Boston College Athletics
Newkirk Making Others Take Notice
March 11, 2016 | Women's Hockey
The Eagles’ rookie has worked her way into the National Freshman of the Year discussion as BC starts NCAA play
It's quite easy to get distracted when watching the Boston College women's hockey team play.
There's the sheer, and at times, unfair talent displayed by USA Women's National Team members Alex Carpenter, Haley Skarupa, Megan Keller and Dana Trivigno as they skate up and down the ice. Or maybe it's the Eagles' uncanny nose for goal, averaging a whopping 5.4 goals per game.
Then of course, there's the gigantic elephant in the room, as the Eagles (38-0-0) find themselves only three games shy of capturing the program's first-ever national title and joining Minnesota (2013) as the only teams in women's hockey history to complete a perfect season.
But don't let all that distract you from appreciating the stellar play of freshman forward Makenna Newkirk.
Hailing from Scottsdale, Ariz., Newkirk didn't exactly grow up in a hockey hot bed. In fact, competitive leagues for girls were few and far between locally. So after exhausting every avenue Scottsdale provided, including playing on the local boys' team, Newkirk-a little over 10 at the time-decided on travel hockey.
She would trek close to 900 miles away for U12 and U14 at Colorado Select before moving on to Team Pittsburgh-over 2,100 miles away from Scottsdale-for U16. Almost every other week, Newkirk would have to skip out of class early on Thursday to catch a flight before returning on Sunday night.
It was far from the typical lifestyle of most girls her age.
So while her friends back in middle school spent the next couple of years sitting through classes, struggling with boy crushes and stressing over the challenges that come with the move to high school, Newkirk's list read differently. Instead, her years were filled with sitting in airport terminals, struggling with jet lag and stressing over whether her flights were lined up or if she had a place to stay once she landed.
After pushing through that taxing grind for four years, Newkirk hoped to lessen some of the burden by opting for online classes before eventually moving closer to Pittsburgh and attending Pomfret School in Connecticut.
"It was all pretty hectic," Newkirk recalled of the experience. "But I think I matured a lot through the process."
That maturity has shined through from the moment she took the ice at Boston College.
Newkirk opened the season on a tear, notching a point in each of her first five games and eight of the first nine. She would go on to pick up her first two collegiate goals in just the second week during a weekend series with St. Lawrence. But if that wasn't impressive enough, Newkirk shined in her first taste of the Eagles' biggest rivalry, netting a hat trick against Boston University on Nov. 7.
"Makenna is a special, special player," head coach Katie Crowley raved about her freshman forward. "She's played a tremendous role on our team and I think she will grow to become a leader as she keeps moving forward in her career."
But for a team that prides itself in its team unity, the same kind of team-effort has been put towards the development of one of its youngest stars.
Newkirk isn't shy about crediting the upperclassmen with aiding her during her freshman campaign at The Heights. From Carpenter working with her before practices, goofing off with Meghan Grieves in the locker room to picking the brains of line mates Andie Anastos and Trivigno on the bench, she's only been met with open arms by her teammates.
"It's been fun watching how much more comfortable and skilled Makenna has become as a player since September," said Carpenter. "She always gets out early and stays out late after practice, working on the little things to help grow her game. To see that out of a young player is amazing and it's a great example for myself and the rest of the team."
The hard work has seemingly paid off, as Newkirk has been putting together her best hockey as of late, registering a point in 13 of the last 14 games.
Consider this: On the night of Jan. 22, Newkirk (13 goals, 11 assists) trailed Minnesota's Sarah Potomak (11 goals, 34 assists) by 21 points in the running for the nation's top-scoring freshman. In the 14 games since that day, Newkirk has picked up eight goals and 16 assists (24 points) while Potomak has only managed a goal and three assists (four points), cutting the lead down to a single point.
"I think [the success] has to be credited to my line mates," said Newkirk. "I think a huge part of that is us communicating on the ice and constantly talking to each other. I think the main reason we're doing so well is that we're not so much thinking about ourselves, but we're trying to think about what each other will do in certain situations."
That kind of dedication and communication is what has the top-ranked Eagles on the cusp of history as they begin NCAA Tournament play on Saturday against Northeastern at 1 p.m. at Kelley Rink.
However, Newkirk won't let herself get caught looking ahead.
"This whole experience has been a lot better than I could have ever imagined," Newkirk said. "But to be quite honest, we haven't really even focused on the streak. Our vision right now is on only on our next game.
"We want to take care of Northeastern and go from there."
