As it so often has the past several years, the 2024-25 Connecticut boys’ high school hockey season came down to a matchup between two bitter rivals.
That was Darien and New Canaan, a pair of bluebloods from the Fairfield County Interscholastic Conference who met at Quinnipiac for the Division 1 state championship. Darien came out on top, 4-1.
But the Blue Wave and the Rams don’t share the only heated rivalry in Connecticut. In the Southern Connecticut Conference, Fairfield Prep and Notre Dame-West Haven are arch enemies, and they met in the Division 1 title game two seasons ago.
Combined, these two rivalries make up the Big Four in CIAC boys’ hockey, and they’re where our preseason Top 10 rankings begin. But as we head into a new season, there’s intrigue beyond the usual suspects, including three programs on the rise from Division 2 and another three from Division 1 hoping to break into the state title conversation.
Let’s dive into our rankings:
1. Darien
Division: I
Conference: FCIAC
2024-25 regular season: 14-4-1
2024-25 postseason: State champions
Coach: Mac Budd
The Wave returned to the mountain top last season after a seven-year drought, winning the program’s fourth state championship. This year, Budd will return plenty of top contributors, including All-State first team winger Jack Marisca, who will play opposite fellow senior captain James Troy, who broke out in last year’s postseason. Senior captain defenseman Michael Kniffin will join junior Alex Levey, who has prep school potential. And in goal, there’s junior Schafer Repsher, who came out of nowhere last season to become one of the state’s best netminders. Darien certainly has the horses to be Division 1’s first repeat champion since Fairfield Prep in 2018 and 2019.
2. New Canaan
Division: I
Conference: FCIAC
2024-25 regular season: 19-0-1
2024-25 postseason: State finalists
Coach: Clark Jones
The Rams lost 74 points to graduation between Bryce Lyden and Brayden Robie, but Jones’ team is still loaded. Forward Rogan Lowe (18 goals and 12 assists last season) is one of the state’s best players, and fellow senior Tony DelCarmine (11 goals, 19 assists) will play alongside him with exciting junior Drew Harmon, giving NC a potent top line. The Rams return a lot in the defensive core, too, with senior Cam Lyden and junior Jack Crowell leading the way, while sophomore Blake Pozatek figures to replace reigning first-team All-State goalie Brendon Harmon. The Rams have all the makings of a championship team.
3. Fairfield Prep
Division: I
Conference: SCC
2024-25 regular season: 7-11-1
2024-25 postseason: State quarterfinalists
Coach: Vin O’Hara
Prep, boasting 19 state titles, is one of the CIAC’s traditional powers, and the Jesuits figure to be right back in the mix. Senior winger Connor Driscoll is one of Connecticut’s best forwards, top-line center Luca Bosco is an elite glue guy and fellow senior captain Tyler Pulie is a quick defenseman who controls the pace. O’Hara lost star goalie Charlie Rodrigue to prep school, but he’s got two capable seniors, Chris Carr and Mac Olsen, competing to replace him. Prep looked like it could go all the way last year after defeating Notre Dame-West Haven in the SCC title game, but the Jesuits fell in overtime to the Green Knights in the quarterfinal.
PREP PREVIEWS: St. Sebastian’s | Cushing | Belmont Hill | Milton | Tilton | Berkshire | Deerfield | St. George’s | Brunswick | Winchendon | Salisbury | Choate | Nobles | Kent | Holderness | Dexter Southfield
4. Notre Dame-West Haven
Division: I
Conference: SCC
2024-25 regular season: 9-9
2024-25 postseason: State semifinalists
Coach: Larry Viera
The Green Knights graduated a 14-player senior class, led by forward Nick Stevens and defenseman Dylan Banjowski, but everyone is expecting Viera’s team to remain in the thick of the Division 1 title discussion. Forwards Ethan and Matt Kelly and fellow senior Gavin Nethercott, a defenseman, are all back and will be ND-West Haven’s foundation, but the addition of junior forward Xavier Mitchell — whom Viera believes could be the fastest player in the state — will be critical. In net, 6-foot-3 junior Benjamin Pikul, who started on JV last season, will compete with senior Aidan Sherman, who has started one varsity game. Viera will likely rotate them initially but will allow one to win the job.
5. East Haven Co-op
Division: II
Conference: SCC
2024-25 regular season: 17-2-1
2024-25 postseason: State champions
Coach: Lou Pane
The Yellowjackets are in Division 2, but many coaches believe they belong in Division 1. Pane’s team scored at least seven goals in all four of its state tournament games last year on its way to the program’s first state title since 1998. East Haven did lose superstar forward Lorenzo Defilio (52 goals and 24 assists last year), but it returns nearly everyone else, including junior center Enzo Plano (13 goals, 40 assists), senior winger Nick Perillo (16 goals, 16 assists) and senior forward Shane Ruggiero (13 goals, 11 assists), all of whom will be assistant captains. Their captains — senior defensemen Preston Cantele and Carter McGlinchey — will lead a stacked defensive core. And while the net is between sophomores Mason LaCroix and Brian McGovern, Pane believes in both, and it’s hard to imagine the Yellowjackets struggling to score in front of them.
