In the school’s first official season with coach Freddy Meyer (Sanbornville, N.H.) at the helm, Rivers took its lumps against a tough early-season schedule. But the Red Wings have begun to trend in the right direction.
After going 2-4-1 through the first month of the campaign (including a loss against non-NEPSIHA member Northwood Prep), Rivers went 5-2 in January, highlighted by its most recent victory over Nobles, 2-1, Friday at MacDowell Arena.
Junior Luke Swaim (Concord, Mass.) started the scoring in the first before senior Zach Gruber (Chestnut Hill, Mass.) broke a 1-1 deadlock in the third. Senior goaltender Conor Sullivan (Westborough, Mass.) turned away 24 of 25 shots in the win against a talented Bulldogs team that was ranked ninth in NEHJ’s Prep Hockey Power Rankings at the start of the week.
Rivers is now 7-5-1 and looking to build on its big league win — and overall rising play — as it enters the stretch run ahead of playoffs in March.
“That was an exciting win for the team. I thought we competed hard for three periods and our attention to detail was really good,” said Meyer, a former Boston University captain and seven-year NHLer who took over the ISL Eberhart program (Weston, Mass.) at the start of the aborted 2020-21 season.
"We frustrated them a little bit and were able to score a couple of power-play goals to win it.”
Leading the charge for the Red Wings has been senior co-captain Ziv-Deener Chodirker, an ’03 forward from Newton, Mass.
The Boston Junior Eagles product is having a career year for Meyer’s club, boasting 25 points in 17 games with a Williams College commitment in tow.
“He’s a leader on and off the ice. So happy that he's having success in the production chart, as well. He deserves it,” Meyer said.
Other notable contributors for the Red Wings up front include ’03 senior Stephen Cavavan (West Roxbury, Mass.) and ’04 senior co-captain Mel Mortarelli (Natick, Mass.), who like Chodirker, are both producing more than a point per game.
While Cavavan leads the way with nine goals, Mortarelli, a fellow Williams commit who missed five games, has potted seven in his nine games.
'04 junior Ollie Chessler (Watertown, Mass.) continues to be the anchor in the defensive end.
With seven points in 14 games, the ’04 Union commit continues to shine with the two-way play that attracted the Dutchmen to recruit him while playing for the Junior Eagles in the fall.
“Ollie’s a heart-and-soul kid,” Meyer said. “He plays big minutes for us in all situations and competes hard. Just another guy that loves the game, wants to be at the rink, wants to learn, wants to take in information. He's a guy that we’ll need down the stretch to help us win.”
Sullivan, an uncommitted ’03, has played the bulk of the minutes for the Red Wings in net. Standing at 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, the big, fluid and agile veteran has amassed a .912 save percentage with over 300 shots faced and will continue to be counted on down the stretch.
While the upperclassmen are carrying the bulk of the weight in all three zones, the team is also getting some notable contributions from its young guns, including a pair of ‘06 Junior Eagles products, sophomore Jacob Kulas and freshman Will Hatten (Wayland, Mass.).
Kulas, a native of Stow, Mass., arrived at Rivers last season and got some helpful (albeit limited) experience at the ISL level in 2020-21.
“Both guys are progressing great,” Meyer said of the ‘06 duo. “They’re dedicated student-athletes — they want to come watch film, they want to get better, and that makes my life easier when kids are willing to learn, willing to put the time in. We'll keep leaning on those guys this year and down the road here as a program.”
The Red Wings' February slate pits them myriad tough opponents, including Belmont Hill, St. George’s, Dexter Southfield and more.
“If we can take some momentum from the game against Nobles … I was really impressed with our attention to detail and playing the game the right way,” Meyer said.
“We've talked a lot about staying disciplined and I think we took a step in the right direction trying to stay out of the penalty box and just playing the game the right way. That's going to be important down the stretch when we’re playing against good teams in big games that mean a lot in terms of the playoff picture.”
Regardless of what the schedule looks like, Meyer and the Red Wings welcome the challenge.
“Kids want to come into the ISL, they want to play against good teams, they want to compete at a high level.
"It’s on us as coaches to prepare them and give them every opportunity to have success against those opponents.”
@_LiamFlaherty
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