The top five teams ranked in New England Hockey Journal’s sixth Prep School Coaches Poll of the season enjoyed an undefeated week, posting a combined 13-0 record.
Following such a strong showing, it’s no surprise to see nine of the ten teams remain the same from last week with Salisbury and Kimball Union holding steady in the top two slots for the third consecutive poll. In addition, Avon Old Farms is in the top five for the first time this season and Exeter returns to the rankings after a two-week hiatus.
Salisbury received 14 of the 15 first-place votes to claim the top slot for the fourth consecutive week and fifth time this season, while Gunnery was No. 1 in the remaining ballot. Teams receive 10 points for a first-place vote, nine for a second-place vote, eight for a third-place vote, etc.
Coaches from around New England make up the voting panel for the poll, which is released on Tuesday afternoons throughout the season. If you are interested in participating, please send an email to joshua.kummins@seamansmedia.com.
1. Salisbury (13-2)
148 points - 14 first-place votes
The Crimson Knights continue their run as New England’s top team after going 3-0 in the past week. Defenseman Bayard Hall scored twice in a 5-2 win over Cushing, while Justin Hryckowian scored twice in Salisbury’s 8-3 win at Westminster and assisted four times during Jared Levine’s 13-save shutout in the 9-0 win over Choate. In the latter game, Lucas Mercuri logged two goals and two assists. Junior Jake Quillan had points in all three games and leads the team with 22 on the season.
2. Kimball Union (14-3)
128 points
KUA also had a dominant week, posting 7-0 and 11-0 shutouts over Vermont Academy and Governor’s before a 4-1 win against St. Paul’s. Sullivan Mack (3-1-4) and Tomas Mazura (1-3-4) posted four points apiece in the first of those games. Against Governor’s, Mazura paced the offense with a goal and five assists, while Zach Whitehead (Meriden, N.H.) scored a hat trick and added an assist. Brian Carrabes and Paul Dore finished the week with two-point efforts against St. Paul’s. Jonah Silverman saw his first action of the season in net behind Zach Paputsakis and Veeti Kohvakka against both Vermont and Governor’s, stopping a combined 16 shots.
3. Lawrence (8-0-4)
109 points
The Spartans continued their undefeated start to the season with road wins over Nobles and Thayer, 8-2 and 4-1. Twelve players factored into the scoring against Nobles, including Drew Bavaro (0-5-5), Sam Colangelo (Stoneham, Mass.; 2-2-4), Braden Doyle (Lynnfield, Mass.; 1-2-3), and John Riggins (2-0-2). At Thayer, Tyler Young had three assists and four players scored goals. Brandon Milberg and Ian Graiff each earned a win in net.
4. Gunnery (14-2-1)
93 points - 1 first-place vote
Gunnery swept the week against Hoosac, 7-3; Stanstead College, 8-4; and Trinity-Pawling, 3-1. Alex Jeffries (Lunenburg, Mass.) continues to lead the team with 13 goals in 17 games after posting a 3-3-6 line over the first two games last week. Mark D’Agostino (North Branford, Conn.) and Mason Beecher (Billerica, Mass.) both scored twice against Stanstead College with D’Agostino also logging two assists. Against T-P, Riley Brennan and D’Agostino scored in the third period, and JP Mella (Stamford, Conn.) made 21 saves.
5. Avon Old Farms (9-2-1)
83 points
Avon hit the road for the first time during the 2019 calendar year and picked up a 3-1 win at Hotchkiss and 5-1 win at Kent. Gentry Shamburger scored the deciding goal against Hotchkiss, while Stefan Miklakos (1-2-3) and Tabor Heaslip (2-0-2) had multiple-point games at Kent. Alex Aslanidis continued his strong senior season, stopping a combined 53 of the 55 shots he faced in two games.
6. Tilton (12-2)
54 points
The Rams bounced back from a 3-2 loss to Andover with a 8-1 win over Vermont Academy and come-from-behind, 4-3 triumph over Holderness. Jack Seymour scored twice and James Cates once in the third period to earn the latter win, while Mark Blaney (Braintree, Mass.) dished out two assists and Justin Lee logged 28 saves. Jack Haley and Brendan Sjostedt (Tewksbury, Mass.) had three points apiece in the Vermont win, and Jagger Benson (Lynnfield, Mass.) scored both goals against Andover.
7. Deerfield (8-4)
48 points
The Big Green went 2-1 on the week, defeating Loomis Chaffee, 5-2; and Trinity-Pawling, 4-3 (OT), and falling to Cushing, 5-1. Matt Miron led four Deerfield skaters with multiple points against Loomis, dishing out three assists. Sean McAvoy scored against Cushing before Michael Holland completed a 2-1-3 game against T-P with the winning goal in overtime. Thomas Gale made 28 and 31 saves in the two victories.
8. Dexter Southfield (8-3-3)
47 points
On Saturday, Dexter Southfield earned a 6-3 win over New Hampton in its only game of the past week. Six different skaters found the back of the net, and six logged multiple points. Ben Meehan (Walpole, Mass.), Connor Blanchard (Waltham, Mass.), Vincent Gould (Wellesley, Mass.), and Ben Raymond (Newton, Mass.) all had a goal and an assist each. Derek Mullahy (Scituate, Mass.) made 26 saves.
9. Exeter (10-4-2)
41 points
The Big Red recorded a pair of shutouts over the last week, besting Governor’s and archrival Andover by 5-0 and 6-0 scores, respectively. Ryan Welch (Swampscott, Mass.) pitched the back-to-back shutouts with a combined 41 saves. Reese Popkin (Hooksett, N.H.) scored twice and added an assist against Governor’s, while Danny Colon netted a hat trick and PJ Garrett (Duxbury, Mass.) assisted on three of the six goals against Andover.
10. Andover (9-3-1)
28 points
The Big Blue split its two games last week, earning a 3-2 win over Tilton before suffering a 6-0 loss to Exeter. Mac Carso scored the game-winning goal in the third period of the Tilton game and joined Thomas Manty (Andover, Mass.) and Christian Powers (Gloucester, Mass.) with two points. Charlie Archer stopped 44 of the 46 shots he faced against Tilton before making 37 saves in the loss to Exeter.
Others receiving votes: Cushing, Northfield Mount Hermon, Loomis, St. Paul’s, Rivers, St. Sebastian’s, Proctor
