Playing a Role to Perfection: Letterie Keys Middlebury’s Undefeated Title Season

Did anyone in all of NCAA winter sports have a greater, more memorable season than Middlebury’s Jenna Letterie?

National champion. An historic undefeated record. The NESCAC’s leading scorer. A short-handed goal in Middlebury’s dramatic 3-2 win over Gustavus Aldophus College in overtime in the NCAA Division 3 championship game played in front of 2,200 fans in your home rink.

And Jenna Letterie is a Dean’s List student at the highly prestigious college, showing that she excels on and off the ice.

Jenna’s parents, Winthrop Town Council President James Letterie and Winthrop schoolteacher Dawn Letterie, were in Middlebury, Vermont for the title-clincher, just as they had been in attendance for all of Jenna’s previous 26 games. Her brother, Jake Letterie, was also a proud supporter.

Middlebury College head coach Bill Mandigo, who is in his 34th year, said Jenna Letterie’s first-period goal gave the Panthers’ the early lift they wanted.

“She stole the puck on a faceoff, and she went in on basically a breakaway with the other team in hot pursuit, and she put it in the net,” said Mandigo. “It was a great play.”

The legendary coach said Letterie played exceptionally well throughout the 27-0-0 season, deservedly earning a spot on the All-NESCAC First Team.

“Jenna’s a great penalty killer, she’s on the power play, she’s relentless in pursuit of the puck – I’ve never seen her lose a race to the puck,” said Mandigo. “She’s so competitive, you wish you could bottle it.”

“It’s pretty amazing,” said Letterie in reflecting on the season that saw Middlebury win 13 of their games by a one-goal margin.

Letterie Started Playing in Winthrop Youth Hockey

Jenna began skating in Winthrop Youth Hockey at the age of five.

“My father [who had played hockey for Winthrop High School] brought me to the rink,” said Jenna. “I played five years on the boys’ teams and in my last year, I played for the boys team and the first-ever girls hockey team. My father was the coach of the team, and we lost in the state championship game.”

She continued her career in the powerful Assabet Valley girls’ program, winning a national championship in the 14-under division.

Letterie played ice hockey, field hockey, and lacrosse at The Rivers School. She made her varsity ice hockey debut as a freshman as the team won the school’s first NEPSAC championship. She earned All-New England Prep School honors in ice hockey and field hockey during her junior and senior seasons.

“I knew I wanted to play college hockey when I was in the sixth grade,” said Letterie. “In my sophomore year at Rivers, I realized that a Division 3 program would be the best fit for me, and I committed to Middlebury the end of my junior year of high school.”

The Road to the National Championship

Jenna Letterie played right wing on Middlebury’s first line with Katy Hargrave of Pocasset and Madie Leidt of Des Moines, Iowa.  A 5-foot-6-inch junior, Letterie scored six goals and had 28 assists for the NESCAC’s highest-scoring line that produced more than 90 points.

Did Jenna think an undefeated season was possible back in November?

“We just took it one game at a time,” said Jenna. “We knew we were a good team and other teams were going to be just as good. Near the end of the season, we said to each other, ‘we’re not going to lose now, we have to continue this.’’’

Letterie said the weight of carrying an undefeated record into the playoffs was actually a motivating factor.

“I think there was added pressure, but I also think it motivated us because we knew that if we went this far without losing, we could continue to win,” said Letterie.

A two-time winner of the Will McDonough Writing Contest back in middle school, Letterie is majoring in Economics and Psychology at Middlebury.

Being a college athlete requires a major commitment with long road trips to other New England colleges. “We lift weights three times a week and we practice every day for two hours,” said Letterie.

National Championship Rings

Mandigo said the team banquet in May should be special. Jenna Letterie and her Middlebury teammates will receive watches from the NCAA, replicas of the NCAA championship trophy, and national championship rings.

“Since Day 1 of her freshman year, Jenna has had a positive impact on our program,” said Mandigo, who is a graduate of Wesleyan University. “She’s been a quiet leader whom the other players really respect.”

 Letterie has tremendous respect for her coach, Bill Mandigo, who has the most wins (624) among all women’s college hockey coaches.

“He is a great recruiter and pushes us to be our best, and he comes to practice every day wanting to get better and for each of us to get better. He’s coached for 34 years and he really knows what he’s doing. I think we all trust him to make the right decisions and he led us to this amazing season.”

Letterie will return for her final season at Middlebury this winter.