There’s something creeping up on the horizon. Cutting through the late summer heat, and tickling the back of many people’s minds. It brings with it a bit of a chill. Almost like the first blast of frozen air the moment someone opens the door to an ice rink.
It’s the beginning of a new NCAA Division I hockey season. And it’s approaching far quicker than some may want to admit.
So while we’re all still enjoying that August sun, why don’t we go over some of the biggest changes in Hockey East this offseason? From new coaching hires, to some big departures in the transfer portal, things are a bit all over the place. Lucky for you, everything you need to know is summarized below.
Transfer portal notes
It’s been back-to-back years of the transfer portal being a bit chaotic for Hockey East, albeit in different ways. Last season, 27 players looked for new homes in the portal, dominated by 13 athletes from Merrimack alone. This year, that number is down to 20, and it’s more spread out amongst the 10 programs than it was a year ago.
Three names truly dominate the departure list, at least in my opinion. And when it comes to the top two forwards, they come from two teams that finished in vastly different places in the standings.
Forwards
First is Ashley Allard, who decided to forgo her final year at UConn after three years with the Huskies. The fourth-highest UConn scorer in 2025-26, all signs pointed to Allard being a key piece as a senior. Instead, the Ottawa-born player has transferred to Minnesota, and will finish her college career in the WCHA.
Allard registered 28 points in 37 games last season. In 2026-27, she would have been the third-highest returning scorer for UConn. What will be harder to replace is her faceoff success. Allard won 367 of 599 draws last season, and has finished with an above 60% win percentage in consecutive years. Without Allard and Brooke Campbell, who graduated in the spring, the Huskies have lost 63% of their faceoff wins from a season ago.
Which flips us to the other big departure, Jessie Pellerin out of Providence. The Friars had a disastrous season, finishing in ninth place with just eight conference wins. Part of the reason things weren’t any worse was because of Pellerin. The then-sophomore registered 21 points in 35 games. Similarly to Allard, Pellerin was expected to be a leader in the forward group heading into 2026-27. However, Pellerin transferred to Clarkson in the spring instead of remaining in Providence.
For a team in transition who has already lost major offensive pieces in back-to-back years, Pellerin’s departure leaves me with far more questions. The Friars have now lost six of their top eight scorers. Those eight players were the only ones on the team who finished with double digit points in 2025-26. PC couldn’t afford to lose any more offense than they already were to graduation. But they did, and now their offense has far more question marks than I’d like.
Defenders
Defensively, Ashley Kokavec is the biggest name to hit the portal from the conference. The junior spent three seasons in Hockey East, one with Maine before the last two at Vermont. Her 17 points in 38 games were tied for fifth-most amongst blue liners in HEA — not to mention, she was expected to be one of the top returning senior defenders this upcoming year. Instead she joins the Nittany Lions, coming off their historic Frozen Four run in March.
In response, UVM picked up former Robert Morris defender Linnea Misner. The rising-sophomore had 19 points in 36 games for the Colonials. She brings a bit more size to the Vermont defensive core; Misner is 5-foot-9 compared to Kokavec’s 5-foot-4. Adding her into the fold will be interesting, although it does make the Catamounts blue line a bit younger than originally expected.
I’m going to save more on the incoming names for when we do our previews in a few short weeks. Instead, you can find all the names that have left their teams from 2025-26, and where they’re going instead, below.
Coaching carousel
New leaders
Now this section is where we get into the really fun information of the summer — what’s happening behind the bench. Seriously, this summer saw turnover behind the bench at a larger magnitude than we’ve seen in previous years.
Merrimack Warriors
Merrimack was the first to make a move, naming Courtney Kennedy the second head coach in program history. Kennedy spent 17 years as a member of the Boston College coaching staff, before becoming a skills coach for the Boston Fleet in the PWHL in 2024. A USA Hockey mainstay, Kennedy has a long history of international and collegiate success. Most recently, she led the US national team to the gold medal at the 2026 U18 World Championships. Her vast experience, especially with defense and special teams, is expected to elevate a struggling Merrimack program.
“[Kennedy] is globally recognized as an elite recruiter, player developer, and leader of young women,” said Merrimack Athletic Director Joe Foley in March. “I believe Merrimack women’s ice hockey has the potential to compete for Hockey East and NCAA championships, and I am excited for Courtney’s leadership in our pursuit of excellence.”
In 2025-26 MC finished last in Hockey East, going 4-18-2 in conference (7-24-4 overall) with just 15 conference points and a -52 goal differential. The school opted to go in a different direction, releasing head coach Erin Hamlen after 11 seasons behind the bench.
