Eight semifinalists have been announced for the fifth annual Becky Schaffer Award, given to Maine’s top high school senior in girls’ hockey.
The semifinalists were selected by the Maine High School Girls Hockey Association. They are: Caroline Audette, forward, of Edward Little/Leavitt; Olivia Bradford, forward, Cheverus; Calynn Gendreau, forward, Scarborough; Lilly Gish, defense, Lewiston; Kate Kinley, forward, Falmouth; Leah Landry, forward, Lewiston; Eve Martineau, defense, Edward Little/Leavitt; and Ariella Swett, goaltender, Scarborough.
Becky Schaffer was a 2006 Yarmouth High graduate who played on her school’s club girls’ team while also playing on the boys’ varsity and junior varsity squads. She is regarded as one of many trailblazers who helped girls’ hockey become sanctioned by the Maine Principals’ Association in 2008. Schaffer, a McGill University graduate and Peace Corps member, died in a hiking accident in 2011 at the age of 23 while on a teaching mission in Micronesia.
The finalists for the Schaffer Award will be announced after the state championship game on Feb. 19. The winner will be named at the conclusion of the Maine High School Girls Hockey Senior All-Star game, scheduled for Feb. 28 at 6:10 p.m. at Family Ice Center in Falmouth. Also that night, the all-state and all-conference teams will be announced.
Landry led Maine in scoring during the regular season with 26 goals and 21 assists. Kinley had 18 goals to go with six assists. The scoring totals for the other semifinalists were: Bradford (12 goals, 11 assists), Audette (11 goals, 10 assists), Martineau (11 goals, 10 assists), Gish (14 goals, seven assists) and Gendreau (11 goals, four assists). Swett, Scarborough’s goalie since her freshman season, had a .940 save percentage for a team that allowed 1.73 goals per game.
Previous winners of the Schaffer Award were Courtney Sullivan of Greely/Gray-New Gloucester, 2018; Avery Lutrzykowski of St. Dominic, 2019; Maranda Guimond of Edward Little/Poland, 2020; and Lucia Pompeo of Cheverus, 2021.
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