The Flood-Marr Tournament, which begins Friday and runs through Sunday, is typically one of the strongest New England boys prep holiday tournaments.
But this season is different.
Kimball Union, the current No. 1 team in the region, will look to defend its Flood-Marr title from last season. Salisbury, the team we picked as the preseason No. 1, will be there. Nobles is ranked No. 7. Phillips Andover and Deerfield sit just outside the top 10. Good showings this weekend could propel one or both into our rankings.
Before we preview each team, here's the schedule:
Friday, Dec. 20 (at Nobles)
- 9 a.m. | Hotchkiss vs. Nobles
- 11 a.m. | Westminster vs. Kimball Union
- 1 p.m. | Phillips Andover vs. Milton Academy
- 3 p.m. | Deerfield vs. Salisbury
- 5 p.m. | Kimball Union vs. Nobles
- 7 p.m. | Westminster vs. Hotchkiss
Saturday, Dec. 21 (at Milton Academy)Â
- 9 a.m. | Milton Academy vs. Deerfield
- 11 a.m. | Salisbury vs. Phillips Andover
- 1 p.m. | Westminster vs. Nobles
- 3 p.m. | Hotchkiss vs. Kimball Union
- 5 p.m. | Milton Academy vs. Salisbury
- 7 p.m. | Phillips Andover vs. Deerfield
Sunday, Dec. 22 (at Nobles)Â
- 8 a.m. | Fourth place Owen vs. Fourth place Harding
- 10 a.m. | Third place Owen vs. Third place Harding
- 12 p.m. | Second place Owen vs. Second place Harding
- 2 p.m. | Championship
Click or tap here to access all boys prep holiday tournament schedules and results.Â
Now, let's dive into the Flood-Marr field.
Deerfield
Deerfield will arrive at the Flood-Marr red hot. Head coach Tim McVaugh's team crushed Groton, 9-1, in its season-opening game and then handled Northfield Mount Hermon and Choate. The Big Green's biggest win so far was its latest: a 4-3 victory over then-No. 2 Avon Old Farms.
Senior forward Justin Tavares is off to a raging start, which isn't much of a surprise after he put up 40 points last season. So far, he has five goals and 12 points. Senior Drew Keiver is also off to a great start with three goals and eight points. McVaugh's also been fortunate to get high production from his postgrads. Ben Paterson (Franklin, Mass.) has seven points, while Oliver Duininck has six.
The Big Green have a strong defensive core, too. Senior Zachary Chehade is leading the way with three goals and four points. Junior defender Nate Watson also has four points. Postgrad Aiden Barclay (Dover, Mass.), seniors Connor Coutu (Upton, Mass.) and Pierce Lapham, and junior Billy Weller have been key, too.
Junior '08 Elliot Lennon continues to come into his own in net. He has a 2.25 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage in all four games.
Hotchkiss
Hotchkiss has only played three games so far but they were all against good opponents. The Bearcats fell to Frederick Gunn, 3-2, before taking down Canterbury, 6-2. Most recently, it lost 1-0 to Salisbury. Even at 1-2-0, Hotchkiss can hang with top teams, which will serve it well this weekend.
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Head coach Mike Doyle's team's biggest asset is in net with Holy Cross commit Connor Towle (Fairfield, Conn.). The senior '06 has a 2.05 GAA and a sparkling .946 save percentage. Hotchkiss faces Nobles, Westminster and Kimball Union. Towle will be vital to surviving that gauntlet.
Hotchkiss will also need to score goals (go figure) and a key to that will be senior forward Jack McGregor, who has four points so far. Postgrad RJ Donohue (Canton, Mass.) and juniors Jake Doherty (Bolton, Mass.) and Aidan Patton (Wallingford, Conn.) will be important as well.
Seniors Reid Finster and Thomas Malawaski, along with juniors Evan Seow and Beckett Stenz (Trumbull, Conn.), will be tasked with difficult matchups throughout the weekend.
Kimball Union
Kimball Union won this tournament last season and enters positioned well to repeat. The Wildcats have wins over The Hill School, Stanstead College, Vermont Academy, Rivers, Kent, Proctor and Brewster Academy. The one blemish is a tie with St. Paul's.
Head coach Tim Whitehead put together a roster with a lot of talent. And with CJ Watroba (West Springfield, Mass.) as the only committed player, Division 1 college coaches will be making a point to watch KUA this weekend. Watroba, a Merrimack commit, leads the offense in points with 13. Junior '08 Xander Boutilier is an intriguing prospect to watch with his three goals and 12 points so far. Postgrad '05 Zach Phillips is a newcomer with five goals and 10 points. His younger brother and linemate, Josh, has six points. Seniors Corwith Simmers and Mickael Tissier both have eight points, while senior Max Kimelman has four goals.
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The theme up front is depth. The theme in back is stable play led by two Division 1 prospects.
Senior defenseman Lucas Siomos has two goals and 10 points. The '07 has been a welcome addition. Fellow senior Nick Evans (Malden, Mass.) has two goals and five points is known for being a high-end, two-way defenseman.
In net, senior Blake McMeniman (Revere, Mass.) picked up where he left off last season. He has a staggering 0.92 GAA and a .954 save percentage. This will be a big weekend for him in terms of getting Division 1 looks.
Milton Academy
It's been a brutal start to the season for Milton Academy. The Mustangs dropped their first four games and didn't score more than two in any of them. Those losses came to St. Mark's, St. Sebastian's, Lawrence Academy and Governor's Academy.
There's still time to turn things around. This weekend is the perfect opportunity.
