Foxborough, MA - The Boston Lady Whalers 2008 National Elite Team soared back onto the scene this past weekend, picking up where they left off last summer and reclaiming the Women's Chowder Cup Championship for a second consecutive year.
Kicking off the weekend on Friday afternoon the girls squared off with the Midwest Performance Selects, opening things up with a 10-2 score in the weekend debut. The scoring was all spread out as Christina Scalese (Groton School), Lauren Xu (Phillips Exeter), and Mary Derrenbacher (Shattuck St. Mary's) pitched in with two tallies a piece. Sofia Nardelli (Boston Jr Eagles) & Jane Daley (Shattuck St. Mary's) rounded out the strikes from north of the blue line, while defenders Ava DeCourcey (Tilton School) and Emma Cerruti (Shattuck St. Mary's) registered goals from the back-end.
Friday evening proved to be a stronger matchup for our Boston Lady Whalers National Elite Team matching, squaring off against the 2006's and 2007's of the Connecticut Jr. Eagles. After a scoreless first 10 minutes it was Scalese who broke through on the powerplay to get the Lady Whalers on the board. As pretty as could be drawn up off of the face-off, Carly Dann (Loomis Chaffee) slid it across the blue line to Cerruti, who made a beautiful seeing-eye back door pass for the tally. Five minutes after that, it was Onna McCarty (Worcester Academy) found a streaking Lauren Xu who put the girls ahead by a score of 2-0.
Nuala Gibbs (Lawrence Academy) played the role of table setter, as Scalese tallied one final goal before the half. Finally, with 3:11 to play in the second half it was Kaylee Mandeville (NAHA) who found Daley on the breakout pass for the final tally, as the Lady Whalers wrapped up the opening day on a 4-0 River Grady (Williston Northampton) shutout, and sat atop the standings with a 2-0 record at the end of Day 1.
Mary Derrenbacher
Shattuck St. Mary's School
Award - Most Valuable Player
Christina Scalese
Groton School
Award - 1st Team All-Tournament
As has always been the case with the BLW 08's, Saturday mornings come early and have not been friendly over the years. With that said, a slow start did not hold the girls back from finding their rhythm, and finding their target in the back of the net.
Daley kicked off the scoring at the 2:41 mark, and was quickly followed up by an Ava DeCourcey powerplay blast 30 seconds afterward. Minutes later, it was Madelyn Lahah (St. George's School) who sent Xu in on a breakaway to put the girls ahead 3-0. It was Mary Derrenbacher with her third of the tournament from her Shattuck St. Mary's teammate Emma Cerruti who registered her third assist of the tournament, to give the Lady Whalers the 4-0 edge at the half.
After a hit parade marathon of penalties to begin the first 8 minutes of the second half, the girls tallied 3 goals in 3 minutes to round out the morning. Daley with her fourth from Derrenbacher, followed by a Derrenbacher solo tally, and then it was Mya Polastry (Westminster School) with a beautiful rip home to seal things late.
In the final game of Round Robin, the girls faced a scrappy WC Swans team who wanted the put more than we did for the majority of the first half. With that being said, the scoring was again well-balanced as Cerruti, Scalese, Gibbs, and Derrenbacher were the lamp lighters in the first half. They were complimented with assists from DeCourcey (2), Lahah, Polastry, and Dann.
The second half was opened with a bang as Christina Scalese plotted her 6th goal of the weekend, unassisted, and Madelyn Lahah followed that up with a solo performance of her own. Onna McCarty jumped in the rush to strike the back of the net on a great read and defensive pinch, and then it was Jane Daley's 5th from Cerruti (5) and DeCourcey (3) to round things out. The girls punched out an 8-0 win in the final game of Round Robin, behind a third-consecutive River Grady shutout, and closed out pool play with a perfect 4-0 record.
Jane Daley
Shattuck St. Mary's School
Award - 1st Team All-Tournament
River Grady
Williston Northampton
Award - Most Valuable Goaltender
Playoff Sunday is a strong familiarity for this group of competitors as they sought out to attain their 14th tournament title in 5 years.
With the Women's Chowder Cup playoffs consisting of just one 25-minute period for both the semi's and the finals, the girls knew they would need to strike fast to set the tone. In the semi-finals it was Jane Daley on a beautiful one-time from Sofia Nardelli to get things going. Madelyn Lahah buried her first of two pretty Sunday goals on a feed from DeCourcey to make it 2-0, and then it was Derrenbacher who sealed things late to send the girls to the finals.
The Championship game proved to be a familiar foe, facing off against a strong TeamONE group. Scalese struck first on the powerplay from Cerruti and Nardelli, and then struck again on a solo tally to put the girls ahead 2-0 midway through the Championship Game. Finally, with the game still a battle, it was Madelyn Lahah who curled off the right wall and fired an absolute dart over the right shoulder of the goalie to seal it 3-0.
"We are so proud of how well our girls competed game in, and game out through the entirety of the weekend," said Boston Lady Whalers Executive Director Courtney Turner. "To get five straight shutouts from our goaltender, and have consistent shut-down defense, it gave the forwards the easiest job in the world," she continued.
"The way that this team competes for one another is something special, and it's been happening with this group of young athletes for the past six years now," said Mike Cusack. "As a unit, they're so far advanced on the mental side of the game. Their anticipation on where to be before the play develops, the defensive decisions of when and how hard to pinch, their cycling ability - it's going to be fun to watch them as they continue to climb their hockey ladders," he continued.
Congratulations to the Boston Lady Whalers 2008 National Elite Team on capturing their second straight Women's Chowder Cup, and their 14th Championship in 5 years!
If you are interested in joining the Boston Lady Whalers Elite Hockey Club, we encourage you to fill out our 2023 Prospective Player Form, or feel free to email any of our staff members!
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