After a holiday hiatus from the ice, New England Hockey Journal rings in 2019 with the season’s fourth installment of the Prep School Coaches Poll.
Two clubs received their highest rankings of the season and three were tabbed No. 1 in at least one voter’s ballot in this New Year’s Day edition, but nothing has changed at the top as Salisbury looks to build off six consecutive wins. The Crimson Knights finished a Flood-Marr Tournament triumph immediately before the holidays.
Eleven other teams received top-10 votes, including a pair that were ranked in this season’s third edition of the poll two weeks ago. 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 (8-2)
136 points - 12 first-place votes
The Crimson Knights enter the new calendar year in the midst of a six-game winning streak after defeating Andover to win the Flood-Marr Tournament before Christmas. Jake Quillan leads Salisbury with a 4-12-16 line through 10 games, while junior classmates Lucas Mercuri and Matt Coronato have six goals apiece. Nicholas Haas logged two shutouts during the tournament.
2. Kimball Union (11-3)
116 points - 1 first-place vote
Four straight victories over Millbrook, Belmont Hill, Brunswick, and Rivers lifted the Wildcats to the Nichols-Belmont Hill Tournament title in Buffalo, N.Y., over the weekend. Junior Sullivan Mack and seniors Kyle Penney and Christian Felton all recorded two points in a 5-3 victory for the championship, while Veeti Kohvakka made 27 saves after pitching a 15-save shutout against Brunswick. Mack and Zach Whitehead (Meriden, N.H.) had three points in a 5-2 win over Belmont Hill after Brian Carrabes (North Andover, Mass.) did against Millbrook.
3. Lawrence (6-0-4)
82 points
A shootout loss to Cushing (after an official tie for records purposes) set Lawrence into the Edward G. Watkins Tournament loser’s bracket, but the Spartans captured third place and officially remained undefeated after beating Governor’s, Northfield Mount Hermon, and Culver Academy in succession. Brandon Milberg stopped all 27 shots he faced in the finale, while Riley Duran (Woburn, Mass.) scored both goals. Against NMH, Sam Colangelo (Stoneham, Mass.) had a 2-1-3 game that included the overtime game-winner. John Riggins (Bethpage, N.Y.) scored his first of the season to decide the 3-2 game against Governor’s.
4. Gunnery (7-2-1)
63 points - 1 first-place vote
Gunnery captured the Avon Old Farms Christmas Classic and has not lost in its last seven games. Senior Robert Cronin (Plymouth, Mass.) logged points in all four games and leads the squad with a 7-11-18 line in 10 games this season. JP Mella (Stamford, Conn.) started three of the tournament games in goal, including an 18-save shutout in the 2-0 finale against St. Paul’s.
5. Cushing (7-3-2)
62 points
Cushing won its own Watkins Tournament with a 2-1 win over Thayer after advancing past Lawrence in a shootout and defeating Northfield Mount Hermon and Governor’s through the first three days. Junior leading scorer Connor Wood (St. Albans, Vt.) scored in each of the first two games and logged two assists in a 7-3 win over Governor’s, while Nick Cafarelli (Middleton, Mass.) had a goal and three assists in that game. Jake Hewitt (Ashburnham, Mass.) also had four points on the weekend. Jacob Banks (Westminster, Mass.) scored both Penguin goals in the second period of the finale, and Joe Sharib (Natick, Mass.) made 21 saves.
6. Deerfield (6-2)
59 points
Deerfield was 4-0 on the season before identical 4-1 defeats to Salisbury and Nobles to open Flood-Marr before the holiday break, but the Big Green then beat Kimball Union and Hotchkiss to place fifth at the tournament. Junior defenseman Eamon Doheny (Lunenburg, Mass.) and senior forward Michael Holland have each scored more than a point per game, while no player has more than four goals on the balanced offense.
7. Andover (8-2)
48 points
Andover had won five consecutive games before Salisbury posted a one-goal win to capture the Flood-Marr title in its last action before Christmas. Post-graduate newcomer Mac Carso is one of six players in all of New England with 10 or more goals this season as he has a team-leading 10-9-19 line through 10 games. Junior Charlie Archer boasts a .933 save percentage.
8. Nobles (7-3)
38 points
The Bulldogs resumed action with two games over the weekend, defeating Berkshire and Williston Northampton. Defenseman John Murray’s (Dorchester, Mass.) third goal of the season turned out to be the winner in a 3-1 triumph against Berkshire, while four players had at least two points for Nobles in a 5-1 win over Williston. Robert Lapsley (Needham, Mass.) had a goal and three assists in the latter game. Marc Smith (Hanover, Mass.) stopped 37 of the 39 shots he faced over two games.
9. Tilton (8-1)
31 points
At the Brooks-Pingree Tournament, the Rams bounced back from their only loss of the season to start a two-game winning streak. Juniors James Cates and Jack Seymour lead the team with identical 3-8-11 lines thus far, while post-grad Owen Cuddyer (Braintree, Mass.) has been the starter leading three goalies seeing action and ranks third in New England with a .949 save percentage.
10. Avon Old Farms (6-2-1)
27 points
The Winged Beavers return to the top 10 of the rankings after going 3-0-1 in their final four games before the holidays, all at their own Christmas Classic. Stefan Mikalakos has already surpassed his junior year point total with 13 through nine games after posting two goals and two assists in a 6-4 win over Kent to conclude the tournament. Junior Tabor Heaslip and sophomore Tyler Boucher have 10 points apiece. Senior Alex Aslanidis sports a .928 save percentage as the lead netminder.
Others receiving votes: Exeter, Dexter Southfield, Northfield Mount Hermon, Rivers, St. Sebastian’s, Rivers, Thayer, Hotchkiss, St. Paul’s, Groton, Millbrook, Westminster
