The last four Avon Old Farms Christmas Classics have been won by Avon Old Farms and Kent. Kent won in 2021, Avon Old Farms won in 2022, Kent won in 2023 and Avon Old Farms won last season.
Switching off. Does that mean Kent will win it this year?
That's unknown, although Kent is a top-10 team. What is known, however, is that the caliber of play should be high once again with a stacked group of contestants.
There are a couple of squads from our newest boys prep top 10 in this fray, along with a group of teams on the outside trying to get in.
The 42nd version of the tournament begins Thursday and runs through Saturday. Here's how the schedule should play out.
Pierpont Division:Â Berkshire, Frederick Gunn, Loomis Chaffee, Trinity-Pawling
Trautman Division: Avon Old Farms, Kent, St. Paul’s, Tabor
Thursday, Dec. 18Â
- Game 1: Frederick Gunn vs. Berkshire, 1 p.m. | at Avon Old Farms
- Game 2: Trinity-Pawling vs. Loomis Chaffee, 3 p.m. | at Avon Old Farms
- Game 3: Kent vs. Avon Old Farms, 5 p.m. | at Avon Old Farms
- Game 4: Tabor vs. St. Paul's, 7 p.m. | at Avon Old Farms
Friday, Dec. 19Â
- Game 5: Berkshire vs. Trinity-Pawling, 9 a.m. | at Koeppel Center (Trinity College)
- Game 6: Loomis Chaffee vs. Frederick Gunn, 9 a.m. | at Avon Old Farms
- Game 7: Tabor vs. Kent, 11 a.m. | at Koeppel Center (Trinity College)
- Game 8: St. Paul’s vs. Avon Old Farms, 11 a.m. | at Avon Old Farms
- Game 9: Frederick Gunn vs. Trinity-Pawling, 3 p.m. | at Avon Old Farms
- Game 10: Loomis Chaffee vs. Berkshire, 5 p.m. | at Avon Old Farms
- Game 11: Kent vs. St. Paul’s, 7 p.m. | at Avon Old Farms
- Game 12: Tabor vs. Avon Old Farms, 9 p.m. | at Avon Old Farms
Saturday, Dec. 20Â
- Game 13: 4th place Pierpont vs. 4th place Trautman, 8:30 a.m. | at Avon Old Farms
- Game 14: 3rd place Pierpont vs. 3rd place Trauman, 10:30 a.m. | at Avon Old Farms
- Game 15: 2nd place Pierpont vs. 2nd place Trauman, 1:30 p.m. | at Avon Old Farms
- Game 16: 1st place Pierpont vs. 1st place Trauman, 3:30 p.m. | at Avon Old Farms
Here are nine storylines to watch.
1. Can Avon Old Farms repeat?
Based on its first five games, it's very likely.
The Winged Beavers, who ranked No. 4 this week, have been rolling. They've won five straight games, taking down Williston Northampton, St. George's, Taft, Trinity-Pawling and Deerfield. It's been a combination of goaltending and offense.
Senior goalie Anthony Palmer (Lynnfield, Mass.) has been near perfect with a 1.40 goals-against average and a .949 save percentage in all five games. Up front, senior Liam Donnelly and junior Nico Ciardiello (Guilford, Conn.) have thrived with eight points apiece. Sophomore Ethan Gingeleskie (West Hartford, Conn.), an '09, has broken out with four goals and seven points.
Head coach Mark Naclerio's team is undoubtedly the team to beat.
2. Kent's top line
Kent enters the tournament as Avon's biggest threat, and the two teams face each other on Thursday.
If the Lions are to make a run, it will be because of their dominant top line. Uncommitted senior Lucas Husted-Edwards has nine points in five games, which is outstanding — but it somehow looks small in comparison to linemates Jack Broderick and Will Schlechtweg. Broderick, a Cornell commit, has seven goals and 15 points, while Schlechtweg, who is uncommitted, has six goals and 17 points. Those 17 points rank third in the region.
That trio has been on a completely different level.
