MARLBORO, Mass. — One of the biggest weekends of the offseason is in the books.
Mass. Hockey’s girls festival was this past weekend at the trusty New England Sports Center, featuring 224 of the top players in the state across the 2009, 2010 and 2011 birth years. Now, all eyes will look ahead to the Final 40 at the NESC in a few short weeks.
The ’09s and ’10s are competing for spots at National 16/17 Camp, as well as the Under-18 Women’s National Team Festival. Meanwhile, the ’11s are on the hunt for spots at National 15 Camp and the U18 WNT Festival. They’ll also be eligible for the Eastern 15 Camp.
I spent Friday watching the ’09s before catching the ’10s on Saturday and the ’11s on Sunday.
Here are the '10s who impressed.
Camdyn Driscoll
St. Mary's/North Shore Vipers, 2010, D, left shot, 5-2
Hometown: Peabody, Mass.
Driscoll played with good poise and patience with the puck on breakouts. She was smooth skating with the puck and handled forechecking pressure well. Driscoll also consistently made good, simple decisions and didn't force any plays exiting the zone.
MASS. FESTIVAL: 16 uncommitted '09 standouts
Ava Carr
Williston Northampton/Bay State Breakers, 4/28/2010, F, right shot, 5-4
Hometown: Medway, Mass.
Carr was one of the best players on the ice on Saturday. She was everywhere, creating offense and forcing turnovers in the neutral zone and on exits to either spark counter rushes or keep the pressure up. She had a great setup for Riley Bergeron after pulling the puck free from the boards and driving middle. Carr eventually scored a beauty off the rush, getting a feed in the high slot and ripping one bar-down.
Parker Kathan
Nobles/Boston Junior Eagles, 05/2010, D, left shot, 5-4
Hometown: Medfield, Mass.
Kathan did a fantastic job as a puck mover, thanks to her skating and vision through the neutral zone, to go along with a terrific release. She generated several strong chances jumping into the play, including one regroup when she drove down the left wing and zipped a wrister off the crossbar. She picked her spot and barely missed. Later, she won a footrace for the puck high in the neutral zone and drove wide before dangling a defender and sending a slick feed to the slot. In 3-on-3, Kathan had another chance to go upstairs on the short side in a 2-on-1, but Olivia Siden made a great save.
Emily Araujo
Lovell Academy, 2010, F, right shot, 5-3
Hometown: Reading, Mass.
Araujo played with lots of speed, which, along with her quick hands, helped her create dangerous looks and score a pair of goals. Her first goal came off a slick feed from Avery Hutchins on a drive to the net. In tight quarters, Araujo quickly pulled the puck to her forehand for the goal. Later, she kick-started a 3-on-1 chance after chipping the puck past a pinching defender and speeding the other way. Her centering pass for Kelsey MacPherson was perfectly timed, but Chloe LeMay made a fantastic save. Later in 3-on-3, Araujo scored another beauty from Teagan Beigel on a 2-on-1, quickly going to her backhand to slip it five-hole.
NE DISTRICT TRYOUTS: 12 uncommitted ’09 standouts | 11 standout ’10s | 12 standout ’11s
Caroline Kreuz
St. Mark’s/Boston Junior Eagles, 04/2010, F, right shot, 5-4
Hometown: Worcester, Mass.
Kreuz's pace and hands helped her constantly create chances for herself and her teammates. She scored a beauty early on, getting lost behind the defense on a regroup and walking in alone with a burst of speed before wiring a quick release over the blocker. Later, Kreuz had some slick hands off the rush to drive to the net for a shot before some more dangles behind the net, eventually feeding Molly Drevitch for a backdoor one-timer. In 3-on-3, Kreuz made a heads-up pass to spring Drevitch for a breakaway goal.
Alexandra Hinck
Lawrence Academy/Boston Junior Eagles, 2010, D, right shot
Hometown: Arlington, Mass.
Hinck showcased a heavy shot from the point and played with high compete away from the puck. She had some excellent offensive zone shifts, too. During 3-on-3, she settled the play down and had a give-and-go with Bergeron to get things going the other way before winning a footrace to beat an icing. After eventually keeping the play alive at the point, Hinck got a great chance in the slot off a give-and-go with Carr.
