Everyone’s favorite time of year is upon us: tournament season.
The Piatelli/Simmons Small School Tournament seedings are out and the matchups are known. The top two teams had real chances of being in the Elite 8 as recently as last week.
While there is a clear favorite in this field, some of the other top teams will make for difficult outs.
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 Small School championship will be held at St. Anselm College along with the Elite 8 and Large School championships.
Click or tap here to view the full bracket of the Small School Tournament.
Last season, No. 4 Pomfret took down No. 2 Frederick Gunn to win the Small School Tournament championship.
We will have a separate story outlining our predictions for each Small School matchup. Click here to view the full schedule and the matchups for the Elite 8 and Large School Tournaments.
It’s time to take a close look at all eight teams in the Small School Tournament.
No. 1 St. Mark’s (21-5-1)
Record against teams in the Small School Tournament: 2-1-0
Up until Saturday, St. Mark’s was projected to be a low seed in the Elite 8 but due to Saturday’s action, St. Mark’s became the No. 1 seed in the Small School Tournament.
The Lions have had some brutal injury luck of late. Earlier this month, they lost star center Richard Gallant (Concord, Mass.) to a broken wrist. In a recent win over St. George’s, star defenseman Calvin Beard (Southborough, Mass.) got a fracture in his neck. They will be without both for the playoffs.
The massive losses will be tough to overcome, but that doesn’t mean all hope is lost for St. Mark’s. Up front, head coach Carl Corazzini’s team has seniors Sebbie Johnson, Jimmy Lyver (Grafton, Mass.) and Damon Myers (Worcester, Mass.). They also boast juniors Jonathan Balzarini (Milford, Mass.), Andrew Gibbons (South Kingston, R.I.) and Austin Borggaard (Worcester, Mass.). All six have provided consistent production this year.
How the Lions overcome Beard’s loss on defense will be the biggest X-factor. Seniors Maddox Lizotte (Harvard, Mass.) and Justin Pare will most likely see an increase in responsibility.
Seniors Charles Watson (Camden, Maine) and Jeevan Anand (Shrewsbury, Mass.) have split time this season in net.
No. 2 Holderness (18-6-3)
Record against other Small School opponents: 2-3-0
Junior Caden Wells has been the standout forward, notching 28 points in 27 games. Senior Maxime Charbonneau, junior Jake Boulanger (Barre, Vt.) and sophomore Jacob Duval (Andover, Mass.) have also been key contributors up front for Alan Thompson’s team.
Holderness is strong defensively. Its unit is led by University of Vermont commit Caeden Herrington (Manchester, Vt.), whose mobility and puck-moving skills are near the top of prep hockey. Another emerging impact player on the back end is sophomore ‘07 Will Rob (Montpelier, Vt.). Senior Jackson Ehwa (Ayer, Mass.) also plays a major role on defense.
Senior Evan Plunkett has been terrific in net, boasting a sub-2.00 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage. At 5-foot-9, Plunkett finds success through his athleticism.
No. 3 Frederick Gunn (18-9-5)
Record against other Small School opponents: 1-0-0
Head coach Craig Badger’s team has had no trouble finding the back of the net.
Frederick Gunn is fortunate to have three juniors leading the way offensively: Alex LoGuercio (Monroe, Conn.), Jacob Rothman and Mark Pizzo (Monroe, Conn.). LoGuercio provides the scoring touch and great shot with his 25 goals, which ranks third in New England. Rothman provides the hands and the set-up abilities. Pizzo’s aggression on the forecheck helps create chances. Senior Michael Markowski has provided lots of offense as well.
LARGE SCHOOLS: Who will emerge as champion in the Large School Tournament?Â
In all, Frederick Gunn has 10 players with 20 points or more. Three of those are defensemen: seniors Michael Ryan and Christian Wood (Shelton, Conn.), as well as sophomore Luke Calabria.
Senior Ryan Crowshaw (West Hartford, Conn.) has seen the majority of time in net this season, but junior Mitchell McCusker has also shown he’s capable.
No. 4 Lawrence Academy (10-11-4)
Record against other Small School opponents: 1-2-1
While Lawrence Academy does have a record that’s below .500, it should be noted that life in the ISL Keller isn’t easy and the Spartans play a demanding schedule. They scored big wins over Milton, Tabor (twice) and Nobles throughout the season.
