ROCKLAND, Mass. — Massachusetts’ best girls hockey players took over Lovell Arena this past weekend.
Mass. Hockey’s girls festival came down to its Final 40 across the 2008, 2009 and 2010 age groups.
Players will now be selected for USA Hockey’s National Development Camps in the summer. The Girls National 16/17 (2008/2009) and the Girls National 15 (2010) camps will be at Miami University (Ohio) in July. The U18 Women’s National Festival (2008-10) will be at the Northwood School in Lake Placid, N.Y., in August.
Last year, selections for each camp were released before the end of the month.
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.
Similar to the 2009s, many 2010 skaters who impressed at last month’s festival maintained their strong form through the Final 40.
Let’s dive into 10 standouts from the 2010s.
Madelyn Humber
St. Paul’s, 2010, D, left shot. 5-9
Hometown: Concord, Mass.
Humber was terrific all weekend, and she might have been the best player on the ice on Saturday. She pushed the pace in transition, knew when to jump into the play and showed strong skating when she led the rush. Early on in Saturday's session, Humber used a good burst of speed to her advantage and led a good rush through the neutral zone. Later, she led a smooth breakout. Skating out from behind her net, Humber put a hard pass on Francie Ames' (Brookline, Mass.) tape in stride, sending her down the ice with numbers.
Francie Ames
Nobles, 5/25/2010, F, right shot
Hometown: Brookline, Mass.
Ames' knack of getting into the scoring areas led to some strong chances on both days. On Saturday, she drew a penalty after circling back and weaving through the neutral zone on a regroup, getting hauled down as she entered the zone. She should have scored on an ensuing breakaway, pump-faking on her forehand before going backhand. It somehow wouldn't go. Ames scored a beauty in Sunday, shaking off a back check in the neutral zone before walking in 1-on-1 and scoring with a heavy wrister from the top of the circle.
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Chloe Rabazzi
Dexter Southfield, 9/2/2010, D, left shot
Hometown: Burlington, Mass.
Rabazzi had some great pinches in the offensive zone to keep plays alive on both days, including one on Sunday in which she cut off Cassie Ling (Needham, Mass.) and easily stole the puck to ramp up the pressure. Later, she did a nice job defending a 1-on-1 rush against Ames, maintaining a strong gap and easily blocking her shot. Rabazzi, a standout at Burlington High the last two seasons, will head to Dexter Southfield.
Lydia Kealty
Thayer, 2010, F, left shot
Hometown: Norfolk, Mass.
Kealty got better as Saturday went on, driving play up the ice more. Late in the session, she broke free in the neutral zone and drove right to the net for a good chance. On Sunday, Kealty's strong puck-pursuit showed as she won the puck back in the corner and sent a feed right to Caroline Kreuz (Worcester, Mass.) at the far post for a great look.
Vanessa Hall
Phillips Andover, 1/19/2010, D, left shot, 5-3
Hometown: Saugus, Mass.
Hall was solid in all three zones over the weekend. On Saturday, she made a great effort to get back and cut off Hailey Tabb (Wilbraham, Mass.), preventing a shot off the counter rush after getting caught up ice. Hall later made a good read to pinch at the attacking blue line. On Sunday, Hall anticipated an outlet pass in the neutral zone, intercepting it and driving back into the zone for a hard shot in the high slot. It led to an offensive zone draw for her squad.
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Maggie Chudzinski
Dexter Southfield, 4/3/2010, D, right shot, 5-8
Hometown: Needham, Mass.
Chudzinski worked well at the point with both Rabazzi and Liz Levering (Westwood, Mass.). Chudzinski was at her best on Sunday. She had a good pinch at the point, winning the puck back and curling around before finding Tabb through a seam at the far post for a good chance. Later, Chudzinski had a terrific shift to set up Kelsey MacPherson's (Hopkinton, Mass.) goal. Chudzinski was a one-person breakout, jumping into the play at the other end. After a stop-and-start at the point opened up the other side of the ice, she drove through the lane and dangled to her backhand before slipping a perfect feed to MacPherson for a tap-in.
Kelsey MacPherson
St. Paul’s, 11/12/2010, F, left shot, 5-8
Hometown: Hopkinton, Mass.
MacPherson had a good day on Sunday and was rewarded with an easy goal off Chudzinski's beautiful effort. It was good awareness by MacPherson to find a sliver of open space around the net en route to the goal. She also had some strong back-checking efforts throughout the day, including one late in which she cut off the puck-carrier and lifted the stick to kill a counter rush. MacPherson, who stood out as an eighth-grader in the MIAA this season, will head to St. Paul's.
Giuliana Polcari
Tabor, 7/7/2010, F, left shot, 5-7
Hometown: Marshfield, Mass.
Polcari showed powerful strides and good speed, which allowed her to create offense in transition throughout the weekend. She worked give-and-go's well, especially on Saturday. She had one in particular with Jennavieve Henley (Whitman, Mass.) to gain the zone with possession and set up a chance for Henley before Tabb buried the rebound. On Sunday, Polcari broke free through the neutral zone for another nice chance that wouldn't go.
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Emma Burke
St. Paul's, 2010, D, left shot, 5-9
Hometown: Braintree, Mass.
Burke got better as the weekend went on, playing more assertively and using her size and reach to her advantage more often in matchups in the defensive and neutral zones. The former Notre Dame (Hingham) standout, now headed for St. Paul's, also showed good touch on some quick, heavy shots from long range.
Vienna Noble
Dexter Southfield, 2010, G, catches left, 5-6
Hometown: Hingham, Mass.
Noble made some excellent saves on both days, taking good angles against shooters and reacting quickly. Two of her best stops came on Saturday as she somehow robbed Ames on the breakaway with a last-ditch effort before later denying her with a lunging glove save on a one-timer from the slot.
