Girls Prep Hockey

[ref11]

Thank you, found what I needed.

It's all about the educational opportunities :cool:

[toots]

Not surprised. This is a really tight year for the preps. I have not seen anyone who can not be beaten on any given day. Next to fall Berkshire?

Berkshire School lost to Lawrence Academy this afternoon, 5-1. Only goal they scored was on a penalty shot.

[NHDad]

Berkshire School lost to Lawrence Academy this afternoon, 5-1. Only goal they scored was on a penalty shot.

Sounds like a very good win!
This begs the question....what the heck happened on Friday?

This victory, coupled with the your result from the BB&N game on Friday, is really creating confusion. Some other surprises from the weekend include Loomis beating Pomfret and Deerfield tying Taft. It just goes to show that there is a great deal of parity among the top 10.

I can't wait to see what happens the rest of the way!

[coolsports]

This season is going down to the wire. I would not count out any team at this point in time. I will ask the question again. Is it parity or a leveling off of the talent pool.

[Quakers16U]

Any comments on the Nichols School? We are headed up to Buffalo to play them and the Bisons this weekend. I know a lot of players play for both teams, anything else?

[whfan]

This season is going down to the wire. I would not count out any team at this point in time. I will ask the question again. Is it parity or a leveling off of the talent pool.

coolsports,

You seem to be content to continue to ask this question until you get the opinion that agree's with your own, which I suspect is that the talent pool is leveling off. Going by some of your past posts, you seem to be looking for the girl who you can champion as the next big thing. Meanwhile, there are some talented players playing their butts off night after night that your missing because your looking for the one player who can dazzle you and take it end to end every night. Stop straining your neck looking for the next superstar, and enjoy the hardnosed team hockey that is being played around the prep school rinks in New England. Knowing that any team can win on any given night is a good thing, especially if the games are well played by both teams.

[toots]

Knowing that any team can win on any given night is a good thing, especially if the games are well played by both teams.

A very entertaining and nail-biting hockey game tonight between Lawrence and Nobles. 0-0 tie.
I won't offer my biased opinions, but I can say the Ds and goalies on both ends kept the forwards off the board, so they did a lot of things right. Although no one walked away "happy."

[Black Bear]

Any comments on the Nichols School? We are headed up to Buffalo to play them and the Bisons this weekend. I know a lot of players play for both teams, anything else?

I saw Brewster beat them at Deerfield back in December. They have good size, lot's of overall team speed and they spread the ice and move the puck very well. I thought that they were a good team, one of the better teams that Brewster has met this year.

[coolsports]

coolsports,

You seem to be content to continue to ask this question until you get the opinion that agree's with your own, which I suspect is that the talent pool is leveling off. Going by some of your past posts, you seem to be looking for the girl who you can champion as the next big thing. Meanwhile, there are some talented players playing their butts off night after night that your missing because your looking for the one player who can dazzle you and take it end to end every night. Stop straining your neck looking for the next superstar, and enjoy the hardnosed team hockey that is being played around the prep school rinks in New England. Knowing that any team can win on any given night is a good thing, especially if the games are well played by both teams.

I think I only asked it two times and the resason I revisited this question has as much to do with someone else asking the very same question as does the overall tightness of the league. I just not sure it is about parity.

In another thread someone just mention that this years recruit totals are down so far. While we have seeing good hockey and many talented girls are busting their butts I do look for the standout. IMO the only one that fits that bill is a junior at Chote- Knight. She is your superstar and she is fun to watch. But who else is at this level?

[ref11]

IMO the only one that fits that bill is a junior at Chote- Knight. She is your superstar and she is fun to watch. But who else is at this level?[/QUOTE]

Agree with Knight @ Choate. Have seen here play 12+ times in the last two years. I would swap her for Parsons in a heartbeat (that could be another thread / tangent). Problem is Choate's game plan seem to be "get the puck to Knight" and there is no balance with the other players. As a result she does not share the puck (IMO) as often as she should.

