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soon rink rats — Kendall playing alongside boys her age . She switched to an all-girls New �ersey Colonials s�uad when she was about 8years old . She also played soccer and ice hockey in middle school . But hockey had already won Cornine ’ s heart .
“ She has always been extremely passionate , always a lot of energy ,” says Hanna Beattie , a�hitehouse Station native who played with Cornine on the Colonials and against her during high school and as apro . “ You could just tell she loved the game ,” she says . “ It ’ s fun to be on the other end of that .”
Cornine says she “ had the bright red �evils room and all that ” and broke the all-time New �ersey high school career scoring record with 104 goals and 95assists in 74 games at Morristown Beard . The two-time New �ersey �evils High School Player of the Year , Cornine was also commuting to Massachusetts to play for the East Coast �i�ards , a high-level girls team .
Cornine had NHL alumni as coaches , like former New �ersey �evils ’ defenseman and Kinnelon neighbor Randy �elischek and Montville resident Bruce �river , who won a1985
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Stanley Cup with the �evils and helped found the Morristown Beard girls hockey team 20 years ago . At the Colonials , Cornine also learned from Shelley Looney , who scored the winning goal as the �nited States won Olympic gold in 1998 .
Yet Cornine didn ’ t believe pro hockey was in her future . Instead , her goal was to play on aNCAA �ivision Iteam . She earned anathletic scholarship to Rochester Institute of Technology . About the same time , when Cornine was a senior at Morristown Beard in 2015 , the first American pro women ’ s hockey league launched .
Midway through her RIT career , Cornine thought , “ I ’ m not done playing .” The all-time leading scorer at the NCAA �ivision Ilevel with 38 goals and 26 assists in 140 games , Cornine was drafted by the Riveters in �ecember of her senior season , and signed a few months later .
“ Her rookie season , she was one of our go-to goal scorers ,” says Rebecca Morse of�estfield , who played for the Riveters and is now a defender for the Connecticut �hale . “ She can definitely put the puck in the net . That ’ s her M . O . ... She definitely
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challenged me , because she has a good shot . Iwas trying to get astick on it , play a little more aggressive , not allow her to use those strengths of hers , shut it down before it even happens .”
After a couple of years living at home and juggling multiple jobs — coaching for the Colonials as well as Morristown Beard , and sometimes working as a personal trainer or a nanny in Manhattan — Cornine has relocated toStamford , Connecticut . She teaches health and physical education at New Canaan Country School , and coaches soccer , ice hockey and lacrosse .
Though she has to commute to The Rink atAmerican �ream for twiceweekly practices , Cornine insists her schedule has calmed down . Instead of waking up at 5 a . m . to meet a personal-training client or go into New York City , she works a regular school day . She ’ s in the office at 7:45 a . m ., teaches three or four elementary school classes , then coaches in the afternoon . She ’ s done by 4p . m ., plenty of time to get to practice at 7:30 p . m .
“ Only people from New �ersey know how to drive . Everybody else drives too slow ,” Cornine jokes .“ My commute in Connecticut is six miles , but it ’ s all backroads and school buses . I ’ m used to getting on 287 and going to Morristown .”
The Premier Hockey League plays two-game weekend series , to lighten the load on players with full-time jobs . The Riveters even have a roadtrip pickup point near Cornine ’ s new home . Her 4-month-old golden retriever , Rookie , has come along and become a social-media star .
“ It ’ s been awesome for me the past three years , being close to home again where my parents and family and friends can come to games ,” Cornine says . “ Now that I live in Connecticut , people say , ‘ �hy don ’ t you play for the �hale� ’ New �ersey feels like home . I love that team . Even though I moved , the Riveters are my hometown team . It ’ s been a great experience sofar . Ihope to play for them as long as Ican .” ■
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KAREN FUCITO / MORRISTOWN DAILY RECORD |