TYNGSBORO, Mass. — The fall hockey season is back in full swing.
NEGHL action kicked off this weekend with top club programs around the region taking the ice. On Sunday, I made the trip to Skate 3 in Tyngsboro to catch the 19U Tier 1 Islanders' 3-2 win over the Northeast Generals 19Us.
Austin Prep was all over the win as Sarah Sampson (Wilmington, Mass.) scored the eventual game-deciding goal for the Islanders, while Alex Herbert (Reading, Mass.) was stout in the crease protecting the one-goal lead.
AP's Maeve Lomasney (Andover, Mass.) opened the scoring for the Islanders, swiping in a loose puck in a scramble around the crease five minutes into the opening frame. Emmie Lembcke answered for the Generals as time wound down in the first, going top shelf with a long-range wrister.
Hannah Macron restored the lead for the Islanders when she buried her own rebound on a bang-bang wraparound chance in front early in the second. Cora Buzzard tied it for the Generals three minutes later with a wrister from the left circle.
Sampson struck with six minutes left in the second, scoring inside the left post for the go-ahead goal. From there, Herbert held it down in net.
Let's dive into nine standouts from the game.
Mya Polastry
Islanders/Westminster, 3/6/2008, F, left shot, 5-9
Hometown: West Springfield, Mass.
Polastry was a terrific play-driver for the Islanders all game. She saw the ice well, was smooth on her edges and strong on her feet. She did a good job carrying the puck through neutral ice, weaving through traffic and creating space with some nice cut-backs. In the third, she had two great looks with wristers from the top of the left circle off of face-off wins, smartly using defenders as screens. Polastry played a big part in Macron's second-period goal, too, cutting off the defender behind the net and helping to force a turnover before Macron wheeled in front.
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Sarah Sampson
Islanders, Austin Prep, 11/2/07, F, right shot, 5-3
Hometown: Wilmington, Mass.
Sampson's line with Ashley Loeber (Weston, Mass.) and Katherine Tarr (Manchester, N.H.) was one of the best on the ice from start to finish, and Sampson was at the center of it. She created chances in transition and fed off her linemates well. She came alive in the second, starting early on when she hounded the defender on the forecheck to win the puck before eventually putting a tap pass right on the money for Tarr in the slot. On her goal, Sampson got the puck at the top of the right circle, quickly deked around a defender and put a quick shot inside the left post. She had another strong look right after on a 2-on-1 with Tarr, too.
Cora Buzzard
Northeast Generals/St. George’s, 3/12/2007, F, right shot, 5-3
Hometown: Branford, Conn.
Buzzard scored a great goal to pull the Generals even in the second period. After the Generals came away with the puck in a battle out high, the puck found Buzzard at the top of the left circle. She wasted no time and ripped a wrister perfectly to the top right corner through traffic. It was a pretty goal. Shortly after, she got another opportunity on a shorthanded breakaway, taking advantage of an Islanders miscue.
Abby Mackintire
Northeast Generals/Tabor, F, right shot, 5-3
Hometown: Westborough, Mass.
Mackintire impressed with her high compete and strong pace throughout the game. She made a difference on the forecheck and in the neutral zone, winning races and being hard on pucks. She had two strong chances in the third, too. The first was a good snap shot in stride that Herbert got a piece of with her stick. The second was a backhand bid on a drive to the net late.
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Ashley Loeber
Islanders/Nobles, Class of 2026, F, right shot
Hometown: Weston, Mass.
Loeber started strong and made an impact in all three zones with Sampson, finding passing lanes and hitting her teammates on the tape. She set up Sampson early on off the rush with a nice touch pass as they entered the zone. The two almost combined again moments later after forcing a turnover out high before Loeber put a quality shot on net with the rebound popping right to Sampson. Loeber wasn't afraid to do the dirty work defensively either, bringing high compete and blocking shots, including a hard slap shot that clearly stung in the first period.
Madelyn Andrade
Northeast Generals/Tilton, Class of 2027, G, catches left, 5-5
Hometown: Plymouth, Mass.
Andrade got the first half of the game in net, splitting the crease with Bishop Stang's Vivienne Melo (Westport, Mass.). Andrade was strong early, moving well, anticipating and tracking pucks well from distance. She had Sampson and Loeber's numbers early and made a fantastic glove save on Polastry's top-shelf bid later in the frame.
Hannah Macron
Islanders/St. Mark's, Class of 2026, F, right shot
Hometown: Smithtown, N.Y.
Macron had a tremendous effort on her goal. She chipped the puck behind the net as she led the rush, combining with Polastry on the forecheck to force a turnover. Macron immediately swiveled to the front of the net, trying to jam it by Andrade. Andrade met her at the top of the crease and made the initial pad save, but the rebound kicked right back to Macron's stick as she reached around on the forehand for the goal. Later in the third, Macron had a great back-check, stealing the puck, curling back through traffic and finding an outlet.
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Emmie Lembcke
Northeast Generals/Worcester Academy, Class of 2026, D, right shot
Hometown: Kennewick, Wash.
Lembcke scored a nice goal in a key moment for the Generals, tying it toward the end of the first. She did a good job of shading toward her defense partner out high to make herself available before getting more toward the middle for a better shooting lane. She fired a quick wrister on net that had eyes, finding the top shelf.
Alex Herbert
Austin Prep, Class of 2026, G, catches left, 5-6
Hometown: Reading, Mass.
Herbert made some strong pad saves throughout the game, and she was at her best in the third as the Generals pushed for an equalizer. She was sound positionally, which showed when she easily stoned Mackintire's backhand bid in tight, and she made a terrific save pushing left-to-right on a bang-bang play off the rush moments earlier.
