The Holt Conference provided some great matchups last season. Pingree eventually won the conference after taking down North Yarmouth Academy in the final.
This winter, the conference projects to take a step with each team aiming to up their status in the prep world. There should be some solid competition among the seven teams again.
We will cover the All-Holt team in a separate story, but first, we’re going to take a look at each team in the conference.
Let’s dive in.
Berwick
Coach: Lem Randall
2023-24 record: 15-12-2
Players to watch: Jimmy Connor, D; Cam Clark, D; Ryan Lewandowski, F; Mikey Ronan, F; Ethan Addazio, G
Outlook: The Bulldogs look to follow up advancing to the Holt Conference semifinals last season. Despite boasting a young team with only two seniors rostered, six defensemen are returning to provide a key strength. Connor led the back-end group with 20 points a season ago. Randall looks for his team to play fast with a lot to prove, while showing significant growth from the beginning of the season to the end. Losing 61-point scorer Parker Murch will open up opportunities for younger players to see increased roles.
PREP PREVIEWS: Avon Old Farms | Belmont Hill | Berkshire | Brunswick | Frederick Gunn | Holderness | Kent | Kimball Union | Phillips Andover | Salisbury
Hebron
Coach: Matt Lavallee
2023-24 record: 5-27-2
Players to watch: Alex Vogel, F; Jeremy Lavoie, F; Cliff Hedges, F; Joey Gualtieri, F; Johnny Blase, D; Jack Angel, D
Outlook: It was a down year for Hebron last season, only winning five games. Lavallee has the interim tag after Hebron announced him as head coach just last Thursday. Hebron has some intriguing talent up front. Vogel, an ‘07, had 12 goals and 20 points last season. Lavoie is also an ‘07 who looks ready to take the next step and Gualtieri is an ‘08 who had seven points last season.
Kents Hill
Coach: Jake Grade
2023-24 record: 15-10-2
Players to watch: Ben Chapdelaine, F; Ben Hugessen, D; Felix-Antoine Parenteau, F; Zachary Tsatas, F; Nikolas Smagacz, F; Anthony Dimopoulos, F; Thomas Lacroix, D; Benicio McCauley, D; Nathan Roy, D; Tristan Bourassa, G
Outlook: A strong group of returning players paired with some talented first-years has Grade excited about his Huskies entering the new season. While the team lost three top scorers and the top scoring defenseman from last year, Parenteau was one of six players to score a double-digit goal total with 16 and tied for the team lead in points. The coach believes his newcomers have proven themselves and can do more than fill in the gaps of those who graduated from the program.
BOYS PREP RANKINGS: Our preseason top 10 | Who are the next 15 teams?
North Yarmouth Academy
Coach: Michael Warde
2023-24 record: 16-14-4
Players to watch: Adrian Mendoza, F; Cayne Leive, F; Dylan Kullman, D; Vincent Ouellet, G
Outlook: A reigning finalist in the Holt Conference, which Warde expects to be as challenging as ever, NYA will be led by a strong seven-member senior class. Leading scorer Hugo Daniel is off to the junior ranks in the NAHL, but Mendoza (18 goals, 43 points) is another prominent producer who looks to continue making his own mark in Yarmouth. The Panthers look to strong defense and goaltending as critical aspects to success, with Ouellet returning to the net after carrying last season’s regular load as well.
Portsmouth Abbey
Coach: Zach Cappelli
2023-24 record: 11-14-5
Players to watch: Noah Jimbo, F; Connor Nolan, F; Hunter McCarthy, F; Logan McManus, F; Drake Almeida, F; Luca Mestrandrea, D
Outlook: With all four of last season’s 20-point scorers returning, Cappelli enters his second season as head coach saying the Ravens will be an older, tough team with the opportunity to score at a high rate. Nolan aims to produce an encore season after emerging as the second-leading freshman goal scorer in New England with 16. The group’s depth extends to the blue line, where Mestrandrea produced 14 points in his junior campaign. However, a new goaltender will have to emerge after two-year starter Patrick McDevitt graduated to Wesleyan.
Pingree
Coach: Shawn Bates
2023-24 record: 17-9-4
Players to watch: Joe Gaffney, F; Max Kirianov, D; Max Guertin, F; Danny Patch, F; Noah Luskin, D; Sean Foster, F
Outlook: Even with the loss of leading scorers Ryan Kavanagh and Quinn Moses (both 30-plus points) and Holt Conference Goaltender of the Year Nick Hubbard, Bates believes the reigning conference champions are built for another strong season ahead, carrying an older, experienced team with 10 seniors. There are high expectations for Gaffney, Guertin and Patch to help fill in for some of the lost offense that topped the roster in recent seasons. Gaffney netted a team-leading 13 goals last season. Bates is excited about the return of Kirianov as one of the region’s top defensemen and thinks highly of Luskin, a newcomer from nearby Newburyport, Mass.
PRESEASON ALL-STARS: Check out our First and Second teams for the Holt
Worcester Academy
Coach: Kyle Zobler
2023-24 record: 10-16-0
Players to watch: Joe Decesare, F; Chris Calvanese, F; Chris Hughes, F; Kellan Kissane, F; Jack Copponi, D; Cam Potter, D; Dominik Danko, D
Outlook: A Central Massachusetts native who played collegiately at Assumption, Zobler takes over the program after spending the previous season as an assistant to Bob Lavin, who departed to become the first coach of the Framingham State women’s program. The new head coach expects to put out a team that has a blue-collar mentality and a balanced lineup. Upperclassmen like Hughes (10 goals, 21 points) and Copponi will help to lead the team at their respective positions, while younger members of the team will also be needed to contribute right away.
