This is the 20th entry of The Morris-Sussex Hockey Report’s 27 teams in 27 days, where each day there will be a team preview of each area team (boys and girls) leading up to Opening Day on December 7.
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CHATHAM COUGARS (GIRLS)
Head coach: Kayla Meneghin, first year
Division: NJIIHL-Cohen
NJSIAA Classification: Girls
Last year: Chatham experienced a resurgence in 2022-23 after a one-win season the year prior. It finished 9-8-3 overall, with a 7-3-3 record in the Cohen division. It reached the Cohen Cup semifinals, where it lost to Immaculate Heart. It lost in the first round of the NJSIAA state tournament to Trinity Hall.
Key losses: It graduated only one senior from last year’s squad in defenseman Kate Romano. She was the team’s third-leading scorer with 16 goals and 12 assists in 2022-23.
Top returners: Chatham returns almost all of its roster from last year, highlighted by the team’s two leading scorers in sophomore forward Alexandra Donoghue and sophomore defenseman Sarah Nacinovich.
Donoghue (34 g., 9 a.) will be joined up front by Maddie Jepsen, who posted seven goals and 11 assists last year. Juniors Ali and Ella Chang, as well as Sydney Sparks, will all be back up front as well.
Defensively, Nacinvoich (19 g., 22 a.) will be counted on the most as the only returning defenseman after Romano’s graduation. Sophomore goalie Megan Cincotta made 15 starts as a freshman, and will look to build on that experience this year.
Potential impact newcomers: Freshman goalie Emma Acomb figures to see some time in net along with Cincotta. Sophomore Bronwyn Shefter and freshman Maggie Breed will each be able to play forward or defense. Freshman Simone Claps figures to be an addition up front as well.
Burning question: How will Chatham adapt to a new coach?
Kevin Hannon stepped away from the team after last season as the only coach this program had known. He led the team since the 2016-17 season, back when it was a co-op with Madison. In steps Meneghin, a former PHF player for the Buffalo Beauts and Connecticut Whale, who has prior coaching experience at the youth level for the last five years. Additionally, she coached at Division I St. Anselm College.
She will inherit a very young, but talented roster that figures to continue to get better this year. There’s always a bit of an adjustment whenever a new coach takes over, but the credentials speak for themselves and this team should grow throughout the season.
Outlook: While Romano will certainly be big shoes to fill on the blue line, Chatham has almost its entire roster returning from last year. That figures to be a huge advantage for this team which already experienced some success last year behind big-time performances from freshmen in Donoghue and Nacinovich.
That said, this is still a very young team with just a handful of seniors on the roster. But an already talented group is adding even more talent with some promising newcomers, so as long as things come together sooner rather than later, this is a squad that should be right in contention in the Cohen division this year.
Check back Thursday for a preview of the Mendham boys
E-mail Mike Gurnis at michaelgurnis@gmail.com
Morris-Sussex Hockey Report 