Over 20 months since Andrew Will’s Crimson Knights defeated Dexter in the 2020 Elite 8 Stuart/Corkery final, Salisbury remains the reigning champion of the NEPSAC hockey world.
Without a Housatonic League season in 2020-21, the Connecticut prep school managed to play 15 games against in-state opponents during last year's partial slate, 10 of which were against fellow prep power, Avon Old Farms.
Considering what some of the other teams in the region went through amid the pandemic, it worked out pretty well, the veteran head coach told New England Hockey Journal.
“I feel very fortunate that we were able to provide our kids with a very positive and productive season that, I think, did a lot to further their development, as opposed to just being a placeholder,” said Will, a Toronto native who’s been at the helm since 2008, leading the Crimson Knights to three straight championships from 2013-15.
With a solid cast of returners and a host of incoming talent, Salisbury has the makings of another highly-skilled group as it heads into the 2021-22 campaign.
“We’re excited,” Will said. “We’re optimistic about a regular season and, specifically with our group, we’re really excited about the guys we have and we’re looking forward to getting going.”
For key returners, it starts in the net with senior goalies Austin McNicholas and Andrew Palena.
McNicholas, an uncommitted '04 netminder, represented the U.S. over the summer at the 2021 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, following a standout performance at USA Hockey Select 17 Player Development Camp.
On the blue line, seniors Dane Westen and Tye Scott are the returners, along with junior defenseman Justin DeLucia.
“DeLucia was just a sophomore for us last year, so he’s a young guy but he’s got a really bright future. He didn’t play as much in terms of meaningful minutes as Dane and Ty did, but those are three guys who were with us last year. Tye was a part of that championship team in 2020,” Will said.
A trio of Buffalo Regals defensemen, Alex Zakrzewski (Brown), Liam Chapman (Weare, N.H.) and Sam Hall, add depth to the returners in the back end. Michigan native Henry Metz is another newcomer joining the defensive core.
Up front, Ryan Walsh (Brown), Ben Poitras (Northeastern), and Oliver Frontini, who returns to the lineup after missing last season due to injury, are the key returners who will lead the scoring charge.
Other returning forwards include Cole Eichler, Connor Driscoll, Cam Bergman and Jackson Ebbott. In addition to Scott, Eichler and Frontini are the other returners from the 2020 championship team.
“Those are all guys who were really good players for us last year,” Will said. “They give us some veteran leadership and experience, and I think we’ve complimented those guys with some terrific players.”
Canadien-born forwards Lee Parks and Michael Strapp, as well as Peter Sanger (Lakeville, Conn.), a post-grad from Westminster, and Florida native Ty Creech, are new additions to the forward core.
“We’re really excited about the returning guys and the compliment of new players that we have coming in,” Will said.
"All of our kids are eager to experience prep school hockey in its standard form. There are so many unknowns out there that it’s going to be a really exciting season."
The pieces are there. If they stick to the script and follow Will's lead, Salisbury looks to be in a good position to defend its title in March.
“As always, we’re just going to focus on ourselves and try to be the best team day in and day out that we can be, worry about what we can control, and hopefully," Will said, "that will give us a chance to be in the mix come playoff time.”
(Previously in NEHJ’s prep school preview series: Brunswick, Gunnery, New Hampton, St. Mark’s, Tabor, Loomis Chaffee, Berkshire, St. George’s, Cushing, Belmont Hill, Middlesex, Pomfret, St. Sebastian’s, Nobles, Dexter)
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