Hockey East: Transfer Portal Departures

Long time no chat everyone! We’re almost two months into the NCAA offseason — crazy how fast time moves — and though we still have some time before teams are back on the ice, there’s been a decent amount of movement already this spring. 

In the spirit of summer approaching, and mainly because the Transfer Portal is now closed for those who haven’t had a coaching or scholarship status change, today we’re sitting down to look at the names from each program that are departing after the conclusion of 2024-25. 

Now, there are still a ton of players who have not yet revealed where they’re going next, which is a conversation for another day. Today we’re looking at the names who’ve entered the portal from Hockey East schools, and trying to give a bit of insight into what that means for the program they’ve departed. 

Information on the transfer portal provided by Sydney Wolf at Clean Sheet Hockey. 

Boston College 

So we’re gonna go in alphabetical order, which means the Eagles are up first. And while they may not have had the most entrants on the list this year, it’s pretty easy to argue that they had some of the most detrimental departures. 

The first name to enter was senior forward Carson Zanella, who played a total of 16 games over the last two seasons, and had a goal and two assists in 2024-25. The Wisconsin-born player is looking for a home for her graduate year, and compared to some of the other losses for BC to graduation and the portal, her production won’t be the largest gap to fill. 

Then there’s Skylar Scharfman, who was a member of the highly anticipated rookie class this last season. The defender did not appear in a single game for BC, and will head to her next school with four full years of eligibility remaining. 

Which brings me to the last two names, and honestly I was a bit shocked when I saw both of these players in the portal. Top defender Molly Jordan and last year’s top goal scorer across the conference Julia Pellerin are both leaving the program following their sophomore campaigns. 

Pellerin, after starting the season slowly, hit a new level of production by the end of the year. Not only did she lead the team in goals with 20, she more than doubled her point scoring from her freshman season to her sophomore one, with 34 total points in 2024-25. Considering the other names the Eagles have lost up front offensively, the departure of Pellerin is devastating — and she’s staying in the conference as a Husky at UConn. 

However, the bigger loss I’d argue is Jordan, who in just her second year in the NCAA was playing huge minutes on the blueline for the Eagles. In 36 games, Jordan had 24 points and 52 blocks, and over her two years in the Heights she was a key difference maker. Replacing her production and stability is going to be difficult for BC, and it leaves a lot more question marks than there were before the summer started. 

Boston University 

The reigning Hockey East tournament champs saw the majority of their departures be caused by graduation this off season, though they do have one name in the portal: double sport athlete Alex Law. 

While Law didn’t have the highest production numbers during her time with the Terriers, there was a lot to like about her game. She was dynamic on the ice and produced in moments she needed to. After not playing in the center position for the majority of 2023-24, as a sophomore she took a major step in the faceoff dot, winning over 50% of her draws. Not to mention Law was second on the team in overall shot production, with 100 total in 38 games. While those chances didn’t find the back of the net that often, losing the sheer volume of shots she created is going to be tough on the Terriers. 

Connecticut

Similarly to BU, UConn also only saw one name enter the portal. After playing four games as a freshman, defender Taylor Porthan is looking to depart the program. 

A team captain for state-championship winning Edina High School in Minnesota, Porthan had solid numbers before starting at UConn last fall. While a four game sample size is hard to judge on, Porthan is a solid player, and it’ll be interesting to see how potentially a larger role in another program displays that. 

Holy Cross 

HC is one of the many schools in the NCAA that is unable to offer graduate spots for players. And while the extra years of eligibility due to COVID are fading out, there’s still a couple of players with eligibility looking to get their masters degree. 

One such player is Madison Michals, who entered the portal for her graduate year after spending three seasons with HC. In 95 games Michals had 15 points for the Crusaders, and saw her most production as a senior. Thanks to one year with BU as a freshman, Michals entered the portal as a two-time transfer, and will take her talents to Merrimack to finish her NCAA career. 

Eden Granley is the other name to enter the portal from Holy Cross, after appearing in 12 games as a freshman this season. Before HC, Granley was a solid performer for the Philadelphia Junior Flyers, and can bring that productivity to another program moving forward. 

Maine 

Sophomore forward Sam Morrison is the lone name out of Maine this season. With 11 points on the low-scoring Black Bears squad, Morrison finished sixth on the team in scoring. Replacing that productivity could be a challenge, especially considering she had one of the just 12 goals on the power play for Maine throughout the year. Outside of her productivity on the scoresheet, Morrison was one of Maine’s best faceoff threats, with 344 total wins — a gap that will be harder to fill for the Black Bears. 

