It's time for the big dance in New England boys prep hockey: the Elite 8.
Now comes the sprint that this entire season has come down to. The quarterfinals are on Wednesday, the semifinals are on Saturday and then a quick turnaround for the championship on Sunday at UConn.
While Dexter Southfield was the No. 1 team for most of the season, Deerfield overtook them and enters the Elite 8 as the No. 1 seed. St. Mark's comes in at No. 2, while Dexter and Cushing are the third and fourth seeds.
I want to make something clear before we start: I don't see a clear favorite in this grouping. I believe any of these eight teams could win it all.
Let's dive in to a team-by-team breakdown.
1. Deerfield (21-4-0)
Record against teams in the Elite 8: 2-1-0
After losing to Phillips Andover and Kimball Union in the Flood-Marr and falling to Salisbury in their first game back after winter break, the Big Green have been on fire. They beat Loomis Chaffee and Cushing, lost to Trinity-Pawling on Jan. 18 and never lost again, entering the tournament on a 13-game winning streak. They're also battle-tested, carrying the second-highest opponents' winning percentage in the Elite 8 field.
There are a lot of elements to this team that typically equate to success this time of year. Senior Justin Tavares leads the team in goals (16) and points (42), but there are a plethora of effective, older forwards such as postgrad Ben Paterson (Franklin, Mass.), seniors Drew Keiver and Lance Roberts (Weare, N.H.), and juniors Matteo Alvarez and Lukas Machan. All are either averaging over a point per game or are right under the threshold.
Senior Zachary Chehade and junior Nate Watson have led the defense with points and shutdown play. Seniors Ryan Diffley (Old Saybrook, Conn.) and Pierce Lapham have been strong, too.
There's a lot to like about Elliot Lennon in net. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound netminder has been one of the best goalies in the region, carrying a 2.03 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage. He's a candidate to carry his team through a tournament as tough as this one.
2. St. Mark's (23-4-2)
Record against teams in the Elite 8: 2-2-0
St. Mark's made an immediate statement this season, beating Dexter Southfield, 5-1, in its second game of the season. Even though the Lions lost the next night to Winchendon, they went 12-0-2 in their next 14 games, winning the William Barber Tournament and taking down Rivers, Belmont Hill and St. George's in eight days.
Head coach Carl Corazzini's team is deep. Junior Evan Nee (Arlington, Mass.) leads the team in goals (23) and points (51). Sophomores Caiden Pellegrino (Uxbridge, Mass.), Will Manchuso (Stow, Mass.) and Cam MacPherson (Hopkinton, Mass.) have been vital scorers. The same is true for senior Drew Carr (Medway, Mass.). Outside of Carr, the rest should be back next season, which makes this team a threat to win the Elite 8 this year and next.
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Junior defenseman Moussa Seydi has been one of the biggest breakout players in the region. He ranks 11th among all defenders in points with 28. Senior Jack O'Connor, junior Jack Taylor (Framingham, Mass.) and sophomores Phin Howard (Newton, Mass.) and Blake Grislis (Narragansett, R.I.) have all eaten up important minutes throughout the season.
But the big story with the Lions is in net. Senior Justin BriseBois has arguably been the top goalie in the region. Among goalies with at least 1,000 minutes played, he ranks first in GAA (1.73) and save percentage (.938). If he continues to be this good, St. Mark's is going deep.
3. Dexter Southfield (19-5-1)
Record against teams in the Elite 8:Â 3-2-0
Dexter and Deerfield went in opposite directions in February. While Deerfield couldn't stop winning, Dexter lost three of its last four games, falling to St. Paul's, Winchendon and Holderness. Still, Dexter has been one of the best teams this season. From Dec. 4 to Feb. 14, Dexter went 18-2-0, only losing to St. Mark's and Cushing.
The clear strength of head coach Danny Donato's team is their offense. Junior forward and Boston University commit Rian Chudzinski (Needham, Mass.) has been as advertised with a team-leading 21 goals and 47 points. Alongside him on the top line have been senior Sean Leetch (Boston, Mass.) with 39 points and sophomore Noah Survilas (Winthrop, Mass.) with 38. Several other forwards would be top-line players on other teams: seniors Nate Porter (Hingham, Mass.) and Tyler Hamilton (Framingham, Mass.), juniors Joe Marchi (Foxboro, Mass.), Nick D'Olympio (Rockland, Mass.) and Jack Fitzpatrick (Canton, Mass.) and sophomore Owen McHale (Charlestown, Mass.).
