Sacred Heart’s Elmore grows with program
Molly Elmore took a chance when choosing where to play college hockey.
After a high school goaltending career that earned her Northeastern Conference MVP and Globe All-Scholastic honors for Masconomet, the Newburyport native decided to play at Sacred Heart. When Elmore committed, the Pioneers had just entered the new New England Women’s Hockey Alliance, after years of being a Division 1 independent with a mixed D1/D3 schedule.
In her junior season, Elmore’s leap has been rewarded. She is a two-time NEWHA Goaltender of the Week for the 812-1 Pioneers, the most recent honor coming after a 1-0 win over at St. Michaels on Dec. 9, her second shutout of the season. With a 5-3-1 record, she is second in the league and 24th among Division 1 goalies in goals-against average (2.28). Elmore’s success at this level is rare, with few D1 goalies having played public high school hockey.
Elmore jumped on the national radar from the start this season after a 47-save performance in a 3-0 loss to Clarkson, one of the top teams in the nation. She points to another game, a 3-3 tie against Saint Anselm’s on Oct. 29 in which she made 32 saves, as one of her best outings of the season.
“While we did not come out with a win, it was a hard-fought game by both teams,” said Elmore. “They tested our defense just as we tested theirs, and it was a fun game to be a part of.”
Last season, Elmore only played five games, going 2-0-0. This past offseason, she worked on speed and confidence in order to make a case for more starts. She also worked on her mental game.
“I did a lot of training last summer that put me in a good headspace coming into the season,” said Elmore. “Having confidence is a huge factor in hockey, especially when it comes to goalies, and I feel like my mental strength has grown a lot in the past few years.”
“This past summer, she did extra work which has shown,” said Sacred Heart coach Thomas O’Malley. “Not only do the coaches have faith in her, her fellow players do, too, when she’s in net.”
Besides the honors and individual growth, there’s another reason this season is special. On Jan. 15, Elmore and the Pioneers host Harvard in the first women’s game at the new Martire Family Arena, a 3,600-seat arena on the school’s West Campus.
Since 2014, the team has called the off-campus Sports Center of Connecticut in Shelton home. While it has the unique distinction of being the world’s only double-decker NHL-sized rink, it is not their own.
“Since the program’s inception in 1996, this program has been on the road,” said O’Malley, a Dorchester native.
Moving to an on-campus arena marks a major step in the growth of women’s hockey at Sacred Heart, and Elmore’s pleased to be a part of it.
“When we got a tour a few weeks ago, we could not believe all of the stunning work they have done to make this happen,” said Elmore. “They have made such an amazing facility for us. We are all feeling so grateful that we are able to be a part of the grand opening.”
Bumps in the road
Boston College and Boston University have seen both highs and lows this season.
The Eagles (11-7-1) enter 2023 on a high note. After losing four consecutive games to begin November, BC is in the midst of a five-game winning streak it hopes to continue when it hosts Maine for two next week.
For the Terriers (7-12-0), it has been an uneven season, with high points coming with a win over Vermont and two against UConn. But other losses, such as losing a weekend series to Maine, a team they are neckand-neck with in the Hockey East standings, stung.
What did their coaches do during the tough times to keep their players on track?
BC’s Katie Crowley and BU’s Brian Durocher have different strategies.
Durocher keeps one thing at the front of his mind when he coaches through losing patches.
“If I was to use one word, it would be positive,” said Durocher. “That is still the number one thing a coach and/or your leaders can do for a tough streak. While our jobs sometimes revolve around wins and losses, the life lessons and understanding of how to stay on track are just as important and often times take you out of those streaks.”
Crowley also looked for the positive earlier this season, guiding her players to look for bright spots to grow from.
“To keep our team motivated, we focused on the little things that we could do to improve,” said Crowley. “It can be tough to lose a few games in a row, but by focusing on the things we did better in every one of those games, it kept it a little more positive and helped us move through that slide.”
Student leadership is also key to breaking any losing streak, and Durocher will often look to his captains and beyond to help.
“It is not only the captains, but the two upper classes that have a part in a team’s future success,” said Durocher. “They must keep negative comments, bad body language, and behindthe-back comments out of the team’s locker room and bench during game days.”