MARLBORO, Mass. — This summer's Beantown Classic is in the books.
The last three days had some of the best prospects in New England, across the country and even Canada flock to Massachusetts for one of the summer’s biggest girls hockey showcases.
This past weekend, in particular, featured 158 teams across five different divisions — Futures Red 19U, Futures Blue 19U/16U, College Elite, Super Series and Futures 2009 (10).
I spent Saturday and Sunday focused on the Futures Red 19U division, which featured 58 teams. It's safe to say that I couldn’t see everyone play. I set up shop at the trusty New England Sports Center in Marlboro to take in several games on Saturday before catching the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship on Sunday.
There was a lot of high-quality hockey and prospects. In the end, the Wade Warriors shut out Stanstead College, 1-0, to win the title on Sunday.
Many prospects who are already in the collegiate ranks or have commitments in hand showed out, but what about those who've yet to find landing spots or those who still aren't eligible to commit?
Earlier this week, we broke down 12 uncommitted forwards who impressed. Let's get into 12 uncommitted defenders and goalies who stood out over the weekend.
Chelsea Bell
Boston Jr. Eagles/St. Paul's, 10/17/06, D, left shot, 5-6
Hometown: Barre, Vt.
Bell played a steady game on the blue line for the Jr. Eagles against Northwood on Friday, showcasing her smooth skating. She had a good stick at the defensive blue line throughout the game, including late when she broke up a couple of entries for Northwood, one of which would have led to a 2-on-1.
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Renee Lapointe
Tropics Black/Durham West Jr. Lightning, 7/28/09, D, left shot, 5-7
Hometown: Barrie, ON
Lapointe was one of the best skaters I saw all weekend. She had great hands and vision inside the offensive blue line, unafraid to dangle or make a move out high to open a lane to skate in, shoot or pass. She had one great sequence on a power play against Nichols on Saturday, baiting the forward into drifting too high toward the boards before spinning away from the pressure. It opened all sorts of options to the net, making a slick feed to the slot for a chance. Lapointe had some strong defensive plays as well, maintaining a good stick and doling out some physicality.
Mirella Martinelli
Boston Lady Whalers/Tabor, 3/28/2009, D, right shot, 5-4

Hometown: North Providence, R.I.
Martinelli saw the ice very well in the offensive zone for the Lady Whalers against the Tropics on Sunday. She made some terrific plays on the power play, including some good keep-ins and a fantastic cross-ice setup for Mya Polastry (West Springfield, Mass.) at the left post. Martinelli also featured a heavy, accurate wrist shot from distance.
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Jayden Russo
Tropics Black/Rice Memorial High, 2008, D, left shot, 5-4
Hometown: Northfield, Vt.
Russo was solid in all three zones and made good first passes on breakouts for the Tropics on Saturday and Sunday. She had some good plays with her stick on Saturday as Nichols mounted early pressure. She later had a slick cutback out high in the offensive zone. It opened a lane to the net, which she took, putting a quick wrister on goal.
Sophia Lind
CT Polar Bears/Choate, 2008, D, left shot, 5-6
Hometown: Madison, Conn.
Lind impressed with her skating ability and knack for effectively leading transition through the neutral zone on Saturday against the Moe Hockey 19Us. She consistently identified skating lanes and gained the offensive zone with possession. Her backward skating also helped her effectively defend the rush.
Gabby Ogunnupe
CT Polar Bears/Berkshire, 4/29/09, D, left shot, 5-8
Hometown: St. Albert, AB
Ogunnupe was effective using her size, easily shielding the puck from pressure and creating space for herself when skating it out. She won battles down low, and one of her best plays came defending the rush against Moe Hockey 19U. She reacted quickly and got her stick on a centering feed to the far post, preventing a likely goal.
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Annabelle Grenon
Stanstead College, 1/6/09, D, right shot, 5-6
Hometown: Gatineau, QC
Grenon wasn't flashy, but played a solid overall game on both Saturday and Sunday. She made a great play on Lilly McInerney (North Reading, Mass.) in Stanstead's tilt versus the NA Elite Golds on Saturday. Grenon smartly stepped up at the blue line and made a good stick check to prevent a potential breakaway after Stanstead got caught with numbers up ice. In the quarterfinals against the HotShots on Sunday, Grenon was good defending 1-on-1s in transition. She kept good gaps and came up with some good shot blocks.
Amy Wang
CT Polar Bears/Hill School, Class of 2026, G, catches left, 5-5
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
Wang made several quality saves on high-danger looks around the net and in middle ice against the Moe Hockey 19Us. She took good angles, and she was quick, yet controlled, moving in the crease. One of her best stops came on Reese Peroutka dangling to the crease. Peroutka tried to go forehand-backhand to reach around the pad. Wang stayed with her the whole way and stretched out the right pad to stone her.
Ava D'Alessandro
HotShots/Stanstead College, 4/14/09, G, catches right, 5-7
Hometown: Peterborough, ON
D'Alessandro was sensational for the Hotshots in their quarterfinal and semifinal games on Sunday, despite falling to Stanstead in the semis. She constantly came up with huge saves in huge moments, smothered pucks, controlled rebounds and got whistles. One of her best stops came on a late penalty kill. She made the initial save on a shot from the high slot. Stanstead kept with it and fed Zoe Charland at the left hash for a one-timer. D'Alessandro sprawled to the top of the crease and flat-out robbed Charland with the glove. She was the biggest reason the HotShots held Stanstead off for as long as they did. She had Rosalie Tremblay's number in overtime, and it took a perfect shot to the top-right corner from Charland to beat her in OT.
Charlotte McFadzean
NA Elite Gold/Deerfield, 8/18/07, D, right shot, 5-8
Hometown: Montreal, QC
McFadzean was good around the net and below the dots in the defensive zone for the NA Elite Gold on Saturday. She used her reach and size effectively in battles. She also got a great look between the dots on a setup from Kelsey Baker (Concord, Mass.), recognizing a lane and making herself available as she jumped into the play.
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Calleigh Campanelli
Boston Lady Whalers/Mount St. Charles, 2009, D, left shot
Hometown: Woonsocket, R.I.
Campanelli got one of the Lady Whalers' best looks of the game in the quarterfinals against the Tropics on Sunday. She had a burst of speed off a defensive-zone face-off, jumping through a seam and winning the race to the puck. She was off to the races on a partial break, showcasing good speed and puck protection with a defender bearing down on her to create a chance for herself.
Jade Wilson
Stanstead College, 11/12/08, G, catches left
Hometown: Trois-Rivières, QC
Wilson was fantastic in the finals for Stanstead despite the loss, and she was the biggest reason it was only a 1-o loss. She was strong amid a heavy barrage of pressure from the Wade Warriors, steering rebounds to the corners, taking away the lower half of the net and cutting down angles by being aggressive in the crease. She wasn't tested a ton in the semis but made key saves whenever called upon, too. In the finals, Wilson made several sensational saves pushing left to right. She blockered away a bid for Sage Smith at the left post of a ridiculous feed from Jane Daley (Medfield, Mass.). Later, Wilson stoned Evelyn Doyle (Needham, Mass.) on a 3-on-2 with Tina Scalese (West Boylston, Mass.) and Chloe Brinson. Wilson beat Doyle to the left post with the pad before stoning her rebound bid as well in a bang-bang play.