Sophomore Myles Brosnan (Winchester, Mass.) has led the defense and been one of the best blueliners in the region with 29 points in 25 games. Junior Matt Hines (Hingham, Mass.) has been helpful offensively and seniors Cam Smith (Lincoln, R.I.) and Collin Rowe (Andover, Mass.) have been key defensively. Junior Tommy Broderick (Norwood, Mass.) also recently returned from injury.
The question will be in net. Junior Colin Davis (Canton, Mass.) has seen a bit more time in the net than fellow junior Kyle Ready (Pembroke, Mass.). Davis' numbers are strong with a 2.33 GAA and a .921 save percentage. He led Dexter to the Large School championship last season.
4. Cushing (20-7-2)
Record against teams in the Elite 8: 3-3-0
The Penguins are the perfect example of getting hot at the right time goes a long way. It took some time for Cushing to get going. It lost its first two games, had a meh showing at the Lawrence/Groton Tournament and even after winning the Watkins Tournament in early January, lost four of seven games in late January. When I did my Elite 8 forecast in early February, Cushing wasn't even a top 16 team in JSPR.
Cushing finished with an eight-game winning streak, notching victories against Vermont Academy, Brunswick, St. Mark's, Canterbury, Phillips Andover, Kimball Union, New Hampton and Governor's Academy.
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The strength of this team is its defense. First-year head coach Ryan Bourque boasts four Division 1 commits with seniors Ryland Randle, Tyler Russo (Hamilton, Mass.) and Kristopher Richards, as well as junior Tommy Bleyl. Randle and Bleyl push the pace and jumpstart the rush, while Russo and Richards are terrific shutdown presences.
Up front, the majority of the scoring has come from senior Max Dineen (Brentwood, N.H.) with his 53 points and sophomore '09 Joseph Covelluzzi (Wakefield, Mass.) with his 31 points.
If Cushing can keep games low-scoring and junior goalie Maksim Corovic stays hot, Cushing should be a threat to go to its third-straight Elite 8 final.
5. Brunswick (18-6-3)
Record against teams in the Elite 8: 1-3-1
The Bruins came out hot out of the gates, starting 13-0-2 and winning the Kevin Mutch Tournament. Their first hiccup came in early January when they lost a weekend set to Dexter Southfield. In February, they fell to Cushing and Taft, while also tying Salisbury. They did, however, get two big wins over Frederick Gunn and one against Berkshire. Things got dicey in the last week when they fell to Taft, 6-1, and Trinity-Pawling, 6-4.
Head coach Mike Kennedy is fortunate to have multiple scorers to turn to. Junior Harvard commit Joe Salandra has arguably been the best player in prep with 37 goals and the most points in the region with 70. Junior Dartmouth commit Mason St. Louis (Old Greenwich, Conn.) has also been a revelation with 20 goals and 52 points. Senior Oliver Czaja (Darien, Conn.) has been a productive, two-way force down the middle and sophomore Keegan Kazan (Wilton, Conn.) has been at a point-per-game pace. Senior Tucker Spiess (Old Greenwich, Conn.) and juniors Ben Lombardi (Cos Cob, Conn.) and Owen Gibbons (Fairfield, Conn.) have provided depth.
Freshman '09 Cam Minella has been a huge addition on defense with his seven goals and 35 points. The Darien, Conn., native has proven to be a potential USNTDP Evaluation Camp candidate and a definite Division 1 prospect. Junior Princeton commit Hampus Vandenberg (Riverside, Conn.) has been vital on the back end, as has senior Blake Stant (Easton, Conn.), junior Jack McCullough (Westport, Conn.) and sophomore Harry Holland.
Dylan Lee-Stack, a junior, has a 2.58 GAA and a .907 save percentage. The 6-foot-2 netminder will need to revert to his best for this next week.
6. Salisbury (18-6-5)
Record against teams in the Elite 8: 2-1-1
The Crimson Knights have had an up-and-down season. They underwhelmed at the Flood-Marr Tournament, finishing as the seventh place team. But after a Jan. 3 loss to Culver, they went 8-0-1 over their next nine games before falling to Berkshire. They went 7-1-2 in their final 10 games, but lost to Westminster and tied Brunswick and Avon Old Farms in late February.
