful territory sales manager in the surgical device space but is never too far from a youth hockey practice or pickup pond hockey game. Her unwavering drive for business success and dedication to girl’s athletics has brought her many local and national “Hall of Fame” accolades.
|
Katelyn Parker
|
Katelyn is entering her third season with the UConn women’s ice hockey program. Prior to this she was an assistant coach at Brown University for two years. Parker was a member of the Colgate women’s hockey team, where she served as the team’s captain for two seasons. As a forward, she played in 141 games over her career, which is the most in program history. With the Raiders, Parker was a four-time recipient of the Sportsmanship Award, given to person that represents the true meaning of “team” (voted by teammates and coaches). Parker graduated from Colgate in 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Environmental Studies and Geography.
|
Melissa Samoskevich
|
Melissa played four years at Quinnipiac, finishing her career with 54 goals and 55 assists, and served as the team captain her senior year. Melissa has played for several US Women’s National Teams as well as for the CT Whale.
|
Kristin Steele
|
Kristin Steele enters her 18th season as the head women’s ice hockey coach. Under her direction, the Camels have developed into a perennial contender in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) and have been ranked among the top 10 programs in the country. In 2015-16, the Camels set a school record by winning 15 games and matched the feat by registering 15 victories over the next two campaigns with Steele on the sidelines. The 2017-18 squad most recently finished with a 15-6-5 ledger and a school-record .673 winning percentage while advancing to the semifinal round of the NESCAC Tournament for the third straight season and fifth time over the last six years.
|
Sarah Ugalde
|
Sarah graduated from Middlebury College, where she was a senior captain, an All-NESCAC First Team honoree and helped the Panthers win two league titles. Ugalde finished her collegiate career with 40 goals and 42 assists.
|
Assistant Coaches:
Mya Berretta
|
Mya Berretta is from West Haven, CT and attends Hamilton College. Before Hamilton, Mya attended West Haven High School and set a state record for tallying 60 goals during her freshman season. Mya was also selected for the USA Hockey New England Festival for each year of eligibility. She graduated from The Gunnery in 2017 then pursued a post- graduate year at Taft. Now a sophomore in college, she majors in neuroscience and has an active role as a forward on the Hamilton hockey team, which made it to the semi-final round of the NESCAC playoffs for the 2018-2019 season.
|
Lexi Cafiero
|
Lexi Cafiero is from Guilford, Connecticut, and is a sophomore at Colby College where she studies biology and environmental science. She plays forward on the Colby women's hockey team after playing for four years at the Taft School. Growing up, Lexi played for the Connecticut Polar Bears and the Connecticut Junior Eagles, and was a national and regional camp participant.
|
Meaghan Francis
|
Meaghan Francis is from Woodbridge, CT and is a sophomore, majoring in political science at Endicott. She was selected as the two-time MVP at Amity Regional High School and then went on to graduate from Wyoming Seminary School, serving as team captain her senior year. She attended the Canterbury School for a post graduate year, before heading off to Endicott.
|
Stephanie Proteau
|
Stephanie Proteau is from Wolcott, CT and is a Marketing major. She attended Rumsey Hall School and Canterbury School prior to Franklin Pierce where she is a standout forward.
|
Gabby Vitelli
|
Gabby Vitelli is from Milford, CT and is a Junior Communications major at Quinnipiac, playing Defense for the Bobcats. She attended Canterbury School, anchoring her team’s defense.
|
Natalie Witkowski
|
Natalie Witkowski is from Cheshire CT and played hockey and lacrosse at the Taft School where she was captain of both teams her senior year. Natalie also participated in the New England festival for 4 years. She is now continuing her hockey and academic career at Conn College where she is studying biology.
|
Mackenzie Bruch
|
Mackenzie Bruch served as a Graduate Assistant Coach for the Bemidji State University Women’s Team, a NCAA Division 1 team in the WCHA. She holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. Her coaching accolades are impressive as well. She has coached the USA Hockey Girl’s National 15 Camp as well as the Minnesota High Performance 15 Camp. She was a stand-out goaltender at Bemidji State University and at Culver Academy prior to her collegiate days. She currently is a goalie instructor for ProCrease.
|
Caroline Silk
|
Caroline Silk is a junior at Middlebury College and attended Middlesex School where she was a standout goaltender in the NEPSAC league. She serves as an instructor for ProCrease in the summer.
|