With prep hockey entering its final two days of the regular season, much has been decided, but there are still spots up for grabs and league championships to be won.
Who will snag the final few spots in the Elite 8? Who will win the Lakes Region?
In a season that has certainly not gone chalk, there are a number of intriguing storylines before the playoff tournament fields are announced on Sunday.
Here are the five biggest ones.
Kimball Union and Salisbury are both on verge of missing Elite 8
Without knowing the exact mathematics that go into the JSPR, it’s impossible to truly know if Kimball Union and Salisbury have been eliminated from Elite 8 contention. What we do know is both are clearly on the outside looking in.
The two schools have been behemoths of the prep hockey world for a decade now. Since the NEPSAC instituted an Elite 8 prior to the 2009-2010 season, Salisbury and Kimball Union have won eight of the 12 tournaments. The two schools have skated off the ice as champions of almost every Elite 8 played since 2013, outside of when Gunnery won in 2016.
Kimball Union’s Tim Whitehead and Salisbury’s Andrew Will have deservedly earned themselves recognition as the top two coaches in the prep school hockey landscape. It is shocking to think that both the Wildcats and Crimson Knights are on the verge of missing the Elite 8.
Salisbury currently sits in ninth place in the JSPR but is left to just watch from the sidelines with its regular season complete.
Kimball Union has two games left in the Lakes Region Tournament. The Wildcats open up with Tilton and then play Holderness and Proctor in the championship or consolation. KUA is in 14th place in the JSPR. Perhaps two wins and some fortuitous results among the other teams in contention could lift KUA up into a top-eight position, but that seems unlikely.
Cushing and Avon Old Farms demonstrated superiority
The top two teams in the JSPR, Cushing and Avon Old Farms, are heads and shoulders above the rest of the Elite 8 field. While Nobles has flirted with the top position and remains in the third spot, the Penguins and Winged Beavers have demonstrated superiority throughout the season.
Entering the final weekend, Cushing and Avon Old Farms each have one game left versus Governor’s and Loomis Chaffee, respectively. Having seen both teams dismantle opponents on the road this week, it is clear that the Penguins and Winged Beavers are poised to battle it out for the championship.
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In a one-game elimination tournament, anything is possible. However, the odds are on the side of Cushing or Avon Old Farms skating off the ice at St. Anselm’s on March 5 with the trophy.
Milton is exceeding expectations in Cannata’s final season
Longtime Milton Academy head coach Paul Cannata announced his retirement late in January. The Mustangs had started off hot, winning the Flood-Marr Tournament for the first time since Ronald Reagan was President. But, the team had lost three of six to start the calendar year.
Since Cannata’s retirement announcement, Milton has gone 4-0-3. That’s not to say it sparked his team’s performance. The Mustangs have been good for the majority of the season and are comfortably inside the Elite 8 entering the weekend.
It is fair to say that Milton has exceeded expectations all season. The stellar goaltending of sophomore Sam Caulfield (Needham, Mass.) along with the senior leadership of forwards Jacob Pohl and Mikka Kelechian (who went down with a season-ending knee injury in February) and defenseman Mason Chen have keyed the team’s success.
Guimond is primed to lead Taft to Elite 8
If there’s another team that has played above its pay grade, it is Taft. Coached by Ryan Shannon, the Rhinos seemingly came out of nowhere to challenge for a spot in the Elite 8. A Wednesday loss to Frederick Gunn ups the ante for its big rivalry game against Hotchkiss on Saturday afternoon. Sitting in the eighth position currently, it would seem that a win over the Bearcats is quite possibly a necessity in order for Taft to continue its Elite 8 hopes.
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There hasn’t been a more valuable player in all of prep hockey than Taft junior goaltender Rudy Guimond. The Yale commit has posted a .938 save percentage while playing in back of a team that certainly doesn’t have the firepower of the other top squads in prep hockey.
Phinney proving he belongs among the elite
After last season, Belmont Hill lost its star goaltender, Sam Scopa (Lexington, Mass.), and five of the top eight scorers, including Columbus Blue Jackets draft pick James Fisher (Wilmington, Mass.) and Boston College commit Teddy Stiga (Sudbury, Mass.). Scopa and Fisher are playing in the USHL with Cedar Rapids and Youngstown and Stiga is on the NTDP U17 team this season. The team also lost a couple of defensive stalwarts, including Bowdoin commit Will Killoran (Charlestown, Mass.) to graduation.
It would have been reasonable to conclude that the Sextants could struggle this season. Brian Phinney’s team struggled out of the gate, going 5-4-2 through the first 11 games. Since that loss to St. Sebastian’s on January 7, Belmont Hill is 13-1-1 over its last 15 games. It would appear the Sextants are destined to make a second straight Elite 8, as they are in fifth in the JSPR currently.
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If that holds true, Phinney would have delivered two Elite 8 tournament appearances in both of his seasons as head coach at Belmont Hill. A disciple of Will at Salisbury, Phinney has proven to be a great X’s and O’s coach. He’s gotten the most out of two young goaltenders, freshman JJ Thibodeau (Newton, Mass.) and sophomore Keagin Wilson (Hingham, Mass.). Furthermore, he’s helped some unheralded players elevate their games.
It won’t be an easy end to the season for Belmont Hill. The team hosts Dexter Southfield on Friday and Westminster on Saturday, two teams vying for playoff positioning of their own.
History in the making
Here's a list of the prior Elite 8 champions, a list teams will be looking to join in the upcoming tournament.
- 2022 - Salisbury
- 2020 - Salisbury
- 2019 - KUA
- 2018 - KUA
- 2017 - KUA
- 2016 - Gunnery
- 2015 - Salisbury
- 2014 - Salisbury
- 2013 - Salisbury
- 2012 - Lawrence
- 2011 - Milton
- 2010 - Avon
