With Team USA unexpectedly out of the World Juniors in the Czech Republic, most hockey eyes in New England will return to action in their backyards. Which, given that we're on the other side of the holiday break, means lots to choose from.
Most noteworthy, we've got two big prep gatherings this weekend, including a new one named after a sponsor and another that will bring together some of the more talented prep teams in the area.
Plus, we've got a full slate of NCAA conference games, as the circuit starts heating back up with the return from break.
What to watch? We've got some ideas:
Friday
Although we don't often include Friday games on this list, this one is worth noting: At the Hobey Baker Rink in Princeton, Dartmouth's Bob Gaudet will coach his 1,000th career game, all having taken place in ECAC. Gaudet will become the seventh coach in NCAA hockey history to coach 1,000 games within one conference. Now in his 23rd season with Dartmouth, Gaudet previously spent nine seasons with Brown. Boston College’s Jerry York is the only other active coach with 1,000 career games in one conference. Dartmouth is 6-4-2 (conference: 4-2-1) this season, Princeton 2-10-3 (conference: 0-6-2). Game time is 7 p.m.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday
The True Prep Cup at Merrimack in North Andover, Mass., is a stacked first-year tournament that features St. Andrew's, Shattuck-St. Mary's, Northwood, Kimball Union, Gunnery, Mount Saint Charles, Nichols and Culver. The knockout-format tournament has a schedule set by results from the previous games, but you've got to figure the super-powerhouses will emerge when playing at this level and with the win-or-go-home stakes. Kimball Union and Gunnery will be worth watching, of course, but this is also a good chance to see St. Andrew's, a prep school in Aurora, Ontario, as well as pro player factory Shattuck-St. Mary's, which is traveling from Faribault, Minn. St. Andrew's coach David Manning said previously the idea of the tournament was to bring high-level North American teams together to compete for a trophy in this format. Another competing coach said the tournament will be a "good test" for his team. Action takes place all weekend.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday
Not to be outdone is the Edward G. Watkins Invitational Tournament, held all weekend at Cushing Academy in Ashburnham, Mass. The teams competing will be in the Fisher Division: Canterbury, Cushing, Lawrence, New Hampton; and the Iorio Division: Dexter Southfield, Governor’s, Stanstead, Thayer. New entries this year are Stanstead (Stanstead, Quebec) and New Hampton (New Hampton, New Hampshire).
Dexter Southfield has gotten off to a great start this season, and is regularly atop our Coaches Poll. On Saturday, Dexter plays Governor's at 11:10 a.m. and Thayer at 7:15 p.m. The top teams from each division will face-off in the final at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. All games are at Iorio Arena.
Saturday
UMass vs. Denver, 9 p.m.: This Division 1 matchup between two sizzling-hot teams promises to be worth the price of admission. Denver (11-4-3) is ranked seventh in the nation and UMass (13-4-1) is ranked ninth. UMass has had it going on lately, led by Mitchell Chaffee's 12 goals in 18 games that has helped the team outscore its opponents by an average 1.89 goals per game, fourth in the nation. And Denver is a perennial favorite, led this year by one of the top penalty-killing units in the country. When this kind of offense meets this kind of defense, you usually get a nail-biter.
Paul Grant is an editor and a writer for HockeyJournal.com and Seamans Media. He previously oversaw hockey content at ESPN.com and Sporting News. You can connect with him at pgrant@hockeyjournal.com.