There's the sheer, and at times, unfair talent displayed by USA Women's National Team members Alex Carpenter, Haley Skarupa, Megan Keller and Dana Trivigno as they skate up and down the ice. Or maybe it's the Eagles' uncanny nose for goal, averaging a whopping 5.4 goals per game.
Then of course, there's the gigantic elephant in the room, as the Eagles (38-0-0) find themselves only three games shy of capturing the program's first-ever national title and joining Minnesota (2013) as the only teams in women's hockey history to complete a perfect season.
But don't let all that distract you from appreciating the stellar play of freshman forward Makenna Newkirk.
Hailing from Scottsdale, Ariz., Newkirk didn't exactly grow up in a hockey hot bed. In fact, competitive leagues for girls were few and far between locally. So after exhausting every avenue Scottsdale provided, including playing on the local boys' team, Newkirk-a little over 10 at the time-decided on travel hockey.
She would trek close to 900 miles away for U12 and U14 at Colorado Select before moving on to Team Pittsburgh-over 2,100 miles away from Scottsdale-for U16. Almost every other week, Newkirk would have to skip out of class early on Thursday to catch a flight before returning on Sunday night.
It was far from the typical lifestyle of most girls her age.
So while her friends back in middle school spent the next couple of years sitting through classes, struggling with boy crushes and stressing over the challenges that come with the move to high school, Newkirk's list read differently. Instead, her years were filled with sitting in airport terminals, struggling with jet lag and stressing over whether her flights were lined up or if she had a place to stay once she landed.
After pushing through that taxing grind for four years, Newkirk hoped to lessen some of the burden by opting for online classes before eventually moving closer to Pittsburgh and attending Pomfret School in Connecticut.
"It was all pretty hectic," Newkirk recalled of the experience. "But I think I matured a lot through the process."
That maturity has shined through from the moment she took the ice at Boston College.
Newkirk opened the season on a tear, notching a point in each of her first five games and eight of the first nine. She would go on to pick up her first two collegiate goals in just the second week during a weekend series with St. Lawrence. But if that wasn't impressive enough, Newkirk shined in her first taste of the Eagles' biggest rivalry, netting a hat trick against Boston University on Nov. 7.
"Makenna is a special, special player," head coach Katie Crowley raved about her freshman forward. "She's played a tremendous role on our team and I think she will grow to become a leader as she keeps moving forward in her career."
But for a team that prides itself in its team unity, the same kind of team-effort has been put towards the development of one of its youngest stars.
Newkirk isn't shy about crediting the upperclassmen with aiding her during her freshman campaign at The Heights. From Carpenter working with her before practices, goofing off with Meghan Grieves in the locker room to picking the brains of line mates Andie Anastos and Trivigno on the bench, she's only been met with open arms by her teammates.
"It's been fun watching how much more comfortable and skilled Makenna has become as a player since September," said Carpenter. "She always gets out early and stays out late after practice, working on the little things to help grow her game. To see that out of a young player is amazing and it's a great example for myself and the rest of the team."
The hard work has seemingly paid off, as Newkirk has been putting together her best hockey as of late, registering a point in 13 of the last 14 games.
Consider this: On the night of Jan. 22, Newkirk (13 goals, 11 assists) trailed Minnesota's Sarah Potomak (11 goals, 34 assists) by 21 points in the running for the nation's top-scoring freshman. In the 14 games since that day, Newkirk has picked up eight goals and 16 assists (24 points) while Potomak has only managed a goal and three assists (four points), cutting the lead down to a single point.
"I think [the success] has to be credited to my line mates," said Newkirk. "I think a huge part of that is us communicating on the ice and constantly talking to each other. I think the main reason we're doing so well is that we're not so much thinking about ourselves, but we're trying to think about what each other will do in certain situations."
That kind of dedication and communication is what has the top-ranked Eagles on the cusp of history as they begin NCAA Tournament play on Saturday against Northeastern at 1 p.m. at Kelley Rink.
However, Newkirk won't let herself get caught looking ahead.
"This whole experience has been a lot better than I could have ever imagined," Newkirk said. "But to be quite honest, we haven't really even focused on the streak. Our vision right now is on only on our next game.
"We want to take care of Northeastern and go from there."
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Hockey
F
/ Women's Hockey
F
/ Women's Hockey
D
/ Women's Hockey
F
/ Women's Hockey
F
/ Women's Hockey
F
/ Women's HockeyEagles Spotlight: Kara Goulding
Tuesday, March 03
Eagles Spotlight: Kara Goulding
Tuesday, March 03
Women's Hockey: Mic'd Up with Alanna Devlin
Thursday, February 12
Mic'd Up with Alanna Devlin
Thursday, February 12
