RinkWise podcast: Wrapping up the NEPSAC championships

Salisbury goalie Matt Alberti makes a stop on Taft forward Remy Reynolds. (Dave Arnold/NEHJ)

It was only a week, but what a NEPSAC championship season it was.

On the boys side, there were two overtimes and the two best teams in the region (Avon Old Farms and Cushing) battling for the Elite 8.

The girls side featured upsets, as well as Williston Northampton and Phillips Andover, the two best teams in New England, fighting for the Elite 8.

On the latest RinkWise podcast episode, host Stephanie Wood sits down with editor Evan Marinofsky to discuss all six tournaments across the boys and girls prep landscape.

On Avon Old Farms: 

Marinofsky: “One misconception I had about Avon Old Farms going into the [Elite 8 championship game] was on Stephen Peck, their goaltender. Best goals-against average coming in, an incredibly high save percentage — one of the top in the region. Going into Sunday, a lot of times, I attributed Avon being really good around him to his success. He wasn’t getting a ton of shots…It never felt like he was carrying his team to the degree that his numbers showed. I was wrong on some of that. To me, he was the main reason they won the game — 44 saves on 45 shots against Cushing. It’s the first time Avon had to play a team better than them all year and I would say he was their MVP of that game.

On Taft: 

Marinofsky: “Rudy Guimond for Taft was their MVP. He was outstanding. Forty-nine saves on 51 shots in that game — it’s absurd. For him, that’s not anything new. He’s done that literally all year.”