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Head coach Jim Gaudet's forward grouping is solid. Junior Brody Sharpe leads the way so far with two goals and four points. Seniors Anthony Sergeyev, Luis Valencia, Ewan Cleary and Kyle Greene, along with juniors Joe Feinberg (Needham, Mass.) and Jeremy Polzer should be due for more production.
On defense, junior Josh Levy has two assists, and seniors Nick Brandano (Lynnfield, Mass.) and Danny Li project to play heavy minutes this weekend. Eli Zucker and Carter Backus (Cohasset, Mass.) are both sophomore '08 goalies. It will take time for them to settle in, but they will certainly be busy this weekend.
Nobles
Nobles has only played three games so far but has wins over Belmont Hill and Berwick, as well as a tie to Pomfret. The win over Belmont Hill was substantial, as the Bulldogs passed their first test of the season on Dec. 8.
Junior '07 forward Billy MacAusland (Westwood, Mass.) leads the way with two goals and five points. However, this team's biggest asset is its senior forwards: Yale commit Kyle O'Leary (Medfield, Mass.), Ethan Cox (Westboro, Mass.), Ben Nakata (West Barnstable, Mass.), Dennis Davidson (Newton, Mass.), Matthew Welch (Boxboro, Mass.) and Teddy MacAusland (Westwood, Mass.). That core is why Nobles has such high expectations.
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On defense, sophomore '08 Kris Soja (Ludlow, Mass.) is the team's primary puck-mover and has a goal and three points so far. Freshman '10 Kasen Walsh (Warwick, R.I.) has two assists in his debut prep season. Senior Lou Munger (Dedham, Mass.), juniors Tuck Gilbane (Chestnut Hill, Mass.) and Jack Hartwell (Cohasset, Mass.), sophomore Alex Munox (Weston, Mass.) and freshman newcomer Eben Alden (Dover, Mass.) are also important in solidifying Nobles' end.
Sophomore Tucker Monroe (Wellesley, Mass.) has played two games, while freshman Justin Lee (Newton, Mass.) started one. Lee got a 16-save against Berwick, while Monroe has a 0.96 GAA and a .960 save percentage after facing Belmont Hill and Pomfret.
Phillips Andover
Andover started its season on a high note, taking down Cushing, 4-1. Since then, the Big Blue beat Albany Academy, Thayer and Groton, while tying Pomfret and losing to New Hampton in overtime. That puts them on the cusp of being a top-10 team.
NHL scouts will surely be in attendance to watch senior forward Grayden Robertson-Palmer. The Dartmouth commit has four goals and nine points. He was one of the best players at the Flood-Marr last season. Fellow senior Rui Han is tied with Robertson-Palmer in points. Sophomore '08 Alex Theodore has broken out for three goals and seven points. Senior Peyton Militello and Danny Collins (Winchester, Mass.) are also forwards head coach Paul Tortorella counts on.
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Andover has a reliable core on defense, too. Senior Zachary Skowronek had 18 points last season. Senior Chas. Sabre and junior Zachary Fedele already have three assists each this season. Junior Louis-Felix Beaulieu and Matt Piotrowski both have a goal and an assist.
In net, senior Chase Anderson (Marblehead, Mass.) has been one of the best goalies in prep. The '06 has a 1.67 GAA and a .947 save percentage. If he continues playing the way he has, Andover will be one of the favorites to win the whole thing.
Salisbury
Salisbury opened the season as our No. 1 team. While the Crimson Knights tied Taft and lost to Kent in their first four games, it's not the end of the world. They're notorious for slow starts. This is no different.
Senior forward Connor Davis has lived up to expectations so far. The Northeastern commit has three goals and seven points. Like with Robertson-Palmer, there will be many NHL scouts there to watch Davis. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound power forward is hard to miss. Senior forward Ryan Hedley has five points, while postgrad Jake Novak (Needham, Mass.) and Oliver Morris each have four. Senior forward Owen Knight has two goals.
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A prospect that Division 1 coaches will want to watch is '08 defenseman Chris Baird-Gajdos. The slick, puck-mover has one goal and five points since arriving at Salisbury from Little Caesars. Postgrad Jake Jarrell (Westfield, Mass.) has a goal and an assist. He was with Pope Francis in the MIAA last season. All 6-foot-6 of Harvard commit Colin Feeley is back there. So are seniors Finn Boyd (West Hartford, Conn.), Kieran Riley and Ian Wheland.
Senior Steven Luciano (New Canaan, Conn.) has had a strong start to the season with a 1.64 GAA and a .930 save percentage. This will be a big weekend for him in terms of playing well in front of college eyes.
Westminster
Westminster has only played three games to open the season. The Martlets opened with a win over Northfield Mount Hermon before falling to Choate and Brunswick.
Junior Erich Brueckmann leads the offense with two goals and four points. Seniors Blake Burke (Trumbull, Conn.), Derek Rhodes (Ludlow, Mass.) and Easton Masse (Manchester, Conn.), along with juniors Owen Burke (Trumbull, Conn.) and Colgate commit Tommy Coccaro (Fairfield, Conn.) will be counted on to produce a lot this weekend. The same is true for sophomore Timmy Donohue (North Haven, Conn.).
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Senior defenseman JJ Hurley (West Hartford, Conn.) has three assists, while junior Carson Craig has two points and junior Matteo Di Marzo has one.
The x-factor for Westminster will be junior goalie Jack Fichthorn (Darien, Conn.). The '07 got on NHL Central Scouting's preliminary list and is the backbone of the Martlets. Westminster will go as far as Fichthorn takes it.
