Jason La Rose
Another year, another trip to the Esso Cup for the Northern Selects.
The Selects made it four appearances in five years—and five in seven tournaments, including their pre-COVID appearance in 2018—with a runner-up finish at the Atlantic Region tournament, securing the 275-kilometre trip to Dieppe.
Northern was once again right near the top of the newly named Maritime Major Girls Hockey League (MMGHL), finishing third with a 31-9-0 record, trailing only the Moncton Rockets (the Esso Cup hosts) and Lindsay Surge.
A top-ranked power play, which clicked at a 32.2% success rate and a penalty kill with a success rate over 90% helped the Selects finish the regular season with a goal differential of +101.
The offence was led by veteran scorer Hali-Rose MacLean; the 17-year-old—who helped Team Atlantic to a historic silver medal at the U18 Women’s National Championship in the fall—was second in MMGHL scoring with 68 points, including a league-best 42 goals in 37 games.
Amy Field was lights-out between the pipes, fashioning a 1.04 goals-against average (good for second among MMGHL goaltenders) by allowing only 23 goals in 23 appearances.
After limping into the postseason by losing four of their last six games, the Selects survived a scare in their playoff opener, erasing a 2-1 deficit in the best-of-five Nova Scotia semifinals against the Greenfoot Capitals thanks to consecutive game-winning goals from Ana McArthur in the final two games.
They made quick work of the Cape Breton Lynx (who had upset the Surge in their semifinal), claiming the Nova Scotia championship with a three-game sweep.
Facing familiar foes at the Atlantic Regional (four of the five teams were the same as 2025), Northern booked its spot in the final with a pair of wins on the final day of preliminary-round play, including a victory over the Rockets.
With Moncton already into the championship game, the Selects were assured of a place at the Esso Cup before the puck had even dropped on what finished as a 3-2 loss to the Rockets.
Northern—which is the only Atlantic team to ever reach the semifinals at the nationals, in 2022 and 2023 —has Esso Cup experience on its roster; five players (MacLean, Karly Boyle, Carrie Doiron, Lexi MacIntyre, Kate Morrow) were part of the team that finished fifth at the 2024 tournament in Vernon, B.C.
HOW THEY GOT TO DIEPPE
Maritime Major Girls Hockey League N.S. semifinal: defeated Greenfoot Capitals 3-2 (1-2, 3-2, 3-4, 2-0, 2-1) N.S. final: defeated Cape Breton Lynx 3-0 (9-1, 3-2, 4-2)
Atlantic Regional
Preliminary round: 1st place – 3-1 (defeated Eastern Ice Breakers 2-1, lost to Eastern Stars 3-1, defeated Moncton Rockets 2-1, defeated Western Wolves 4-2) Final: lost to Moncton Rockets 3-2
REGULAR SEASON
Record (W-L-OTL): 31-9-0 (3rd in MMGHL) Goals for: 160 (3rd in MMGHL) Goals against: 59 (2nd in MMGHL) Longest winning streak: 8 (Sept. 6-28) Top 3 scorers: - Hali-Rose MacLean (42G 26A 68P – 2nd in MMGHL) - Ana McArthur (25G 25A 50P – 8th in MMGHL) - Lexi MacIntyre (12G 27A 39P – 15th in MMGHL)
PLAYOFFS
Record: 9-4 Goals for: 38 Goals against: 24 Top 3 scorers: - Hali-Rose MacLean (12G 9A 21P) - Ana McArthur (9G 11A 20P) - Laila Burris (2G 7A 9P)
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
2018 – Northern Selects – 5th place | 1-4 | 12GF 19GA 2022 – Northern Selects – 4th place | 2-4 | 14GF 16GA 2023 – Northern Selects – 4th place | 2-5 | 14GF 27GA 2024 – Northern Selects – 5th place | 2-3 | 10GF 13GA
UNIVERSITY COMMITMENTS
Hali-Rose MacLean (Syracuse University)