BURLINGTON, Mass. — The Premier Prep League rolled on this week with semifinal action at the Burlington Ice Palace.
A handful of absences meant there was plenty of ice for everyone. Most importantly, there was still quality hockey to catch with plenty of pace and skill on display as players looked to stay sharp in the dog days of the offseason.
The first game of the evening featured a high-scoring barn-burner between Team Black and Team Red, with the former prevailing after reaching double-digit goals. Team White took a tightly contested affair with Team Blue in the second game.
Team Black and Team White will square off in the championship game at 6 p.m. at the Burlington Ice Palace next Thursday, while Team Blue will take on Team Red in the third-place game at 4:50 p.m. Click or tap here for the rosters and schedule.
Let's dive into 12 standouts from Week 6's semifinal games in the PPL.
Maddy Call
Thayer, 2009, F, left shot, 5-5
Hometown: Dedham, Mass.
Call got plenty of ice-time on Thursday, suiting up in both games. She played defense for Red in the first game before mostly playing forward for White in the latter. She had strong games at both positions. Call's offensive instincts were on display at the point for Red. She rang the post, setting up the first of Zoe Smith's (Bolton, Mass.) goals. It followed a terrific play off the face-off by Call to deke a defender, cut middle and put a quality shot on. Moments later, Call set up Smith again with a nasty feed off a regroup. Call won the puck in the neutral zone before winding around to the left wing, driving down the wall and hitting her on the tape with a perfect feed for the redirect.
Call still had good jump in her stride in the second game, generating plenty of chances. She scored a pair of slick goals late. The first came on a 3-on-2 rush. She looked off the pass and tucked a backhander inside the right post after a sweet forehand-backhand dangle. Later, she went top-shelf with a backhander from the slot off a quick up. She nearly went coast-to-coast late as well.
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Francie Ames
Nobles, 5/25/10, F, right shot, 5-7
Hometown: Brookline, Mass.
Ames was terrific throughout Black's win over Red. She played with tremendous compete and won battles everywhere, thanks to how strong she was on her feet. She made a great play to set up Simone Burns' first goal. Ames did a good job of helping down low with the defender tied up in a battle, picking up the loose puck and flipping it into open space to send Burns in with speed. She later got rewarded, finding open space in the slot and one-timing a feed from Burns as she curled behind the net. Ames scored a pretty goal on a fast break late, stutter-stepping and chipping a wrister top-shelf.
Mia MacDonald
Rivers, 2009, D, right shot, 5-5
Hometown: Walpole, Mass.
MacDonald played a simpler game and made better decisions compared to Week 1 of the PPL. She had a good stick in transition, preventing some odd-numbered breaks the other way, and she did a great job of funneling pucks to the net quickly and accurately. She set up an early goal for Black with a quick, low shot from distance, forcing a tough save before her side cashed in on the rebound.
Simone Burns
Rivers, 03/2009, F, left shot, 5-3
Hometown: Winchester, Mass.
Burns was fantastic, constantly making things happen with Francie Ames (Brookline, Mass.) and creating offense with her speed in transition. Burns had a great chance early on after a regroup with her sister, Joelle, flying down the far side and getting a good shot after stutter-stepping to try to wrong-foot the goalie. She later scored on a breakaway, picking the top left corner with a wrister after Ames sent her off to the races. Burns returned the favor shortly after, setting up Ames' one-time goal with a feed from behind the net. The former scored another sweet breakaway goal late, getting lost behind the defense, walking in and ripping a wrister inside the left post.
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Joelle Burns
Rivers, 2010, D, left shot
Hometown: Winchester, Mass.
The younger Burns played a strong all-around game on defense for Black. She made good decisions in all three zones and played with a quick stick and high compete. She made a couple of good reads in the neutral zone to cut off outlet passes early on. Later, she did a good job of poking-checking Blake Metcalf (Scarborough, Maine) and taking the body to end the counter rush. Burns also showed good vision and patience in regroups, including one that led to a quality look for her sister, Simone. Off a D-to-D pass from MacDonald, Burns picked her head up and surveyed before finding Simone curling back toward her at center ice, hitting her in stride as the whole far side opened up for a rush and a chance.