Junior forwards Owen Leahy (Providence, Mass.) and Brendan Hirsch (Arlington, Mass.) have been good on offense, with Leahy at a point-per-game pace and Hirsch right behind him. Head coach Robbie Barker has been fortunate to have seniors Marek Thompson, JS Pack and Sam Marchionni (Medway, Mass.) and junior Shawn Leary (Dorchester, Mass.) on defense.
In net, senior Luc Gagnon (Natick, Mass.) has seen the most time, but fellow senior Vincent Lamberti has the edge regarding numbers.
Lamberti rounded out the season stopping 25 of 26 shots in a 1-0 loss to St. Mark’s, stopping 28 of 29 in a 1-1 tie with St. Sebastian’s and then ending on a high note, turning aside 36 of 38 shots to beat Tabor, 3-2, in the regular season finale.
No. 5 Governor’s Academy (9-10-9)
Record against other Small School opponents: 2-2-1
What was said about Lawrence can also be said about Governor’s Academy — life in the ISL Keller isn’t easy, but the RPI rewards a tough schedule. Governor’s beat St. Sebastian’s and Tabor, while tying Nobles twice.
Then, in the final game of the regular season, Governor’s took down Cushing, 4-1.
Senior defenseman Jack Farrell (Wilmington, Mass.) is the leading scorer on Brian McGuirk’s team, with seven goals and 29 points in 27 games. He’s been a difference-maker. So, too, has junior Cam Russo (Middleton, Mass.) who’s producing at over a point-per-game pace.
Seniors Bear Brooks and Michael Marchese (Burlington, Mass.) and junior Michael Ranaldi (Newburyport, Mass.) have been key contributors on offense as well. Max LaCroix has seen all the time in net. In Saturday’s win over Cushing, he stopped 34 of 35 shots to take down the No. 1 team in the Elite 8.
No. 6 Tilton (17-11-0)
Record against other Small School opponents: 5-1-0
The Rams have been streaky. They opened the season on a nine-game win streak and then lost nine of their next 12 games. Then, they ended the season by winning four of five.
Head coach Brooks McQuade’s team is fortunate to have three postgraduate players leading the way on offense: Keegan Knight (Exeter, N.H.), Braden O’Hara (Needham, Mass.) and Joey O’Brien (Wakefield, Mass.). Seniors Quinn Booth (Manchester, N.H.) and Aidan Dres have also been key cogs up front. Don’t discount the value of older players come playoff time.
ELITE 8: Who will emerge as the champion of the Elite 8 Tournament?Â
The same goes for Tilton on defense, as it boasts postgrad Brennen Pecararo (Canton, Mass.) along with seniors Cam Quigley (Quincy, Mass.) and Andrew Tice (Lancaster, Mass.). In net, junior Sawyer Russell and Conor Waldron have split time.
No. 7 Brooks (14-8-2)
Record against other Small School opponents: 2-2-0
Brooks enters the Small School Tournament hot, having won eight of its final 10 regular season games. It should be noted that Brooks did fall to BB&N in its regular season finale.
Senior Will Rassier has been the catalyst offensively with 38 points in 24 games. Senior Jeremy Emch and junior Tanner McFaul have also been key parts of Brooks’ offense. It’s not a high-scoring offense, but head coach Dave Ries’ team has found ways to win.
Defensively, seniors Jake Lipani and Nick Heaslip (Lynnfield, Mass.) and juniors Scott Moritz and Cam Smith (Abington, Mass.) have held down the fort.
Junior Ethan Simpson has been solid in net with a 2.55 GAA and .927 save percentage.
No. 8 New Hampton (15-15-3)
Record against other Small School opponents: 2-6-0
New Hampton snuck into the Small School Tournament after it was previously not projected to be in the postseason. However, it did take down Holderness twice.
The Huskies have a lot of firepower up front starting with freshman Cam Caron (Dracut, Mass.), an ‘07, who’s burst onto the prep scene this season. His 46 points lead all freshmen in the region. Riding alongside Caron has been senior Christian Day (Barre, Vt.), who leads the team in goals with 20 and has 45 points in 33 games. Senior Scott Lagos (Braintree, Mass.) has also been a prime contributor.
Head coach Connor Gorman’s team has a mix of experience levels on the back end, with seniors Josh Sacco (Alton Bar, N.H.) and Jackson Weglarz (Quechee, Vt.), junior Kieran McNamara (Barre, Vt.) and freshman Marco Senerchia (Greenville, R.I.), who leads the group in points with 13.
New Hampton will need senior goalie Nate Zerrenner to be at his best.
