Here’s an ARTICLE on the U18 series that tells who’s committed to who on both teams.
The U.S. takes the rubber game of the U18 series 3-1.
Goals by ‘27 commit Annabelle Lovell and ‘27 target Talla Hansen. Two assists by ‘26 commit Katya Sander.
Posted this back in March……
”Neutral Zone” returns with their Mid Season Rankings for the class of 2026. Top 250 this time.
Recruits:
#3 F Maddie McCullough (Durham West)
#8 D Sloane Hartmetz (Shattuck)
#18 F Rachel Piggott (Etobicoke)
#81 D Katya Sander (Holy Family)
”Neutral Zone” updates this list with their “Year End Rankings”
#3 F Maddie McCullough (Durham West)
#9 D Sloane Hartmetz (Shattuck)
#15 F Rachel Piggott (Etobicoke)
#62 D Katya Sander (Holy Family)
Couple of notes: Did not see recent goalie commit Payton Rolli (Warroad) on the list. Maddie McCullough will be playing at Etobicoke this coming season.
An entity I’m not real familiar with called the National Girls Hockey League got the jump on the more well known Labor Day tournaments this past weekend hosting a bunch of teams. Lovell Academy U16 with recruits Sydney Stoughton and Annabelle Lovell went undefeated in their division. Results are HERE
Labor Day weekend is historically the starting point for the fall girls hockey showcase season with the long running NAHA tournament, now held in the Boston area, and the newer PIP event in Pittsburgh. Future Gopher representation is a little sparser than usual. I am only seeing recent Warroad goalie commit Payton Rolli on the MN Northern Elite U19 team at PIP, and Sydney Stoughton and Annabelle Lovell on Lovell Academy’s U16 team at NAHA. Both events start tomorrow.
“Neutral Zone” released a ranking of the top 250 players playing in North America for the class of 2027. Here are their top 10 and the top 10 rated Minnesotans.
1. F Adriana Milani (Etobicoke) 🇨🇦
2. F Jane Daley (Shattuck) 🇺🇸
3. D Chyna Taylor (Lovell Academy) 🇺🇸 Wisconsin commit
4. D Megan Mossey (Etobicoke) 🇨🇦
5. F Annabelle Lovell (Lovell Academy) 🇺🇸
6. D Aurora Matt (Durham West) 🇨🇦
7. D Maggie Averill (Phillips Andover) 🇺🇸 Princeton commit
8. F Mikayla Barnes (Stoney Creek) 🇨🇦
9. F Maggie Hughson (Nepean) 🇨🇦 UConn commit
10. D Avery Jones (Ottawa Lady Sens) 🇨🇦 Ohio State commit
13. F Emily Pohl (Hill-Murray)
14. F Bailey Rupp (Bemidji) UMD commit
15. G Finley Engfer (Apple Valley) Providence commit, the top rated goalie here
17. F Talla Hansen (Benilde)
22. D Addy McLay (Hill-Murray)
38. D Jemma McAlexander (Minnetonka) Harvard commit
42. F Grace Laager (Centennial) Boston College commit
51. D Libby Moe (Edina) Quinnipiac commit
53. F Jaylie French (Warroad)
66. F June Semling (Champlin Park)
Gopher commit Sydney Stoughton, a forward who plays at Lovell Academy, is 19th on this ranking
Piggybacking off my previous post on Labor Day showcase tournaments, the Gopher staff, in a somewhat unprecedented move, are announcing where they are recruiting in the next few weeks….
https://twitter.com/GopherWHockey/status/1961441674137096612
…….of course, none of this is too earth shaking as these are the big events that basically every program will be at. The big local showcase is the Elite League NIT tournament. That will be October 16, 17,18 and 19 this year.
A roundup on the Labor Day PIP tournament. Local teams have success in the younger age divisions.
“Pittsburgh Pens Elite Take Top Spot At Labor Day Opener”
Things shift into high gear on Friday for the girl’s fall season. The high school Elite League , the Ontario girls league (OWHL) and Shattuck all start their seasons on Friday. I will convert some of these names to links for the coming season later today. High School links won’t be available until November if at all. Not sure if the Strib will start hiding all the high school stuff behind a pay wall this year.
Hearing Ava Moe, a class of ‘29 forward worth keeping an eye on, is transferring from Eden Prairie to Edina. I’ve always assumed that Ava is the sister of Gopher freshman Mason Moe. Edina has a very good junior defender named Libby Moe, who has committed to Quinnipiac. Not sure if there is a relation there.
EDIT: Confirmed by a frequent GPL poster - Ava and Mason are siblings. Libby is not related.
The list happy people at “Neutral Zone” have put out another ranking just so we would have something to talk about around this time next year. They have put out their rankings of the top 225 players playing in North America for the class of 2028. Here’s their top ten Minnesotans and non-Minnesotans.
Non-Minnesotans
1. F Savannah Halleran (Durham West) 🇨🇦
2. F Katherine McCool (Noble and Greenough School) 🇺🇸
5. D Callie McCullough (BK Selects) 🇺🇸
6. D Sarah Aquilina (Durham West) 🇨🇦
8. D Gem Winter (North York Storm) 🇨🇦
10. D Whitney Basso (Whitby Jr. Wolves) 🇨🇦
11. D Maeve Aird (Whitby Jr. Wolves) 🇨🇦
12. D Cassidy Cha (Team Illinois U16) 🇺🇸
13. F Isabella Freitas (Cushing Academy) 🇺🇸
14. F Makenna Vinc (Ridley College) 🇨🇦
Minnesotans
3. F Sydney Boss Krohn (Shattuck) Formerly at Minnetonka
4. D Taylee Manion (Hermantown)
7. D Olivia Braunhausen (Hill-Murray) From Stillwater
9. F Amelia Sutch (Centennial)
19. F Allie Defauw (Holy Family)
20. D Alexis Ulrich (Breck)
24. F Mackenna Schlieman (Breck)
46. D Jahnica Holtzleicer (Hill-Murray)
53. F Peyton DeMuth (Marshall*)
59. F Taylor Hall (Breck) Formerly at Rogers
#79 Annabelle Buccicone (Centennial) and #87 Maddison Boone (Woodbury) are a couple of locals that seem a little low to me. It will be interesting to revisit this a year from now and see how it might change.
* This is not Duluth Marshall, it is the Southwest Minnesota town.