Merrimack

Honestly, I thought about saving the Warriors for last, or even writing an entire article dedicated solely to their transfer portal usage. Hey, maybe I still will do that, who knows. But for now, what you need to know about Merrimack is that they had 11 players enter the portal, including four of their top six scorers, and their most consistent starter.

It’s rough out here. 

The group is highlighted by a trio of freshmen, Chloe Goofers, Sage Babey, and Abby Poitras. Goofers was tied for the team lead in scoring with 19 points as a freshman, and was named to the All-Rookie team for her efforts. Losing her is devastating for the Warriors program, especially considering their third-highest scorer in Babey is also departing after putting up 16 points. 

The biggest loss in my opinion is Poitras, however, as she was playing top pair minutes as a rookie for the team against some of the more dominant programs in the conference. She led the entire roster with 60 blocks, and put up 11 points from the back end. 

Sure, the numbers don’t look too striking on paper, but remember that this Warriors squad scored just 66 goals all season — 32% of those goals were scored by those three players. 

Other names on the list of transfers include forwards Alex Ferguson — the team’s fourth highest scorer who finished with 14 points — Michaela Littlewood, Sarah Hirst, Ryleigh Horlock, and Sophie McKinley. Outside of Poitras, Ashlyn Kroes and Payten Evans are both big losses from a defensive core that was already going to be depleted from graduation. 

Additionally Calli Hogarth, who has been a mainstay in net for three years now, is in the portal after posting a .904 save percentage in 25 games this season. The rising-senior did not start either of Merrimack’s playoff games to close out her time with the Warriors.

Look, I’m not gonna sugar coat it, there’s a lot of question marks for MC heading into 2025-26. They’ve brought in some solid names themselves in the portal, but the sheer amount of scoring they’ve lost is going to be hard to replicate. It’ll be interesting to see if it pays off when the team hits the ice again. 

New Hampshire

Just one name is in the portal for New Hampshire, and it’s another two-time transfer in Maddie Crowley-Cahill. The defender had three points for the Wildcats after transferring from Boston College last year. Her bread and butter was blocked shots, as she was second on the team in the statistic with 44 over 35 games. If she can keep out of the box (she led UNH in penalties with 17 over the course of the season), she’ll be a welcome addition to her new team’s (in this case Merrimack) blue line. 

Northeastern

Three players are in the portal for Northeastern, and Mattie Robitzer is the biggest name of the three, after she saw three games of action in the crease for NU down the stretch. Following a lackluster first start against Providence, Robitzer had two strong outings against Vermont to put her career save percentage above .900. She’s a solid netminder, and it’ll be exciting to see how she performs in a larger role moving forward. 

The other two names are forwards that slowly became buried in the Northeastern depth chart in Avery Anderson and Mady Cipolla. Anderson appeared in 18 games for the Huskies across three seasons, and had two goals in those appearances. After playing in three games to start the year, Anderson has been out of the NU lineup since October, and will look for a larger role to close out her last year of eligibility in the NCAA. 

Cipolla did not appear in a single game for Northeastern this season, and dressed in just three the year before. She retains three years of eligibility because of this lack of play time as she moves from Huntington Avenue. 

Providence

Another school with just one departure, the Friars are losing backup netminder Taya Currie to the portal before 2025-26. The sophomore made two appearances this season, including a four-save shutout over St. Michael’s in October. Following a devastating loss to New Hampshire in November, Currie did not take the ice again for Providence. 

Vermont 

The Catamounts struggled this season, especially in the scoring department, and the loss of Lara Beecher is a tough one. The 2022-23 Hockey East Rookie of the Year led Vermont in scoring this past season with 17 points across 36 games. That’s the second year in a row the Cats are losing their top scorer to the transfer portal, and it’ll be tough trying to replace Beecher’s productivity. 

McKenzie Cerrato and Hailey Eikos are the other two names in the portal from Vermont. With five points in 36 games, Cerrato isn’t the biggest loss for UVM, but her ability to play deeper in the lineup is going to be more difficult to replace. Eikos on the blueline is a bit more devastating, especially with her 30 blocked shots and her skill on the power play. I don’t think UVM will be unable to replace them per se, but I do think it’s two large holes they’ll have to plug quickly in order to improve upon last season’s performance. 

Wrap Up

All told, there’s less movement within Hockey East this year than there have been in years past, and that’s not even beginning to look at the additions from the portal or from the rookie classes coming in. This conference continues to get more competitive, and it shows in the way these programs have continued to build.