Kent has made an incredible run in NEPSAC over the past five years with three Large School titles, including two in the past three seasons.
The Lions secured their most recent championship with a 3-2 win over Dexter Southfield last month. Gio DiGiulian (South Burlington, Vt.), a forward and a Cornell commit, scored two goals, including the game-winner.
But one achievement remains just out of reach for the Lions: an Elite 8 berth.
Kent came oh-so-close to the Elite 8 in 2021-22, snagging the No. 2 spot in the Large School. After being the No. 8 seed in the tournament last season, the Lions earned the No. 5 spot in this season’s Large School dance.
Still, the bedrock of Kent's success does not come from an achievement-based mindset — it comes from development.
"We'd love to get there. We've been so close. If you look at that team in 2022, I think we missed that Elite tournament by like 0.0001 RPI points. It's been a little bit of a tough hurdle for us to overcome. I think the thing that we need to adapt is just consistency," head coach Dale Reinhardt said.
"Our schedule's really challenging. I wouldn't change it for anything. We don't really have any off days, and I think that's important for our guys’ development at the end of the day. That's really what our focus is on. The championship stuff, success on the ice, that's all fun, and that's all something we obviously play for, but my real goal is to help kids get better, whether that's on the ice or off the ice — try and reach their individual goals within the framework of what we're trying to accomplish as a team."
And Kent's success begins off the ice. Through recruiting and exceptional leadership by upperclassmen, the Lions have built a well-oiled machine in the locker room. As seniors graduate, they are supplanted by younger players ready to take the reins in Litchfield County for the Lions.
"I think the recruiting has gone well," Reinhardt said. "Obviously, we have good support from our school and things like that. We try to have a pretty consistent approach to what we do every day and try to stay process-focused as opposed to results-focused. We've had really great leadership within our team. I think that's a part of it, too. Winning breeds more winning.
"I always feel like we've got as good if not better depth than anybody we play. We've got different guys that can step up and do whatever. Look at the forwards — eight of those guys played on our power play, and a big group of them played on our penalty kill. We trust those guys against any other line."
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The hero of the championship game, DiGiulian, also noted the defensive depth for the Lions was key and shielded them from slumping in the middle of their season.
"I think it's our depth. Our top three lines and then our top six (defensemen) were just amazing all year," DiGiulian said. "We kept that going all year instead of slowing down like that seven-game losing streak that we had last year. We knew what we needed to do, and we just kept doing it.
"We just bought in and realized that we can actually win something. I think it was a mindset, and I think all of our guys were in the right place."
Forecasting the future of the program is never easy, with additions and subtractions along the roster repeatedly changing the equation. But the consistency that Reinhardt brings each season in practice and principle helps bridge the gap year to year for the Lions.
"We pride ourselves the most on the way we practice. We come with a very intentional effort where we challenge each other, we create internal competition, and there's no reps off for us. Our guys come and compete all practice long," Reinhardt said.
"Sometimes, I wonder if that contributes to when we have a midseason lull. Are the guys worn down? But I think it's really important for their development. They have to come every day. There are no days off."
Kent has laid the foundation for a successful future and a potential Elite 8 bid on the horizon. Reinhardt remains optimistic and does not believe in making drastic changes to the schedule or upending the culture and model the Lions have built over the past decade.
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For Reinhardt and the Lions, getting to the Elite 8 means consistency is key and not overthinking it. Noting the demanding nature of being a student-athlete and, frankly, a teenager, Reinhardt is not putting an Elite 8 bid high on his players' priority list. They just need to focus on playing "Kent hockey."
"I'm going to hope, moving forward, we can figure out how to master that level of consistency in January when there's a little bit less at stake, it seems,” the coach said. “I really think that carries a long way toward the end of the year. We certainly have been proud of what we've been able to accomplish."
