Canterbury wasn't in my season-opening Next 15 (Nos. 11-25) rankings to begin the season. The Saints lost their two top scorers from last season, along with their goalie.
Head coach Paddy McCarthy and his group have spent the first month and a half of the season proving everyone — especially me — wrong.
Senior forward Seamus McMakin (Burlington, Mass.) has taken the reins as the leading scorer with 23 points in 15 games, while postgrad forwards Jack McEleney (Woburn, Mass.) and Jack Lee (Woburn, Mass.) have stepped up. Senior defenseman Tommy Browne has emerged as one of the top defenders in the region, while senior Cody Hew has dazzled in net.
Sure, Canterbury has 12 seniors and two postgrads. The Saints are old, but that's working to their advantage.
As for the rest of the rankings, things shuffled with multiple losses in the middle of the top 10.
Let's dive in.
1. Dexter Southfield (13-1-2)
Previous ranking: 1
Head coach: Danny Donato
Next game: at Austin Prep, Jan. 21, 2:45 p.m.Â
Dexter had Winchendon and New Hampton back-to-back on Friday and Saturday and took them down with ease. The Shields went off against Winchendon for a 9-2 win, getting two goals from junior forward Noah Survilas (Medford, Mass.) and three assists from senior defenseman Myles Brosnan (Winchester, Mass.) and senior forward Jake Assad (Franklin, Mass.). Against New Hampton, senior forward Owen McHale (Charlestown, Mass.) had a hat trick (and an assist), while senior forward Jack Fitzpatrick (Canton, Mass.) scored twice. Dexter has 36 goals in its last five games.
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2. Avon Old Farms (10-1-0)
Previous ranking: 2
Head coach: Mark Naclerio
Next game: vs. Kent, Jan. 19, 5:30 p.m.Â
Avon only played once since the last rankings, but scored a big win against No. 8 Hotchkiss, taking down the Bearcats (3-1). Senior forward Max Corradi had a goal and an assist, while junior defenseman Max Yakub had two assists. Senior forwards Nico Ciardiello and Jacob Jett had the other two goals, while senior goalie Anthony Palmer (Lynnfield, Mass.) made 27 saves. Avon is the No. 2 team, according to JSPR.
3. St. Mark's (12-1-0)
Previous ranking: 3
Head coach: Carl Corazzini
Next game: vs. Belmont Hill, Jan. 21, 5 p.m.Â
The Lions responded to losing to Tabor last week by taking down Roxbury Latin (7-1) and Rivers (6-3). Sophomore forward Keith Olympia (Sudbury, Mass.) had two goals and an assist, while senior forward Will Manchuso (Concord, Mass.) and junior forward Caiden Pellegrino (Uxbridge, Mass.) each had three helpers. Most notably, senior forward Evan Nee (Arlington, Mass.) scored a lacrosse goal. Nee built on that with a hat trick against Rivers. So did Pellegrino, as he scored once and tallied three assists in the win over the Red Wings.
4. Salisbury (12-2-1)
Previous ranking: 5
Head coach: Andrew Will
Next game: at Choate, Jan. 19, 5:15 p.m.Â
The Crimson Knights had a huge week, going to Cushing and winning (3-2), taking down Stanstead College (7-2) and beating Westminster (7-5). Junior forwards Elliott Bibeau-Rivard and Greyson Espenshade had two points each, along with junior defenseman Jack Mazzella. Senior forward Luke Walkauskus and Espenshade both had three points against Stanstead College. In the win over Westminster, Mazzella had four assists, while junior forward Angus Proctor had three points and sophomore defenseman Elliott Watson had two goals. Salisbury is the No. 1 team, according to JSPR.
5. Canterbury (11-3-1)
Previous ranking: 9
Head coach: Paddy McCarthy
Next game: vs. Westminster, Jan. 21, 2:30 p.m.Â
Canterbury jumped four spots in large part due to the teams around them suffering losses. But, as discussed earlier, the Saints have earned it. They took care of business over the last week, taking down Choate (3-2) and Frederick Gunn (3-1). McMakin and senior forward Britton Bethard had two points apiece against Choate, while McEleney had two lamplighters to best Frederick Gunn. Canterbury has moved to No. 5 in JSPR.
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6. Kimball Union (15-4-1)
Previous ranking: 4
Head coach: Tim Whitehead
Next game: vs. Deerfield, Jan. 21, 5 p.m.Â
The Wildcats fell two spots after falling to Tilton (2-1) on Friday. Even though the Wildcats only lost because Tilton goalie Hunter Marshall (Seabrook, N.H.) made 51 saves, it's still a loss, and things are tight. Kimball Union did, however, get a 2-0 win over Vermont Academy on Wednesday before edging out St. Paul's (4-2) on Saturday. Against St. Paul's, former Hingham High (MIAA) standout Conal Mulkerrin had two goals. This is a big week for KUA: Deerfield, Brewster Academy and Cushing.
7. Tabor (10-3-0)
Previous ranking: 6
Head coach: Gerry Dineen
Next game: vs. Phillips Exeter, Jan. 21, 5 p.m.Â
The Seawolves stumbled against Milton Academy, losing 2-1, before taking down Portsmouth Abbey (6-0). Senior goalie Vinnie D'Urso (Andover, Mass.) made 29 saves against Milton and pitched a 34-save shutout in the win over Portsmouth Abbey. In the victory over Portsmouth Abbey, senior forward Colvin Callahan (Lexington, Mass.) tallied two goals.
8. Hotchkiss (5-3-2)
Previous ranking: 8
Head coach: Mike Doyle
Next game: vs. Kent, Jan. 21, 2:30 p.m.Â
Sure, Hotchkiss lost a game this week, but it was to a higher-ranked Avon Old Farms squad. The Bearcats followed that up with a 3-3 tie against Loomis Chaffee, which ranks tenth in JSPR. Junior forwards Austin Groves, Ryan Murray and Jake Harrison stepped up against Loomis, all notching two points each.
9. Thayer (7-4-3)
Previous ranking: NR
Head coach: David Hymovitz
Next game: at Cushing, Jan. 21, 5 p.m.Â
Despite having a rough stretch last week (tying Middlesex and losing to Nobles), the Tigers rebounded for a 3-0 win over Belmont Hill and a 4-3 overtime win against Lawrence Academy. Junior forwards Tommy Wilkinson (Duxbury, Mass.) and Nick Sumner (Hingham, Mass.), along with sophomore forward Jack Funk (Duxbury, Mass.), had the goals to beat the Sextants. Senior defenseman Cooper Shea (Braintree, Mass.) had two assists. Wilkinson had two more points against the Spartans. Senior goalie Tyler Moschella (Braintree, Mass.) had a 29-save shutout against Belmont Hill, while making 32 stops to take down Lawrence Academy.
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10. Belmont Hill (10-4-2)
Previous ranking: 10
Head coach: Brian Phinney
Next game: at St. Mark's, Jan. 21, 5 p.m.Â
The Sextants played twice this past week, falling to Thayer and then rebounding with a 6-4 win over Governor's Academy. Senior defenseman Evan Jones (Arlington, Mass.) went off against Gov's with two goals and an assist, while sophomore forward Robert DeKleine had three assists. Senior forward Matthew Carolan (Stow, Mass.) notched two goals. Junior goalie Ethan Bauer (Belmont, Mass.) started both games. The matchup with St. Mark's is huge this week. A win against the Lions would shake up these rankings quite a bit.
Dropped out:Â Phillips Andover (9-6-0; 7)
In the hunt:Â Holderness, Phillips Andover, Brunswick, Loomis Chaffee, Governor's Academy, Kent
