<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2GEdm5_1GoGts5F00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2GEdm5_1GoGts5F00" width="1200" height="733" ></figure>After years of playing side by side, seniors and best friends Mickey O’Malley and Annie Chen are preparing to face off next year on opposite sides of the rink as they take their hockey careers to the collegiate level.Annie has announced her commitment to play hockey at Amherst College, while Mickey has committed to Wesleyan University. Both schools compete in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), allowing the two longtime teammates to face off against each other in college.Their journey to college hockey began years ago, long before their college commitments. Mickey, who started playing hockey at the age of 4, and Annie, who started at 7 years old, both attended grade school at Frances Xavier Warde. Although they initially played on different teams, they bonded at school through hockey.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1aKpKQ_1GoGts5F00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1aKpKQ_1GoGts5F00" width="2001" height="1501" ><figcaption>Annie and Mickey face off on the ice as 9 year olds. (Annie Chen)</figcaption></figure>“I noticed she was wearing a hat with her hockey team’s logo on it,” Mickey said. “I went up to her and asked her about it, and that’s how our friendship started. A few years later, we joined the same team, and we’ve been teammates ever since.”What began as a conversation about hockey soon developed into a friendship that extended beyond the rink.“Through the sport we grew closer,” Annie said. “That’s kind of why we’re best friends.”That connection has been just as important on the ice, where the two have spent years building chemistry as teammates and eventually became co-captains last year.“We’ve been on the same line all the years, and so we have really good chemistry from playing together for so long, and then it’s just fun to celebrate everything with her,” Mickey said. “It’s really nice to always have someone that’s gonna support you in what you do well, and also pick up where you fall short.”Andrea Renner, who coached them on a team in 2022 and as their private coach since 2023, witnessed their friendship grow firsthand. Ms. Renner describes the pair as two peas in a pod, balancing each other out both on and off the ice.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1JEBAL_1GoGts5F00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1JEBAL_1GoGts5F00" width="1170" height="1760" ><figcaption>Mickey and Annie skate on the ice this year for the Chicago Mission U19 team. (Annie Chen)</figcaption></figure>“They’ve really stepped out of their shells, and I feel like they have really become valuable leaders on whatever team that they’re part of,” Ms. Renner said.Beyond their leadership on the ice, Mickey and Annie have shown the dedication needed to compete at the collegiate level.“They had a goal in mind. They wanted to play college hockey, and they achieved that goal,” Ms. Renner said. “As a coach, I couldn’t be more proud of either of them.”While pursuing their goal of college hockey recruitment, balancing tennis for Annie and lacrosse for both Annie and Mickey at the same time demanded more discipline and another level of commitment.“I would literally go straight from tennis to hockey right after school, and I just had to be on top of everything,” Annie said. “I actually don’t know how I did it.”On top of that, in the fall, hockey required both of them to skip school on Friday almost every week for tournaments, Annie said. Reflecting on those experiences, Annie said they made her advocate for herself and take initiative to make sure she did not get behind in her classes.Beyond the challenges that balancing hockey, other sports, and schoolwork presented, the hockey college recruitment process was selective and difficult.“I’m really grateful to have been recruited because, for girls hockey especially, it’s really hard, since there are only so many schools that have hockey teams,” Annie said.While the two have spent years together, college marks a new stage for both of them. “It’s those four or five years of your life where you’re gonna definitely grow the most,” Ms. Renner said. “You really have to find out who you are and what values you have, you know, like away from home or away from your comfort zone.”Even as they head to different schools, hockey will keep them connected.“We’ve been with each other every step of the way and got to the same end goal,” Mickey said. “Now we get to continue to challenge each other on opposite teams.”</div></body>

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After years of playing side by side, seniors and best friends Mickey O’Malley and Annie Chen are preparing to face off next year on opposite sides of the rink as they take their hockey careers to the collegiate level. Annie has announced her commitment to play hockey at Amherst...

Two Peas in a Pod, Two Colleges Ahead

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After years of playing side by side, seniors and best friends Mickey O’Malley and Annie Chen are preparing to face off next year on opposite sides of the r

Two Peas in a Pod, Two Colleges Ahead

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