The boys prep hockey season is roughly one month old and with the Christmas break here, it's a great time to look back and reflect on the first part of the season.
It's been an action-packed season, as reflected in the latest rankings. A lot of the usual suspects are still there (I'm looking at you, Salisbury, Cushing, Kimball Union and Avon Old Farms). But a few different teams have jumped into the upper echelon (Now it's your turn, Milton, Frederick Gunn and Tilton).
The same goes for players.
It's only a month. There's still a ton of hockey left to be played and lots of time for teams and players to rise to the top.
TOP PERFORMERS IN DECEMBER: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3Â
Doing these weekly stories has been a blast. Feel free to send any top plays that take place throughout the course of the week to evan.marinofsky@hockeyjournal.com.
Here's a look at the top performers from the first month of prep hockey.
Holt
Top skater:Â Eli Chilicki, Berwick
Berwick may be 3-6-0 and losers of five straight games, but the one constant has been Chilicki's stellar play up front. He ranks third in all of prep hockey with 17 points in nine games. Of Berwick's nine games, Chilicki (North Berwick, Maine) has found the scoresheet in all but one.
Honorable mentions: Anthony Lombardo, Hebron (7-7—14); Mark Evangelous, Worcester Academy (7-5—12)
Top goalie:Â Nick Hubbard, Pingree
Like most of the selections in this story, this was far from an easy call. Hubbard has been the starter in four of Pingree's five wins. His 2.07 goals against average and .933 save percentage are stellar. Pingree will need the Lynnfield, Mass., native to continue his great start to the season.
Honorable mentions:Â Patrick McDevitt, Portsmouth Abbey (2.90 GAA and .912 save percentage in 429 minutes); Aidan Farion, North Yarmouth Academy (2.42 GAA and .914 save percentage in 357 minutes); Ryan Rosenau, Kents Hill (2.84 GAA and .920 save percentage in 323 minutes)
Housatonic
Top skater:Â Joe Connor, Avon Old Farms
The Northeastern commit has gotten off to a terrific start, scoring seven goals and 18 points in nine games. The last time I checked, averaging two points per game was pretty good. His 18 points rank second in all of prep hockey. Avon Old Farms was recently ranked No. 1 in New England Hockey Journal's rankings and Connor (Amherst, N.H.)Â has been a massive reason why.
Honorable mention: Gio DiGiulian, Kent (11-5—16)
Top goalie:Â Rudy Guimond, Taft
Guimond has faced a whopping 279 shots in seven games. Still, his .950 save percentage ranks inside the top 10 in all of prep hockey and his 2.11 GAA is stellar too. The Yale commit has been a massive factor as to why Taft is 6-2-0.
Honorable mentions:Â Andrew Heinze, Loomis Chaffee (1.66 GAA and .937 save percentage in 424 minutes); Stephen Peck, Avon Old Farms (0.89 GAA and .959 save percentage in 424 minutes); Harrison Fogel, Kent (1.83 GAA and .943 save percentage in 265 minutes)
ISL Eberhart
Top skater:Â Colin Walsh, St. George's
Richard Gallant was terrific in the six games he's played, but he missed the beginning of the season due to an injury. Walsh has been outstanding for St. George's, scoring seven goals and 14 points in eight games. His top performances came in a season-opening hat trick against Thayer and a pair of three-point efforts against Winchendon and Rivers.
Honorable mentions: Richard Gallant, St. Mark's (3-10—13); Sebbie Johnson, St. Mark's (8-5—13); Alex Sandell, BB&N (8-5—13)
Top goalie:Â Jeevan Anand, St. Mark's
Goaltending was a question mark entering the season for St. Mark's. Anand (Shrewsbury, Mass.) has answered the call, posting a 1.92 GAA and .929 save percentage in 225 minutes of action. That stability in net, along with Charles Watson (Camden, Maine), has helped St. Mark's achieve a 7-2-0 record.