Megan Carlson
Governor's, 01/2009, D, left shot, 5-6
Hometown: North Andover, Mass.
Carlson was flying for White in the second game, taking advantage of opportunities to skate the puck up ice herself and having plenty of success doing so. She had a hell of a setup for her sister, Brooke, off the rush, picking up the loose puck in the neutral zone, curling around center ice and driving down the left wing. She slipped a feed through a defender right on the money to Brooke at the top of the crease, and she one-timed it home.
Brooke Carlson
Governor's, 01/2009, F, left shot, 5-8
Hometown: North Andover, Mass.
Carlson's offensive instincts led to her making a difference in the slot and getting chances around the net. Her size gave her a big advantage in those areas, too. On her goal, she drove hard to the net with her stick on the ice, and she made no mistake once Megan's feed hit her tape. She had a handful of strong chances after it, too. On the first, she muscled her way into the slot and tried to stuff a backhand past Olivia Doucette. Carlson got another break moments later, setting her edges and throwing a shoulder into the defender to get into the slot for a quality look.
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Ava Carr
Williston Northampton, 4/28/2010, F, right shot, 5-4
Hometown: Medway, Mass.
Carr was all over the place for Black in the win over Red, finishing with a hat trick and doing a ton of damage in the slot. She scored a nice goal early after bullying her way into the slot and burying her own rebound. Her second goal came off another drive to the slot coming out of the corner, scoring with a quick wrister as she fell to the ice. She capped off the hat trick after she slipped behind the defense and made no mistake on the fast break. Carr also made a great heads-up feed to spring Abby Macauley (Avon, Mass.) on a breakaway.
Olivia Doucette
Lawrence Academy, Class of 2027, G, catches left, 5-3
Hometown: South Hamilton, Mass.
Doucette made some high-quality saves for Blue throughout the tilt with White on Thursday, moving well laterally in the crease. She stretched out her left pad to stone Call's breakaway early on, and she came up with another big save, pushing right-to-left on Angela Fabbo's (Peabody, Mass.) one-timer in a 2-on-1 with Caroline Kreuz (Worcester, Mass.). Later, Doucette read Call perfectly, easily stymying her coast-to-coast bid late in the game, and she gave Brooke Carlson nothing as she tried to jam a backhander past the left pad on a partial break.
Addy Boczenowski
Williston Northampton, Class of 2029, D, right shot
Hometown: Woburn, Mass.
Boczenowski played strong, stout defense for Blue in its loss to White. She had a strong stick, good body positioning and won a lot of battles, including a few with Call. One of her best plays came when she hustled back to catch up to Call on a breakaway, getting her stick in to disrupt her and prevent a quality shot. It came after she did a great job of tying up Call's stick and taking the body in a battle for a 50/50 puck. Boczenowski won it before curling behind the net and making a quick outlet pass.
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Abby Macauley
Thayer, Class of 2029, F, left shot
Hometown: Avon, Mass.
Macauley had a handful of high-quality chances in Black's win, one of which was the breakaway that Carr sent her on. Macauley tried to go five-hole, but Keegan Gray (Canton, Mass.) made a nice save. She finally got on the board late with a nasty goal. In a 2-on-1, she looked off the pass before rifling a wrister off the post and in. The 'ping' from the post reverberated throughout the rink.
Zoe Smith
Groton, 08/2009, F, right shot
Hometown: Bolton, Mass.
Smith scored a pair of goals for Red in the loss to Black. The first came as she buried a chance in front after Call's seeing-eye wrister from distance rang the post. The second came on a counter rush with Call. Smith drove to the top of the crease with her stick on the ice and steered a perfect forehand redirect inside the far post in a bang-bang play.
