Saying Goodbye

So I’ve been putting this blog off for quite some time now. The 2026 graduating class of Northeastern Women’s Hockey is a special one to me. This is the last class from when I was “covering” the team full-time. I was at all of their home games and as many roadies that I could convince my wife that I “had to be at”.

But now with the mandate to cover the entirety of women’s hockey; I feel that I won’t have the same connectivity? friendship? knowledge? relationship with the Northeastern classes moving forward. It’s a sad time in the House of Brownie as my daughter basically thinks I’ve abandoned Northeastern women’s hockey. I’ve been informed that she will continue to bleed red and black and will only root for the Huskies.

This class has had some memorable moments in their time at Northeastern. They saw the first Women’s Beanpot Finals at TD Garden, and have graduated undefeated whilst playing in the House that Bergy Built (not a big deal). They’ve made 3 Hockey East finals, and won it their freshman year. They’ve made the NCAA Tourney and the Frozen Four twice. They’ve seen the collapse of the PHF and the emergence of the PWHL and the explosion of women’s sports overall. This group leaves campus with the realization that they have options beyond Hockey East.

They’ve seen former teammates thrive at the professional level both at home and abroad. They’ve seen Walter Cup champs that they’ve played with and they’ve seen friends bring home Olympic hardware. Some of those friends were even flag-bearers in front of the entire world.

They’ve gone from being awestruck freshman trying to figure out how they fit onto this team to being leaders and role models for their younger teammates and the kids that come to watch them play.

They are a great group and each of them will be missed.

Without further stalling, let’s get to the players themselves. And I want to mention that Jim Pierce is the artist behind 99% of these photos. A great photographer and a great guy. Thanks Jim!

#35 Goaltender Paige Taborski

Only 19 goals against in 18GP and leaves Northeastern with a 1.72GAA and a .922%SV with 2 shutouts and 1 assist (you didn’t think I’d forget your apple did you?). Ta-Brick-Ski was the ultimate teammate as she made room for both Lisa Jönsson and Renna Trembecky to grow their games and Paige was supportive of both of them and their biggest cheerleader. Everyone at the D1 level is an all-star and most likely the best player on their team prior to arriving on campus. It speaks a great deal about her character as she was able to put her ego aside and do what was best for the team. And when she was in net for the Huskies? The team knew that they were in good hands and Taborski was up to the task. Always sharp on her angles and on top of the blue paint ready to take on any bid.

#74 Forward Jaden Bogden

Bogs leaves Northeastern after only 2 years in the program where she put up 14-23-37 in 68GP with 56PIM and (unofficially – only by my count) the most empty netters I’ve ever seen. Hey you gotta be out there in crucial time to snipe that ENG. I had Bogs on the podcast recently (coming soon, I promise!) and I told her that my daughter describes her as “that angry blonde girl” and that’s how she plays – (it’s meant as a compliment and that’s how Jaden took it). I love her style of play. Full tilt – all gas – no brakes. If I was a PWHL team I’d want her on my squad, killing penalties, hunting the puck and playing physical in your face hockey. Bogden came to Northeastern via Clarkson, and in her 2nd year she was named an Alternate Captain. That speaks to the respect she earned from her teammates in her short time on campus. My only complaint regarding Bogden is that we only got to see her play for 2 years at Matthews. A great addition that fit into the team and the culture seamlessly.

#10 Forward Holly Abela

Abela leaves Northeastern with a stat line of 7-15-22 in 137GP with 46PIMs. What those stats don’t tell is the true story of MF Holly Abela’s impact on the game. This beauty doesn’t make mistakes (what did you think the MF was for? She’s Mistake Free) She is all-effort all the time and whenever you see a play that is filled with smart hockey and flat-out hustle it’s #10 every time. No surprise that Holly was part of the leadership group this past year because if you have a young hockey player in your life, just have them watch Abela go and go and go. Just an absolute work horse that frankly plays high IQ hockey all the time. Do you know how hard that is to do??? Also, Holly is one of my daughter’s “friends” cause she met her once before a game this season and Holly chatted with her for a few minutes, so Abela has that going for her too.

I was able to get Holly on the podcast ahead of the tourney to talk about the Beanpot and what it meant to her and to the school.

