Like most teams in New England coming off the season, or lack thereof, in 2020-21, a number of question marks surrounded Milton Academy heading into the new campaign.
The young, inexperienced team hit a bump in the road at the start, but quickly recalibrated and got set on the right track, compiling wins over Lawrence, Governor’s, Hotchkiss and Westminster, and a tie with Kimball Union — the No. 1 team in the past two installments of NEHJ’s Prep Hockey Power Rankings.
Since dropping its season opener against St. Sebastian’s, Milton (4-2-1) has gone unbeaten in five of its last six games, the only defeat coming at the hands of No. 3 Nobles in the final minutes of the 56th annual Flood-Marr Tournament final to put a bow on the first half.
Upon returning from the holiday break, the Mustangs look to continue the strong effort they displayed in the Flood-Marr and carry it into the second portion of the schedule for when things really begin to heat up.
“I think we’re like a lot of teams in terms of (having) a variety of kids from a variety of places with, obviously, a lot of new players, trying to get ourselves together and organized and find our game as a group. So, we’re in the middle of that,” said head coach Paul Cannata, who began coaching at Milton in 2005.
“At the same time, you’re always happy when you can win a couple of hockey games while you’re trying to do that. So, I think we have moved forward and we have been able to have a little bit of success. You have to be happy about what we’ve done to date but there’s a long way to go.”
At the heart of Milton’s early-season success is junior defenseman Chris Romaine (Braintree, Mass.), one of three pre-Covid returners on the roster from 2019-20. The Cape Cod Whalers product committed to Providence College in the fall while playing for the South Shore Kings 18-U Prep, a subsidiary of the Whalers.
In seven games, Romaine leads Milton blueliners (and is currently third on the team) with eight points on two goals and six assists. The '04 defenseman, the only current D-1 commit on the roster, was one of several local draft-eligible prospects on display at the Flood-Marr.
While his on-ice production has been important to the Mustangs’ early wins, the PC commit has been just as important for his role off of it, serving as team captain alongside senior letter-wearers Brad Holcomb and Ethan Davidson.
“Chris is a strong, steady, reliable, defensively-oriented player,” Cannata said. “He’s been here for a while and he’s fantastic. As advertised, both on and off the ice.”
Up front, Davidson and Henry Cohn (Sudbury, Mass.) lead the scoring charge for an offensive unit that features plenty of youth, including three 2005-born forwards and one '06.
One of those younger players, in particular, has been a key performer for the Mustangs in the first month of the season. Through seven games, Will Cannata (Milton, Mass.) leads the team in both the goals (5) and points (9) categories. The ’05 Boston Junior Eagles product was a standout in the fall season and also garnered mention in NEHJ’s early-December viewings at the start of the prep campaign.
Junior forward Mikka Kelechian, a Quebec import in his first season of prep after coming up through the Lac St-Louis Lions organization, is the team's second-leading goal-scorer, lighting the lamp four times in his first seven games.
Goalies Jake Cardonick and Harrison Brown have shared the load in the net at the start. Brown, a junior, boasts a .947 save percentage early on, stopping 71 of the 75 shots he's faced.
For Cannata, it’s been a pleasant sight to see how his players have handled the on-ice situation amidst all of the uncertainty heading into the campaign.
“It’s a great group of kids. They give you everything they have and they’re having some fun,” the head coach said. “They’ve got good energy, good work ethic, they’re disciplined and they mean well, so the whole group has been a pleasure to work with.”
"At the same time, it’s a group of kids who are trying to figure out school," Cannata added. "It’s not just the hockey part they’re trying to get a grip on. Without last year and half of the year before, there are a lot of facets of their lives that they’re trying to organize. Can’t ask anything more from them."
With Milton’s next game scheduled for Jan. 5 — another big ISL matchup against No. 5 Belmont Hill (4 p.m.) — the Mustangs look to continue to bring energy and outwork their opponents to find success, just as they did at the recent holiday tournament.
“We looked at that whole first month like every opportunity to play was an opportunity for us to get better at the game and get better at what we were trying to do,” Cannata said.
“Certainly the Flood-Marr presented some strong caliber teams, so to go up and sort of measure yourself against teams that are considered to be amongst the better teams gives you a good sense of where you are or where you’re not and what some of your strengths and weaknesses are.”
“Again, there’s a long way to go and that’s the fun part of it.”
@_LiamFlaherty
liam.flaherty@hockeyjournal.com
