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The No. 4/3 Crimson, recently crowned as ECAC champions, will claim one half. The No. 2/1 Eagles, regular-season Hockey East winners, will occupy the other. On Friday night, when the locker rooms empty at the start of the Frozen Four semifinal between the two squads, three different teams will take the ice.

But in between the local competitors, or rather among them, there will be a third squad, invisible to the casual eye but patently obvious to anyone who knows a thing or two about high school hockey in New England.

In Friday’s matchup between Harvard and BC, the winner is the ISL. 

A TEAM OF THEIR OWN

Formally known as the Independent School League, the ISL is a consortium of 12 New England prep schools that boasts some of the most intense girls high school hockey competition in the nation. Over the past decade, ISL alumnae have earned spots on an impressive array of hockey sides—from professional teams to Olympic squads and back again. 

Or, more regularly, they have played for the Crimson and the Eagles.

“I have some really good friends on the BC team, which makes it fun playing against them,” said Harvard junior forward Mary Parker. “A lot of those local kids…play together over summer and then go off to the schools during the year. It creates a fun atmosphere.”

Between the two semifinalists’ rosters, 13 players hail from the ISL. This is no collection of slouches, either. Even at the Frozen Four, an event designed to showcase the cream of college hockey’s crop, the New England league stands out for having produced so many impactful players. Consider this lineup of ISL talent: 

Goalie: BC freshman Katie Burt. The first-year net minder owns the stingiest goals allowed average in the country at 1.07 scores conceded per contest.

Defense: Harvard senior Michelle Picard; Crimson senior Marissa Gedman. A former Olympian, Picard leads Harvard as a co-captain. Throw in Gedman, who is the only Harvard defender to see action in every game, and you have a formidable line.   

Offense: Eagles junior Alex Carpenter; Harvard junior Mary Parker; BC freshman Kenzie Kent. This is a first line with three of the most dangerous players in Division I competition. Carpenter leads all other athletes in goals (37) and assists (44), while both Parker and Kent rank in the top-20 nationally in points.

Bench: a full second team, highlighted by an Eagles co-captain (forward Emily Field) and a Crimson goalie (sophomore Brianna Laing) who started nine games this year.

All 13 will march into Ridder Arena for Friday’s matchup, and yet, months or years before that, all 13 marched out of an ISL school. In some ways, this Minneapolis semifinal has already been played years ago—in a homey high school rink in the middle of Massachusetts. 

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