It’s tournament season.
The Martin/Earl Large School Tournament seedings are out and we know the matchups. A few of the teams at the top had legitimate chances at the Elite 8 as recently as a week or so ago.
It should be very competitive in this tournament, as at first glance, there doesn’t appear to be an overwhelming favorite.
The quarterfinals will take place Wednesday, March 1 at campus sites. On Saturday, March 4, the semifinals will occur at campus sites. Then, on Sunday, March 5, the Large School championship will be held at St. Anselm College along with the Elite 8 and Small School championships.
Click or tap here to view the full Large School Tournament bracket.
In last season’s Large School Tournament, No. 2 Kent took down No. 1 Brunswick for the title.
We will have a separate story outlining our predictions for each matchup. Click here to view the full schedule and the matchups for the Elite 8 and Small School Tournaments.
Let’s take a close look at all eight teams in the Large School Tournament.
No. 1 Taft (17-8-0)
Record against other Large School Tournament teams: 2-4-0
Rudy Guimond, a netminder, is the biggest reason why Taft was in line to potentially get an Elite 8 bid. Instead, Taft gets the No. 1 spot in the Large School Tournament.
The Yale commit has become an expert in facing a ton of shots and stopping a great number of them. He’s faced over 40 shots in a game a staggering 10 times, going 6-4-0. One of those was a 55-save effort to hand Avon Old Farms its first loss of the season. It’s clear Guimond can carry Taft.
But he’s not the only bright spot on the roster.
Taft is fortunate to have seniors Jackson Holl (Avon, Conn.) and J.J. Lemieux leading the charge upfront. Both are well over point-per-game players. So, too, is junior forward Derek Tremblay. Juniors Alexander Kenerson (Watertown, Conn.) and Leyland Johnson have been bright spots on defense.
No. 2 Salisbury (14-6-5)
Record against other Large School Tournament teams: 1-3-1
While the Crimson Knights aren’t the same team that won the Elite 8 last year, they still have a solid group intact.
Postgraduate Garrett Krieger has been the top player on offense this year with 21 points in 25 games. Junior Seamus Latta and sophomore Liam Kilfoil, one of the most dynamic players in prep hockey, have provided the offense as well. Counting out senior Trey Deere is never a good idea either.
Head coach Andrew Will is fortunate to have seniors Quinn McCall and Alex Zakrzewski and junior Hudson Gorski eating up heavy minutes on defense.
In net, postgraduate Matt Alberti and junior Cooper Flemming have split time and have strong numbers to show for it.
No. 3 Dexter (15-6-8)
Record against other Large School Tournament teams: None
Dexter enters the postseason hot, as it went on an eight-game win streak from Jan. 25 to Feb. 18 before tying Holderness and losing to Belmont Hill. Dexter was in the Elite 8 hunt for a bit, but its final two games of the regular season, along with eight ties, prevented it from getting in.
FULL PREVIEW: Who will emerge as champion in the Elite 8?Â
While the offensive numbers don’t jump off the page, senior Connor Sutherland (West Roxbury, Mass.), junior Cullen Emery (Reading, Mass.) and sophomore Nate Porter (Hingham, Mass.) are the most impactful, lethal scorers up front.
Dexter’s strength is on the back end. Seniors Sean Keohane (Milton, Mass.) and Mick Frechette (Weston, Mass.) are two of head coach Dan Donato’s most reliable blueliners. There’s also Yale commit Jonathan Lanza (Winthrop, Mass.), who’s a solid puck mover.
Donato has two options in net: seniors Max Gatti (Winchester, Mass.) and Paul Dalessio (Burlington, Mass.). He’s turned to both at different times throughout the season.
No. 4 St. Sebastian’s (13-8-5)
Record against other Large School Tournament teams: 0-1-1
While Dexter has struggled at times offensively, the Arrows have not. St. Sebastian’s boasts a cast of juniors in Matt Cataldo (Norfolk, Mass.) and Isaac Mitchell (Harvard, Mass,), as well as sophomore Teddy Mutryn (Norwell, Mass.) who provides a ton of the scoring. Junior Nolan Flynn (Natick, Mass.) and sophomore Ben Merrill (Hingham, Mass) have provided a good amount of depth production, too.
