The annual Kevin Mutch Christmas Tournament begins this week. It’s always one of the marquee events on the prep hockey calendar each season.
From Friday through Sunday, eight teams will battle it out at St. Sebastian’s in Needham, Mass. The teams include Albany Academy, Brunswick, Northfield Mount Hermon, Northwood, Rivers, Williston Northampton, Winchendon and, of course, the hosts, St. Sebastian’s.
Brunswick and Seb's met in the championship last season for the second straight year. The former took home the title by way of a 3-2 win. Each of those teams is among the favorites once again. There’s also no shortage of players on each team that will catch everyone’s attention during the tournament.
Here is the full schedule:
All games played at St. Sebastian’s
Friday, Dec. 20
- Game 1 | 2 p.m. | St. Sebastian’s vs. Albany Academy
- Game 2 | 4 p.m. | Northwood vs. Northfield Mount Hermon
- Game 3 | 6 p.m. | Rivers vs. Winchendon
- Game 4 | 8 p.m. | Williston Northampton vs. Brunswick
Saturday, Dec. 21
- Game 5 | 11 a.m. | Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser
- Game 6 | 1 p.m. | Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser
- Game 7 | 3 p.m. | Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
- Game 8 | 5 p.m. | Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner
Sunday, Dec. 22
- Game 9 | 9 a.m. | Game 5 loser vs. Game 6 loser
- Game 10 | 11 a.m. | Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner
- Game 11 | 1 p.m. | Game 7 loser vs. Game 8 loser
- Game 12 | 3 p.m. | Championship
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Now that we know the schedule, here’s a full breakdown of every team competing in the Mutch tournament.
Albany Academy
The Cadets enter the Mutch tournament with a 4-4-0 record. After beating Nichols School in double overtime to kick off the year, Albany Academy lost four straight to Ulysse Prep, Berkshire, Proctor and Phillips Andover. Matt Alvey's Cadets have bounced back with three straight wins, though, beating Wilbraham & Monson, Somang Prep and Hoosac.
Junior forwards Mason Keramidas (Wakefield, R.I.; five goals) and Lucien Haskas (four goals) each have eight points in eight games. Postgrad Sam Lopes (Cumberland, R.I.) has seven points (four goals), while senior Eric Backlund and postgrad Aiden Mumm each sit at six points.
Between the pipes, all three goalies have seen action, with postgrad starter Silas Stanek-Streed (Dover, NH) posting a .921 save percentage and a 2.37 goals-against average across seven appearances. Junior Aaden Wilsey turned aside 46 shots in a 4-1 loss at Andover.
Brunswick
The Bruins are among the favorites entering the tournament, and for good reason. Mike Kennedy's squad is unbeaten with a 5-0-1 record so far, winning five straight. After tying St. George's in the opener, Brunswick picked up wins against Loomis Chaffee, Phillips Exeter, New Hampton, Kent and Westminster.
Harvard commit Joe Salandra leads the way with 15 points (six goals), while junior Mason St. Louis has 12 points (six goals). Among six other point-per-game producers, senior Princeton lacrosse commit Tucker Spiess and senior Oliver Czaja each have four goals and four assists, while Princeton commit Hampus Vandenberg has six points on defense.
In net, junior Dylan Lee-Stack has had an excellent start to the season. The '07 has a .925 save percentage and a 2.12 goals-against average so far.
Northfield Mount Hermon
NMH is off to a 2-5-0 start this season. The Hoggers have wins against Brewster Academy, 6-3, and Wilbraham & Monson, 13-0. Their losses have come against St. Andrew's College, Belmont Hill, Westminster, Deerfield and Millbrook.
Seven skaters have at least a point per game for Jake Bennett's group. Senior Blake Baksay (Fairfield, Conn.) has 13 points (six goals), and senior Braydon Hudtloff has 10 points (three goals). Junior Easton Gates (Bristol, Conn.) and senior Mateo LaHaie each have four goals, too.
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In the crease, senior Luke Laurino and sophomore Evan Akerman have shared the net.
Northwood
Northwood is a full-season boarding school team out of Lake Placid, N.Y. So far this season, they’re 20-9-2. Some of their opponents include South Kent, Mount Saint Charles, Stanstead College, Bishop Kearney, Shattuck-St. Mary's, St. Andrew's College and Culver Military Academy.
