With another season officially in the books after Sunday’s three championship games at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., New England Hockey Journal’s Prep School Coaches Poll makes one more appearance for the 2019-20 season.
There is no surprise at the top as Salisbury returned to the No. 1 spot in New England after sweeping through the postseason with Elite 8 (Stuart/Corkery Tournament) victories over three other ranked teams. Martin/Earl Large School champion Loomis Chaffee also rose in this week’s season-ending rankings, which feature all of the same teams from a week ago.Â
Five other teams received consideration for the top-10 rankings. (Teams receive 10 points for a first-place vote, nine for a second-place vote, eight for a third-place vote, etc.)
The NEHJ Prep School Coaches Poll is voted upon weekly during the season by a panel of the region’s coaches. Records listed below include all games from the 2019-20 season.
1. Salisbury (24-3-1)
110 points - 11 first-place votes
Last week: T2nd
The Crimson Knights captured their first Elite 8 championship since 2015 with a 4-0 win over former Salisbury coach Dan Donato’s Dexter Southfield squad. Nick Haas pitched the shutout in goal to finish off a three-win week as Massimo Lombardi, Dean Bauchiero (Southington, Conn.), Lucas Mercuri and Matt DeBoer all scored goals. Mercuri’s goal punctuated a three-point game and the team’s two-goal second period.
In the quarterfinal, Jake Quillan netted a hat trick and Mercuri scored twice on the way to a 7-4 win over Kimball Union. DeBoer and Mercuri each logged a goal and two assists in a 4-3 semifinal win against Avon Old Farms. DeBoer’s goal 2:08 into overtime eliminated the Winged Beavers.
2. Dexter Southfield (25-5)
88 points
Last week: 4th
Dexter Southfield was stymied in the Elite 8 final as Salisbury proved to be too tough, but a 5-2 win over Hotchkiss and 3-0 shutout of Berkshire lifted it to one final game.
Jack Dempsey (Natick, Mass.) led the offense with a one-goal, three-assist effort against Hotchkiss while Aidan Connolly (Marshfield, Mass.) scored twice and added one helper. Dempsey, Connolly and John Fusco scored against Berkshire, with the former also adding an assist. Dylan Silverstein (Woburn, Mass.) stopped 18 shots in both wins.
3. Avon Old Farms (24-3)
79 points
Last week: 1st
The Winged Beavers opened their playoff run with a 6-3 win over Nobles before suffering a 4-3 overtime setback to eventual Elite Eight champion Salisbury in the semifinal round.
John Turner (East Falmouth, Mass.) scored a hat trick and added two assists to lead Avon’s offense against Nobles. Jason Marsella (Greenwich, Conn.) and Brendan Williams scored goals as part of multipoint games while Nick Cyprian also found the back of the net. Against Salisbury, Turner, Gentry Shamburger and Timur Alishlalov scored.
T4. Lawrence (22-3-2)
53 points
Last week: T2nd
The Spartans entered the Elite 8 as the No. 1 seed but No. 8 seed Berkshire handed them a 3-2 overtime loss in the opening round. Holt Oliphant and Riley Duran (Woburn, Mass.) scored goals for Lawrence while Matt Connor (Amherst, N.H.) assisted on both. Goaltender Tomas Pientka stopped 14 of the 17 shots he faced, but it was not enough in the team’s first loss since Jan. 24.
53 points
Last week: 8th
The Bears pulled off an opening-round playoff upset with their a 3-2 overtime win over Lawrence, but Dexter handed them a 3-0 semifinal loss. Briggs Gammill (New Canaan, Conn.) factored into all three goals against Lawrence, scoring two and adding an assist on Aidan Thompson’s third-period goal. Logan Green dished out a pair of helpers. Jed Baliotti (New Canaan, Conn.) had a spectacular week in net, making 46 saves in the Lawrence victory and 44 in the setback to Dexter.
6. Loomis Chaffee (21-7-4)
52 points
Last week: 10th
The Pelicans were the No. 3 seed in the Large School (Martin/Earl Tournament) bracket and captured their first title since 2014 with back-to-back wins over the top two teams -- 5-2 at Brunswick and 2-0 against Cushing in the semifinals and championship games, respectively -- after their 4-2 win against Deerfield in the opening round.
Cody Hoban (Guilford, Conn.) and Adam Martin scored goals while Kyle Chauvette (New Boston, N.H.) pitched a 34-save shutout against Cushing. Luke Steele and Mathieu Schneider both found the net in each of the first two postseason games for Loomis.
7. Kimball Union (25-8-2)
48 points
Last week: 6th
The Wildcats had a run of three consecutive Elite 8 championships snapped after suffering a 7-4 loss to eventual winner Salisbury in the opening round of the tournament. Sullivan Mack scored twice and added an assist while Tomas Mazura netted a goal and assisted on two others. Teddy Griffin (Duxbury, Mass.; 1-1-2) and Luca Fantilli (0-2-2) also registered two points apiece. Veeti Kohvakka (17 saves) and Zak Brice (12 saves) both saw action in goal.
37 points
Last week: 5th
Despite goals from Gavin Puskar (Lakeville, Conn.) and Andrew Esposito, the Bearcats dropped a 5-2 decision to Dexter in their Elite 8 quarterfinal. Karsen Dorwart registered the lone assist for Hotchkiss. Henry Wilder (Needham, Mass.) made 21 saves in net.
9. Cushing (23-8-3)
31 points
Last week: 9th
Championship Sunday in Hartford wasn’t as kind to the Penguins as they dropped a 2-0 decision to Loomis after downing Kent, 8-3, and St. Sebastian’s, 4-2, during the first two rounds of the postseason.
Max Dorrington (North Reading, Mass.) led the way with a hat trick and two assists in Cushing’s opening game while Connor Wood (St. Albans, Vt.; 1-3-4) and Cam Lund (Bridgewater, Mass.; 0-4-4) each marked the scoresheet four times. Dorrington and Billy Norcross (Lynn, Mass.) both logged a goal and an assist against Sebs.
Shane Zarcone and Cody Sealey (Worcester, Mass.) also scored goals to help advance Cushing to the title game. Freshman Jackson Irving (Newbury, Mass.) was in the goal all week, stopping 69 of the 76 shots he faced.
23 points
Last week: not ranked
Three straight five-goal performances from the offense led sixth-seeded Gunnery to victories over New Hampton, Rivers and Pomfret en route to the Small School (Piatelli/Simmons Tournament) title.
Zander Lizotte (Scarborough, Maine) and Alex Jefferies (Lunenburg, Mass.) combined for all four goals and eight of the team’s 11 points in the title game, with Lizotte scoring a hat trick and adding an assist. Jefferies scored twice against New Hampton and posted a goal and three assists against Rivers.
Mark D’Agostino (North Branford, Conn.) chipped in with three assists in the quarterfinal. David Andreychuk (2-1-3) and Michael Casey (1-2-3) had three assists apiece in the semifinal win. Carmine Andranovich (Durham, Conn.) started in net in all three games, with his best performance coming in a 43-save effort against New Hampton.
Others receiving votes: Nobles, Pomfret, St. Sebastian’s, Brunswick, Thayer
