BEDFORD, Mass. – Defense was the name of the game at the Edge Sports Center on Sunday.
After a hard-fought, defensive battle, the 16U Mid Fairfield CT Stars and East Coast Wizards settled for a 1-1 draw in a New England Girls Hockey League clash.
Mid Fairfield struck first as Allison Sha opened the scoring with 4:55 to go in the first, burying a chance off the rush.
The Wizards answered when Yale commit Paisley Meyer (Greenland, N.H.) cashed in to the left of the net with 3:53 left in the second period.
Both defenses bent but didn't break the rest of the way as each came up with crucial penalty kills down the stretch.
Let's dive into nine uncommitted standouts from the NEGHL action.
Kamryn Moors
Mid Fairfield/Taft, 4/29/2010, D, left shot, 5-6
Hometown: Simsbury, Conn.
Moors was terrific defensively, playing mostly on a pair with Karli Charron (Darien, Conn.). Moors had a strong stick and limited plays to the middle. She had a great stick in the neutral zone in the second period to prevent a dangerous rush for the Wizards. Later, she showed terrific skating and edgework to keep pace with Mia Daley (Lynnfield, Mass.) through the neutral zone. Moors kept Daley in front of her and read her perfectly as she cut to the middle, breaking her up with a poke check.
Moors was also key to some critical penalty kills in the second and third periods. On a 5-on-3 at the end of the second, she blocked a shot in front of the net before motoring the other way and getting a great chance. It was a monster final shift as she won battles and helped kill time.
Karli Charron
Mid Fairfield/Choate, 2009, D, right shot, 5-8
Hometown: Darien, Conn.
Charron used her size effectively and showed good mobility on the back end. She had a couple of nice rushes to turn defense into offense, including one in the third after stripping the puck away inside the blue line and curling the other way, getting a good shot on net after the entry. In the second, Charron had a great stick to deny a home run pass from Mirella Martinelli (North Providence, R.I.) as she looked to hit Daley behind the defense.
Emily Hosman
Loomis Chaffee/Mid Fairfield, 3/16/2009, G, catches left, 5-10
Hometown: Ann Arbor, Mich.
Hosman shared the net with Taft's Alexandra Tombaugh, who played well herself. Hosman made quality saves against quality opportunities, and she stood tall against second-chance bids. Some of her best saves were early in the first when she denied Kelsey MacPherson (Hopkinton, Mass.) off the rush before her strong positioning at the top of the crease helped her stone Meyer's bids at the rebound.
PREP PREVIEWS: Nobles | Exeter | Cushing | Tabor | Groton | New Hampton | Andover | Dexter Southfield | BB&N | Williston Northampton | Loomis Chaffee
Kelsey MacPherson
East Coast Wizards/St. Paul’s, 11/12/2010, F, left shot, 5-8
Hometown: Hopkinton, Mass.
MacPherson played a powerful game in the offensive zone. She was fantastic down low, showing impressive strength on her stick, winning battles and working pucks low-to-high. She set up a great look for Meyer in the first, fighting through a stick check in the neutral zone to get in alone at the end of a long shift. MacPherson put a good shot on for a rebound, which went right to Meyer. Later in the first, MacPherson did a nice job of getting to the net and getting a good chance at a rebound.
Allison Sha
Mid Fairfield/Hotchkiss, 2009, F, left shot
Hometown: West Chester, Pa.
Sha got the scoring started when she finished off a great rush in the first period. The Stars got a fast break the other way off a defensive zone face-off. Sha made a beeline down the left wing and drove to the net as she got the puck entering the zone, finishing a quick shot blocker side.
Giuliana Polcari
East Coast Wizards/Tabor, 7/7/2010, F, left shot, 5-7
Hometown: Marshfield, Mass.
Like MacPherson, Polcari was a monster in the offensive zone, especially working the cycle and on the forecheck. She had several quality chances, too, including one in the second, when she found a lane alone in the slot, but her forehand-backhand bid wouldn't go. She had a great bid late, getting to the front of the net for several swipes at the puck, but Tombaugh held her ground.
Alexa Buco
Mid Fairfield/Loomis Chaffee, 1/8/2010, F, left shot, 5-6
Hometown: Cranston, R.I.
Buco used her size effectively and made heads-up plays in the neutral zone. One of those plays came on the rush in the lead-up to Sha's goal as she hustled to a 50/50 puck at center ice, bracing for contact as she tapped the puck perfectly into the lane for Sha to skate into.
BOYS PREVIEWS: Deerfield | St. George’s | Brunswick | Winchendon | Salisbury | Choate | Nobles | Kent | Holderness | Dexter Southfield | Berkshire | Tilton | Milton Academy | Belmont Hill
Jillian Limb
East Coast Wizards/Deerfield, 01/2010, D, right shot, 5-5
Hometown: Glenview, Ill.Â
Limb showed good decision-making and made effective breakout passes, playing with her head up throughout the game. In the first, she had a great poke check against Maria Gilshannon (Fairfield, Conn.), trying to dangle into the offensive zone. Limb got the puck and made a quick up to Daley to send the Wizards in on a 2-on-1.
Sienna Glass
East Coast Wizards/Phillips Andover, 02/2009, D, right shot, 5-6
Hometown: Andover, Mass.
Glass impressed with her quick decisions with the puck, moving it quickly on breakouts and at the point. She had a strong defensive sequence in the second, defending well in a 1-on-1 off the rush and forcing the play to the corner. Later, she sold out in the neutral zone, diving to prevent a breakaway off a giveaway.