Regarding balance, I would say Lawrence has the best balanced attack I have seen this year. Very solid through the first two lines /defense. I have also seen three times Nobles, very good, but a bit off from prior years. Still top 5.

Cushing is having a down year. Not sure why as recruiting has never been a problem there.
:cool:

[coolsports]

IMO the only one that fits that bill is a junior at Chote- Knight. She is your superstar and she is fun to watch. But who else is at this level?

Agree with Knight @ Choate. Have seen here play 12+ times in the last two years. I would swap her for Parsons in a heartbeat (that could be another thread / tangent). Problem is Choate's game plan seem to be "get the puck to Knight" and there is no balance with the other players. As a result she does not share the puck (IMO) as often as she should.

Regarding balance, I would say Lawrence has the best balanced attack I have seen this year. Very solid through the first two lines /defense. I have also seen three times Nobles, very good, but a bit off from prior years. Still top 5.

Cushing is having a down year. Not sure why as recruiting has never been a problem there.
:cool:[/QUOTE]

Agree with you on Choate. Knight also seems to be playing out of position. IMO she is a natural center.

I also would swap Knight for Parson's. Again IMO I don't think it is as close as some will say if only based on natural ability and work ethic. Only knock on Knight would be the mental development to the game. Once she learns to feel pressure and utilize her team a bit more she is going to get to that next level.

IMO I would have taken her to Turin if only to get her in the mix. Besides I believe she would give some of the girls a run for their money. (I can hear some of the comments already.)

[Icelady9]

I agree with Hillary Knight, I 'm big on Choate too. Hillary is a blooming star and will swallow up the preps next year. Hillary is just coming into her own this past year or two, just under Ben's radar. I think you have to put Micaela Long from Pomfret up at the top of the list as well. Long is half the size but twice the skill. Were you at the Choate vs. Pomfret game? If so, you know exactly what I mean. UNH has themselves a national talent coming their way, McClosky, who was at that game, bagged the prize of the class of 2006. Choate has the mentality of "get the puck to Hillary" which will probably get them into the final 4 of the New Englands. I've seen Pomfret, they appear IMO just the opposite -- little cohesion, few passes. They have 1/2 dozen girls going D1, all of whom are trying as individuals to make a statement; they'll make the final cut if cohesion comes their way. I'll take the final NE 4 to be Lawrence, Berhshire, Pomfret, then either Choate or Nobles.

I agree with your assessment of Lawrence too, great balance, exciting to watch. If you happened to see the Lawrence vs. Nobles game, you seen one of the finest games of the year. Two extremely talented teams, equally balanced, head to head, up and down, such a treat to watch.

Its tough being in agreement with you again, but your right on with Parsons. She's a very talented player but wasn't the best in the preps last year or would be this year. She's very fortunate to have the support group behind her. She will benefit from the year training with the US Olympic team, so I'm looking for the newer Greener version of Parsons next year at Dartmouth.

[STOPPER130]

In Reference to the remark that Cushing is having a down year, I would have to agree. Have watched this team for many years, but this years freshman don't compare to previous years (recruiting might really not have happened last fall) and and the veterans don't seem to be moving up to the plate that was left empty by Lawler. Doesn't seem to be much coaching going on on the bench either.

It seems this team was built around single players for at least the last couple years, and the rest of the team simply let them pull most of the weight. So, now they themselves aren't scoring, and they're lost for some kind of structure and the goalies are left to try and pick up the pieces. They are struggling big time and there aren't many happy faces after a tie or losing game. Hopefully there is still some fun being had. One can only hope that this doesn't happen at Choate in a year or two.

Coaching by far has to be "the hot commodity" these days, because the competition amongst players is getting stronger. Sure recruit and keep the team strong and fresh but coach them to be strong and fresh on the ice.

