The regular season is only a few weeks away from reaching its conclusion, but the calendar hasn’t stopped the top teams in New England Hockey Journal’s Prep School Coaches Poll from piling up wins. Each of the top seven teams in the ninth NEHJ ranking of the season finished this past week without a loss, posting a combined 15-0 record.
While Salisbury remains in the No. 1 slot for the seventh straight week and eighth time in nine weeks, five teams improved their positioning from last week.
Lawrence continued its unbeaten season and moved into a second-place tie with Kimball Union. St. Sebastian’s earned its highest ranking of the season at No. 5 after dropping out for three straight weeks, while Exeter also makes a return to the poll for the third time in four weeks.
Nine other teams also received consideration in at least one submitted 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 jkummins@hockeyjournal.com.
1. Salisbury (18-3)
125 points - 9 first-place votes
Salisbury continues its reign atop New England following a 6-1 win over Trinity-Pawling. Nick Capone (East Haven, Conn.; 1-1-2) and defenseman Bayard Hall (0-2-2) were the only Crimson Knights to log multiple points as six different players netted goals. Nicholas Haas made 23 saves in net.
T-2. Kimball Union (21-4)
105 points - 3 first-place votes
The Wildcats extended their winning streak to seven games with a 3-0 week, defeating Northfield Mount Hermon, 2-1; Holderness, 5-1; and New Hampton, 4-2. Paul Dore and Sullivan Mack scored both KUA goals in the second period of the NMH win before Mack had a two-goal effort against Holderness and scored once against New Hampton. Tomas Mazura, Arlo Merritt, and Teddy Griffin (Duxbury, Mass.) all had multi-point games in the former win. Veeti Kohvakka bookended his week with two wins in goal.
T-2. Lawrence (12-0-6)
105 points - 1 first-place vote
The Spartans continued their unbeaten season this past week with wins over Belmont Hill, 7-2; and Hebron, 5-2. David Sacco (Middleton, Mass.) and Riley Duran (Woburn, Mass.) posted two goals and two assists apiece against Belmont Hill, while Sam Colangelo (Stoneham, Mass.) scored once and added three assists, and Tyler Young (Lancaster, Mass.) had four helpers. Sacco led the way among five multi-point scorers against Hebron with a 1-2-3 line, while Ben Lichtman (Harvard, Mass.) made 18 saves in his first appearance of the season.
4. Dexter Southfield (15-3-4)
84 points
Dexter moved its unbeaten run to 11 games after going 3-0 last week with wins over Pomfret, 5-2; Exeter, 4-3; and Andover, 5-2. Ben Meehan (Walpole, Mass.) and John Farinacci opened the week with 1-2-3 lines against Pomfret as five different players scored goals. Doug Grimes (Brookline, Mass.) scored twice and Farinacci had two assists in a three-goal third period to down Exeter. In the week’s finale, Ben Raymond (Newton, Mass.) netted a hat trick and Culin Wilson (Hingham, Mass.) dished out two assists.
5. St. Sebastian's (15-4)
77 points
Six consecutive wins have the Arrows back in the Top 10 mix this week as they defeated Milton, 4-1; St. Paul’s, 4-0; and Proctor, 8-1. Tommy Lyons (Westwood, Mass.) netted three of the four goals against Milton. Luke Garrity (Hingham, Mass.) pitched a 25-save shutout against St. Paul’s as Liam Connors (Westborough, Mass.) and Liam Gorman (Arlington, Mass.) logged a goal and two assists each. Seven players had multiple points against Proctor with Brendan Gorman (Arlington, Mass.) scoring twice and adding one helper.
6. Tilton (17-4)
64 points
Jakob Wepman and Owen Cuddyer (Braintree, Mass.) allowed just one goal apiece as the Rams bounced back from a loss to Northfield Mount Hermon by defeating Berwick, 7-1; and Exeter, 4-1. In the former game, James Cates had five assists while Brendan Sjostedt (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Ryan Harrigan (Scituate, Mass.) each scored twice and added one assist. Against Exeter, Sjostedt, Jagger Benson (Lynnfield, Mass.), and Jack Mitchell each had two points.
7. Gunnery (16-4-1)
41 points
In its lone action of the week, Gunnery earned a 6-3 win over Millbrook. Alex Jeffries (Lunenburg, Mass.) scored twice and added three assists to pace an offense that has scored 11 goals in two games. Alex Coady (Milford, Mass.) had a 1-2-3 line, while Robert Cronin (Plymouth, Mass.) had two goals as one of four players with two-point games. JP Mella (Stamford, Conn.) made 27 saves in goal.
8. Northfield Mount Hermon (15-5-1)
40 points
The Hogers pitched a 3-0 shutout of Vermont Academy to bounce back from a 2-1 loss to Kimball Union that broke an eight-game unbeaten streak. Jack Quinn (Lancaster, Mass.) scored the lone NMH goal and Connor Hasley made 26 saves in the loss. Hasley needed to make only 11 stops to shut out Vermont, while Ean Small scored twice and Quinn and Reese Farrell (Auburn, Maine) had two assists apiece.
9. Deerfield (11-6-1)
26 points
The Big Green snapped a two-game losing streak with a 4-3 overtime win over Andover last Wednesday. Noah de la Durantaye scored the deciding goal after Sean McAvoy lit the lamp twice during regulation. Jarod Harrington (Ayer, Mass.) had two assists, including one on the winner. Thomas Gale earned the win in goal with 22 saves.
10. Exeter (14-7-2)
12 points
The Big Red narrowly edged out its archrival Andover to return to the rankings despite a 1-2 week that included a 3-1 win at Holderness, 4-3 loss to Dexter, and 4-1 loss to Tilton. Paddy Bogart (1-1-2) and Garrett Foster (Newfield, N.H.; 0-2-2) opened the week with multi-point games and Ryan Welch (Swampscott, Mass.) made 22 saves against Holderness. Andrew Seaman had a 2-1-3 night in the loss to Dexter, while Noah Jankowski (Methuen, Mass.) scored the lone goal against Tilton.
Others receiving votes: Andover, Westminster, St. Paul’s, Cushing, Thayer, Groton, Avon Old Farms, Proctor, Rivers
