MacKenzie Ebel ’16 is not one to stand down from a challenge. When she’s attacking the net as a forward, studying for a big test or recovering from a dislocated kneecap in time for last year’s playoffs, the 6th former takes every obstacle head on. As sole captain of the Kent girls varsity hockey team, she adopts the same attitude every time she laces up her skates.

Ebel, a native Canadian from Calgary, has played hockey all her life. Though she played up to seventy games in a season on her former Warner Hockey School team, coming to Kent still marked a major transition. Kent hockey has a storied history and the competition within the New England boarding school programs is nearly unmatched at the high school level.

Entering the Kent hockey program went smoothly for Ebel, and she noted the attitude of the team that “everyone is equal.” She professes, “It really plays into our team chemistry. I played my role and worked with the team and we developed a great relationship from that.”

Amidst a team of college-bound hockey players, spanning Division III to Division I, Ebel managed to distinguish herself. The squad, while individually strong, together managed to form a cohesive unit that bested every team they faced up until the semifinals of the New England tournament, in which they lost in a hard fought game in overtime. Last year’s team went 22-1, earning the title of Founder’s League Champions.

Yet in Ebel’s mind, this year’s team needs to put past victories behind them. “We need to recognize that it is a new season, grow from last year and try to one-up ourselves this year.”

Head coach Mr. Rousseau describes Ebel’s “enthusiasm for hockey and true devotion to the game” as a quality “marked by her playing ability and physical toughness, and yet whose competitive spirit is balanced by emotional control and an unselfish desire to serve the needs of her team.” Rousseau concluded, “I have the greatest respect and deepest admiration for MacKenzie Ebel.”