#17 Forward Mia Langlois

Langlois leaves Northeastern with 7-6-13 in 113GP with 16PIMs. It took me 4 years to get to this point with Mia but we finally got her a nickname worthy of her vibe. Million Dollas Worth of Game might sound like a mouthful but it somehow worked (at least in my opinion haha). Langlois was always great to talk to and thrived in every situation that she was put in on the ice. It didn’t matter who she was on a line with, what the game situation was or who she was matched up against: Million Dollas Worth of Game always came through. Just an absolute beautician. Always with a great attitude and she took every challenge in stride and with grace. Langlois has a sneaky nose for the net and she got pucks on the cage from any angle and could pull a nifty move out of her bag whenever she needed it. Just an all-timer on and off the ice.

Mia hopped on with me at the golf tourney not once but twice so that truly shows how good of a sport she is.

Here she is with fellow graduate Lily Brazis:

And then in this one, she’s joined by Rylie Jones, and classmates Jules Constantinople and Lily Shannon.

#41 Defense Jules Constantinople

Constantinople leaves Northeastern with a line of 16-47-63 in 143GP with 82PIMs and 245 blocks (yup I did the math). On an old podcast we did a season preview of the Huskies, and my co-host said something along the lines of how much it would suck to be in the corner and see a defender wearing #41 come at you. That describes Jules to me. Always hard on the puck and when the game got tight and the moment was magnified: Constantinople rose to the challenge. The most impressive stat line I can think of for her is that she held both Tessa Janecke and Abbey Murphy to 0-0-0 when she played against them (and she was basically in their jerseys for those games). Just a couple of US Gold Medal Olympians that she shut down, not a big deal. l loved seeing #41 barking at the other team and getting in their faces after whistles and any forward that took a swipe or a late poke at her goalie? Keep your head on a swivel for the rest of the game. Jules plays with pace, great gap control and she possesses an absolute cannon of a one-timer to go along with her on-ice leadership.

Jules was on the podcast from the golf tourney in the video above, and she also did an in-depth convo with me about her career on The Morning Skate.

#61 Forward Lily Brazis

Brazis leaves Northeastern with a stat line of 8-13-21 in 134GP with surprisingly only 18PIMs. The OG Nail Gun plays hard in your face hockey and doesn’t back down an inch no matter where on the sheet you find her; and she clearly she does it while staying out of the box. The pride of Hockey Town (IFYKYK) makes her living playing in the blue paint on offense and in the faces of the other team. Brazis centered one of my favorite lines this season when she was paired with Bogden and (can we all agree that the Nailgun nickname will go to her) Emy McDermid. That trio caused havoc in all 3 zones. Lily was a mainstay on the Lightning Round questions where she was the favorite answer for the “best game-day fits” question and if you watch the video of her and Langlois at the golf tourney, she gave one of the best answers of all time. Every year at NU Brazis came back faster and more skilled but still carried with her the same style of play. A truly great, straight line player that can suit up for Team Brownie any day.

#2 ForwardLily Shannon

Shannon leaves Northeastern with 45-47-92 in 144GP with 75PIMs and as the captain of a Frozen Four squad. Shannon is one of my favorite stories of this team. Always working, always improving and always setting an example of how to be a good teammate. As she says herself “Dream Big. Work Hard. Stay Humble. Never Stop Chasing.” In my interactions with Shan, what impressed me the most is how thoughtful and composed she always was and how she understood the role she played on this team both on and off the ice. Shannon rose to meet the demands of not only being the captain and one of the leaders, but also as one of the premier power forwards in Hockey East. When I interviewed Brigitte Aube earlier this season (great convo and great story – available on all platforms) she talked about how Lily was so excited to welcome her to the team when she got the news and Aube was stunned because that was Lily Shannon! I think that speaks to Shannon’s leadership and personality. She took care of business on the ice, and took care of everyone off the ice. One of the all-time greats. There’s a story that Mike Puzzanghera of the Boston Globe did on Shannon that’s an excellent read. I’d link it here but it’s behind a pay-wall so if you have an account it’s def worth the read.

So yeah, I’m going to miss this class. They definitely left a mark on the program and on the culture that is Northeastern women’s hockey. They learned from some of the best and showed the younger players how to embody all that’s good with Husky hockey and what separates this program from so many others.

And on a personal note to the grads: I don’t know your summer plans, but if you’re looking for some local ice time I’m part of a Wednesday night skate in Concord, MA. We’d love to have you drop in to elevate the pace. You’d simultaneously lower the average age and significantly raise the skill level. Post skate wobbly-pops are on me!

If you’ve read this far you’re clearly a fan of the women’s game. Please like, share, subscribe and follow us on all socials @BTGHockeyPod and give the podcast a try. Thanks!

^{You can read more about Brownie below or follow him on:
Twitter: @abrow28
Insta: @a_brow28
Bluesky: @abrow28.bsky.social}