Christmas Classic. Founders League. Elite Eight.
At Avon Old Farms, winning those three championships makes up the checklist of goals for every season.
The Winged Beavers checked the first box this past weekend, keeping the Avon Old Farms Christmas Classic title at home for the second consecutive year. Avon finished the four-game, three-day tournament with a 4-1 victory over Frederick Gunn.
“Everyone’s working hard, all for that Elite Eight championship. But obviously, this is one of our goals,” said senior goaltender Anthony Palmer (Lynnfield, Mass.). “The whole team is so determined…and just wants to win. I’m excited to see what the rest of the year holds for us.”
While the Classic represents a single step on the team’s journey, which has begun with an 8-1-0 record and the No. 3 spot in our latest ranking, this one meant a little something more.
The championship was clinched on the same day that legendary coach John Gardner — who won over 800 games and nine New England crowns across five decades at Avon — died following a long battle with cancer.
The news made for a particularly challenging day for Mark Naclerio and his coaching staff, but there is much pride in how the latest team of Winged Beavers handled the circumstances.
“That was tough to hear. It’s never easy when something like that happens, but I’m really proud of the way that the guys responded,” said Naclerio, who has led Avon since his former coach took a personal leave last fall. He captained Gardner’s Avon team in 2010-11 before playing at Brown and professionally.
“I think they have to understand the importance of John and what he’s done for this program, what he’s built over the last 50 years,” Naclerio added. “He’s given everything he had to this school. … The guys really came out and played for him.”
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Avon overcame adversity on the ice during the weekend as well, bouncing back from a 2-1 loss to Kent in last Thursday’s tournament opener to beat St. Paul’s (3-1) and Tabor (3-2) to reach the final.
It’s only fitting that the two seniors who played for Gardner earlier in their prep careers — Palmer and team captain Tucker Harris (Ferrisburgh, Vt.) — were key contributors to the title.
Palmer, who stood between the pipes in three of Avon’s four weekend games, made a season-high 35 saves against Frederick Gunn. Harris scored two of his three tournament goals in the title game, earning MVP honors.
While Palmer has been a rock since arriving at Avon from St. Mary’s Lynn, and sports a .945 save percentage early in this season, Harris is producing at his best rate yet as a senior. He has four goals and nine points thus far, putting him halfway to his entire junior year point total in just nine games.
“(Harris is) a guy who showed significant improvement over the course of three years,” Naclerio said. “He’s the heart and soul of the team. Guys really connect well with him and look up to him. He leads by example, does all the little things right…and he’s managed to find the back of the net a few times. He’s been outstanding for us.”
Palmer has had a great view of his veteran teammate’s development from the net, but he believes it shows that depth and balance at all positions represent the strengths of this year’s team.
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A year after Dartmouth commit Indiana Grossbard (Wilton, Conn.) was one of the top scorers in New England with 26 goals, Avon has already had seven players score multiple goals. Ethan Gingeleskie (West Hartford, Conn.) leads the team with eight in just his sophomore year.
On the flip side, the defense has been stingy. Avon finished the tournament without allowing more than two goals in any game — a mark that only one opponent has eclipsed all season. Palmer pitched a pair of shutouts to begin the season.
“We’re a bit of a young team, but we’ve got a lot of guys scoring and our defense has been amazing,” Palmer said. “I feel like we don’t really have that star player like we did in the past. We have a solid three lines, everyone works hard and plays their role really well. There’s not one person on the team that doesn’t contribute to the win.”
From the coach’s perspective, Palmer's confidence should lead Avon to a deep run.
“He’s been super focused. He knows this is his senior year,” Naclerio said. “He’s been at Avon for three years now. He understands how we do things and the standards we have for our group. He’s been our backbone. His focus, his effort, his leadership has been very strong.”
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Whether it’s balance up front or strength in the back, the Winged Beavers showed well this past weekend and all season long.
Now, though, there’s added motivation as the march towards the Elite Eight finish line continues.
“I think all the guys definitely wanted to do it for (Gardner), even though most of them didn’t know him (as well as) Tucker and I. It definitely hit us deep,” Palmer said. “There’s nothing he would want for us more than to win.”
