GOFFSTOWN, N.H. — Tilton won its first New England Prep School Athletic Council Championship in boys hockey since 2002 on Sunday with a 5-2 win over Lakes Region rival Holderness at Sullivan Arena on the campus of Saint Anselm College.

The Rams took home the Piatelli/Simmons Small School Trophy. It was a game that could have gone either way until Tilton broke open a 1-1 tie with three goals in a span of just 2:32 late in the game.

Defenseman Jagger Benson roofed a puck just below the bar to give the Rams a 2-1 lead with 6:47 to play. Brendan Sjostedt and Jack Seymour then scored 32 seconds apart a few minutes later to give Tilton a three-goal cushion. Both goals came on the power play.

Holderness didn’t quit and got the score to 4-2 on a goal from Tanner Ensign, but Sjostedt sealed the win with an empty-net tally.

Before the flurry of activity late in the third period, the game was void of many quality scoring chances since the teams traded goals in the first period. Shawn Leslie put Tilton on the board first with his goal 2:57 into the game. Defenseman Carter Rose answered back for Holderness with 6:49 to play in the opening period.

PG Owen Cuddyer, who had shined previously at Braintree High School, was the winning goaltender for the Rams. Brooks McQuade, at the helm of the Tilton program since 2015-16, has done a terrific job to revitalize the Rams on the ice.

While there were certainly more high-end prospects in the other championship games, several Holderness and Tilton standouts were watched closely.

Standout Prospects

Jagger Benson

#2 Tilton, 10/23/00, D, Right Shot, 6-2/155

Benson was the prospect with the most potential in this game. A tall, lanky, blue-liner, he’s a smooth skater who can be a puck-moving machine when he’s on top of his game. He has some skill, too, as evidenced by his goal that gave Tilton a 2-1 lead. When he keeps it simple, he can be very effective. He needs to avoid the temptation to force plays as he did on a turnover in the first period. If his hockey sense can improve, he has Division I potential. His father, Bob Benson, played at Merrimack.

Jack Seymour

#13 Tilton, 4/6/01, C, Right Shot, 5-9.5/148

From Chelsea, Quebec, Seymour was the best forward prospect for Tilton. He’s an above average skater who sees the ice and made more plays than anyone else in this game. He scored a rebound goal on the power play to give Tilton a 4-1 lead. He didn’t get credited with an assist, but he made a couple of nice plays on the zone entry on Benson’s goal. He had an assist on the game-winning goal as well.

Carter Rose

#11 Holderness, 8/9/02, D, Left Shot, 5-11.25/178

Rose has good vision and is an offensive, puck-moving defenseman. He scored Holderness’ first goal with a slap shot from the point after receiving a low to high pass from Isaiah Fox. He got a nice shot through from the point that was tipped by Ensign on the goal that cut Tilton’s lead to a 4-2. His skating needs some work as it’s a little wide based. However, there’s some potential here.

Jake Waterman

#8 Holderness, 2/9/02, LW, Left Shot, 5-11/151

Waterman was a USA Hockey Select 15 Player Development Camp attendee in 2017 and had a good showing that summer. He’s made the move from the South Shore Kings 16-U to prep school. He’s relied on in all situations at Holderness, despite being one of the team’s younger forwards by a significant margin. He competes and can hunt pucks. He had a couple of good chances, including one in the third.

Tilton Lines

21 Brendan Sjodtedt - 6 Shawn Leslie - 13 Jack Seymour
9 Ryan Harrigan - 10 Jamie Cates - 11 Tae Lee
22 Cameron Ryan - 4 Jack Haley - 12 Jack Mitchell/18 Ryan Moran

2 Jagger Benson - 19 Jacob Iida
5 Mark Blaney - 27 Nate Shirley
3 John Woernle - 8 Brett Lockhart

1 Owen Cuddyer

Holderness Lines

17 Tim Manning - 12 Kevin Pitts - 9 Isaiah Fox
8 Jake Waterman - 44 Tanner Ensign - 14 Paxton Bunting
19 Sebastien Gingras - 24 Cooper Boulanger - 7 Eric Favreau

22 Joseph Biddle - 11 Carter Rose
3 Garrison Gagnon - 25 Adam McNabney

33 Connor Androlewicz