Match that with Kent's second line of Ethan Wang, Maddox Boyle and Richard Shin, defenseman Cal Gustafson (Montpelier, Vt.) and nice play in net from juniors Cooper Ranawat and Donovan Dunlay in net, and there's a good reason why Kent most recently ranked despite dropping matchups with then-No. 7 Brunswick and then-No. 6 Salisbury last week.
READ MORE:Â Top boys prep performers from the first week of the season
3. Don't sleep on Loomis Chaffee
There's always an upset or two on the first Wednesday of December. This year, one of the top ones was Loomis Chaffee taking down then-No. 7 Brunswick, 2-1. Since then, however, maybe it wasn't as much of an upset as we thought.
Junior netminder Markus Weber made 34 saves to take down the Bruins. He showed well in a 3-3 tie with Trinity-Pawling, making 39 stops. He made 26 saves on 30 shots against Canterbury on Saturday, but was pulled due to an equipment issue. He's been a reason Loomis is 2-1-1.
Junior Logan Ferrara has been a breakout prospect with seven points in four games, while senior Carson Woolcott has five in four.
With wins over now-No. 6 Brunswick and Pomfret, as well as the Trinity-Pawling tie, Loomis Chaffee can't be slept on.
4. Berkshire's top guns
There's no question that Berkshire has something to prove in this tournament. In its two best games on the schedule so far, it lost to Taft, 5-2, and Canterbury, 3-2. But the Bears have outscored Hebron, Albany Academy, Lawrenceville and The Hill School, 30-3.
Berkshire's best is somewhere in the middle.
It starts with senior forwards James McMurray, Matt Lacombe (Marlboro, Mass.) and Jonah Rainisch. The trio has been the heartbeat of the offense. McMurray has eight goals and 18 points in seven games, while Lacombe has 12 assists and 16 points, and Rainisch ranks second in the region with 10 goals. Fellow senior forward Carter Johnson has eight assists.
On defense, Berkshire has a nice core of seniors with Gus Chong, Dominic Somma, Harrison McLean and James Reilly. Junior Alex Kim (Leonia, Mass.) has been solid in net so far, too, with a 1.36 GAA and a .931 save percentage.
Even though the Bears just fell out of the top 10, they have the firepower to get back in.
READ MORE:Â The oral history of the glory days of Matignon hockey
5. Can St. Paul's make a statement?
St. Paul's was one of the handful of teams I considered for No. 10 in this week's rankings. That's how good head coach Scott Harff's team has been.
So far, the Big Red have won all four of their games, beating Brewster Academy (7-1), Tilton (2-0), Vermont Academy (2-1 OT) and Proctor (9-3). Is that a gauntlet? No, but they've taken care of business.
Offense is coming from everywhere. Junior Finian Kilbourne (Duxbury, Mass.) leads the team with six points, but sophomore Max O'Regan and senior Harry Dermody (Bedford, Mass.) both have five, and senior Quinn Brandell and juniors Ryan Vohra, Mitchell Smith and Callum Green all have four.
In net, senior Blake Truchon (South Burlington, Vt.) and junior Matteo Vessella have shared the load. Truchon has a 1.50 GAA and a .938 save percentage, while Vessella has posted a 0.97 GAA and a .913 save percentage.
The schedule isn't easy this week with Tabor, Avon Old Farms and Kent on the menu, but St. Paul's has a chance to make an early statement.
6. Frederick Gunn's depth
It's been an up-and-down start for Frederick Gunn. The Highlanders opened by tying Hotchkiss, beating New Hampton and then tying then-No. 1 Dexter Southfield. This past week, however, they lost to then-No. 3 Kent, 4-1, and Williston Northampton, 3-2.
The potential is there.
Frederick Gunn has legit depth up front with postgrad Whit Denzin, seniors Tucker Mears, Nathan Desanto and Ryan Tartaglione, juniors Will Wright, Patrick Cerullo, Alex Taylor and Troy Hamelin (Southwick, Mass.), and sophomore Peter Royer (West Hartford, Conn.). Head coach Craig Badger should have multiple players he can rely on to produce.
