WATERTOWN, Conn. — Before the season started, Deerfield Academy girls hockey coach Brooke Fernandez believed she had a team capable of capturing a NEPSAC championship. 

That belief turned into a reality on Sunday. 

After knocking off No. 6 Kent 3-1 on Saturday to reach the NEPSAC Large Division finals, No. 2 DA advanced to meet fifth-seeded Tabor Academy on Sunday at the Taft School. 

The Big Green smashed in a goal early in the second period and Deerfield goalie Campbell Krotee did the rest. The senior didn’t allow a goal while DA added an empty-netter in the final seconds to capture the championship with a 2-0 victory. 

It was the program’s first championship in over 20 years. 

“This feels awesome,” Fernandez said. “I told the kids it’s not easy to do this and to take it all in. I’m proud that this team will have a banner and will always be able to look back on this season.

“We were a championship level team last year,” Fernandez added. “Although we graduated our four-year leading goal scorer [Annie Dinges] we had a big core returning. We’re a really deep team. Hopefully we’ll be in this next year.”

It was Krotee who was the star of the day for the Big Green (21-6-1). 

Deerfield took a pair of penalties to open the third period, leading Tabor to have 1 minute, 32 seconds of 5-on-3 time. But Krotee — aided by the DA defense as well — didn’t allow any of shots to get to the back of the net to keep the Big Green in the lead. 

“We got a little tight at the end,” Fernandez said. “Once we killed off the 5-on-3 we felt good but toward the end we had to play to win and not to not lose. It’s such a different mentality. We played with poise.”

The Seawolves kept coming throughout the third when it went back to even strength but DA showed poise in the defensive end to preserve the shut out. 

With 7.9 seconds left and the net empty, Deerfield’s Chloe Cleaves collected the puck in the neutral zone and sent into the Tabor goal to seal the victory. 

“Campbell was rock solid,” Fernandez said. “Not only making the big saves but finding every single puck. Quite literally couldn’t have done it without her. We’ll miss her next year but we have two great incumbent goalies. We’re very blessed in that department.” 

After a scoreless first period that saw DA kill off a pair of penalties, the Big Green got their turn on the power play early in the second period. 

After controlling possession, Keira Austin got the puck in the left circle, sent it to Allie Corrieri at the point who put a wrist shot on net. With a number of bodies in front, the puck found its way to the back of the net to give Deerfield a 1-0 lead with 15:53 to go in the second. 

DA kept the pressure up for the remainder of the second period but did not have a second goal to show for it. 

After knocking on the door of a NEPSAC title the last few years, Fernandez is hoping this can be a springboard for the program moving forward, with plenty of talent returning to try to make a run at an Elite 8 title. 

“I’m excited for how far the program has come,” Fernandez said. “I think it’s a good thing if we’re aiming for the Elite 8 and feeling a disappointment when we don’t make it." 

Boys hockey

NEPSAC semis

No. 4 Cushing 4, No. 1 Deerfield 1 – The top-seeded Big Green saw their 14-game winning streak ended in a NEPSAC Elite 8 semifinal loss on Saturday at Class of 1993 Rink in Deerfield.

Cushing built a 2-0 lead in the second period before Deerfield rallied to cut the deficit in half. But it wasn’t enough, as the Penguins netted two more to book their third consecutive trip to the title game.

Deerfield, which hadn’t lost since Jan. 18, finished its season 22-5 overall.

Girls basketball

NEPSAC semis

No. 5 Darrow 44, No. 1 NMH 36 – The top-seeded Hoggers were unable to break through offensively, falling at home Saturday in the NEPSAC Class AA semifinals.

NMH led 11-7 after one quarter but struggled in the second frame. Darrow outscored the Hoggers 14-3 in the period to take a 21-14 halftime lead.