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Peabody Girls Ice Hockey Preview

Last year's record: 1-15-2

Coach: Larry Minehan (2nd year)

Key returnees: Tori Konovalchik, Jr., Defense; Jen McGill, Sr., Defense; Meghan Canavan, Jr., D; Shannon Silvia, Soph., Forward; Mariah Wentworth, Soph., Forward; Kayleigh Papa, Soph., Forward; Amanda Provencher, Soph., Forward.

Key departures: Kayla McHugh

Strengths: Adding Bishop Fenwick's Colby Amor and Essex-Aggie's Paige Sansaverino through a new co-op program will bolser the Tanners up front. Meanwhile, the back end looks solid with all-star Tori Konovalchik back for another year joined by returnees Jen McGill and Meghan Canavan. Overall, Peabody's top two lines have a good blend of talent and experience and should improve on last year's results.

Concerns: Peabody will break in a new goaltender with freshman Brittany Costa the leading candidate early on. As a second year varsity program, the Tanners are high on youth and low on depth. The squad sports 14 newcomers that don't have a wealth of on-ice experience but should improve as they develop and learn the nuances of the game.

Coach's outlook: "The main focus will be to get the new kids up to speed as quickly as we can and at the same time give them quality training so they're good for the next three years. We have a good first line and a pretty solid second line. I think we'll do much better than last year."