Libby reaches 100-point milestone for Knightwolves girls ice hockey, but ready for more

Since she first donned skates at the age of 3 and began her hockey journey at 5, Cassidy Libby was preparing for this moment.

The assistant captain, who along with fellow assistant captain Avery Gilpatrick and captain Jenna Sykes, leads the Kingswood-Prospect Mountain-Plymouth co-op girls hockey team into the state tournament fresh off a highlight-reel regular season that saw the Knightwolves center eclipse the 100-point milestone. It’s an accomplishment Libby attained only five games into her junior campaign with a top-shelf goal in an 11-0 win over Manchester on Jan. 3.

Libby, who currently sits at 128 points in her high school career, wants more than personal milestones. She wants to hoist that state title plaque with her teammates.

It’s a feeling she knows well, having driven in a pair of runs during Kingswood Regional High School’s 8-2 victory in the 2025 Division II softball title game. Libby, also a starter on the field hockey team, wants to enjoy that same postgame celebration in her favorite sport with her ice hockey teammates.

The quest for that goal begins at the Pop Whalen Ice and Arts Center in Wolfeboro on Wednesday, where the No. 7 Knightwolves (10-7-1) will host a first-round tournament game against No 10 Exeter (9-8-1).

Exeter won the regular-season matchup 5-4 back in the first week of February, but the calendar has flipped to March and the slate is wiped clean when the puck drops in the tourney opener.

“The tournament is its own season,” said Libby, an Effingham native who attends Kingswood Regional. “Anything that happened in the regular season doesn’t matter at that point. You’re starting over and need to go out there and win every game you play or you’re done.”

Libby (34 goals, seven assists, 41 points) finished a remarkable regular season, in which she led the team in goals, points and faceoff wins (83.5 percentage), with a plus/minus of plus-31, while centering a line with freshman Jillian Rubbe on her left and sophomore Hadley Aucoin to the right.

The trio got on the same page early this season and it’s been smooth sailing since, even as a co-op team.

Rubbe, one of three Plymouth students on the Knightwolves, raves about how easy it was to connect with her Kingswood linemates.

“I was a little bit nervous at first,” Rubbe said, “but the girls on this team made it really easy. And playing with Cassidy and Hadley has really been fun and calmed my nerves quickly. I think playing with them has made me more comfortable and play better.”

Being on the ice for Libby’s 100th point was also a special moment for the underclassman.

“It was really cool being on the ice when that happened,” said Rubbe, who praised Libby for her communication, skating ability and work ethic. “We all knew it was happening, and to be part of that was so special for me.”

It was a special moment for the entire team, according to coach John Duplinsky, a Kingswood Regional science teacher. After all, reaching that 100-point milestone doesn’t happen often in girls high school hockey.

“Cassidy brings a lot of intensity to the team,” Duplinsky said. “She’s a competitor. She wants to win. She’s got that drive to be competitive all the time, at practice and during games.”

It’s why she earned the ‘A’ as one of the captains.

“She’s really done a great job in that leadership role and helping to support the development of the other players,” Duplinsky said. “I’ve been proud of her efforts in that aspect this year, and her efforts on the ice are obviously paying off. Reaching 100 points in your junior year is a great accomplishment.”

For Libby, that feat was realized after a long journey that began as a toddler, learning to skate while others were just starting to walk.

Libby’s ice hockey playing career started with boys as a Mite up to her first year of Squirts at Mount Washington Valley. She then switched to girls hockey at Casco Bay Hockey Association in Maine for two years before joining the New England Wildcats out of Hooksett.

“Honestly, there aren’t too many girls hockey programs in New Hampshire,” said Libby about initially going to Maine to further her career. “There’s definitely an abundance of them in Massachusetts and other states. So we were kind of looking at what would be closer travel wise and Casco Bay was just a hair closer than the Wildcats were, and we heard it was a good program so that’s where we decided to go at the time.”

The intensity and competitiveness that Duplinsky points out may have evolved over the youth hockey years, but the foundation was most definitely built at home, courtesy of Libby’s older brother.

Ben Libby, currently a freshman who plays baseball for Plymouth State University, was Cassidy’s sports role model growing up. She saw how he played and competed. It challenged her to work harder when she played to keep up with big brother. It’s something Cassidy will always be grateful for.

“I always watched him playing sports growing up,” Cassidy said, “and for sports he’s a really intense person. Baseball, hockey and soccer he’s always been that way, intense and super competitive. I guess it just rubbed off on me. I definitely get that from him.”

Libby and the Knightwolves are hoping this intensity helps them get over the hump that’s derailed them in the program’s last two playoff appearances.

In both her freshman and sophomore seasons the team has won a first-round game only to be eliminated the quarterfinals. Should K-P-P reach the quarterfinals this winter, it would visit second-seeded Berlin-Gorham-Kennett (14-4). The Knightwolves lost that regular-season game 3-2 on Feb. 2.

“That’s a team goal we set for ourselves this year,” Libby said. “Get past that second round. Then we can take that momentum, keep going, and see how far it takes us.”