EXETER, N.H. — In one of the first big prep showcases of the winter, eight teams made the trip to Phillips Exeter on Saturday and Sunday.
Those teams were Brunswick, Frederick Gunn, Hebron, Kent, Kimball Union, New Hampton, Rivers and, obviously, Phillips Exeter.
I took in action on Saturday, although Sunday's results will be reflected here.
Before we get into the takeaways, here's the full scoreboard.
SaturdayÂ
- Rivers 4, Kimball Union 2
- Brunswick 8, New Hampton 3
- Frederick Gunn 5, Phillips Exeter 2
- Kent 9, Hebron 2
SundayÂ
- Rivers 7, Hebron 1
- Frederick Gunn 5, New Hampton 2
- Kimball Union 5, Kent 2
- Brunswick 2, Exeter 2
Let's dive into the takeaways.
1. The biggest win was Rivers taking down Kimball Union. Rivers, with four eighth graders on the roster, played KUA well, packing it in in the defensive zone and limiting high-danger chances as much as possible. When those quality looks did occur, Rivers senior goalie Jason Delehoy (Brockton, Mass.) was up to the task, stopping 33 of the 35 shots he faced. Like against St. Sebastian's on Wednesday, Rivers deployed a scrappy game filled with a good blend of physicality and skill. Kimball Union was bigger, stronger and older, but Rivers matched it.
A lot of attention will be paid to eighth grader Carter Meyer (Winchester, Mass.) this season, and rightfully so. But freshman and older brother Freddy Meyer (Winchester, Mass.) deserves a ton of attention, too. He assisted on Cayden Miceli's (Natick, Mass.) shorthanded tally in the first period and plays a strong, reliable game. Head coach Freddy Meyer, his father, can rely on him in any situation.
2. Along with the Meyer brothers and the offense getting attention, Rivers' defense deserves props, too. The crew of six consists of two seniors, a junior, a sophomore, a freshman and an eighth grader. They all play and they all consistently got the job done. Head coach Freddy Meyer even gives important minutes to Eben Alden (Dover, Mass.), an eighth grader. Alden defended the front of his own net really well while killing a penalty at the end of the second period. Handler, a sophomore, is a terrific puck-moving defenseman who has a high level of poise.
3. Rivers was great on Saturday, but Kimball Union also wasn't at its best, and that's not surprising. Head coach Tim Whitehead's team has a lot of skill and that isn't always there for teams in the fourth game of the season. One positive I noticed was Andrew O'Sullivan's (Scituate, Mass.) elusiveness when moving the puck out of his own zone. Even with a lot of pressure, he was usually able to slide around those forwards and either continue skating or hit a teammate for an outlet pass. Through five games, O'Sullivan leads all defensemen in the region with eight points in five games. Bouncing back with a big, 5-2 win over Kent on Sunday reminded everyone that Kimball Union is one of the best teams in the region.
4. Speaking of elusive defensemen, the player who stood out the most to me across all four games was Frederick Gunn defenseman Luke Calabria. His poise and assertiveness with the puck was impressive. The Huntington, N.Y., native displayed high IQ in knowing when to join the rush. There was a great play in Saturday's first period when he rushed the puck, drew a defender to him in the offensive zone and hit teammate Jacob Rothman in front for a Grade-A chance. Calabria posted six goals and 24 points as a sophomore last season, so it shouldn't be much of a surprise. But the junior looks like he took another step in his game this season.
5. In my recent story about under-the-radar teams in prep, I highlighted Frederick Gunn and marked offensive depth as a question mark. The line of juniors Billy Collins and Will Jackson, and senior Antonio Donahue was Frederick Gunn's best line on Saturday. Jackson notched two goals and an assist, while Donahue and Collins both had two-point games. The trio constantly set up one another for scoring chances and overpowered the five players on the ice for Exeter at any given time.
If head coach Craig Badger can rely on that line for scoring along with usual suspects like Alex LoGuercio (Monroe, Conn.), Jacob Rothman and Mark Pizzo (Monroe, Conn.), Frederick Gunn will be able to play with anybody.
6. Brunswick was the better team throughout its matchup with New Hampton. Two things jumped out at me. The first is that Sean Gibbons (Fairfield, Conn.) and Ryan Wachtel were dynamic up front. Gibbons has a silky set of hands, great vision and competes hard. Wachtel plays with a lot of confidence in the neutral zone, winning lose-puck battles and immediately driving play toward the offensive zone. Gibbons finished with one goal and two assists, while Wachtel gathered two helpers. The second is that Brunswick has a very strong defense. Led by Dartmouth commit Cooper Cleaves (Riverside, Conn.), Brunswick's defensemen were able to keep New Hampton out of interior ice most of the time, as well as cleanly execute breakouts.
7. Phillips Exeter's best player is clearly Will Cavanagh. The East Greenwich, R.I., native has a good blend of skill and size and utilizes it well. On power plays, he often carried the puck out of his own zone, through neutral ice and into Frederick Gunn's end to set up. He protected pucks well and helped Exeter get sustained offensive zone time. Cavanagh, who came over from Bishop Hendricken High School, was a great pick up by head coach Tim Mitropoulos.
8. New Hampton had a rough showing on Saturday, but one thing it does have going for it is size up front. Northeastern commit and sophomore Cam Caron (Dracut, Mass.), who is far and away the best player on the team, is 6-foot-4, along with assistant captain Dylan McDougall. Standing at 6-foot-3 are Kristian Gingras, a senior, and Johnny Niemela, a sophomore.
9. There wasn't much to take from Kent's drubbing of Hebron, who was severely outmatched. I'll highlight one thing from each team instead. For Kent, its line of Michael Fiedorczuk, Finn Keon and Luke Dow (Orange, Conn.) had a really good day. Fiedorczuk scored four goals, Keon notched three assists and while he didn't register on the scoresheet, Dow's elusiveness in the corners was impressive. On the other side, Hebron goalie Hayden Plimley faced 63 shots. Yes, he let in nine goals. But that number could've easily been 19 or more. He stopped a slew of Grade-A looks.
Related prep reading:
- Rankings:Â Our preseason top 10Â |Â Nine under-the-radar teams
- Team-by-team breakdowns: ISL Keller  | ISL Eberhart | Housatonic | Lakes | IndependentsÂ
- First and Second Teams: All-ISL Keller | All-ISL Eberhart | All-Housatonic | All-Lakes | All-Independents
- Individual team previews: Kimball Union | Milton Academy | Taft | St. Mark’s | Nobles | Avon Old Farms | Belmont Hill
- Breakout players: 23 forward candidates | 17 defensemen and goalie candidates
- RinkWise podcast:Â Previewing the boys prep hockey season
