When I compiled my Next 15 rankings (teams 11-25) before the season, I put Belmont Hill at No. 12.
"Had David Bosco (Winchester, Mass.), Jake Tavares (Belmont, Mass.) and Brady Sloper (North Andover, Mass.) stuck around, Belmont Hill would be a top-five team," I wrote at the time. "But all three opted for the USHL, leaving Belmont Hill to be young and unproven — at least to start."
The Sextants have been inconsistent at times — see: two straight losses to St. Sebastian's and Thayer roughly two weeks ago — but they've also taken care of business. And they've done so with a younger lineup.
Seniors Patrick Woods (Charlestown, Mass.), Matthew Carolan (Stow, Mass.) and Evan Jones (Arlington, Mass.) have supplied quite a bit of scoring, but so, too, have sophomores Nick Ware (Weymouth, Mass.), Robert DeKleine, Jackson Burns (Wellesley, Mass.) and Alex Guo (Weston, Mass.). Freshman Sam Lee (Woburn, Mass.) is tied for the most goals (11) and points (21) on the team, and continues to look like a U.S. National Team Development Program candidate.
In net, junior Ethan Bauer (Belmont, Mass.) and senior JJ Thibodeau (Waltham, Mass.) are splitting. Thibodeau has been strong with a 2.45 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage, while Bauer has completely broken out with a 1.69 GAA and a .946 save percentage.
I'm not shocked that it's finally happened, but as of Jan. 26, Belmont Hill is a top-five team.
Let's dive into my latest rankings.
1. Dexter Southfield (15-2-2)
Previous ranking: 1
Head coach: Danny Donato
Next game: vs. St. George's, Jan. 28, 4:45 p.m.Â
Dexter went out to Shattuck-St. Mary's for a two-game set on Friday and Saturday. The Shields fell in Game 1, 3-0, but bounced back for a 4-1 win on Saturday. Dexter got goals from senior J.P. Messuri (Arlington, Mass.), junior Noah Survilas (Winthrop, Mass.), senior Joe Marchi (Foxboro, Mass.) and senior Matt Hines (Hingham, Mass.). Before the series with Shattuck, Dexter took down Austin Prep, 10-4. Senior Owen McHale (Charlestown, Mass.), senior Myles Brosnan (Winchester, Mass.), Marchi and Survilas had three-point games.
2. Avon Old Farms (12-1-1)
Previous ranking: 2
Head coach: Mark Naclerio
Next game: at Westminster, Jan. 26, 4:30 p.m.Â
Avon had a strong week. It started with a 6-2 takedown of Kent, then beat Northfield Mount Hermon, 8-1. On Saturday, the Winged Beavers tied Berkshire, 1-1. Senior Maxx Corradi (Woodstock, Conn.) registered a hat trick against Kent, and senior Anthony Palmer (Lynnfield, Mass.) recorded 31 saves. Against NMH, junior defenders Max Yakub and Brody Latkin had big days. Yakub had two goals and an assist, while Latkin had three helpers. Both defensemen assisted on senior Liam Donnelly's goal against Berkshire.
3. Salisbury (14-2-1)
Previous ranking: 4
Head coach: Andrew Will
Next game: vs. Trinity-Pawling, Jan. 26, 4:30 p.m.Â
The Crimson Knights jumped up a spot after a strong week, taking down Choate, 2-1, and Kent, 6-2. Against Choate, senior defenseman Avery Tymus and junior defenseman Jack Mazzella both scored, while sophomore goalie Christian Capone had 26 saves. Salisbury got more offense from its defenders against Kent when Elliott Watson, Tymus and Mazzella all put up two points, along with senior forward Nate Burlock scoring twice.
For the top three, JSPR has the order Avon, Salisbury and Dexter.
4. Belmont Hill (12-4-2)
Previous ranking: 10
Head coach: Brian Phinney
Next game: at Brooks, Jan. 28, 3 p.m.Â
Going from No. 10 to No. 4 is a huge leap, but the Sextants proved themselves. It started with a massive, 3-1 win at then-No. 3 St. Mark's. They followed that up with a 4-2 win against then-No. 7 Tabor, getting two goals from Carolan, as well as one from each of sophomore Nicholas Hand (Dover, Mass.) and Lee. The Sextants will be on the road this week at Brooks and St. Paul's. They rank No. 5 in JSPR.
5. St. Mark's (13-2-0)
Previous ranking: 3
Head coach: Carl Corazzini
Next game: at Middlesex, Jan. 28, 5 p.m.
