The last three Avon Old Farms Christmas Classics have produced champions who also won hardware later in the season.
Kent won last year's tournament and then won the Large School championship in March. Avon Old Farms won the tournament the year before and later took home the Elite 8 title. In 2021, it was Kent winning the holiday tournament and the Large School just a few months later.
Does that mean Avon Old Farms is set to win the Christmas Classic this season? And then win the Elite 8?
While Avon enters its tournament as the highest-ranking team, it will face a plethora of challenges from the other squads in attendance.
The 41st season of the tournament begins Thursday and runs through Saturday. Here's how the divisions break down:
Pierpont DivisionÂ
- Berkshire
- Frederick Gunn
- Kent
- Loomis Chaffee
Trautman DivisionÂ
- Avon Old Farms
- St. Paul's
- Tabor
- Trinity-Pawling
And here's the schedule:
All games played at Avon Old Farms except for two at Trinity CollegeÂ
Thursday, Dec. 19
- 1 p.m. | Kent vs. Berkshire
- 3 p.m. | Frederick Gunn vs. Loomis Chaffee
- 5 p.m. | Tabor vs. Avon Old Farms
- 7 p.m. | Trinity-Pawling vs. St. Paul’s
Friday, Dec. 20
- 9 a.m. | Kent vs. Loomis Chaffee | at Trinity College’s Koeppel Center
- 9 a.m. | Berkshire vs. Frederick Gunn
- 11 a.m. | St. Paul’s vs. Tabor | at Trinity College’s Koeppel Center
- 11 a.m. | Trinity-Pawling vs. Avon Old Farms
- 3 p.m. | Frederick Gunn vs. Kent
- 5 p.m. | Loomis Chaffee vs. Berkshire
- 7 p.m. | Trinity-Pawling vs. Tabor
- 9 p.m. | St. Paul’s vs. Avon Old Farms
Saturday, Dec. 21Â
- 8:30 a.m. | Fourth place game
- 10:30 a.m. | Third place game
- 1:30 p.m. | Second place game
- 3:30 p.m. | Championship
While Avon enters as the favorite, the Winged Beavers lost two games over the last week and numerous other teams have a legitimate chance at the title.
Here's how each team stacks up.
Avon Old Farms
The Winged Beavers have lost two of three and sit at 3-2-0 through five games. On the one hand, that's below the standard Avon is used to. On the other, it's a mostly new group playing together and there are some high-end guys, so a slow start shouldn't be a shock.
The addition of Indiana Grossbard (Wilton, Conn.), who transferred in from Loomis Chaffee, has produced immediate dividends. The Dartmouth commit leads the team in goals (6) and points (8). Cooper Snee, the captain and a Providence College commit, has been instrumental with his best performance coming when he posted a hat trick in a 5-2 win at St. George's.
On defense, senior James Odyniec has four assists and consistently draws the toughest matchups. He's physical, mean and someone head coach Mark Naclerio can rely on. Junior Oskar Drabczynski, who is in his first season with Avon, has made an immediate impact with two goals and five points. He's a key part of the power play and a reliable, dynamic puck-mover.
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Senior Michael Heinke (Old Saybrook, Conn.) and junior Anthony Palmer (Lynnfield, Mass.) have mostly shared the net, with Heinke being a bit better but Palmer drawing tougher matchups.
Berkshire
Berkshire enters the tournament ranked No. 9 in the region after starting 6-0-0. Head coach Kevin Czepiel's top win so far came against Taft on Dec. 7. There's no doubt that dates with Kent, Frederick Gunn and Loomis Chaffee will be the Bears' toughest games so far.
The big theme with the Bears is they're old. That usually equates to success in prep.
Junior '07 forward Matt Lacombe is the team's leading goal-scorer (6) and point-getter (12). The Marlboro, Mass., native is on pace to sail past the 23 points he totaled last season. Senior forward Duncan Thompson, an '06, will be another prospect for Division 1 colleges to watch at the event. Through six games, he has eight assists and 10 points. Junior James McMurray is tied with Thompson for second on the team in points with 10. Senior Evan Regan has been impressive, too, with five goals and nine points. It's also no surprise that senior defenseman Josh Williams has been impactful with five helpers.
Senior Kyle Bolduc has gotten the majority of reps in net and has thrived with a 1.25 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage.
Frederick Gunn
Frederick Gunn comes into Avon at 3-1-1. The Highlanders are near being a top 10 team, but have lost to Kent and tied Phillips Exeter over the past two weeks.
Senior forward Tyler Kelly, an '06, will probably catch the most attention from onlookers. He leads the team in points with six. He has great hands and can drive play. When I watched Frederick Gunn at the Exeter Invitational, he was the team's best forward. Still, head coach Craig Badger's squad has countless other forwards with potential.
Seniors Matthew Nacinovich and Will Jackson each have five points. Postgrad Travis Rugg (Hingham, Mass.) has four assists and is an effective power forward. Badger expects seniors like Corbin Carkner and Billy Collins to continue taking steps forward.
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The core on defense is reliable. Junior '07 Dylan Hall (Glastonbury, Conn.) has two goals and four points, while seniors Talen McBride and Braden O'Neill and junior Kyle Secko all have two points apiece. Junior Tyler Clouthier (Hooksett, N.H.) has a goal and can be dynamic.
