ROCKLAND, Mass. — Fall hockey season is officially here.
The NAHA Labor Day tournament took over the Bay State this weekend with droves of players, parents and teams spending the unofficial last weekend of the summer in area rinks.
I spent Friday and Saturday focused on the U19 and U16 divisions. Of course, it’s not possible to see everybody in a field so large, but I did my best to cover as much ground as I could.
Among the U16s, I caught the Mass. Spitfires against Stanstead College on Friday morning at Lovell Rink. On Saturday, I focused on NAHA Red against Team Colorado, Lovell Academy against the Minuteman Lady Flames and the Bay State Breakers against the MN Jr. Whitecaps Black.
Earlier this week, we took a look at 11 uncommitted U19 players who stood out. Now, let's take a look at the U16 standouts from the weekend.
Kaylee Mandeville
NAHA Red, 09/2008, D, left shot, 5-6
Mandeville (Uxbridge, Mass.) played such a smart game in all three zones. She was good on breakouts and regroups, making strong first passes, knowing when to skate it herself and identifying a few seams for some good stretch passes. She's a smooth skater and good on her edges, which helped her easily avoid forechecking pressure. Mandeville did an excellent job quarterbacking the power play in the first period, getting shots through to the net and setting up Abby Richardson's dangerous redirect chance with a shot-pass to the side of the net. The blue-liner also knew when to take her chances. She made a great play in the third to hold the blue line, dance around the defense and get a good shot on net for an offensive zone face-off. She finished with two goals and three assists in five games.
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Chyna Taylor
Lovell Academy, 7/10/09, D, left shot, 5-6
Taylor dominated in Lovell's win over the Lady Flames. She was one of the best puck-movers I saw all weekend, and her pair with Mirella Martinelli (North Providence, R.I.) was fantastic. It was like watching the Harlem Globetrotters when the two of them were running the show in the offensive zone for Lovell as the Lady Flames hardly touched the puck. Taylor frequently took over shifts offensively, thanks to her powerful skating and good offensive IQ on top of a quick, heavy shot. She helped set up Caroline Clark's (Marshfield, Mass.) power-play goal with fantastic puck movement out high off the face-off with Martinelli. Taylor had four helpers in six games.
Maddie Lahah
Mass. Spitfires/St. George’s, 2008, F, right shot, 5-6
Lahah (North Attleboro, Mass.) had it going for the Spitfires on a line with Devon Moore (Milton, Mass.) and Jaelyn Trudell (Andover, Mass.). The St. George's forward played a solid 200-foot game and looked a step quicker from the Wizards Showcase earlier this summer. She got a great chance early on thanks to a slick feed from Moore, which came after good forechecking pressure by Lahah. She later generated a good rush off a broken play at the defensive blue line, getting a good shot on net and an offensive zone face-off. Lahah frequently got to the net-front, and it paid off when she opened the scoring in front from Alex Gregorek (North Attleboro, Mass.). The former also nearly combined with Trudell in the third, setting her up with a no-look backhand feed to the slot. Lahah had seven points (six assists) in five games.
Devon Moore
Mass. Spitfires/Dexter Southfield, 02/2008, F, right shot, 5-3
Moore (Milton, Mass.) was a lot for Stanstead's defenders to handle on Saturday, causing problems on the forecheck and setting up some dangerous looks. Early on, she intercepted a breakout pass before looking off a defender and setting Lahah up with a fantastic no-look dish into the slot, but the shot wouldn't go. She later made a heads-up play to find Trudell making a break for the net, hitting her with a good cross-ice pass before the shot rang the post. In the third, Moore stripped the puck from a defender in the slot and put a good backhander on net.
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Maggie Wheldon
Bay State Breakers/Groton, 2027, G, catches left
Wheldon (Sandwich, Mass.) was nearly unbeatable in the Breakers' 1-0 loss to the Whitecaps on Saturday, and she and Barbara Ma were likely the biggest reasons it was only a 1-0 loss. Wheldon got the second half of the game, and was at her best down the stretch in the third period. She did a great job of getting out to the top of her crease to challenge shooters as well as fighting through pressure around her. One of her best saves came off a big right-to-left push to stone a cross-crease chance shortly after entering the game.
In the third, Wheldon had a huge three-save sequence to keep it scoreless to that point, making a big pad save on a chance in the high slot before scrambling to stop back-to-back rebound chances in tight. She later stuffed Sydney Boss Krohn's backhand in tight on a bang-bang play. Wheldon also came through with a great glove save through traffic even after taking contact in the crease.
Mirella Martinelli
Lovell Academy, 3/28/09, D, right shot, 5-4
Martinelli was so good with Taylor against the Lady Flames. She made quick decisions and smart plays in the offensive zone, doing a good job of pinching and keeping pucks in to sustain pressure. Her vision was a major strength once again, and it was on display when she set up Clark on the power play. After some movement with Taylor out high, Martinelli fired a perfect cross-ice feed through a seam into a perfect spot for Clark to catch and shoot for the tally. The blue-liner had a goal and four assists in six games.
Mia MacDonald
Mass. Spitfires/Rivers, 2028, D, right shot
MacDonald (Walpole, Mass.) had a great game moving the puck and leading transition against Stanstead. She looked so much more confident and assertive compared to when I saw her back in July. She was good on her feet early on, spinning off pressure on the breakout before banking an indirect pass through the neutral zone for a clean zone entry. There was also a rush early on where she made a great play to step up, using her long reach and body to break it up. MacDonald finished with a pair of goals in five games.
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Courtney Shifrin
Minuteman Lady Flames/Lawrence Academy, 2027 F, right shot, 5-6
Shifrin (Southborough, Mass.) played a strong defensive game for the Flames, who spent much of the game against Lovell in their own zone. She used her size to her advantage in battles around the net and along the boards. Shifrin, a former MIAA standout at Algonquin-Hudson who will head to Lawrence Academy this season, was excellent at the face-off dot overall, and she won five straight to start.