6. Cheshire
Division: II
Conference: SCC
2024-25 regular season: 15-4-0
2024-25 postseason: State finalists
Coach: Anthony Giusto
The Rams got jumped on in last season’s state final by East Haven, which was out to avenge a title-game loss from the year prior. Still, Giusto — nicknamed “Juice” — certainly has a team capable of returning to the top of Division 2. Center Zach Hooper (11 goals, 18 assists last season) joins forces on the top line with fellow junior Mark Laskin (25 goals, 14 assists), one of the best forwards in Connecticut. Cheshire also returns its entire defensive core, headlined by senior captains Liam O’Dea and Michael Bulger and exciting junior Isaac Mann, while senior goalie Ryan Miller (.920 save percentage last year) returns after a second-team All-State campaign.
PREP: Our preseason boys top 10 | Ranking the next 15 teams
7. Simsbury
Division: I
Conference: CCC
2024-25 regular season: 11-9-0
2024-25 postseason: State semifinalists
Coach: Dave Olechna
The Trojans are the class of the CCC after winning the stronger North Division for the third year in a row in 2024-25. Olechna’s group fell in the Division 1 semifinal to eventual champion Darien, and despite the loss of first-team All-State forward Reid Anastasio and fellow senior captain Brady Davis in goal, Simsbury returns a bevy of talent. Senior forward Gavin Bulger returns after a first-team All-State campaign, while junior Finn Mills-Hall leads the blue line after making second-team All-State last season. Sophomore Graeme Baxter is Simsbury’s only listed goalie, but if he can survive in net, the Trojans have the horses in front of him to make a run.
8. Amity
Division: II
Conference: SCC
2024-25 regular season: 11-4-2
2024-25 postseason: State semifinalists
Coach: Andy Townsend
The Spartans are coming off an SCC Division 2 title, which they won last season by defeating both Cheshire and East Haven before eventually falling to the former in the state semifinal. Townsend’s group lost plenty of contributors from that team, including first-team All-State defenseman Liam Oliver, but there’s a solid core still remaining, one headlined by senior CJ Costanzo (15 goals last season). Junior forward Dillon Courtney and sophomore forward Calum Gattinella also return after productive seasons, while seniors Kevin Gu and Cristian Luciano will power the defensive core. And in goal, sophomores Dylan Porto and Brendan Silva will compete to replace former seniors John Kennedy and Asher Furman, who split the net last year.
9. Xavier
Division: I
Conference: SCC
2024-25 regular season: 6-13-0
2024-25 postseason: State quarterfinalists
Coach: Karl Sundquist
The Falcons played their best hockey at the end of last season — Sundquist’s group had Darien on the ropes in the state quarterfinal before conceding a game-tying goal with 30 seconds left and losing in overtime. And though Xavier lost two of its best players — All-State defenseman Griffin Manske to graduation, senior forward Drew Maxwell to prep school — Sundquist is hoping a young core can take another step this year. Defenseman Nate Gaydos (who led Xavier with 10 goals last year) and fellow sophomore Braden Linskey, a forward, both have big potential, while senior captain Tyson Jarvis (seven goals and eight assists in 2024-25) and junior Dillon Torneo (three goals, nine assists) bring experience to the top six. Sundquist needs those players to significantly improve their production, but even if Xavier is still a year away, it can make some noise. Darien can attest to that.
PREP: 32 breakout forward candidates | 24 breakout defensemen candidates |13 breakout goalie candidates
10. Northwest Catholic
Division: I
Conference: CCC
2024-25 regular season: 9-10-1
2024-25 postseason: State quarterfinalists
Coach: Dan Melanson
The Lions lost a bevy of seniors to graduation, headlined by first-team All-State forward Patrick O’Shaughnessy, and lost would-be sophomores Mason Dolch, a goalie, and Aiden Lachance, a defenseman, to Loomis Chaffee. Still, Northwest Catholic was the best of the rest in Division 1 last season, leading New Canaan into the third period of the state quarterfinal, and Melanson expects the Lions to be there again, even with a younger team. Tyler Bennett will lead NWC’s attack, Tyler Burke will lead the blueline and Nick Baboolal will be in goal. All are seniors, and they’ll show the ropes to a group of 15 newcomers, 14 of whom are freshmen.