St. Sebastian’s defensive core doesn’t jump off the page, but it gets the job done with juniors Aidan Connors (Westborough, Mass.), Jack Harney (Needham, Mass.) and Charlie Leverone (Sudbury, Mass.).
Pelle Russo (West Newton, Mass.) has done a great job holding down the net in his first year as the starter. If Russo is on, the Arrows will be a tough out.
No. 5 Tabor (13-9-5)
Record against other Large School Tournament teams: 2-0-1
Despite a rough patch of games early in the second half, Tabor righted the ship recently, winning three of five to end the regular season. While it didn’t come in time to get the Seawolves into the Elite 8, they get the No. 5 seed in the Large School Tournament.
A recent blow came when Tabor lost leading scorer Jack DesRuisseaux (Manchester, N.H.) to injury. That’s significant, as the senior played in all situations and thrived. Juniors Keanan Dewberry and Cam Gaffney (East Greenwich, R.I.) and senior Xavier Vaillancourt will be looked upon to step up in DesRuisseaux’s absence.
On defense, head coach Gerry Dineen is fortunate to have senior Jason Zaccari and junior Cole Estey (Barnstable, Mass.) — two good, offensive threats.
FOLLOW THE ACTION: Check out the full bracket for the Small School Tournament
Senior Gus Ackerman (Marion, Mass.) had a nice season and his athleticism will be important when quarterfinal games get underway.
No. 6 Northfield Mount Hermon (19-9-1)
Record against other Large School Tournament teams: 2-0-0
In Kevin Czepiel’s last act as head coach of his alma mater, he will look to lead his team on a deep, Large School Tournament run.
NMH has a strong senior presence leading the offense with Frankie Hipp, Maverick Chedel (Groveland, Mass.), Jacob Fletcher, Bobby Lachance Jr. (West Hartford, Conn.), Alex Ondos and Cade DeWolf. On defense, junior Jack Turowsky (East Longmeadow, Mass.) leads the way along with seniors James Hooley (Quincy, Mass.) and Milin Aujla.
Junior Tommy Adams (Fairfield, Conn.) has posted a strong season in net, with a 1.89 GAA and .924 save percentage.
No. 7 Loomis Chaffee (12-8-5)
Record against other Large School Tournament teams: 1-1-2
Loomis Chaffee is the only team in the Large School Tournament to have a negative goal differential. That’s in large part to its shortcomings on offense. It also enters the tournament 1-3-2 in its last six games.
Still, seniors Will Reardon and Makai Tarjamo, plus juniors Eli Velepec and Ben Carfora (West Haven, Conn.) have provided most of the production. Defenseman Drew Anastasio (West Simsbury, Conn.) posted a great season with three goals and 15 points.
The big reason the Pelicans are here is the play of senior netminder Andrew Heinze (North Andover, Mass.). The ‘04 posted a 2.21 GAA and .925 save percentage and has had some strong performances this season.
No. 8 Kent (12-11-2)
Record against other Large School Tournament teams: 3-2-1
Expectations were high for Kent this season and things were looking alright when the Lions were 10-5-2 on Jan. 25. From there, however, they lost six straight games and took themselves out of Elite 8 contention. It should be noted Dale Reinhardt’s team wasn’t without injury troubles this season.
A bright spot for Kent has been the emergence of Gio DiGiulian (South Burlington, Vt.). The junior ‘05 has 16 goals and 27 points in 22 games, averaging 1.23 points per game and leading his team. He committed to Cornell on Jan. 24 and has been one of the top breakout stars in the region. Juniors Jack Roberts and Owen Mahar have also been key contributors up front.
FOLLOW THIS: Keep up with the Large School Tournament from start to finish
Alex Bales, Kent’s star defenseman who’s committed to Providence, has missed parts of the year due to injury. His absence has hurt, but juniors Teddy Mallgrave and Denver Damphousse and sophomore Jacob Ingstrup have stepped up.
In net, Senior Harrison Fogel and junior Aidan Hopewell have split time.
