The Atlantic Coast Academy’s new girls teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
MIKE WALSH — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
NORTH ADAMS — The roar in the rink may have been loudest when Atlantic Coast Academy’s girls took the ice around 8 p.m. Saturday night.
But in truth, the decibels rarely dropped from the time the first puck dropped at 2 p.m. for a series of younger house games at Peter W. Foote Vietnam Veterans Memorial Skating Rink. In total, around 140 kids skated across ACA’s seven teams.
The first fever pitch hit preceding the Atlantic Coast exhibition between its 16U and 18U National Teams. That was when the family of Liam Lescarbeau came inside the boards for a ceremonial puck drop.
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The Atlantic Coast Academy’s new girls teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
The Atlantic Coast Academy’s new girls teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
Atlantic Coast goalies Lorelai Foley, of Seattle, and Ramona Putreniece, of Latvia, warmup before their game Saturday night.
The Atlantic Coast Academy’s new girls teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
The Atlantic Coast Academy’s new girls teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
Atlantic Coast Academy 16U goalie Lorelai Foley makes a tough save Saturday night.
Atlantic Coast Academy has brought in Jess Conlon to lead its new girls program, which features a 16U and 19U team.
The Atlantic Coast Academy’s new girls teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
The Atlantic Coast Academy’s new girls teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
The Atlantic Coast Academy’s new girls teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
The Atlantic Coast Academy’s new girls teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
The Atlantic Coast Academy’s new girls teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
Atlantic Coast goalies Lorelai Foley, of Seattle, and Ramona Putreniece, of Latvia, warmup before their game Saturday night.
The Atlantic Coast Academy’s new girls teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
The Atlantic Coast Academy’s new girls teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
Atlantic Coast Academy 16U goalie Lorelai Foley makes a tough save Saturday night.
Atlantic Coast Academy has brought in Jess Conlon to lead its new girls program, which features a 16U and 19U team.
The Atlantic Coast Academy’s new girls teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
The Atlantic Coast Academy’s new girls teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
The Atlantic Coast Academy’s new girls teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
Liam, a young local hockey player, was diagnosed with T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. While he was away receiving treatment, he was able to watch the broadcast of the games via the rink’s streaming platform.
The Atlantic Coast Academy’s new girls teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
MIKE WALSH — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
From there, the two ACA sides, in designated purple and white sweaters, pulled no punches in a full three periods of physical and high-level hockey that The Coast has become known for well beyond Berkshire County.
Hanging in the rink’s rafters was a new addition in the form of a No. 61 banner, honoring the recent accomplishment of Atlantic Coast alum Maksim Sokolovskii. Sokolovskii, who played in North Adams in 2024, was taken in the first round of the NHL draft this summer by the Philadelphia Flyers.
In the National Team exhibition, the ACA 18U squad overpowered their younger classmates with a roster featuring players from as nearby as Clifton Park, N.Y. goalie Daniel Berdar, to Maine, Arizona, Washington, Latvia, Australia, Japan, Russia and Ukraine.
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The Atlantic Coast Academy boys national teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
Atlantic Coast Academy honored the family of Liam Lescarbeau — a young local hockey player — who was diagnosed with T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and is receiving treatment.
Atlantic Coast Academy honored the family of Liam Lescarbeau — a young local hockey player — who was diagnosed with T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and is receiving treatment.
The Atlantic Coast Academy boys national teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
The Atlantic Coast Academy boys national teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
The Atlantic Coast Academy boys national teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
Atlantic Coast’s Mantas Avsejenko lines up the offense.
Atlantic Coast Academy’s Jan Jager and Ricardas Letulis celebrate a goal Saturday night in North Adams.
Ilia Shishkin was all smiles after Saturday’s Atlantic Coast Academy exhibition game.
The Atlantic Coast Academy boys national teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
The Atlantic Coast Academy boys national teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
Atlantic Coast Academy honored the family of Liam Lescarbeau — a young local hockey player — who was diagnosed with T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and is receiving treatment.
