There is a new No. 1 team in New England Hockey Journal’s second Prep School Coaches Poll of the 2019-20 season.
After beginning and ending last season as the region’s top team, Kimball Union was upset by Kent School during this past weekend’s Phillips Exeter Invitational. Though the Wildcats were one of four teams that received first-place consideration in this week’s voting, a new team has taken over the top spot.
Nine of the teams ranked in last week’s preseason edition stayed in the top 10 and eight entered Wednesday’s games without a loss on the season. Three earned at least 120 points to top this week’s charts, while the bottom five teams were separated by just 12 points. (Teams receive 10 points for a first-place vote, nine for a second-place vote, eight for a third-place vote, etc.)
The NEHJ Prep School Coaches Poll will be released every Tuesday during the season on hockeyjournal.com.
Please send an email to jkummins@hockeyjournal.com if you are interested in participating in our polls throughout the winter.
1. Dexter Southfield (3-0)
154 points - 6 first-place votes
Last week: 3rd
Dexter came out strong during the regular season’s opening week, posting convincing victories over Cushing, 10-2, and Hebron, 7-0, before a 4-3 win Sunday over Stanstead College.
Twelve players scored over the first three games, but fourth-year varsity player, captain and defenseman John Fusco (Westwood, Mass.), scored four goals to support Ryan Kazmouz (Nashua, N.H.) during his 16-save shutout against Hebron. Fusco and Matt Copponi (Mansfield, Mass.) are tied for the team scoring lead with five points each. To round out the week, Culin Wilson (Hingham, Mass.) scored the game-winning goal in the third period against Stanstead.
2. Kimball Union (3-2)
136 points - 9 first-place votes
Last week: 1st
The Wildcats started the December portion of their schedule with a 7-1 win over Bishop’s College School and a 15-0 triumph against Vermont Academy, but a 5-2 setback against Kent marked their first NEPSIHA loss of the season.
Tomas Mazura and Luca Fantilli each logged three points in the first of those three games. Paul Dore, Zach Whitehead (Meriden, N.H.) and Jaiden Moriello (Saugus, Mass.) scored hat tricks and combined for 13 points against Vermont Academy. Seventeen players recorded at least one point in that game while Zak Brice made 19 saves. In the loss, Sean Donoghue (Meriden, N.H.) and Conner Chalmers (Windham, N.H.) scored goals.
3. Gunnery (3-0)
124 points - 1 first-place vote
Last week: 4th
After a 3-1 win at Hotchkiss to open the season, Gunnery scored at least five goals in consecutive games as it defeated Exeter, 5-0, and New Hampton, 8-3.
Carmine Andranovich (Durham, Conn.) has been a constant in net, making 29 of his total 80 saves in the Exeter shutout. Mark D’Agostino (North Branford, Conn.) scored twice in that game before a four-point effort against New Hampton. D’Agostino, David Andreychuk (Chatham, N.J.) and Alex Jefferies (Lunenburg, Mass.) have all scored three goals in as many games, with Jefferies posting a hat trick and five of his six points in the most recent win.
4. Salisbury (2-1)
76 points
Last week: 2nd
The Crimson Knights bounced back from a season-opening 3-2 loss at Taft to beat Williston Northampton, 3-0, and Millbrook, 4-1.
Matthew DeBoer (Madison, N.J.) has opened his senior year on a strong note, scoring four goals in the three games. Two came against Millbrook, surrounding Jake Quillan’s deciding goal. Against Williston, Quillan and Tommy Rooney (Milton, Mass.) each had a goal and an assist as Max Donoso pitched a nine-save shutout. In the season’s first loss, DeBoer and Samuel Deckhut found the back of the net.
5. Avon Old Farms (2-0)
62 points
Last week: T-6th
The Winged Beavers opened their season with back-to-back wins against Williston Northampton, 4-2, and Hoosac, 8-1.
