Coleman Aims to Finish Hockey Career With a State Championship

She may be listed as a diminutive 5-0 and 110 pounds, but on the ice, senior assistant captain Liz Coleman has emerged as a giant contributor for the girls hockey team.

Now for the third consecutive season, Coleman has helped guide the Ducks to a third straight trip to the Division 2 Championship game where she’ll aim to deliver a second state title.

“She’s a huge part of our offense, and she’s a leader on and off the ice,’’ said coach Bob Huxley. “She’s a very integral part of that top scoring line, and without her, we probably wouldn’t be where we are right now competing for the state title. She’s a great teammate and is a very unselfish player. She’ll do anything for her team, and she’s really stepped it up huge for us in the tournament.”

A West Roxbury native, Coleman’s passion for hockey developed at an early age, where she would often play street hockey with her friends in area neighborhoods.

“Hockey is a very popular sport, and a lot of the kids in the neighborhood would often play it,’’ said Coleman. “I was always asked to play, and so after a while, I decided to give it a shot. Hockey was just something that I fell in love with it, and it’s become a huge part of my life.”

Since the age of five, Coleman has donned the skates, stick and puck in local ice rinks, and participated in the Parkway Youth Girls Hockey program. During her elementary school years, Coleman quickly gained experience, playing with and against some of the area’s elite players in her age bracket.

“Playing (Parkway) youth hockey definitely helped me out a lot,’’ said Coleman. “I really learned a lot from not only my coaches, but also the girls that I played with. I just kept working hard at trying to improve my game on both offense and defense.”

After serving time as a valuable contributor for the Parkway Youth Hockey, Coleman’s passion for the sport continued to grow as she enrolled in the Charles River Program in Dedham during her middle school years.

As she continued to hone and improve her skills as a hockey player, Coleman began developing a bond with current Ducks teammates Paige Frabretti-Merlino and Taylor Shepherd.

“Taylor is such a great player, and she makes my job so much easier,’’ said Coleman. “She makes so many things happen out there, and she just has a will to win. As soon as we first started playing together, we hit it off immediately, and we have so much chemistry on and off the ice.”

For her freshman year, Coleman attended Mt. Alvernia High School and continued to participate in both the Charles River and the BU Terrier programs.

At the end of her freshman year, Coleman decided to transfer to Fontbonne Academy, where she reunited with both Frabretti-Merlino and Shepherd.

“It was just a great opportunity for me to come to Fontbonne,’’ said Coleman. “Being with Shepherd and (Frabretti-Merlino) again was just a great experience, and I’ve had three of the best years of my life playing with them and with the team.”

In her sophomore season, Coleman debuted for the Ducks while serving on the third line. Despite seeing limited action, Coleman’s learning experience was extremely valuable, and she later served as a solid contributor as the Ducks’ captured their first state title in 2009.

“I definitely learned a lot from my (sophomore) year,’’ said Coleman. “The seniors and juniors really provided some great leadership and it helped me become a better player.”

As a junior Coleman emerged as a valuable asset to the Ducks’ offense. Rotating between the second and first line, Coleman developed into a solid scorer and was among the top-five scoring leaders on the Ducks.

Marching to an impressive 15-3-2 mark, the Ducks advanced to the Division 2 title game before suffering a shocking 2-0 defeat to Winchester.

“It was definitely disappointing because we were expected to win the state title,’’ said Coleman. “We might have come in a bit too cocky and maybe we took them for granted. We didn’t play our best game, and we weren’t good with our puck possession in our own end. (Winchester) came out and played a great game, and we didn’t respond.”

With pre-season pressures of another Division 2 state title, Coleman was well aware of the Ducks’ high expectations.

“Ever since we lost to (Winchester) in last year’s state title game, we wanted to have another shot at winning the title,’’ said Coleman. “We knew that it was going to be tough because so many teams have improved, but we just believed in ourselves.”

During the season, the Ducks rose to the occasion, earning wins against Division 1 state finalists Hingham (3-1) and Acton-Boxboro (3-1) while posting a 13-2-5 mark.

In the regular season, Coleman was second in team scoring, posting 25 points (6-19-25) while recording four points through three tournament games (1-3-4). Paired up with junior Erin McLoughlin and Shephered, the Ducks’ top scoring line accumulated for a combined total of 93 points.

“Liz just makes my job so much easier, and so does Erin,’’ Shepherd after the Ducks’ 3-2 overtime over top-seeded Norwood. “We work so well together, and we just know where we’re going to be at all times. We have a lot of chemistry out there, and there’s something special every time all three of us are out on the ice.”

After cruising to a 4-0 first round win over Whitman-Hanson-Pembroke, the Ducks fought to a 3-2 overtime win over Walpole.

In last Saturday’s semifinal round, the Ducks overcame a 2-0 third period deficit to prevail in a thrilling 3-2 overtime comeback win over Norwood. Coleman served as a key contributor in the win, assisting on the game-winning goal.

“Even when we were down 2-0 in the third period, we never gave up,’’ said Coleman. “We knew that this was it, and we wanted to leave it all out on the ice. Everyone stepped up and contributed and we never quit.”

Now earning her third consecutive trip to the Division 2 state title game, Coleman is hoping to finish her high school hockey career on top.

“It’s been unbelievable and we’re so happy to be back playing for the state title,’’ said Coleman. “We’re not taking anything for granted, and we know we have to come out and play our best game. Everyone’s been working hard, and to finish out my playing career at Fontbonne with a state title would just be something I would never forget.”

The pictures above were taken by Pat McCarthy. For more photos, click on http://mccarthy-clan.smugmug.com/Fontbonne-Hockey/2010-2011-Season