Joining Kennedy’s staff will be Bobo Carpenter and Keri Clougherty as assistants, as well as Hedi Droste as a video coordinator. Both assistants have ties to Hockey East from their playing days. Carpenter spent four years with the BU Terriers between 2015 and 2019, and captained the team in his senior season. Clougherty, a BC grad, spent last season as an assistant with Robert Morris. She now returns home to Massachusetts to join her former coach behind the bench in North Andover.
Maine Black Bears
The more recent of the hires came within the last month, as Maine saw a late change in leadership. Molly Engstrom, following four seasons in Orono, has departed the program to become an assistant head coach for Detroit of the PWHL. Replacing her is Alex Gettens, who will bring over a decade worth of experience with him to Maine.
Since 2024, Gettens has been an assistant coach with Colgate in the ECAC, helping develop top forward talent for the Raiders. Before his time in upstate New York, Gettens worked at Vermont. He spent six seasons on Jim Plumer’s staff as both an assistant and associate coach.
It’s a return to Maine for Gettens, who was an assistant with the program back in 2017-18. Outside of his focus on the forward group, he has a big hand in the development of goaltenders. This includes rising PWHL talent Hannah Murphy, and Maine graduate Carly Jackson of the Seattle Torrent.
“I am so thrilled to return to Orono and to be back at this amazing University,” Gettens said when his hiring was announced. “Jude [Killy, Maine Athletic Director] and his team have created an amazing environment across Maine Athletics and it is with great pride that I look forward to guiding our women’s hockey program into its next chapter of excellence.”
The Black Bears last season finished 8-12-4 in HEA (13-19-4 overall). The team retains all five of their top scorers from a season ago, and has netminder Kiia Lahtinen heading into her third NCAA season. With a new voice in the locker room, especially one who specializes in those strengths, it might not be long until we see Maine competing for a top spot again.
Providence
In a shocking turn of events, we have a late change behind the bench this summer. Matt Kelly has resigned from his post as the head coach of the Providence Friars after eight years. Kelly, who went 136-109-27 during his time in Providence, is set to be the next leader of the Bishop Kearney Selects program. The change was announced just on Sunday, August 16, a mere six weeks before the start of PC’s season.
Replacing Kelly on an interim basis will be Nicole Norton, who was promoted from her position as assistant coach of the program. This season marks her sixth at PC, after she joined the staff back in 2021.
“We are excited to have Nicole step into the role of interim head coach,” said Providence’s Athletic Director Steve Napillo. “She has been an integral part of our program the last five seasons and we are confident in her ability to lead the program forward this season.”
Katie Burt, another assistant, will support Norton in an interim associate role, also announced on Sunday. It will be Burt’s fourth season in Providence. A goaltender herself, Burt was instrumental to the success of the now-graduated Hope Walinski, who set multiple Providence program records during her career.
As I mentioned earlier, the departure of Pellerin left me with questions about Providence this upcoming year. This change creates even more questions. I have faith in Norton and Burt, don’t get me wrong. However, with a young roster, and now a coaching change so late in the summer, it’s a lot of overhaul in a short amount of time.
A national search for the next head coach of the program will commence following this season, as stated by the college.
Assistants and More
Elsewhere in the conference we’ve seen some shuffling of the assistant positions. Max Gavin was named head coach of Lindenwood earlier this year following two years as a BC assistant. Taylor Wenczkowski takes over with the Eagles in a corresponding move following her time with Princeton in the ECAC.
Then, Taylor Wasylk, who Gavin is replacing at Lindenwood, returns to Boston as another face behind the bench for the Eagles. Wasylk, a BC graduate herself, has spent the last eight seasons as a head coach with both Lindenwood, and Suffolk University in Division III. She will be joining the team in the associate role, the first to be granted the position since Kennedy departed BC in the spring of 2024.
Vermont and Holy Cross also added new faces. Hugo Turcotte takes over in an assistant coach and director of hockey operations role with the Catamounts, while Adam Mercer, who specializes in goaltending, will round out Katie Lachapelle’s staff in Worcester.
Finally we have UConn, who retains a name familiar to many Husky fans. Recent alum Ainsley Svetek joins the staff as a full time assistant coach in 2026-27. Svetek spent five seasons with the Huskies, including as captain during UConn’s historic 2023-24 run en-route to their first conference title.
During the second half of last season, Svetek was a volunteer assistant. She now steps up into the full time role moving forward. Svetek replaces Elizabeth Wulf, who departed the program mid-season to become the inaugural head coach of the University of Saint Joseph.
Hockey East returns to action on Thursday, September 24, when Merrimack hosts Lindenwood in a nonconference matchup. Until then, keep an eye out for more women’s hockey content from all of us here at The IX Sports, and especially some new exciting work from the college beat here from TIG.