Timur Alishlalov opened the season with two goals and an assist against Williston, while Paul Davey (Greenwich, Conn.) also had three points, and Tabor Heaslip added out two assists. Alishlalov doubled his point total to six with a goal and two assists against Hoosac, but Drew Tsakounis was the leading goal scorer in that game as part of a three-point night. Connor Callaghan (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) has stopped 31 of the first 34 shots he’s faced.
6. Thayer (3-0)
57 points
Last week: 8th
The Tigers jumped up two spots in the NEHJ rankings after posting three straight wins to open the season against St. George’s, 7-2, Rivers, 4-2, and Governor’s, 4-3.
Joseph Kramer (Bridgewater, Mass.) has nine points on the season, including four in each of the first two victories. Nick Roukounakis (Pembroke, Mass.) and Kramer’s former BC High teammate Declan Loughnane (Milton, Mass.) each have five points in the early going for former NHLer Tony Amonte’s team. Peter Kramer (Bridgewater, Mass.) scored the winner during Thayer’s two-goal third period against Govs, helping Gavin Fitzpatrick (Norwood, Mass.) earn a 33-save win.
7. Tilton (3-0)
56 points
Last week: 10th
Tilton’s season began with a 5-4 overtime win over Kents Hill before it defeated Proctor, 2-1, and St. Paul’s, 6-1, over the weekend.
The game-winning goal against Kents Hill highlighted Maxwell Cocchi’s (Ludlow, Mass.) two-goal, one-assist effort in the season opener. Jon Tavella (East Longmeadow, Mass.) had three of his team-leading six points in that game, but he has scored in each of the first three Rams games. In net, Justin Lee earned the first two wins before Joe Raspante (Sandwich, Mass.) finished the opening stretch with a 28-save effort.
8. St. Sebastian’s (2-0)
53 points
Last week: 9th
The Arrows began their season with a pair of three-goal wins over Rivers, 5-2, and Milton, 6-3.
Sophomores Brendan Gorman (Arlington, Mass.) and Timmy Delay (Hingham, Mass.) lead the team with five points each. Gorman scored one goal in each of the first two games. Brendan Dumas (North Attleboro, Mass.) and Jake Lavoie (Taunton, Mass.) each scored a pair of goals against Milton as Liam Connors (Westborough, Mass.) assisted on half of the team’s goals. Goaltender Luke Garrity (Duxbury, Mass.) opened the season with 25 saves against Rivers.
9. Kent (3-0)
46 points - 1 first-place vote
Last week: Unranked
The Lions started the season with three straight wins, including a 5-2 upset of then-No. 1 Kimball Union during this past weekend’s Exeter Invitational. Kent’s first two victories came against Hoosac, 5-1, and Hebron, 7-2.
Jason Kleinhans and Jonas Passante (New Rochelle, N.Y.) have scored four and three goals, respectively, but Aidan Cobb’s (Ridgefield, Conn.) team-leading total of seven points includes two goals and five assists. Kleinhans and Passante had two goals each in the season opener. Cobb scored twice and added two assists to help Kent defeat KUA. Against Hebron, Michael Hurst had a goal and two assists while Jake Hoadley (South Kent, Conn.) scored twice. Joey Purtell (Beverly, Mass.) backstopped the win over KUA with 43 saves.
10. Lawrence (1-0)
45 points
Last week: 5th
The Spartans opened the season with a 4-0 win over Wyoming Seminary in which returning goalie Brandon Milberg needed to make just 15 saves. Blake Humphrey (Rochester, N.Y.) logged two points and was one of four different goal scorers for Lawrence. Defenseman Kyle Furey (Marblehead, Mass.) assisted on three of the team’s four goals.
Others receiving votes: Loomis Chaffee, Exeter, Nobles, Groton, St. Mark’s, Cushing, Pomfret, Berkshire, Holderness, Northfield Mount Hermon, Westminster, Proctor