Sleeping on Salisbury, however, has never been a good idea. There's a reason head coach Andrew Will's team was our preseason No. 1 pick.
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Senior forwards Ryan Hedley and Northeastern commit Connor Davis have been their leading scorers. In the second half, senior Oliver Morris and Jake Novak (Needham, Mass.) turned it on, providing a whole bunch of depth scoring. Those four players pitching in offensively will be Salisbury's biggest reason it does or doesn't go deep. Depth scoring after Hedley, Davis, Morris and Novak has been a bit harder to come by.
On defense, Harvard commit Colin Feeley and junior Chris Baird-Gajdos lead the way. Senior Finn Boyd (West Hartford, Conn.) and junior Zach Gill have been important, too. Senior Steven Luciano (New Canaan, Conn.) has been great in net with a 2.27 GAA and a .916 save percentage.
The Crimson Knights are a low seed. But Will has had no issue winning Elite 8 titles. He won three straight from 2013-15 and then in 2020 and 2022. It's been a two-year drought and they might be due.
7. Rivers (20-5-1)
Record against teams in the Elite 8: 2-2-0
The Red Wings were a bit up-and-down through the first half of the season. But after a loss to St. Mark's on Jan. 18, they won their final 12 games with big wins over Nobles, Belmont Hill, St. George's and St. Mark's. They are one of the hottest teams in prep.
Rivers' biggest strength has been its '09 line with Carter Meyer (Winchester, Mass.), Finn Sears (Medford, Mass.) and Sam Pandolfo (Winchester, Mass.). Meyer leads the region in goals with 40 and ranks second with 68 points. He's also first in points per game at 2.62. Sears isn't far behind with 22 goals and 51 points, while Pandolfo has 35 points in 26 games. The trio have been a pain for teams to defend. Then there's Merrimack commit Justin Graf (Lincoln, Mass.) who has 54 points and Will Hatten (Wayland, Mass.) who boasts 40.
Sophomore Freddy Meyer (Winchester, Mass.) has been a breakout player on defense with his 21 points and physical two-way game. Senior Darren Iversen (Framingham, Mass.) and junior Evan Handler (Walpole, Mass.) are reliable puck-movers, while younger players like Will Pratt (Newton, Mass.), Colin O'Leary (Medfield, Mass.), James Foster (Wellesley, Mass.) and JP Montgomery (Winchester, Mass.) have played well.
In net, junior Derrick Huang (Carlisle, Mass.) has been great of late and has a 2.58 GAA and a .897 save percentage on the season. If Huang is on, Rivers will be primed for upsets.
8. Nobles (18-7-1)
Record against teams in the Elite 8:Â 0-1-0
Nobles looked like a high seed in the Large School field after its loss to Belmont Hill on Feb. 21. Still, the Bulldogs went 7-1-0 in February and got a bit lucky with the way things shook out with other teams in the last few days.
The Bulldogs' biggest strength is their forwards, as they boast two of the best players in New England: Senior and Yale commit Kyle O'Leary (Medfield, Mass.) and junior Billy MacAusland (Westwood, Mass.). MacAusland has 61 points, while O'Leary is right behind with 59. They give Nobles an advantage every time they're on the ice together and can dominate. Senior Ethan Cox (Westboro, Mass.) has been impactful with 17 goals and 37 points. Fellow seniors Dennis Davidson (Newton, Mass.), Teddy MacAusland (Westwood, Mass.) and Matthew Welch (Boxboro, Mass.) have also provided depth scoring.
Nobles doesn't have a bona fide No. 1 defenseman, but it has a lot of players who get the job done like senior Lou Munger (Dedham, Mass.), juniors Tuck Gilbane (Chestnut Hill, Mass.) and Jack Hartwell (Cohasset, Mass.), sophomore Kris Soja (Ludlow, Mass.) and freshmen Eben Alden (Dover, Mass.) and Kasen Walsh (Warwick, R.I.).
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Freshman '09 Justin Lee (Newton, Mass.) has been great in net this season with a 2.60 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage. The Elite 8 would provide him the perfect platform to break out.
One last thing: this will be head coach Brian Day's final postseason run with Nobles.