The Lions fell two spots because of their loss to Belmont Hill and the teams around them winning. Despite the defeat to the Sextants, Corazzini's team rebounded hard to crush St. George's, 10-2, on Friday. St. Mark's big guns showed up against the Dragons, with Dartmouth commit Will Manchuso (Concord, Mass.), Providence College commit Caiden Pellegrino (Uxbridge, Mass.) and senior Evan Nee (Arlington, Mass.) all notching three points. St. Mark's is No. 4 in JSPR.
READ MORE: 12 standouts, takeaways from St. Sebastian's win over Governor's Academy
6. Hotchkiss (7-3-2)
Previous ranking: 8
Head coach: Mike Doyle
Next game: vs. Berkshire, Jan. 28, 4:30 p.m.Â
Hotchkiss rebounded from a tie with Loomis Chaffee and a loss against Avon Old Farms last week with wins over Kent (6-2) and Phillips Exeter (5-1). Junior forward Ryan Murray netted a hat trick, while senior forward Aidan Patton (Wallingford, Conn.) and junior forward Austin Groves had three points each. Patton notched two goals in the win over Exeter, and senior goalie Charlie Abel had 26 saves. Two big tests await this week with Berkshire and Deerfield — two squads who can take down top teams.
7. Kimball Union (17-5-1)
Previous ranking: 6
Head coach: Tim Whitehead
Next game: at Phillips Exeter, Jan. 28, 5:30 p.m.Â
It was a wild week for Kimball Union. It started with a 4-1 loss to Deerfield on Wednesday. Then, the Wildcats bounced back with an 8-1 win over Brewster Academy and a 5-3 victory at Cushing. Senior forward Carter Cowan tallied a hat trick against Brewster, while senior forward Josh Phillips built on scoring against Deerfield with two more against Brewster. Senior forward Xaner Boutilier and senior defenseman Anthony Leech both had a goal and two assists against Cushing. And, of course, Phillips tallied three assists. KUA has the No. 7 seed in JSPR.
8. Tabor
Previous ranking: 7
Head coach: Gerry Dineen
Next game: vs. Thayer, Jan. 28, 4 p.m.Â
The Seawolves dropped one spot after losing to then-No. 10 Belmont Hill, 4-2. Before that matchup, however, they took down Phillips Exeter, 3-1. Tabor got goals from senior Heyden Hildebrandt (Norwell, Mass.) and juniors Ares Miller and Ethan Travis (Narragansett, R.I.) scored against Exeter. Travis tallied another, along with junior London McDonald (Marblehead, Mass.), in the loss to the Sextants. Tabor is No. 8 in JSPR as of Sunday night, but there's no doubt the ISL Keller slate ahead will test its merit: Thayer, St. Sebastian's, Governor's Academy and Nobles.
9. Canterbury
Previous ranking: 5
Head coach: Paddy McCarthy
Next game: vs. Millbrook, Jan. 27, 5 p.m.Â
Last week's rankings were all about Canterbury, so maybe it's a bit harsh that it fell four spots this week. But going 0-1-1 in the middle of the razor-thin top 10 means falling a bit. The Saints tied Westminster, 1-1, before losing to Taft, 4-1, on Saturday. Those two games, plus the rest of the results in prep, led to Canterbury falling to No. 12 in JSPR. I still think McCarthy's team has too much older talent up front and in back to not be a team pushing for an Elite 8 spot the rest of the way, and senior goalie Cody Hew has been outstanding this season.
READ MORE:Â What would boys prep hockey look like without juniors and NTDP?
10. Thayer
Previous ranking: 9
Head coach: David Hymovitz
Next game: at Tabor, Jan. 28, 4 p.m.Â
Thayer continues to be consistently inconsistent, but manages to do just enough to stay in the top 10. The Tigers fell to Cushing, 5-2, before taking down Roxbury Latin, 7-2. Junior forward Tommy Wilkinson (Duxbury, Mass.) had two goals in the win over Roxbury Latin, and junior Michael Federico (Hanover, Mass.) scored in both games. Senior Jonah Frattasio (Hanover, Mass.) also scored his first two goals of the season in the victory against Roxbury Latin. It's a huge week on tap, as games with Tabor and St. Sebastian's, who is the first team out this week, will determine whether Thayer stays in here or gets bumped. As of Sunday, the Tigers are No. 10 in JSPR.
Dropped out:Â None
In the hunt:Â St. Sebastian's, Holderness, Brunswick, Berkshire
