Eric Green turns aside praise as deftly as he turns aside shots, even as his teammates and coach keep firing it at him.
The senior goalie at Northfield-Mount Hermon is producing a season for the ages and is a big reason his team owned a gaudy record of 17-2-2 as January was winding down.
"He’s unbelievable right now," said junior center Devan Tongue, the team’s leading scorer. "He’s really stole a lot of games for us. … We know we don’t need 10 goals to win a game."
As this issue of New England Hockey Journal went to press, the Hoggers were riding a 10-game win streak that they began crafting in the days after Christmas, at the Edward G. Watkins tournament at Cushing Academy.
The victims in this streak include Independent School heavyweights Lawrence, Thayer and Belmont Hill; Founders League power Avon Old Farms; and Cushing. The scores of their last six games were 2-1, 4-0, 3-1, 7-0, 2-1 and 1-0 and they’ve allowed just 21 goals all season.
In short, Green and the Hoggers — a team that does not boast a Division 1-committed player — are doing a splendid job of keeping the puck out of their own net.
"Eric Green has been special all season for us," said second-year NMH coach Kevin Czepiel. "I don’t know if there’s another goalie in prep that’s been as dominant as him."
The numbers illustrate that: a 16-2-2 record logging more than 1,100 minutes in net, a 1.45 goalsagainst average and a .950 save percentage.
"First and foremost, it’s my teammates," said the 6-foot-5 Green, an Easton, Conn., native who rode the bench as a freshman and sophomore before taking over as the top goalie last winter. "I’ve never played for a team that made my job easier as far as playing defense and blocking shots."
His development has dovetailed with that of his team, which enjoyed success in a decade under Tom Pratt — NHL defenseman Brian Strait (Waltham, Mass.) skated for two years there — but had dropped to 5-25 when Green was a sophomore backing up Avery Gobbo, who’s now playing at Connecticut College.
That’s what’s made this year so satisfying. The Hoggers went 10-18-4 last year.
"It means a lot for me," said Green. "Northfield-Mount Hermon hockey has given me everything I have. I came in as a freshman and played one game; I was nowhere near to accomplishing my goals or accomplishing the goals our team had set up."
"The thing I hear from people who know goaltending a lot better than I do is just his calmness in net," said Czepiel. "He’s 6-5 and a naturally athletic kid. But the biggest difference from last year to this year is his rebound control, not giving up second chances. He’s made his job a lot easier."
What’s also improved this year is his supporting cast.
In Tongue, who was recruited to NMH as a sophomore out of Hampden, Mass., and put up 30 points (15 goals, 15 assists) in 32 games last year, the Hoggers have a first-line center. Skating between seniors Kyle Kazeroid and Ben Stefanini, he’s already amassed 14 goals and 18 assists.
Junior Mike Kennedy, a Holyoke, Mass., native, brings the offensive element to a strong defense, ranking among the top five in defenseman scoring in New England.
"We probably play him half the game," said Czepiel. "His skating ability and puckmoving ability to get us out of our zone is huge. … And with games on the line, which we’ve had a lot, the other team’s goalie out (for an extra attacker), he’s on the ice."
The team’s play, and approach to its games, is a reflection of Czepiel (Holyoke, Mass.), a 2007 grad of NMH whose work ethic and approach were some of the reasons he was able to log 130 games at UMass as an undersized forward.
Kennedy stressed the word "professionalism," everything from how they approach practice to how they dress for away tournaments to removing hats inside school buildings.
"A lot of the credit goes to Coach (Czepiel)," said Green. "He does a great job of bringing players in and building the culture. This is his program."
The two losses were early in the season to a good Westminster team (5-1) and to the hosts at the Cushing tournament (3-2). The two ties came against strong out-of-region teams: Hill School and Nichols School. As they got stacked together, the results gave the team confidence.
"We had a real good stretch of four games at the Lawrenceville tournament (wins against Choate, Belmont Hill and Upper Canada College, and a tie against Nichols)," said Kennedy. "We knew we were a team that was competitive, that could play against these teams. It showed we could compete."
A lot of things have factored into a great season to this point — two strong recruiting classes and the professional culture. Tongue and Kennedy are drawing Division 1 interest, as is the guy between the pipes.
"There’s no one more important to us than Eric Green," said Czepiel. "He’s been a stud for us all year."
