HAVERHILL, Mass. — There were no tricks nor treats, just hockey at the CPC Halloween Showcase.
Several top club programs and academies from around the region took to the ice at the Haverhill Valley Forum this past weekend in the U16 and U19 age groups.
I made it out to several games on Sunday morning with the top matchups being the Valley Jr. Warriors U16 Tier 1s taking on NAHA Red and the Jr. Warriors U19 Tier 1s facing off with NAHA Navy.
Here's the full list of teams I managed to see:
- Boston Americans U19 Tier 1
- Boston Americans U19 Tier 2
- Boston Hockey Academy
- CT Jr. Rangers U19
- Lady Devils U19 Tier 1
- NAHA Navy U19
- NAHA Red U16
- NH Mountain Cats
- Valley Jr. Warriors U19 Tier 1
- Valley Jr. Warriors U16 Tier 1
We got into some standout forwards from the day earlier this week. Now, let's dive into six defenders and goalies who impressed.
Gabby Smith
Valley Jr. Warriors U16/St. Paul's, 12/2009, D, right shot, 5-6
Hometown: Newburyport, Mass.
Smith was excellent in all three zones for the Jr. Warriors in their scoreless draw with NAHA Red. She did an excellent job as a puck carrier in transition, keeping her head up the whole way and finding skating lanes through the neutral zone. She did a good job of putting pucks into areas for her forwards to skate into and leading them with passes, including one for Cadence Crowley (North Reading, Mass.) through the middle for an easy entry and a good scoring chance. Smith also had really good spacing and gap control. She was in good spots to hold the blue line and never drifted too far back on regroups. She made a couple of good pinches, including one late where she won the puck with a stick lift and got a good look on a hard wrister from the top of the right circle.
STANDOUTS: 8 forwards who impressed at the CPC Halloween Showcase
Ellie Mehling
NAHA Red, 06/2008, D, left shot, 5-3
Hometown: Ballston Spa, NY
Mehling's mobility and instincts were impressive on the blue line. Her first few strides are explosive, allowing her to easily gain speed. She did a solid job quarterbacking the power play early, moving the puck quickly and decisively and rotating well. She got a nice scoring chance drifting in toward the left dot, one-timing a feed after Anne Gilbertson forced a turnover down low. Mehling returned the favor later, putting a quick wrister on net from the point. The rebound dropped right to Gilbertson for a terrific look in tight.
Zsuzsa Revesz
NAHA Navy, 8/17/2005, G, catches left, 5-5
Hometown: Debrecen, HUN
Revesz strung good saves together for NAHA Navy and was the biggest reason the U19 Jr. Warriors didn't get on the board sooner. She recovered well, which helped when her rebound control wasn't at its best early. Revesz pushed out to challenge Kelsey Baker on a second-chance opportunity in front off the rush early, getting a piece of it with her glove. She later made an amazing lunging save on a rebound that anybody would have had trouble corralling. She reacted quickly and got her pad on a tip in tight before making a huge push to her right to rob the second-chance bid.
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Luisa Ferrari
Boston Americans U19/Middlesex, Class of 2026, D, right shot
Hometown: Winchester, Mass.
Ferrari came through with an impressive game-winner for the U19 Americans against the CT Jr. Rangers. Ferrari jumped into the play down the right wall and curled around the net before turning and firing. She scored with an insane shot. It looked like the goalie had the post sealed, but Ferrari found just enough space between her right ear and the post, putting it off the post and in.
Nicole Bethune
NAHA Red, 2009, G, catches left
Hometown: Narragansett, R.I.
Bethune was strong for NAHA in their 0-0 tie with the U16 Jr. Warriors, and she was at her best down the stretch as she tried to preserve the clean sheet. She made an excellent glove save on Natasha Godfrey (Scarborough, Maine) off the rush, keeping her glove high and making a good push to her left to get into position. She came through again late with a quick reaction on a puck that changed direction right in front of her.
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Elizabeth Vincent
Valley Jr. Warriors U16/New Hampton, 2008, G, catches left
Like Bethune, Vincent and Cecilia Riff (Andover, Mass.) were each strong in the scoreless draw between the VJW U16s and NAHA Red. Vincent made several fantastic saves, and none were better than what might have been the best of the game in the second period. After a breakdown around her net led to a centering feed for a NAHA forward all alone in front, Vincent exploded off the left post and got her glove up quickly. She robbed the initial shot and somehow managed to smother other chances in the ensuing scramble.
