MARLBORO, Mass. — Massachusetts’ best girls hockey players took over the New England Sports Center this past weekend.
Mass. Hockey’s girls festival came down to its Final 40 across the 2009, 2010 and 2011 age groups.
Players will now be selected for USA Hockey’s National Development Camps in the summer. The Girls National 16/17 (2009/2010) and the Girls National 15 (2011) camps will be at Miami University (Ohio) in July. The U18 Women’s National Team Festival (2009-11) will be in Lake Placid, N.Y., in August.
Those selections will be released later this month.
One theme for most of the weekend, especially the '09s, was how many skaters had strong showings. In particular, these 10 uncommitted '09 prospects below stood out, but they're not the only ones.
We'll get to the '10s and '11s who impressed later this week. Let's dive in.
BOYS PREDICTIONS: Who will move on from Final 40 to Select Camps?
Lauren Dockray
Governor's/Valley Jr. Warriors, 2009, D, right shot, 5-5
Hometown: North Andover, Mass.
Dockray was stout in her own zone, mostly playing a good, stay-at-home game. On Saturday, she did a good job of anticipating a stretch pass, easily filling the lane and breaking it up with a quick stick. She later had a strong gap against Brooke Carlson (North Andover, Mass.) on a counterattack, blocking her shot. On Sunday, Dockray did a great job of clogging passing lanes on the penalty kill, and she showed good physicality, knocking Georgia Murray (North Attleboro, Mass.) off the puck before chipping the puck ahead for an outlet. Dockray led one speedy rush in particular, driving down the left wing and feeding Annabelle Lovell (Hingham, Mass.) on the doorstep for a bang-bang chance. Aspen Devlin (West Falmouth, Mass.) made a nice save.
Aspen Devlin
Kent/Northeast Generals, 01/2009, G, catches left
Hometown: West Falmouth, Mass.
Devlin made some phenomenal saves on both Saturday and Sunday. She had strong positioning against several redirects and limited rebounds, and she took away shooting angles for blocker saves on Maddy Call (Dedham, Mass.) and Madeline Carey (Braintree, Mass.). Devlin also made the save of the weekend on Saturday. After a long-range shot ramped up and hit her square in the mask, she stuck with it and denied a rebound before reaching back with her glove to swipe the tumbling puck off the line in the scramble. It was a wild sequence, and she somehow kept it out.
Avah Miller
NAHA, 8/9/2009, D, right shot
Hometown: Plymouth, Mass.
As it did at Festival a few weeks ago, Miller's skating helped her impact transition throughout the weekend. On Saturday, she had a slick stop-and-start at the defensive blue line on a regroup, opening the entire right half of the ice after losing the forechecker. She took the lane and gained the attacking zone with possession. Later, she weaved through traffic and sent Alexa Georgantas (Foxboro, Mass.) into space with a good stretch pass. On Sunday, Miller's quick feet got the play started up ice before she slipped a slick pass ahead to Nora Swaim (Concord, Mass.), swinging in behind the defense.
BEST-ON-BEST:Â 4 takeaways from the return of the MIAA Super 8
Reese Engel
Nobles/Boston Americans, 06/2009, D, left shot, 5-7
Hometown: Westwood, Mass.
Engel was especially strong on Saturday on a pair with Tatum Friedholm (Sudbury, Mass.). Engel read the play well and found skating and passing lanes. She chose her spots well when skating the puck, and she had a terrific pass through a seam in the neutral zone to spring Bella Freitas (Everett, Mass.) for a 3-on-2. Engel also did a great job defending a 2-on-1 off a broken exit, too. She filled the lane and dropped to a knee to easily block the centering pass before winning the battle behind the net with a quick stick. Engel made 16/17 Camp last year.
Elena Gordon
Dexter Southfield/Boston Junior Eagles, 1/2/2009, F, left shot, 5-5
Hometown: Weston, Mass.
Gordon played with pace throughout the weekend, and she was particularly strong on Saturday. She was good on the penalty kill and at 5-on-5 in the defensive zone. She provided good support along the boards to win a puck battle and later had a quick cut behind the net to shake free and get a clear. Later, Gordon took advantage of open ice in the neutral zone, weaving into the attacking end with speed for a quality shot. She also took a good route to cut off Lovell on the backcheck, making a great steal at the dot and getting a shot on net.
Maddy Call
Thayer/Boston Americans, 02/2009, F, left shot, 5-5
Hometown: Dedham, Mass.
Call's line with Lily Bromley (Carlisle, Mass.; Princeton) and Simone Burns (Winchester, Mass.) was excellent on Sunday. Call did a good job of creating chances for herself and her linemates. She had a nasty release labeled for the top corner on Saturday, but Devlin made a great stop. On Sunday, Call had a slick feed coming out of the corner for Burns out front. Later, Call stuck with a broken play coming into the zone and found Zoe Smith for a goal in the slot. Call made 16/17 camp last year.
COACHING NEWS:Â Phillips Andover coach Martha Fenton exits after over three decades behind the bench
Alexa Georgantas
Shattuck-St. Mary’s, 6/3/2009, F, left shot, 5-3
Hometown: Foxboro, Mass.
Georgantas did a good job of finding lanes in the offensive zone and maintaining possession in tight areas. Her play along the boards was especially strong on Sunday as she did a tremendous job of keeping plays alive on the power play and pulling tricky pucks off the boards before quickly identifying her next move. Georgantas made last year's 16/17 Camp.
Zoe Smith
Groton/Boston Americans, 08/2009, F, right shot, 5-6
Hometown: Bolton, Mass.
On Sunday, Smith did a terrific job of finding soft space in the slot off the rush as the defense overcommitted. She put herself in a perfect spot for Call's feed and wired a catch-and-release wrister to the top left corner for a pretty goal.
Clara Ryan
Milton Academy/Massachusetts Spitfires, 2009, D, left shot, 5-8
Hometown: Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Ryan played a strong, high-compete game in her own end throughout the weekend, especially around her net. She was hard to play against in battles with her size and strength, and she didn't back down from physicality. On Saturday, she had a great stick and steal against Maggie Fitzpatrick's (Quincy, Mass.) toe-drag at the right circle before leading the rush the other way.
MASS. GIRLS FESTIVAL: 16 uncommitted ’09 standouts | 14 standout ’10s | 13 standout ’11sÂ
Ainsley Mills
Thayer/Boston Advantage, 2009, F, left shot
Hometown: Easton, Mass.
Mills played with plenty of energy and speed all weekend, and she was everywhere on Saturday. She pushed the pace with the puck on her stick and generated some solid looks off the rush, including on Saturday when she took advantage of a defensive lapse when she drove in a 2-on-1 and put a heavy shot on for a rebound.