[Black Bear]

I've only seen Hillary Knight play one time, in Brewster's win over Choate in the Deerfield tournament, but she caught my eye even in warmups. When my daughter told me after the game that she was only a junior I had a hard time believing it. No question, she has the total package as a hockey player and, as my daughter said, she probably could play for a lot of college teams right now. This being our first year watching girl's prep hockey, the two girls I've seen that, were I a college coach, I'd be chasing hard are Knight and the Macdonald girl from Minnesota. I believe she is going to BC next year.

[puckster]

Agree with Knight @ Choate. Have seen here play 12+ times in the last two years. I would swap her for Parsons in a heartbeat (that could be another thread / tangent). Problem is Choate's game plan seem to be "get the puck to Knight" and there is no balance with the other players. As a result she does not share the puck (IMO) as often as she should.



Agree with you on Choate. Knight also seems to be playing out of position. IMO she is a natural center.

I also would swap Knight for Parson's. Again IMO I don't think it is as close as some will say if only based on natural ability and work ethic. Only knock on Knight would be the mental development to the game. Once she learns to feel pressure and utilize her team a bit more she is going to get to that next level.

IMO I would have taken her to Turin if only to get her in the mix. Besides I believe she would give some of the girls a run for their money. (I can hear some of the comments already.)[/QUOTE]


Parsons and Knight are two completely different types of players, with different skill sets and physical attrbutes. Knight is a pure power forward (at least at this point in her development) while Parsons has great playmaking capabilities. I'd like to see them both on the same line someday.

[Quakers16U]

I saw Brewster beat them at Deerfield back in December. They have good size, lot's of overall team speed and they spread the ice and move the puck very well. I thought that they were a good team, one of the better teams that Brewster has met this year.




Thanks!

[WFR]

Here is one opinion of the rankings of Division 1 in New England Prep schools so far this season.

1. Berkshire

2. Lawrence

3. Pomfret

4. Nobles

5. Choate

6. Taft

7. Loomis

8. Phillips Andover

9. Hotchkiss

10. Deerfield

11. Cushing

12. Wait til next year prep.

Any other opinions, thoughts?

[coolsports]

Here is one opinion of the rankings of Division 1 in New England Prep schools so far this season.

1. Berkshire

2. Lawrence

3. Pomfret

4. Nobles

5. Choate

6. Taft

7. Loomis

8. Phillips Andover

9. Hotchkiss

10. Deerfield

11. Cushing

12. Wait til next year prep.

Any other opinions, thoughts?

Agree on most of the list. I might move Nobles up a slot. The rest looks pretty good IMO. The two at the top a tad better than the rest. I would group Pomfret, Taft and now Loomis together. IMO it would be a toss up. Deerfield is an interesting team for me. Great goalie but seems to lack focus in the other positions. My guess is that Hotchkiss would be the one team that might slip into the playoffs.

[Hux]

Agree with you on Choate. Knight also seems to be playing out of position. IMO she is a natural center.

I also would swap Knight for Parson's. Again IMO I don't think it is as close as some will say if only based on natural ability and work ethic. Only knock on Knight would be the mental development to the game. Once she learns to feel pressure and utilize her team a bit more she is going to get to that next level.

IMO I would have taken her to Turin if only to get her in the mix. Besides I believe she would give some of the girls a run for their money. (I can hear some of the comments already.)


Parsons and Knight are two completely different types of players, with different skill sets and physical attrbutes. Knight is a pure power forward (at least at this point in her development) while Parsons has great playmaking capabilities. I'd like to see them both on the same line someday.

Well given that Ben Smith and the team have been hanging around Connecticut the past week or so, it is probably a safe bet that he has seen her, and if he was impressed, is figuring how she will work into his plans in the near future.

[toots]

another battle of the titans tonight. Choate at Lawrence. LA scored in the first period (Perri Maduri knocked it in off goalie's skate). Hilary Knight scored for Choate in the second. Amy Hollstein got the lead back for LA in the third. Hilary Knight scored after that and then, with 7 seconds to go, made a pass to #17 for the winner. Choate wins 3-2.
Back and forth action, high intensity, too much fun (well, for Choate anyway).