Lauren_Smith.htm

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All-Time Top Players, G :
Lauren Smith, F/D, Holy Angels

2008 Player of the Year

How She Got Started

Lauren spent her early childhood in the City of Brotherly Love, where she squared off against older brother Britton on the rink in the backyard of their Philadelphia home.

"My brother would beat the crap out of me," Smith said.

"I wanted to be like [Britton]. Everything he did, I had to do"

"I was a huge tomboy growing up." She played on boys' teams until the seventh grade.

At 5-7, Smith uses her size to her advantage in the corners and around the net. She made the Holy Angels varsity in seventh grade, and her learning process included more than her share of checking penalties early on as she weaned herself from the boys' game.

One memorable moment in her 8th grade year [from Coach Grossman]:
Lauren was being her normal self controlling play on a PK. The opponents couldn’t get the puck away from her in the corner. One girl started out at the red line and came flying at Lauren full speed just as Lauren was turning up ice.
The girl left her feet to check Lauren - - - -

- - - - It was like a bug hitting the windshield.
The girl just buckled when she made contact. It was an early sign of Lauren's strength as she didn’t see the check coming, and just skated right through it.

Her High School Stats

Year	All-State Team	Goals	Assists	Points
2002-03		10	9	19
2003-04		14	18	32
2004-05	Honorable Mention	27	22	49
2005-06	Honorable Mention	22	20	42
2006-07	Second Team	44	41	85
2007-08	First Team	60	38	98
Totals		177	148	325

Lauren, 9th-grader, No.16
2005 Class A State Champions

Lauren Smith, Junior

Lauren Smith, Senior
2008 First Team All-State
2008 AP Player of the Year

A Final Tribute

John of MNPuck

Lauren can take-over a game just like Krissy Wendell, Natalie Darwitz, and Andrea Nichols use to do.

She is "Ms Instant-Offense".

The Penalty Shot

2008 Section 2AA semi-final game against Edina.
Lauren is awarded a penalty shot.

Lauren, alone, at mid ice
Waiting behind the red line.
The referee signals.
Lauren starts forward.
Gathers in the puck at center ice.
Swings wide to her left.
[Usually, the skater heads straight for the goal.]
She crosses the blue line.
Picking up speed, she circles toward the slot.
Sweeps to the front of the net.
Moving across the front toward the right
   [the goalie moving with her toward the right]
      a forehand fake
         to backhand stretch and release
            sends the puck left
               upper left
                  into the back of the net.
The goalie freezes.

Lauren never gave the goalie a chance to make a play on the puck.
Coach Grossman said, "The forehand fake to backhand stretch and release, that’s years of work in her back yard pond, patience, and unbelievable skill."

Edina coach Mark Stephan

"Our focus normally is on what we want to do, and not the other team, But when we played [Holy Angels] we focused on her [Lauren]. We told our players to be aware of her wherever she was on the ice. She's intimidating in all phases of her game."

Holy Angels coach Jaime Grossman

"I call her an ice-tilter. Whenever she is on the ice, the game is going in our direction."

"We're really going to be a different team next year without her because of everything she brings. She works hard every single day, she's strong in the [defensive] zone, she's stronger than anyone in the corners and she's faster than anybody in the open ice."

"You [John of MNPuck] are correct on Lauren, I think she does belong in that class [with Krissy Wendell], and I have felt she is the most dominant offensive player in the state for a while now. She would’ve been better if she wasn’t injured her entire sophomore year. She will be missed."

[Stated again] "I have felt she is the most dominant offensive player in the state [in 2007-08]." "[And this season's class, 2007-08] in my opinion might be our best class ever."

Coach Jaime Grossman
Lauren became the first Ms. Hockey finalist in AHA history, along with rewriting the record books in her tenure here. Lauren became know statewide for her scoring prowess, but the most impressive part of her senior year was her play in the defensive zone. She showed that she was a complete player, and without a doubt the most dominant player in the state. It will take some time getting used to seeing her in OSU red, but it will be fun to see her continue her greatness as a buckeye!

Coach Grossman [submitted for the All-Metro Team]
She is hands down the best player I have ever coached. She is a complete player, ability to play physical in D zone, use speed through the NZ, and go hard to the net, or use finesse to get around the D and beat the goalie. She also has a cannon of a slap shot. If you watch her play it's easy to see that she is in a class all by herself. She needs to be considered in the same company as the elite players who have played girls HS hockey. She has the ability to take over a game, and is almost impossible to slow down in an era when the game is much faster, and the low end players are more skilled. If she has a down side, it would be that she is so strong that she rarely goes down in contact, and therefore doesn't draw the penalties that she should. She has been the corner stone of a program that struggled in mediocrity the first 8 years of it's existence (77-108-6). Since Lauren arrived at AHA the Stars are 130-34-3 with a Class A state championship, and Class AA tournament appearance, and a section 5AA runner up. The team averaged 66 goals a season BLS (before Lauren Smith), and has averaged 143 goals per season since she has been a star. Her presence has made us a perennial contender.