Forward William Schneid, an '07, leads the way with 26 goals and 47 points in 31 games. Meanwhile, '06 forward Shane Tronoski has 35 points (13 goals). Forward Parker Thompson, an '07, and '06 defenseman Michael Peluso each have at least 25 points this season, too.
Goalie Jake Shingles, an '07, is 13-5-1 with a .923 save percentage and a 2.33. Meanwhile, '08 Owen Maclean is 6-4-1 with a .925 save percentage and a 1.63 GAA.
Rivers
The Red Wings have had no shortage of offense through six games, going 4-2-0 in the early going. They boast wins over St. Sebastian's, Hebron, Groton and Portsmouth Abbey, with close losses coming against Kimball Union and Thayer. Rivers has put up five or more goals in four games and at least four goals in five.
The usual suspects are getting it done for Freddy Meyer's team between freshman Carter Meyer's (Winchester, Mass.) 17 points (nine goals), Finn Sears' (Medford, Mass.) 14 points (eight goals) and Sam Pandolfo's (Winchester, Mass.) 11 points (nine assists). Junior Merrimack commit Justin Graf (Lincoln, Mass.) also has 13 points (10 assists). Three other skaters are putting up a point per game as well.
Freshman Will Torres (Framingham, Mass.) and junior Derrick Huang (Carlisle, Mass.) have split the net so far. Torres holds a .900 save percentage, while Huang has an .884.
St. Sebastian's
The new-look Arrows are 2-2-0 to start the season with losses to Rivers and Exeter bookending wins over Milton Academy and Portsmouth Abbey. Sean McCann's group has put up three or more goals in three of four contests.
Senior Brendan Keaveney (Westwood, Mass.) and freshman Austin Wu (Dedham, Mass.) are setting the pace with five points each. Keaveney leads the way with four goals. Junior Charlie Delay (Hingham, Mass.) is also at a point per game with two goals and two assists. Junior Brendan Matthews (Westwood, Mass.), freshman Cade Noonan (Needham, Mass.) and junior Ollie Manning (Franklin, Mass.) each have three points as well.
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In the crease, sophomore Tommy Saulnier (Medfield, Mass.) has a .910 save percentage through four appearances.
Williston Northampton
The Wildcats have had their ups and downs so far this season, sitting 2-3-0. After opening the slate with a 4-0 loss to Avon Old Farms, they bounced back with a pair of high-octane wins, beating Académie Saint-Louis, 7-2, and Vermont Academy, 11-2. Entering the Mutch tournament, they've dropped two straight, falling to Cushing and Frederick Gunn.
Eight skaters have put up at least a point per game for Kevin Hanford's team. Senior defenseman Gabriel Qureshi paces Williston with nine assists, while Declan Grenache (Sutton, Mass.) has seven points (five assists). Junior Hayden Hunter and freshman Brayden White (Wakefield, R.I.) have six points each. Senior Olivier Lapointe's four goals lead the way, while postgrad Teddy Devoe (Marshfield, Mass.) and senior AJ Songini (Pelham, NH) each have three.
In the crease, senior starter Zack Tremblay holds an .850 save percentage and a 3.97 GAA. Postgrad Fraser Smith stopped 25 shots against Académie Saint-Louis.
Winchendon
The Wapitis are 3-3-0 out of the gates this season. They've picked up wins against New Hampton, St. Mark's and Mount Saint Charles, while their losses came against Cushing, Roxbury Latin and Thayer.
Mike Busconi's team has gotten key contributions from upperclassmen like senior defenseman Johnny Harbour (Yarmouthport, Mass.), who leads the way with six points (five assists). Junior Kaidan Sahajpal has five assists, while senior Trevor Pellecchia (Leominster, Mass.) has five points (two goals). Senior Declan Rabe leads with three goals.
Between the pipes, junior Brady Knode has taken on the bulk of the workload, posting a .919 save percentage and a 2.56 GAA. Senior Dylan Michelow (Glastonbury, Conn.) was strong in the win over Mount, turning aside 21 shots.
