Lindsay Stepnowski would come off the ice from figure skating lessons and see the boys heading to the ice for hockey. “I knew that was something I wanted to do,” Lindsay said, “so I kind of bugged my parents about it. On my fourth birthday that was my gift.” 

And that gift was the start for a gifted women’s ice hockey player who is a captain on the Loomis Chaffee varsity team. Lindsay played on the Loomis team that won a New England title last year, and this year she was part of the U.S. under-18 women’s team that won the world title. The United States beat Canda 2-0 in the championship game on January 18 in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Lindsay, who skated at right wing on the top line, scored a goal in each of Team USA’s six games as the Americans went 6-0.    

That’s consistency, but nothing unexpected from someone who thrives on regularity. She has her pregame rituals. “A bunch,” she said with a laugh as she sat in the Katharine Brush Library just days after returning to campus a world champion. “I like to keep a routine. One of the things is I have to get dressed left to right, so all my gear on the left goes on first, then the right. I also have to get 129 juggles with a soccer ball to get ready.” 

Feet, don’t fail me now, though sometimes she has to start all over if she hasn’t reached that number. The reason for 129, Lindsay said, is that her lucky number is 29, but 29 juggles isn’t enough to get her ready for a game. Another 100 juggles does the trick, and it’s a bigger challenge, she said.

And there’s more to Lindsay’s pregame routine. 

“When I get to the rink, I tape one or two sticks. There’s the team warmup,” Lindsay said. “I always have to listen to the same couple of songs by Florida Georgia Line before I go out on the ice. Before every game I eat an Uncrustables, that’s kind of my thing.” 

Lindsay comes from an athletic family. Her father played college soccer. Her mother, a figure skated when she was younger, now does duathlons and marathons. Her sister Kelly ’22 is a redshirt sophomore on the Providence College soccer team and was a two-time captain on the girls soccer team at Loomis, earning All-New England honors twice. Another older sister, Ashleigh, was a high school athlete, though not at Loomis Chaffee. Lindsay’s younger sister Julia is a sophomore on the LC varsity hockey team. 

“I’ve always looked up to my older sisters and try to set an example for Julia,” Lindsay said. “It has been great to play on the same hockey team as her, and I was able to play soccer my freshman year with Kelly so that was cool.” 

Lindsay will attend Harvard in the fall and play hockey for the Crimson. “I really enjoyed the coaches there,” Lindsay said. “And I’ve always put academics first, so to be able to get that opportunity is a dream come true.” 

Likewise the opportunity to make a U.S. national team, which requires hours and hours of training camps and practices, and then playing on the international stage. 

"It was so much fun,” she said of the world championship tournament. “There is something a little special that everyone was representing their own country, so it's a different type of game. People have a lot more fight than just any other game.” 

The athletes are surrounded by professional support staff, not just coaches, but also sports psychologists, nutritionists, and others. 

“You’re on the highest stage and there can be a lot of pressure,” Lindsay said, “but the sports psychologists will tell us not to be too overwhelmed ... to stay where you are, take in the moment ... If you overthink it, you will not play your best.” 

The U.S. team certainly was at its best, winning the six games by a collective score of 56-2. The only close game was the title game. The Americans never trailed at any point in the tournament. Lindsay finished with nine points. 

Back on the Island, she now will focus on trying to help the team win a second New England Prep School Athletic Council Chuck Vernon Elite Eight championship under coach Liz Leyden, whom Lindsay says is an “amazing” coach who “supports me every day and has helped develop me.” Lindsay had 10 goals and 10 assists for the Pelicans as of January 27. 

Lindsay said one of the best aspects of attending Loomis Chaffee, beyond the academics, is the community, “how supportive everyone has been throughout my four years here.” 

“When I was gone,” she continued, “I was getting emails wishing me luck, congratulating me. I think that shows how much we support each other.”