Atlantic Coast Academy honored the family of Liam Lescarbeau — a young local hockey player — who was diagnosed with T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and is receiving treatment.
The Atlantic Coast Academy boys national teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
The Atlantic Coast Academy boys national teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
The Atlantic Coast Academy boys national teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
Atlantic Coast’s Mantas Avsejenko lines up the offense.
Atlantic Coast Academy’s Jan Jager and Ricardas Letulis celebrate a goal Saturday night in North Adams.
Ilia Shishkin was all smiles after Saturday’s Atlantic Coast Academy exhibition game.
The Atlantic Coast Academy boys national teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
Alex Smith of Cave Creek, Ariz. took the ceremonial drop.
Atlantic Coast Academy honored the family of Liam Lescarbeau — a young local hockey player — who was diagnosed with T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and is receiving treatment.
MIKE WALSH — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
At the crest of a long day of hockey, all those who played used a final zamboni spin to change, grab some pizza and climb the bleachers as Jess Conlon’s girls suited up in Atlantic Coast sweaters for the first time.
“It’s been a lot of work, but I’ve gotten tremendous help from the ACA staff. It took the whole year to get this done,” said Conlon, an Alaskan native who came to the Berkshires after coaching in Arizona. “Can’t wait. First time I got to see most of the players on campus, realizing it was all here, it is starting. A whole year of work, it has been so worth it.
“Seeing how great these kids are, I don’t think we realized how great we had done in recruiting so many great personalities, good at school, good people, care about their community and doing things right, their teachers all love them, it’s just so cool.”
Atlantic Coast Academy 16U goalie Lorelai Foley makes a tough save Saturday night.
MIKE WALSH — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
Conlon was coaching her Arizona team at a tournament in Boston last year when she met an Atlantic Coast scout. And long story-short, she and her fiance Zach Zeigler made the decision to move across the country to help launch the ACA girls program.
The Atlantic Coast Academy boys national teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
MIKE WALSH — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
“I loved Arizona, but I really was excited about the idea of working in a hockey market,” said Conlon, who grew up skating in Alaska and graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth where she played club hockey. “Being up here, where it is all hockey everywhere, not having to drive far to get to a rink, the colleges out here, all the potential.”
Conlon is the Director of Girls Hockey for Atlantic Coast Academy under owner Mike Taylor and general manager Jon Lizzotte. They have 29 girls at the school right now. She’ll head coach the girls 16U team, while Ziegler serves as head coach of the 19U girls. The 19U program already has its first NCAA Division I commit in Miriam Toet-Uddveg of Norway. She has committed to RPI. That’s the thrill for Conlon, who said growing up in Alaska she lacked the recruiting resources available today.
“I’m excited for them to have the opportunity to make this their own, create their own legacy,” she said, as Timmy Trumpet blasted over the speakers and her girls readied for their first step. “Every single kid and coach gets a fresh start this year, gets to make it what they want it to be.
The Atlantic Coast Academy boys national teams squared up for a Saturday night exhibition game in North Adams.
MIKE WALSH — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
Atlantic Coast goalies Lorelai Foley, of Seattle, and Ramona Putreniece, of Latvia, warmup before their game Saturday night.
MIKE WALSH — THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
Taylor launched Atlantic Coast in 2022 with about 45 kids committed to play hockey and go to school in the Berkshires. That September, the two ACA teams played one another in what has become a yearly showcase tradition. From there, The Coast’s name and prestige grows over with each passing practice, exam and tournament. The players now attend school via a partnership with Darrow School.
“It wasn’t a pitch,” Conlon said when asked how she approached recruiting for an at-the-time-unknown girls program. “Everything that Mike had done with the boys so far, it didn’t feel like a new program. It felt like we were just building something right for the kids — academic side and hockey side. I never felt like I was in sales. It felt like truly bringing these kids together, and giving them an opportunity.
“They get to go to a prep school and play 70 games of hockey. Nowhere else does that.”