So far, a good amount of offense has been generated from the back end. Senior Dylan Hall (Glastonbury, Conn.) and junior Michael Block (New Milford, Conn.) are tied for the team lead with five points each. Junior Ryan Collins has four, and senior Chris Paolone has a penchant for puck-moving.
In net, junior Alex Scharr has been solid with a 2.36 GAA and a .917 save percentage. The ingredients are there for Frederick Gunn.
READ MORE:Â Full schedules, results for holiday tournaments
7. Andrew Migliore for Trinity-Pawling
Trinity-Pawling was a breakout team last season, going from six wins to 13. At the heart of that was the trio of Liam Lefebvre (57 points), Nick Peragine (42) and Migliore (51). Lefebvre and Peragine graduated, but Migliore returned for his senior year.
Head coach Robert Ferraris has to be pumped about that.
Trinity-Pawling has only played three games so far, going 1-1-1 against Loomis Chaffee (3-3 tie), Kents Hill (8-0 win) and then-No. 5 Avon Old Farms (6-4 loss). Migliore's fingerprints have been all over each game.
He notched a goal and an assist against Loomis Chaffee, posted another goal and three more assists in the win over Kents Hill and registered a hat trick on Saturday against Avon Old Farms.
Junior forwards Louie Giannattasio (Darien, Conn.) and Brayden Reynolds (Berlin, Conn.) have stepped into primary scoring roles with seven and six points each, respectively.
8. Tabor's Vinnie D'Urso in net
Tabor, at 2-1-0, has gotten strong production. Seniors Heyden Hildebrandt (Norwell, Mass.), Marcello Martinelli (North Providence, R.I.), Chase Watts (Barrington, R.I.), Colvin Callahan (Hull, Mass.) and Owen Carter (Warwick, R.I.) and junior Ethan Travis (Narragansett, R.I.) all have four points each. Junior forward Liam Kailher has three assists. Head coach Gerry Dineen will take that.
But Tabor's route to winning the Avon Old Farms Christmas Classic runs through junior goalie Vinnie D'Urso. The Andover, Mass., native was sensational last season, and that's continued into this winter. He has a 1.50 GAA and a .940 save percentage.
St. Paul's, Kent and Avon Old Farms in two days is a crazy ask, but D'Urso has spent the last two years proving he's fit for it.
9. The number of uncommitted prospects
Let's start with the two players most recently mentioned: D'Urso and Migliore. Both should be watched heavily by schools.
D'Urso is a 6-foot, 190-pound goalie whose athleticism is near the top of the region. He was under siege last season with a 2.63 GAA and a .929 save percentage, and has long been one of the top '08 goalies in the region. Migliore has nine points in three games after tallying 23 goals and 51 points last season. Even at 5-foot-9 and 165 pounds, his skill and ability to produce in tight should draw heavy interest from Division 3 schools and some Division 1 eyes as well.
Hall is an intriguing prospect for Frederick Gunn. While he's an '07, he's 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds, a two-way stalwart and someone who just seems to be hitting his stride. I'd put Paolone in the same class. Taylor and Hamelin are two intriguing, highly-skilled '09 forwards I'd recommend colleges to watch.
With St. Paul's, I'd look to Smith (an '08 forward), Brandell (an '07 defenseman) and '09 defender James Buchan. For Berkshire, McMurray, Lacombe and Rainisch should draw both Division 1 and 3 eyes this week.
Avon Old Farms has a slew of prospects worth college coaches' time, but I'd put Ciardiello, Donnelly, Gingeleskie and Jacob Jett at the top of that list. Palmer, a 5-foot-10, 165-pound netminder, should be someone Division 3 coaches are fighting for to bring in next year.
READ MORE: The latest boys prep rankings entering the holiday tournaments
Kent is in a similar boat. Every year, there are a handful of prospects who leave the holiday tournaments with a Division 1 commitment in hand. I'd be stunned if Schlechtweg isn't one of those players this year. He's been too good this season. Husted-Edwards, Gustafson and defenseman Dylan Mallgrave are interesting Division 1 prospects, too.
