We're past the halfway point in the boys prep hockey world. Yes, the dog days are here, but that doesn’t mean things get boring. The slate is only getting hotter.
In January, we've seen rivalries renewed. That will continue into February with a plethora of games paramount for tournament seeding. This will be the case every week.
Last season, Cushing and Avon Old Farms were a tier above everyone else. At this point, there doesn’t seem to be a clear favorite among the top teams.
Here’s a look at what we’ve learned so far this season and what we’ll be looking for before the champions are crowned in March.
As good as advertised
1. Kimball Union: The Wildcats entered the season as our No. 4 team, so there were high expectations. But head coach Tim Whitehead’s team has exceeded them, ranking as high as No. 1 after a Flood Marr championship. The duo of seniors Jack Sadowski (Arlington, Mass.; New Hampshire commit) and Sam LeDrew (St. Lawrence commit) is the best in prep hockey. They are this year’s version of Landan Resendes (Marlboro, Mass.; Boston College commit) and Ethan Gardula (Princeton, Mass.; UConn commit) with Cushing in 2022-23. Senior Jack McMinn and junior Andrew O’Sullivan (Boston, Mass.), both '06s, have provided a high level of offense from the back end, and goalie Blake McMeniman (Revere, Mass.), an '07, has burst onto the scene as one of the best in prep.
2. Avon Old Farms: The reigning Elite 8 champs haven’t missed a beat since last season. Despite losing its top three forwards, top two defensemen and starting goalie to graduation, the Winged Beavers have continued to thrive under head coach John Gardner. They went 13-0-1 in their first 14 games, with the overtime loss coming to Kent in the Avon Old Farms Christmas Classic championship. Alex Pelletier (West Hartford, Conn.) opting to stay for a postgraduate season is paying huge dividends, with the '05 averaging two points per game. Depth scoring from seniors Brendan Tighe and Ryan Flaherty (Milton, Mass.; Holy Cross commit) as well as junior Michael Munroe (Hanover, Mass.; Maine commit) has helped, too. The duo of junior Michael Heinke (Old Saybrook, Conn.) and sophomore Anthony Palmer (Lynnfield, Mass.) have thrived, giving Gardner options in net.
3. Cushing: While the Penguins don’t have the star power they had a year ago, they do have more depth. That helped them win 15 of their first 17 games. Senior Emerson Marshall (Gloucester, Mass.) has been the clear leader on offense with nine goals and 27 points. After Marshall, head coach Paul Pearl has gotten depth scoring from Bronson and Tanner Hunt, Luke Goukler, Josh Iby (Munson, Mass.) and AJ Sacco (Middleton, Mass.). Junior defenseman Ryland Randle, an Arizona State commit, has broken out on the back end, scoring four goals and 12 points in his first 14 games. Marko Bilic, another Arizona State commit, has been stellar in net, posting a 1.62 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage in his first 13 games.
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Three teams that have surprised us so far
1. Brunswick: It’s not so much that we didn’t think the Bruins would be good — they were ranked No. 7 going into the season. But they’ve been next-level dominant and are an Elite 8 favorite as of mid-January. In our latest rankings, they're No. 1. Head coach Mike Kennedy’s team has gone 16-0-2 since losing to Loomis Chaffee on opening night. Seniors Brendan Giles (Ridgefield, Conn.) and Sean Gibbons (Southport, Conn.; Army commit) have more than made up for the losses of Drew DellaSalla (Harvard commit) and Eli Friedman (Yale commit) after last season. Giles and Gibbons are averaging over two points per game. Senior Cooper Cleaves (Riverside, Conn.; Dartmouth commit) has been a beast on defense, and senior Will Baker (Norwalk, Conn.) has stepped in perfectly as the team’s starting netminder.
2. Loomis Chaffee: The Pelicans set the tone for their season in their first game when they took down Brunswick, 7-4. After that, they rattled off five straight wins. Sitting at 11-3-1, the Pelicans rank No. 6 in this week's rankings. Along with a lot of senior forwards who have been stellar, sophomore forward Indiana Grossbard (Wilton, Conn.), an '07, has been a scoring sensation. In his 15 games, the shifty, speedy forward has 26 points. If the goaltending duo of juniors Luke Quinn (Andover, Mass.) and Liam Joyce (West Hartford, Conn.) can progress a bit, Loomis Chaffee should stay in Elite 8 contention.
3. Holderness: This is sort of a Brunswick situation — we knew Holderness would be good, but we had it at No. 8. Head coach Alan Thompson’s team opened the season at 12-0 and after a loss against New Hampton, rattled off two more wins to sit at 14-1-0. Holderness ranks second to Kimball Union in goals for (102). The Bulls are a veteran team, with postgrad Pavit Mehra (Hopkinton, Mass.) and seniors Aaron VanWie (Lindenwood commit), Jake Boulanger (Barre, Vt.) and Caden Wells leading the way offensively. Mehra has owned the competition, averaging 2.67 points per game. Senior defenseman Caeden Herrington (Manchester, Vt.; Vermont commit) has played his way into being a legitimate NHL draft candidate, and senior netminder Ryan Nolan (Hampton, N.H.) has been outstanding. Yes, the Lakes Region is weak. But Holderness is very much for real.
Three questions for the stretch run
1. Can St. Sebastian’s turn it around? I'm old enough to remember when the Arrows graced our preseason cover as the No. 1 team in prep. With 16 seniors and an elite offensive cast, the Arrows were going to light up the highlight reel en route to a certain Elite 8 berth. Things haven’t exactly gone according to plan. In their first 14 games, they lost to Phillips Exeter, Brunswick, Nobles, Belmont Hill and Phillips Andover. Since the loss to Andover, St. Sebastian's has won its last two games and sits as the No. 6 seed in the Large School Tournament, according to USHR’s playoff seedings. The schedule for Seb’s only gets harder in the second half, but the team should (key word: should) have the roster to get back on the right track.
2. Which team is best positioned to win the Elite 8? To me, five teams have what it takes, on paper, to win the Elite 8: Kimball Union, Avon Old Farms, Brunswick, Cushing and Holderness. All five of those teams have a strong No. 1 goalie, which is paramount come the postseason. They all boast multiple different potent scorers and have strong defenses. Another team I’d heavily consider is Kent, which has many strong, veteran forwards and defensemen. If I had to pick one team, it’s Kimball Union. A sneaky, off the radar team would be St. George's.
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3. What about Salisbury? Head coach Andrew Will’s teams are notorious for getting hot after the Christmas break. The Crimson Knights are 11-4-0, including making it to the Flood Marr championship game in mid-December. While they don’t have a game-breaking playmaker up front, they have enough in seniors Nicolas Petrut and Seamus Latta and junior Connor Davis to compete. Defense and goaltending will be Salisbury’s path to competing in the Elite 8 field, with postgrad Zach Walsh and seniors Anthony Biakabutuka (Holy Cross commit) and Ty Creech on defense, as well as senior Cooper Flemming and junior Steven Luciano (New Canaan, Conn.) in net.
