The New England prep school hockey league was one of the few to be able to fully complete its season and playoffs before hockey -- and all of sports, for that matter -- were shut down because of the novel coronavirus.
This unique position enables us to take a look back at the NEPSAC boys' hockey season as a whole, from start to logical conclusion.
And, contrary to what you might think, not every high was found at the season-ending championship day, this year held at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., where Salisbury, Loomis Chaffee and Gunnery came away with titles.
So, here's a look back at the highs and lows of what was a very interesting and hard-fought prep hockey season.
Highs
Salisbury's run to the title: If you're a believer in balance in the universe, then no team deserved the Stuart/Corkery Elite 8 title more than the Andrew Will-coached Salisbury Crimson Knights. Coming off losing to Kimball Union not once but twice in the previous year-end Elite 8 finals, Salisbury was on a mission and seemed like a team of destiny. Its convincing 4-0 win over powerhouse Dexter Southfield in the final was a microcosm of the season as a whole: balanced scoring, consistent goaltending and disciplined adherence to systems.
Avon Old Farms' dominant regular season (plus any interview with coach John Gardner):Â The Winged Beavers are usually pretty good, but this year they seemed to be on another level. They had strong play up and down the lineup, but in particular from Tabor Heaslip, J.P. Turner, Drew Tsakounis, Conor Callaghan, Gentry Shamburger, Timur Alishlalov and more, it seemed like this would be Avon's year. And this argument was not refuted with blowout wins over very good teams Loomis Chaffee, Kent and Gunnery.
Despite an overtime semifinal heartbreaker that ended their run -- a 4-3 OT loss to eventual Elite 8 champion Salisbury -- the season still deserves praise. After all, 23-2, people.
And, as a journalist, it's hard not to like talking to a guy like coach John Gardner, a coach who is one win away from 800 and speaks his mind. Mad props.
Lawrence's dominant season: Coach Robbie Barker had his Spartans firing on all cylinders, riding the hot play of top prospect Riley Duran and generally rolling over teams in a tough conference. Somehow overcoming an early season-ending shoulder injury to senior goalie Brandon Milberg, Lawrence dominated its competition, with few exceptions, even managing to beat Dexter Southfield in a key matchup with goalie Tomas Pientka making his first full start as No. 1 and then following that up with the team's first win at St. Sebastian's in 10 years.
Loomis Chaffee rolls: Despite injuries, despite being sometimes overshadowed by area rivals Avon Old Farms and Westminster, Loomis Chaffee under coach J.R. Zavisza just keeps getting it done. This season, even while minus top center Cody Hoban for key games down the stretch, the Pelicans held on and willed their way into the Martin/Earl Large Schools final, where they blanked a good Cushing team, 2-0, to win it all.
Play of emerging stars: The prep game is never lacking for star players coming into their own, and this year was no different: Lukas Gustafsson of Cushing, Riley Duran of Lawrence, Adam Fantilli of Kimball Union, Alex Jefferies of Gunnery, Briggs Gammill of Berkshire, Jake Quillan and Lucas Mercuri of Salisbury, just to name a few, all made names for themselves with star and MVP turns.
Final weekend of play: Not much tops a one-game championship weekend, everything on the line, every penalty potentially costly, every shot potentially the trophy-winning goal. Salisbury, Loomis Chaffee and Gunnery were not to be denied, all scoring, hitting and/or grinding their way to well-earned titles in entertaining fashion at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., one week before the sports world entered the surreal.
Lows
Lawrence's premature exit: No slight against Berkshire, which bounced the favored Spartans, 3-2, in the Elite 8 quarterfinals, but seeing Lawrence go out that early felt like a disappointment for anyone anticipating a clash of titans later in the playoffs. It also prevented us from seeing more of Riley Duran, which can't be a good thing.
Kimball Union's battle with injuries, contributing to a premature exit: KUA was solid but limping for most of the season, and nothing underlined that more than seeing the squad lose its grip on a lead in an Elite 8 quarterfinal game against -- who else? -- Salisbury before eventually dropping a 7-4 decision. Still, watching Tomas Mazura and Sullivan Mack in action in the final was worth the price of admission. (Which was free, but you get my point.)
Injuries in general: Injuries are a fact of life in hockey, sure. You play a hard game, you're going to get hurt at some point. Everyone accepts that. But seeing some of the players go down for long periods in such a short season seems particularly wrong. Health comes first, of course, but you just know some of these teams would have put up a better fight with a full and healthy roster. But, if anything, the rash of injuries are good proof that more games are not necessarily better.
Having boys and girls prep finals on the same day: Sure, having the pinnacle championships for each gender on the same day doesn't seem like a big deal, but it sure makes it difficult for both to garner equal coverage. How about one on Saturday and one on Sunday, at the same venue? Or alternate the girls and boys games, so we have two Elite 8 title games back to back? Make it a festival, that kind of thing.
Recruiting in the time of coronavirus: Early returns of the suspension and cancellation of seasons means prep school coaches are relying largely on video to scout and recruit. This is nothing new in this modern age, but nothing beats meeting kids to find out who they really are and whether they will fit into your locker room and school environment, and schools have not been able to do that.
One coach said this coming season should be relatively normal in terms of recruiting primary players, it's just the secondary and complementary players who will be most affected. The time to panic, he says, is if we're still isolated in mid-July.
Either way, stay safe out there, everyone.
Paul Grant is an editor and a writer for HockeyJournal.com and Seamans Media. He previously oversaw hockey content at ESPN.com and Sporting News. You can connect with him at pgrant@hockeyjournal.com.
