MARLBOROUGH, Mass. — Some of the best players in the state descended on the New England Sports Center last weekend.
Mass. Hockey’s girls festival came down to its Final 40 across the 2007, 2008 and 2009 age groups.
Players will now be selected for USA Hockey’s National Development Camps in the summer. The Girls Select 16/17 (2007/2008) and the Girls Select 15 (2009) camps will be at Miami University (Ohio) in July. The Girls Under-18 Select (2006-2008) camp will be at the Northwood School in Lake Placid, N.Y., in August.
A friendly reminder, Massachusetts is its own district in the eyes of USA Hockey. Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont make up the New England District. The NE District will hold its girls development camp May 10-12 at NESC.
Let’s dive into six 2008-born skaters who stood out at the Final 40.
Emma Cerruti
Shattuck-St. Mary’s U16, 2/11/2008, D, right shot, 5-8
Hometown: Norwell, Mass.
Cerruti was a dynamic presence on defense both Friday and Saturday, largely due to her speed. She has quick strides and generates a lot of speed, which helped her start transition quickly from her own end, whether skating the puck up herself or leading the breakout with a good first pass. She defended hard and physically, too, dolling out some punishment around her net and along the boards in battles.
STANDOUTS: 6 standout ’09 players from Mass. Hockey girls Final 40
Tina Scalese
Groton, 1/17/2008, F, right shot, 5-3
Hometown: West Boylston, Mass.
Scalese is a mature, cerebral player, and it showed on Saturday. She made a nice move around a defender to get the puck to the high slot before finding Groton teammate Jaelyn Trudell with a perfect pash at the hashmark for a one-time goal. Scalese also combined with Phillips Andovers' Kimee Duplessis (Framingham, Mass.) for a sweet give-and-go goal. She regrouped in the neutral zone with a ton of speed, found Duplessis jumping into the play and made a beeline through middle ice. Duplessis found her in front all alone for an easy goal. Scalese was excellent at the face-off dot all weekend, too.
Erin Flaherty
St. Paul's, 6/2008, F, right shot, 5-4
Hometown: Boston, Mass.
Coming off a 14-assist (17-point) freshman season at St. Paul's, Flaherty showcased her prowess as a playmaker, creating chances for her linemates all weekend. She made a clever backhand touch pass to Berkshire's Alexandra Gregorek (North Attleboro, Mass.) streaking up the middle of the neutral zone for a breakaway goal. On Saturday, she made a nice self-pass off the boards to beat a defender 1-on-1 in the neutral zone, blowing by with strong strides and gaining the offensive zone with possession.
Ava Decourcey
Nobles, 7/2008, D, right shot, 5-6
Hometown: Rockland, Mass.
Decourcey, who will head to Nobles after standing out at Tilton the last two seasons, was strong in all three zones this weekend. She knew when to be assertive and pinch in the offensive zone. Defensively in transition, she's effective with her reach, too, with strong stick positioning and gap control, keeping opponents to the outside. She did a good job in the neutral zone too, showing good awareness, stepping up to kill plays and starting the counterattack, especially on Friday.
NEW ENGLAND DISTRICT: 302 players to try out at NE District girls festival May 10-12
Devon Moore
Dexter Southfield, 2/2008, F, right shot, 5-3
Hometown: Milton, Mass.
Moore showcased a strong shot and powerful strides, which helped her close down space on puck carriers both on the forecheck and backcheck. On Friday, she lost the puck out high in the offensive zone, but with a couple of strong strides, she caught up and won the puck back before dancing through several defenders for a strong look on net. She'll head to Dexter Southfield next season after a big sophomore season with Notre Dame (Hingham) in the MIAA.
Julia Lambert
Cushing, 7/1/2008, F, right shot, 5-4
Hometown: Wilmington, Mass.
Lambert's hockey IQ and positioning were impressive. She made a great individual play on Friday. In a clunky cycle out high, Lambert opted to regroup in the neutral zone. It opened up more space through the middle of the ice. She took the lane, motored into the offensive zone and scored with a nice five-hole shot. Not a lot of players would have bailed out to look for a better play in that situation. She made the smarter play, and it led to a goal.