Honorable mentions:Â Ryder Shea, St. George's (2.00 GAA and .925 save percentage in 216 minutes); Ethan Ramonetti, Groton (2.45 GAA and .933 save percentage in 375 minutes); Jason Delhoy, Rivers (1.78 GAA and .922 save percentage in 212 minutes)
ISL Keller
Top skater:Â Matt Cataldo, St. Sebastian's
St. Sebastian's has been fortunate to get a ton of production from its top line of Teddy Mutryn (Norwell, Mass.), Isaac Mitchell (Harvard, Mass.) and Cataldo. Ultimately, Cataldo has been superb, posting 10 goals in eight games, which ranks second in all of prep hockey. His 15 points also lead the team.
Honorable mentions: Jack DesRuisseaux, Tabor (6-8—14); Mikka Kelechian, Milton Academy (5-7—12)
Top goalie: Pelle Russo, St. Sebastian's
Yes, St. Sebastian's owns both of these spots and rightfully so. Russo has been outstanding in net with a 0.93 GAA and .970 save percentage in 349 minutes of action. Russo, an '05 from West Newton, Mass., has been a stellar backbone for a team with Elite 8 aspirations.
Side note: there are lots of great goalies in the ISL Keller.
Honorable mentions:Â Sam Caulfield, Milton Academy (1.09 GAA and .971 save percentage in 248 minutes); Thatcher Bernstein, Nobles (1.61 GAA and .940 save percentage in 269 minutes); JJ Thibodeau, Belmont Hill (1.58 GAA and .915 save percentage in 274 minutes); Gus Ackerman, Tabor (2.44 GAA and .927 save percentage)
Lakes
Top skater:Â Braden O'Hara, Tilton
Tilton made its way onto our latest rankings and O'Hara is a massive reason why. The '04 leads prep hockey in assists (12) and points (19). Tilton has had some high-scoring games and O'Hara has played a big role in all of them.
Honorable mentions: Jackson Kyrkostas, Kimball Union (9-6—15); Christian Day, New Hampton (5-8—13)
Top goalie: Dan Heroux, Kimball Union
This one is far from a surprise. Heroux, a Vermont commit, is as steady as it gets for the No. 6 team in the region. Heroux owns a 2.33 GAA and .921 save percentage in 347 minutes for Tim Whitehead's team.
Honorable mentions: Sawyer Russell, Tilton (1.87 GAA and .934 save percentage in 231 minutes); Owen Wilgos, Vermont Academy (2.23 GAA and .946 save percentage in 266 minutes)
Independents
Top skater:Â Landan Resendes, Cushing
To no one's surprise, Resendes has been really good through the first month. The BC commit has six goals and 13 points in eight games and was a huge help for his team in winning the Groton/Lawrence Holiday Tournament. Emerson Marshall, his linemate, was also massive in winning the tournament, as the Gloucester, Mass., native posted two goals and five points to beat Dexter.
Honorable mentions: Jacob Fletcher, Northfield Mount Hermon (5-10—15); Alex LoGuercio, Frederick Gunn (9-5—14); Dale Campbell, Millbrook (8-6—14); Emerson Marshall, Cushing (4-9—13)
Top goalie:Â Michael Salvatore, Exeter
Salvatore has played the most minutes in prep hockey (594) and faced the most amount of shots. He also has the highest number of saves (326). Despite getting peppered with pucks, the Newburyport, Mass., native has a respectable 2.64 GAA and .918 save percentage.
Honorable mentions:Â Cooper Rautenstrauch, Cushing (1.95 GAA and .919 save percentage in 442 minutes); Mitchell McCusker, Frederick Gunn (1.49 GAA and .948 save percentage in 218 minutes); Ryan Crowshaw, Frederick Gunn (2.21 GAA and .916 save percentage in 318 minutes); Brendan Holahan, Brunswick (2.83 GAA and .915 save percentage in 363 minutes)
