It’s not often that a tie to the fourth ranked team in the state acts as a wake-up call. However, a game that ended knotted at two proved to be just what the Morristown Beard Girls Hockey team needed. 

On December 19th, despite outshooting the Summit Hilltoppers 30-8, each team only found the back of the net twice, ending the game in a draw. The game punctuated a modest 1-1-2 record, following a 4-1 win against Pingry and another 2-2 tie against the number two ranked Oak Knoll Royals earlier that month. 

In the offseason, many questioned whether the Crimson this season could match the on-ice production defined by a dominant state tournament campaign. Key contributors to a potent offense had departed for college, namely Leah Stecker ‘22 and Logan Sutera ‘22, who combined for just under a quarter of the team’s points last season. Now, almost halfway through this season, those questions have been put to rest in emphatic fashion. Taking full advantage of a two-week hiatus following the Summit game, Morristown Beard reloaded for a perfect 4-0 record in 2023, outscoring opponents 26-5. Highlights from this stretch include a 7-1 win against Trinity Hall, ranked fifth at the time, and a 6-2 rout of New York team Rye Country Day. A collaborative effort has marked 2023 as six players have tallied goals in this four game span; captain Lillian Warnock ‘23 notched a hattrick in a 5-2 win against Pingry, while Jessica Sperling ‘24 contributed her own three-goal effort against Rye Country Day. Against Trinity Hall, Kailin Kane ‘24 led the way with another hat trick and Charlotte Greer ‘25 also contributed a goal. Freshmen Gabby DiGerinomo and Reid Snyder collected their first career points in this window as well; DiGerinomo sits at three career points (1G, 2A), while Snyder sits at six (2G, 4A). 

The fourth game to take place in 2023 conveniently rematched Morristown Beard and Summit. The Hilltoppers sought to continue momentum after a 2-2 draw against Princeton Day and an 8-2 win against Westfield, but could find no recourse in an 8-0 blowout loss against the Crimson. 

The eight-goal statement win by the Crimson was a dramatic turnaround from the tie earlier in the season. It saddled Summit with their worst loss since January 31st, 2018 against Chatham. Such a dominant win, however, was no fluke; the team trained hard after winter break to come back stronger than ever. Warnock said that the team’s starting record of 1-1-2 was “just a little rocky in the beginning of the season. But now that we’ve had more practices, more games under our belt, I think it will go better — we didn’t play badly, but we have more potential than we showed.” 

Warnock, who — along with Sperling — logged a hat trick against Summit on January 11th to reach 100 career points, remains confident about the team’s capability to make another deep playoff run. She said, “as a team, we just need to come together a little more and communicate on the ice. It’s definitely a different season this year with who we have… working as one team instead of individually is going to help us a lot.” 

The Crimson will certainly have ample opportunity to see how this work will continue to pay off, as they ride their four-game win streak into a brutal upcoming schedule. Over the course of seven days, Morristown Beard will battle the Hoosac Owls as well as the Portledge Panthers. Both New York-based teams have historically given the Crimson a challenge; Hoosac’s 3-2 victory remains Morristown Beard’s only loss on the season thus far, and Portledge went 0-3 versus the Crimson last season. Despite tough matches ahead, the Crimson remain confident that a potent offense and sharp defense will not waver in the face of such competition, and that a strong regular season presence will translate to the state tournament. 

Crimson Sun would like to extend its congratulations to the team for their incredible win at the State Championships on Monday 3/5 at the Prudential Center.