Second PPHL Girls event set
Inaugural members Winchendon, OHA, King’s-Edgehill making league debuts

By Kevin Conway

WINCHENDON, Mass. – The second showcase weekend of the Power Prep Hockey League girls conference will take to the ice Feb. 19-21 with another in-season tournament championship at stake as well as final playoff positioning for the North America’s newest girls hockey alliance’s first-ever postseason event.

Hosted by league member Winchendon School at it recently remodeled Ritchie Ice Arena, the showcase will feature eight league members and four guest clubs for the 17-game event. The weekend will be the first appearance for PPHL foes Winchendon (19U, 16U), Ontario Hockey Academy (19U) and King’s-Edgehill School (19U), while division leaders 19U Gilmour Academy and 16U IronBound
Elite look to build on their early-season success in the standings.

Gilmour’s 19U squad rolled through its first four games at its home rink during the inaugural PPHL girls showcase in December, allowing just three goals against while netting 16 of its own. The Lancers were paced by high-flying forward Aisling McFadden, who accounted for six goals, including a hat trick in the opener against Biggby Coffee. McFadden also scored an insurance goal in leading Gilmour to the in-season tourney title over IronBound, 3-0, during the championship game. Lancers goalie Audrey Abeln notched two shutouts in three starts in posting an incredible .986 save percentage, allowing just one goal on 72 shots faced. 

Meanwhile, 16U IronBound used the PPHL debut event to build an early advantage in the standings over Winchendon School, which did not attend the initial event. The Elite registered a pair of wins against the guest Buffalo Regals sandwiched around losses to eventual in-season tourney champion Culver (Ind.)

Academy and Biggby Coffee. Forward Julie Jasaitas posted at least a point in each of IronBound’s four contests, including a hat trick in the first win (4-3) over Buffalo, to lead the Elite with seven points.

One of the guest clubs competing on the Power Prep Hockey League ice during the season’s second showcase is 19U Shattuck-St. Mary’s School of Fairbault, Minn., the defending USA Hockey Girls High School national champions. The Sabres, who captured the national title in only the program’s second season of existence, may be bringing an under-.500 record (13-15-6) to central Massachusetts based on an incredibly difficult strength of schedule but cannot be
overlooked for claiming the second PPHL in-season tourney 19U title.

Other guest programs squaring off in PPHL competition at Winchendon include the 16U Rochester Junior Americans and both levels from talented upstart Lovell Academy of Rockland, Mass.
Shortly after the playoff seeds are set following the stop at Ritchie Ice Arena, the Power Prep Hockey League girls conference’s maiden season will conclude with its first playoff tournament Feb. 23-25 at Rodman Arena in Walpole, Mass.