The top teams in New England Hockey Journal’s Prep School Coaches Poll remain crystal clear as the post-holiday portion of the schedule commences in earnest this week.
Eight of the ranked teams remained the same from last week, including three holding steady in their respective slots. Salisbury remains the unmatched No. 1 team in the voting for the third straight week, while Kimball Union is again the Crimson Knights’ closest competitor. Salisbury and KUA were the only teams to receive first-place votes from at least one of the 16 coaches who voted in this week’s fifth installment of the poll.
In addition, Gunnery and Avon Old Farms earned their highest rankings of the season, and 13 other schools received top-10 votes from at least one coach. Teams receive 10 points for a first-place vote, nine for a second-place vote, eight for a third-place vote, etc.
The poll, featuring head coaches from all leagues around the region, will be released on Tuesday afternoons during the season here on hockeyjournal.com.
1. Salisbury (10-2)
148 points - 14 first-place votes
The Crimson Knights earned a pair of high-scoring wins to run their winning streak to eight. Nick Capone (East Haven, Conn.) had a 1-2-3 game and UConn commit Ilya Usau scored twice in a 5-4 win over Brunswick. Four Salisbury skaters logged multiple points in a 7-5 win over Deerfield, including Justin Hryckowian who scored four goals and assisted on Capone’s following tally in the third period.
2. Kimball Union (11-3)
126 points - 2 first-place votes
The Wildcats concluded a four-game championship run at the Nichols-Belmont Hill Tournament on Dec. 30 and are scheduled to return to action Wednesday against Vermont Academy.
3. Gunnery (11-2-1)
102 points
Gunnery has been busy to start the calendar year, defeating North Yarmouth Academy, Canterbury, Winchendon, and Taft over the last six days to run its unbeaten streak to 11 games. Alex Jefferies (Lunenburg, Mass.) led the club with two goals and two assists in the 6-0 win over NYA before logging four assists over the following two games, including three on the team’s four goals against Canterbury. Captain Jimmy Rayhill scored twice in Monday’s 4-1 win over Taft that rounded out the week. JP Mella (Stamford, Conn.) stopped 74 of the 76 shots he faced, including 18 in shutting out NYA.
4. Lawrence (6-0-4)
88 points
The Spartans visit Nobles on Wednesday in their first game since placing third at Cushing Academy’s Edward G. Watkins Tournament prior to the turn of the calendar.
5. Tilton (10-1)
79 points
Tilton’s offense exploded in its first action of 2019, outscoring Milton and Worcester Academy by a combined 18-3 count in two games. James Cates scored two goals and two assists in the former game, while Brett Lockhart (Braintree, Mass.), Tae Lee, and Jack Seymour all logged one goal and two helpers apiece. In the 10-0 win over Worcester, Lee led the Rams with a 1-3-4 line in the 10-0 win and Jakob Wepman pitched a 21-save shutout.
6. Deerfield (6-3)
74 points
Despite taking a 2-1 lead and being tied after two periods, Deerfield dropped a 7-5 decision to Salisbury on Saturday. Michael Holland a hat trick in his second consecutive multi-goal game, while Sean McAvoy (1-2-3) and Tomas Zourikian (0-3-3) also had three points in the losing effort. Thomas Gale kept the Big Green in the game throughout, making 39 saves on 45 shots.
7. Andover (8-2-1)
60 points
On Monday afternoon, Andover skated to a 6-6 tie with Proctor in its first action of the calendar year. Twelve players logged points for the Big Blue, including Sean O’Connell (Stoneham, Mass.) who enjoyed a two-goal, one-assist performance. Thomas Manty (Andover, Mass.) and Christian Powers (Gloucester, Mass.) had two points apiece. Charlie Archer made 32 saves in net.
8. Avon Old Farms (6-2-1)
57 points
The Winged Beavers logged a 6-3 win over Taft in their first game in three weeks. Tyler Boucher led the offense with a hat trick and one assists, and Tabor Heaslip and Stefan Miklakos had reverse lines. Timothy Heinke (Berlin, Conn.) also scored a goal. Alex Aslanidis made 34 saves en route to Avon’s second straight win in regulation.
9. Dexter Southfield (7-3-3)
37 points
Dexter opened the calendar year with a 2-2 tie against Rivers and got back on the winning track with a 6-0 shutout of St. Mark’s. Wes Gierkink (Lexington, Mass.) equalized and Derek Mullahy (Scituate, Mass.) made 23 stops in the former game, while Jack Dempsey (Natick, Mass.) and Ben Raymond (Newton, Mass.) each scored twice to lead the attack as Mullahy earned a 17-save shutout against St. Mark’s.
10. St. Sebastian’s (8-3)
21 points
The Arrows earned a 3-2 win over Nobles and 2-1 win over archrival Belmont Hill since last week’s poll. Liam Connors (Westborough, Mass.) scored the game-winning goal and assisted on Liam Gorman’s (Arlington, Mass.) opening goal of the game against Nobles, while Jake Lavoie (Taunton, Mass.) and Liam Devlin (Needham, Mass.) lit the lamp in the win over BH. Luke Garrity (Hingham, Mass.) made 18 and 24 stops in the respective wins.
Others receiving votes: Hotchkiss, Nobles, St. Paul’s, Northfield Mount Hermon, Kent, Rivers, Taft, Berwick, Thayer, Millbrook, Choate, Exeter, Proctor