Avery Hutchins
Phillips Andover/Valley Junior Warriors, 2010, F, left shot
Hometown: North Andover, Mass.
Hutchins played with pace and compete. She accelerated quickly with explosive first strides, kept her head up at all times and read the play well. She had a great setup for Araujo off the rush, flying into the zone with speed and slipping a centering pass right on the money. Later, Hutchins had great physicality on a backcheck, knocking the forward off the puck as she drove to the net.
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Olivia Siden
Austin Prep/Valley Junior Warriors, 2010, G, catches left, 5-3
Hometown: Marblehead, Mass.
Siden made herself big and took away space for shooters with good angles. She made several quality stops, including a tough shoulder save on a breakaway late, before stoning Riley Precourt shortly after. Later, she kicked out the pad quickly to turn aside Lindsay Butt's one-timer. In 3-on-3, Siden made another challenging shoulder save on Kathan, trying to roof one in tight.
Brooklyn Taylor
Worcester Academy/Assabet Valley, 2010, D, left shot
Hometown: Framingham, Mass.
Taylor made smart plays on breakouts and regroups, and she was hard to play against in defensive battles. She had a quick, active stick and high effort in the corners, consistently winning pucks back and fairing well in 1-on-1s. She also made quick decisions with the puck, including a quick regroup up to Stephanie LeBlanc in the lead-up to Elisabeth Melly's goal. In 3-on-3, Talyor jumped into the play for a great solo forecheck, hounding Drevitch and taking away her options for an outlet.
Caroline Wurzer
Winchendon, 8/9/2010, F, right shot, 5-8
Hometown: North Billerica, Mass.
Wurzer's strong details away from the puck and along the boards helped her consistently impact the play. She had a nice effort to beat out an icing early on before winning a battle for the puck down low to set up an extended attacking shift. Shortly after, on a counter rush, she got leverage against the defender driving to the slot to get a one-timer on net for a great look. Later, Wurzer took advantage of a sloppy exit, taking the loose puck and cutting to the slot for a quality shot. In 3-on-3, she made a great play along the boards to lift the stick and lean in with her shoulder to steal the puck and spark the rush the other way.
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Stella Madarese
Bishop Fenwick/Boston Junior Eagles, 2010, G, catches left
Hometown: Medford, Mass.
Madarese made some big-time saves against Grade-A looks, anticipating plays and reacting quickly. She made a huge save on Drevitch's backdoor one-timer from Kreuz before stoning Elliana Tabor on a breakaway, reading her perfectly. Shortly after, Madrese smartly poke-checked Maggie Grant's deke to her backhand in alone before reaching out her paddle and pad to deny multiple follow-ups on the loose puck. It was a hell of a sequence, and somehow, she made the saves.
Elliana Tabor
Thayer/Northeast Generals, 2010, F, right shot
Hometown: Pembroke, Mass.
Tabor's played a strong, high-compete game, especially down low in the offensive zone, where she won battles and knocked opponents off pucks. She had a great look on a breakaway and later set up Emma Burke's goal off the rush with a smart shot off the far pad for a rebound, which Burke buried. Later, Tabor had a tremendous effort down low to steal the puck after quickly closing down space for the puck carrier. After winning the puck, she swiveled it to the slot for a good chance.
Tenley Marengi
Lovell Academy, 7/15/2010, F, right shot, 5-6
Hometown: Salisbury, Mass.
Like Tabor, Marengi's strength was a big factor on Saturday. She consistently outmuscled opponents on the forecheck and kept plays alive with her ability to take away passing lanes, including early on when she took away time and space going into the corner. She forced a turnover and started the cycle, leading to an extended shift in the attacking zone for her team.
COMEBACK MENTALITY:Â How Phillips Exeter claimed its first NEPSAC title since 2000
Emma Burke
St. Paul's/Boston Junior Eagles, 8/8/2010, D, left shot, 5-9
Hometown: Braintree, Mass.
Burke defended with strong gaps and a quick stick, using her reach to her advantage in the neutral zone. She also chose her spots well to jump into the offense, including her goal off Tabor's rebound. Burke saw a lane to the net and made a beeline for the far post, putting herself in a perfect spot to bury the rebound on the 2-on-1.
