HAVERHILL, Mass. — The Haverhill Valley Forum was abuzz over the long weekend with women's college hockey prospects and impact players in girls prep hockey.
The CPC Columbus Day Showcase featured 12 total teams in both the U16 and U19 age groups.
Among the U19s, I caught the Valley Jr. Warriors U19 Tier 1s' tilt against the Boston Americans U19 Tier 1s on Saturday evening. On Sunday, I saw the Warriors take on the VJW U16 Tier 1s as well as the Americans against their U16 Tier 1 squad. Boston Hockey Academy, in its first season with a girls U19 AAA team, also took on both U16 squads.
There were plenty of college commits who impressed this weekend, be it Vermont-bound Phillips Exeter star Maria Gray, Northeastern commit and Phillips Andover junior Lilly McInerney (North Reading, Mass.) or Lawrence Academy standout Geena Cookinham (Gilmanton Ironworks, NH), who's headed to Norwich.
But what about the uncommitted players among the U19s? Let's dive into nine who stood out.
Addy Peel
Valley Jr. Warriors/New Hampton, 12/24/07, D, left shot, 5-11
Peel (Scarborough, Maine) was easily one of the best defenders I saw all weekend. She's impressed each time I've seen her play, between her size, skating, hockey sense and puck-moving ability. She's mobile, constantly has her head up and leads the rush effectively.
Peel dominated on Sunday. She set up VJW's best chance of the first period when she easily gained the offensive blue line, curled around the net and found her forward in the slot for a point-blank shot that somehow wouldn't go. She later made an excellent stretch pass as she curled around the net to hit Tess Mulkerron (Concord, NH) in stride for an easy exit and entry. Peel used her long reach to her advantage defending in transition, too. There was one play where she read Brooke Carlson (North Andover, Mass.) perfectly, stripped the puck and turned defense into offense as she led the rush. Peel also excelled at the point offensively, rotating into space out high and finding shooting lanes. She twice put herself into shooting lanes to rifle slap shots, the second of which was a snipe inside the left post for the go-ahead goal.
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Tess Mulkerron
Valley Jr. Warriors/St. Paul’s, 3/2/07, F, left shot, 5-5
Mulkerron, whose shot was noticeably heavier, had a strong weekend on a line with Keira Bruen (West Roxbury, Mass.). The two caused problems on the forecheck. The former opened the scoring on Saturday, finding a pocket of space in the slot for a cross-ice feed that she buried. She later showed nice anticipation, intercepting a breakout pass before driving to the net and should have drawn a penalty as she was taken down. On Sunday, she had a great back check to track down Carlson in an odd-numbered rush and easily break up the play. Mulkerron did a good job around the front of the net offensively again on Sunday. She had a great redirect chance in tight off a quick wrister from Peel.
Keira Bruen
Valley Jr. Warriors/Phillips Andover, 4/14/07, F, right shot, 5-10
Speaking of heavy releases, Bruen (West Roxbury, Mass.) is a factor offensively from that alone, plus her size and long reach. Her length allowed her to force turnovers and win battles on the forecheck, combining for a couple of chances with Mulkerron on Saturday after creating some chaos down low. Bruen had a nice individual effort after winning a puck battle at the defensive blue line, breaking free for a 1-on-1 into the offensive zone. She used her frame to shield the puck as she drove to the net, gaining leverage and putting a solid shot on net from a difficult angle and with a defender draped all over her.
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Gianna Holland
Boston Hockey Academy, Graduation: 2025, D, right shot
Holland (Malden, Mass.), formerly at Malden Catholic, excelled defending 1-on-1's in transition throughout the weekend. She was physical, usually kept tight gaps, had good stick positioning and knew when to step up. She had a nice sequence early on in Saturday's tilt, stepping up with a poke check to break up a rush. Later that shift, rather than skating into traffic on an exit, she pulled up, found an outlet and made a good breakout pass after seeing she had nothing on the near side. She later did a nice job while short-handed to outmuscle Cadence Crowley (North Reading, Mass.) in a 1-on-1 as she tried to weave into the slot before coming up with a big blocked shot later that shift.
Holland flashed some of her puck-moving ability on Sunday, but her defense stood out again. Her best play came when she caught up to Chandler Curtis on a breakaway and broke it up. It was a great recovery after getting burned at the blue line.
Kyleigh Matola
Boston Americans/Brooks, 2006, G, catches right
Matola (Coventry, R.I.) was one of the Americans' best players this weekend, making high-quality saves both times I saw her. She bailed her team out multiple times in Saturday's first period, first robbing Lily McTeague's (North Reading, Mass.) 1-on-1 opportunity after the latter intercepted a breakout pass. Later, she squeezed the five-hole on Ali Marsters' (Andover, Mass.) breakaway, sticking with her the whole way. She came through again versus Marsters after a breakdown led to an easy 2-on-1. It was more of the same on Sunday. Matola robbed Kiara Drake's (Ridgefield, Conn.) backhander after she danced into the slot. She was square and did a good job of using her body to make the positional stop before quickly recovering to smother the loose puck. She also made a strong shoulder save on Reagan Deery bearing down on her with a ton of speed and trying to go upstairs.
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Sydney Nelson
Boston Americans/Groton, 07/2007, D, left shot
Nelson (Lowell, Mass.) had a solid, tenacious two-way presence on the blue line. She made a great play on Saturday below her goal line, outmuscling a bigger matchup off the puck and jumpstarting the breakout. On Sunday, she had a strong gap and poke check to thwart Molly Halloran's rush despite a big speed mismatch. Offensively, Nelson had a good stretch pass to get a quick up early on before later making a nice chip to lead Abbie Poole (Wakefield, Mass.) into space for a clean exit as two forecheckers closed in on her. Nelson also set up a pair of good looks in tight for Parker Roenick (Exeter, NH), thanks to a quick, low shot through traffic.
Emersyn Carpenter
Boston Hockey Academy, 10/2/08, F, left shot
Carpenter (Westfield, Mass.) was a complete menace all weekend. She's big, fast and creates chaos on every shift. She got on VJW's nerves on Saturday, drawing a penalty after flying the offensive zone and getting hauled down with no call earlier. Her speed caused plenty of issues for the defense and helped her force turnovers. She scored in the third period, making a beeline for the net after Pahsesam Brown-Bear intercepted a pass. She found Carpenter, who flashed good hands in front and chipped it home. Carpenter was at it again on Sunday, be it using her speed to get back and cover for the defense after BHA got caught up ice early in the first, or later forcing a neutral zone turnover that led to a breakaway.
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Abbie Poole
Boston Americans/Malden Catholic, 2007, F, left shot
Poole's speed helped her stand out throughout the showcase. She has good acceleration, wins races and closes on pucks quickly. It helped her speed up the defense and disrupt breakouts. She set up an excellent opportunity for Cookinham on Sunday, feathering a puck to her at the blue line to lead her behind the defense and send her off on a quick counterattack.
Edith Hayes
Boston Hockey Academy, 9/22/07, F, left shot
Hayes (East Hartford, Conn.) made VJW pay for some lackadaisical puck movement out high on Saturday. She anticipated a D-to-D pass at the blue line, picked it off and got a breakaway, beating the goalie inside the left post with a quick release. The winger had a couple of solid strides to maintain separation from the defense. She made another steal out high later in the third at the end of a long shift, buying time in the neutral zone and getting it deep. Hayes had another Grade-A chance off the rush on Sunday, coming right off the bench and dangling around two defenders to the front of the net for a quality backhander.