Badger has alternated using seniors Logan Heideman and Collin Logan in net. Heideman has the edge in games and boasts a 1.94 GAA and a .934 save percentage. Logan carries a 1.82 GAA and a .925 save percentage.
Kent
Kent was so close to getting ranked inside the top 10 this week. The Lions enter this tournament 4-2-0 with some big wins ... and some big losses. After turning away Hoosac and Hebron, Kent lost to Kimball Union, 4-0, and Brunswick, 7-2, in consecutive games. Head coach Dale Reinhardt's squad responded by beating Frederick Gunn, 5-2, and stunning Salisbury, 4-2.
Quite the start.
Senior forward Stefano Pietrantonio has been a goal-scoring machine with seven. Sophomore '08 Will Schlechtweg, who will certainly have Division 1 eyes on him this weekend, is tied for the team lead with eight points. Senior Luke Dow (Orange, Conn.) and juniors Aiden Grinshpun and Jack Broderick all have six points each.
Kent also has a good crew on defense. Senior Nathan DiChiara (Fairfield, Conn.), an NHL Draft prospect who is still uncommitted, has one goal and seven points so far. Harvard commit Ryan Poirier (Salem, N.H.) has five assists. Junior Cal Gustafson (Montpelier, Vt.) has three goals, while junior Martyn Ogorodnikov and '09 Jason Segal have three assists apiece.
Harvard commit Jacoby Weiner (Riverside, Conn.) had a tough start to his prep career with two losses to Kimball Union and Brunswick. But he rebounded well for a 44-save effort to beat Salisbury on Saturday. On Friday, senior Keegan Waldo made 38 saves to take down Frederick Gunn.
Loomis Chaffee
The Pelicans enter this tournament 1-2-1 with a win over Trinity-Pawling, losses to Brunswick and Pomfret, and a tie with Canterbury. Even with just six goals over the four games, sophomore forward Logan Ferrara, an '08, has two of them and assisted on two of the others. Junior forward Will Watson, an '07, has a goal and two helpers.
Seniors Liam Joyce and Luke Quinn have alternated games in net. Joyce secured the win over Trinity-Pawling with 34 saves and then followed that up by holding Canterbury to one goal on 21 shots. Joyce carries a 1.50 GAA and a .947 save percentage, while Quinn has a 3.09 GAA and a solid .913 save percentage.
If Loomis Chaffee makes a run this weekend, it will be because of the goaltending.
St. Paul's
Don't overlook St. Paul's. Under new head coach Scott Harff, their first big statement was tying Kimball Union, 4-4, on Friday. Sure, St. Paul's lost to Proctor, 3-2, the next night, but it's clear the Harff's team can hang with the big boys. Watch out for them as a spoiler.
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Harff's squad has gotten scoring from its big guns. Senior '06 Matt Vohra leads the way with 10 points in five games, while junior '06 Harry Dermody (Bedford, N.H.) has three goals and nine points. Junior '07 Andersen Kilbourne (Duxbury, Mass.) has five points, while freshman Luke Michaud, an '08, has three points. St. Paul's is also getting depth scoring, too, as 11 players have at least three points.
On defense, junior '07 Quinn Brandell has four assists, which isn't a big surprise. Sophomore '08 Chay Simons also has four assists. Senior Avery Ferraris has three points.
Junior Blake Truchon has shouldered the majority of the load in net with a 3.31 GAA and a .917 save percentage.
Tabor
After a disappointing 3-1 loss to open the season against Portsmouth Abbey, Tabor rebounded well with wins over Lawrence Academy and North Yarmouth Academy.
There hasn't been a ton to take away from three games, but the two leading point-getters on the team are defensemen. Junior Marcello Martinelli has two goals and four points, while junior Owen Carter has three assists.
Up front, senior Tommy Sheehan and junior Heyden Hildebrandt have two assists each and sophomore Ethan Travis has two goals.
Head coach Gerry Dineen has alternated senior Owen Byers, an '06, and sophomore Vinnie D'Urso, an '08, in net. Byers made 33 saves on 35 shots against Portsmouth Abbey and followed it up with a 15-save shutout over NYA. Wedged in between those games was D'Urso's phenomenal showing against Lawrence Academy. He stopped 46 of 47 shots in the ISL Keller Showcase.
Trinity-Pawling
Trinity-Pawling enters the tournament with a win over The Hill School and losses to Loomis Chaffee and Avon Old Farms.
Senior '07 Liam Lefebvre, a Vermont commit, is the team's offensive leader and has a goal and five points through three games. Tied with him in points is junior '07 Andrew Migliore who leads the team in goals with three. Senior forward Nick Peragine is also on a point-per-game pace with two goals and an assist so far.
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On defense, senior Ludovik Gauvin has four assists, while postgrad Ryan Wallace (Pomfret Center, Conn.) has one goal and one assist.
Postgrad Ian Arnott got the first start of the season and stopped 31 of 34 shots in a 3-2 loss to Loomis Chaffee. Since then, senior Ondrej Matousek has started against The Hill School and Avon Old Farms and has a 2.00 GAA and a .937 save percentage.
