After a very good regular season playing a very competitive schedule, Cushing Academy finished 17-7-3 last season and earned the No. 7 seed in the NEPSAC Stuart/Corkery Elite-8 tournament.
They lost to No. 2 seed Avon Old Farms School 6-0 there.
Cushing lost 11 players off that squad, presenting a lot of opportunities for this year.
“We have a lot of new guys this year and good returning players, and are looking for them to prove themselves as we get going this year”, said Paul Pearl, entering his second season as Cushing’s head coach.
Returning forwards
Cushing will rely heavily on Landan Resendes and Ethan Gardula. Both players attended the 2022 USAPDC camp for 2005 prospects in Buffalo, N.Y., this summer, and have continued on with success early in the fall season with the Central Mass. Penguins.
Resendes, from Hudson, Mass., is a Boston College commit, and Gardula from Princeton, Mass., is a UConn commit.
Cushing will also look for Linas Dedinas from Lithuania, a senior, and Nikita Belik from Ukraine, also a senior, “to both have really good years,” Pearl said.
Returning defensemen
Ryan Philbrick (Concord, N.H.) is the top returning defenseman for the Penguins and a University of New Hampshire commit. He’s an excellent student and baseball player, and will be looked to for leadership on the back end.
Zach Rizzo from Atlanta, Ga., a senior, “is a good player and should play in college,” according to Pearl.
Goaltending
Cushing lost Jackson Irving (Newbury, Mass.), now playing in the USHL for the Sioux Falls Stampede, and the competition for the net is wide open.
Luke Rizzello from Zurich, Switzerland, who got into a handful of games last year, will compete with Cooper Rautenstrauch — an ’05 who played for the Buffalo Junior Sabres last year.
“It will be an open battle for the net this year,” said Pearl.
Newcomers
“We have a good group of forwards coming to the school and defenseman that are going to help,” Pearl said. While Pearl did not want to specifically point out new players, here are some that New England Hockey Journal thinks should have an impact.
Lawrence Academy transfer Daniel Markevych should contribute right away. The Mississauga, Ontario, native, an ’05 forward, put up 14 goals and 18 points in 21 games last year at Lawrence. Cushing will also look to two Gloucester, Mass., high school transfers, Emerson Marshall an ’05, and Jack Costanzo an ’03, who is a three-sport standout in golf, baseball and hockey.
Rautenstrauch is also a newcomer in goal.
“I think we are going to be pretty good season this year, and I think it’s a good group — a good mix," Pearl said. "Compared to some other prep schools, we might be a little younger but overall, I think we have a good mix of ages. We play a very competitive schedule — a hard schedule — and the key will be how quickly we can put it together to be a consistent team."
