The NEPSAC boys championships will get underway on Sunday with three strong matchups.
Rivers will take on Canterbury in the Small School title game, while Dexter Southfield and Kent will follow for the Large School.
Things will heat up even more for the 5 p.m. game with No. 1 Cushing battling No. 2 Kimball Union for the Elite 8 championship.
Here's the full schedule for Sunday at Harvard:
- Small School: No. 1 Rivers vs. No. 3 Canterbury, Noon
- Large School: No. 3 Dexter Southfield vs. No. 5 Kent, 2:30 p.m.
- Elite 8: No. 1 Cushing vs. No. 2 Kimball Union, 5 p.m.
There's one storyline, however, that not nearly enough people are talking about. That's how my predictions have been playing out.
So far, I'm 13-5 through the first two rounds. I went 4-2 in the semifinals. But I've been getting very close to the final score prediction in most games, too.
Here's how I did in the semifinals:
- My prediction: Frederick Gunn, 5-4 | Final: Rivers, 5-0
- My prediction: Canterbury, 4-2 | Final: Canterbury, 3-2
- My prediction: Dexter, 5-3 | Final: Dexter, 3-1
- My prediction: Kent, 6-4 | Final: Kent, 5-4
- My prediction: Cushing, 4-2 | Final: Cushing, 4-1
- My prediction: Salisbury, 3-2 | Final: Kimball Union, 4-3 (OT)
While there's no excuse for my Rivers-Frederick Gunn prediction being way off, Salisbury led, 3-2, with two minutes to play in regulation. So...it was close.
Let's dive into my predictions for the championships.
COMPLETE BRACKETS: Elite 8 | Large School | Small School
Small School: No. 1 Rivers vs. No. 3 Canterbury
As I wrote in my five storylines for the championships, this game will come down to which offensive attack can do more damage.
Neither team's strength is in net or on defense, so I expect this to be a high-scoring game.
Canterbury isn't short on veterans who can produce. Whether it's postgrads Duncan Stewart and Jackson Powers (Woburn, Mass.), seniors Ryan Stratton and Sam Ciappa or junior Ryan Lucarelli (Westport, Conn.), head coach Paddy McCarthy has multiple weapons to turn to.
Head coach Freddy Meyer (Winchester, Mass.) can do the same with Rivers. There are eighth graders Carter Meyer (Winchester, Mass.) and Finn Sears (Medford, Mass.). Sophomore Justin Graf (Lincoln, Mass.) is tied with Sears for second on the team in points. Senior Jacob Kulas (Stow, Mass.) had two goals and two assists in the 5-0, semifinal win over Frederick Gunn. Senior Cayden Miceli (Natick, Mass.) and junior Will Hatten (Wayland, Mass.) have produced a lot, too.
Canterbury's postgrads and seniors will be motivated to go out on top. But there's just something about this Rivers team.
Prediction:Â Rivers wins, 5-3.
Large School: No. 3 Dexter Southfield vs. No. 5 Kent
When the Small School title game wraps up and the Large School championship gets underway, one trend will continue: scoring.
Kent has had no problem lighting the lamp of late. Since an 8-5 win over Trinity-Pawling on Feb. 10, Kent has 41 goals in the seven games since. The Lions have an array of seniors and juniors who can be counted on to produce. Dexter Southfield has 35 goals in its last seven games and also has a strong cast of scorers, headlined by senior Cullen Emery (Reading, Mass.) and junior Nate Porter (Hingham, Mass.), who both returned from junior hockey.
So, what's the X-factor?
QUARTERFINALS: 18 takeaways from NEPSAC quarterfinal matchups
Which goalie will make the timely save? In a battle between Dexter sophomore Colin Davis (Canton, Mass.) and Kent senior Aidan Hopewell, Davis has been slightly better this season and of late.
Prediction:Â Dexter wins, 4-3.
Elite 8: No. 1 Cushing vs. No. 2 Kimball Union
Cushing and Kimball Union are two of the top three teams in the region in scoring.
KUA features the best line in seniors Jack Sadowski (Arlington, Mass.) and Sam LeDrew centered by junior Corwith Simmers. Sadowski recently surpassed 80 points, while LeDrew enters Sunday with 71 and Simmers with 52. Cushing's offense is led by senior Emerson Marshall (Gloucester, Mass.) with his team-leading 22 goals and 49 points. But the Penguins are also deep with multiple impactful forward lines.
Ultimately, and this might be a bit of a hot take, I think this game comes down to defense and goaltending.
Cushing has arguably the top goalie in prep hockey in Marko Bilic. At 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds, there will undoubtedly be multiple NHL scouts in attendance to watch the Arizona State commit.
WHAT TO WATCH: 5 storylines to keep an eye on at NEPSAC championship day
But at the other end of the ice, Kimball Union's Blake McMeniman (Revere, Mass.) has proven up to the task. Other than a bad two-minute stretch in Saturday's third period, he was perfect against Salisbury. At 5-foot-8 and 150 pounds, McMeniman has been a big reason why KUA is still standing.
Both teams also have strong, deep defensive cores.
Kimball Union has needed overtime in both of its playoff games to get here and the Wildcats won both times. I think things end differently this time around. Cushing makes up for last season.
Prediction:Â Cushing wins, 2-1, in overtime.
