February is almost here, and even with disruptions to this hockey season due to the surge in coronavirus variants, we have seen enough to draw some conclusions about the New England prep hockey field.
Who are the schools that have elevated and gone above and beyond? Who are some whose efforts leave a bit to be desired? Here’s a quick snapshot by conference of those who have impressed and others who have fallen short.
Holt
Surprise: Portsmouth Abbey
After starting out a pedestrian 4-4, Allie Skelley’s Ravens team snapped off a seven-game unbeaten streak (6-0-1), including a win over a very good St. George’s squad. They’ve beaten the teams they need to and are growing in confidence, a nice first-half success story in the Holt. Forwards Jacob Ierfino and Josh Bonrouhi lead the way offensively, while senior goaltender Rorke Applebee has been consistent and reliable in a net timeshare with senior Ryan Rosenau (Scituate, Mass.) and impressive ’05 sophomore Patrick McDevitt.
Disappointment: Berwick
It’s been a steep learning curve in Lem Randall’s first season behind the Bulldogs bench. Losing 11 games out of the gate, many of which were blowouts, is a demoralizing situation, but to the team’s credit, they were able to win consecutive games earlier this month. Senior Nick McSorley (Biddeford, Maine) and sophomore Justin Massa have been bright spots offensively, but the silver linings have been tough to come by.
Housatonic/Founders
Surprise: Salisbury
The Scarlet Knights have been a surprise, but not in the way we imagined. The No. 2 team in the New England Hockey Journal preseason poll stumbled out of the gate at a mediocre 5-4, with some uncharacteristic defensive breakdowns and lapses that moved them out of the top 10 of NEHJ's weekly power rankings. As expected, however, Andrew Will has steered his ship with a steady hand and after seven consecutive wins, they’re back near the top of the conference as winners of their last six. They are headed for a major showdown with top-ranked Avon Old Farms on Feb. 19. That game will be packed to the gills with people looking for the best indicator of Housatonic supremacy. Senior and Northeastern recruit Dylan Hryckowian might be one of the best 2022 NHL draft sleepers out there with his speed and elite skill/hockey sense combo.
Disappointment: Loomis Chaffee
The Pelicans are clicking along at 8-7, and this squad looks to be a cut below some of JR Zavisza’s past teams. Projected to be one of our preseason top-10 prep teams, they’ve fallen well short of that prediction, but there is time to get back on track. UConn recruit Oliver Flynn (Wolcott, Conn.) is scoring a lot, but the goaltending has been disappointing this season in key conference matchups. A big win against Kent from Andrew Heinze (North Andover, Mass.) might be the trick to a better February. Even if the team isn’t as strong on paper as others, Zavisza has a proven track record of getting the most out of his club, and we predict a strong finish.
ISL Keller
Surprise: Belmont Hill
We knew the Sextants would be highly competitive this season, but we’re almost to February, and they have yet to lose (12-0-2). Truth be told, watching Brian Phinney’s team is enjoyable, because they play such a strong team game in all zones. You’re not seeing the same players contributing night in and night out, which speaks to their depth and experience. Yale and Northeastern recruits Ronan O’Donnell (Fairfield, Conn.) and James Fisher (Wilmington, Mass.) and ‘06 freshman Teddy Stiga from Sudbury, Mass., — out of recent action with injury — have galvanized the offense. Defensive stalwarts Will Killoran (Charlestown, Mass.) and Matt Biotti (Cambridge, Mass.) log a lot of minutes and the Sam Scopa (Lexington, Mass.)-Aaron Matthews (Newton, Mass.) duo has provided top-shelf performances in net. Phinney and his assistants are getting the most out of an impressive crew, with a remaining schedule that doesn’t appear to be in danger of derailing the positive momentum.
Disappointment: Thayer
The Tigers have the talent but have yet to put it all together in our viewings thus far. Too often, several key components are not going, even though freshman late ’06 Gavin Cornforth (Milton, Mass.) is generating a lot of offense. At 3-10, there is simply no accounting for why this team is so far down in the standings, other than the performances across the roster have to be better. Uneven efforts and blown leads and pedestrian defense/goaltending make it tough for even the most skilled teams to rise in the standings.
ISL Eberhart
Surprise: St. George’s
It is no disrespect to the Dragons that they are in the surprise category because they were a preseason top 10 and jumped into the latest power rankings. However, there is much to be said about how Jeff Dwyer and his guys are doing it. They have built and coached a team that comes at opponents in waves, perfect in their division while sporting a solid 8-3-2 overall record. With their blend of size, skill and quality goaltending, they are built for the postseason. With one more matchup against St. Mark’s on Feb. 23, that home game could determine supremacy in the Eberhart Division.
Disappointment: Groton
After being 22-8 in 2019-20, the 1-8-1 start gets to just how tough the pandemic has been on prep hockey in general and the continuity challenges it has created for teams. ’06 sophomore and Cape Cod Whalers 15-only fall league star Allen Fang leads the squad in scoring, but offense has been in short supply. Senior defenseman and Californian Bryan McLachlan provides a gritty, veteran presence on the back end, and Tommy Giroux has done his level best to keep his team in games as Groton’s workhorse.
Lakes Region
Surprise: Holderness
Alan Thompson’s Bulls have surged out of the gate to a 14-1-1 start, with the only loss coming to New Hampton earlier this month. Barre, Vt. native Cooper Boulanger can fly and has been shooting the lights out, with an older but talented supporting cast. Senior (’04) defender and Quebec product Dave Brandes may not be big, but has some nifty offense to him and an untapped upside. Senior Evan Plunkett has been as good as they come manning the net. Add it up and we can wait to see how they stack up against Kimball Union, with two February games on the docket.
Disappointment: Proctor
Like Groton, Mike Walsh’s Hornets team has met the reality of key losses impacting their season. Although the effort has been there, the inability to beat teams higher in the standings provides a difficult mountain to climb in the second half at 6-7 currently. Avan Pyle (New London, N.H.) has carried the mail offensively thus far as an ’05 and better days are ahead for him.
Independents
Surprise: Phillips Andover
After going 10-15-1 in 2019-20, the Big Blue are in the midst of an 11-6 run with some key wins. Paul Tortorella’s roster has a good mix of older players like forwards (postgrad) Jonathan Surrette (Woburn, Mass.) and senior Nick Royster, along with a flashy younger ’05 in Joey Zheng. While the latter could stand to get to the net more consistently, he has the speed and offensive flash to put up a lot more points in the second half. The goaltending has just been okay thus far, so the key to sustaining the early season success likely lies with Shane Shelest’s play between the pipes.
Disappointment: Winchendon
Like Groton and Proctor, veteran losses have hit the Wapitis hard. While there is some impressive young (’05 and ’06) talent on the roster like defenseman Jake Freelove (Tyngsboro, Mass.), with forwards Willem Dumais (Lunenberg, Mass.) and Eli Deener-Chodirker (Newton, Mass.) there is room for optimism. However, this team on paper is better than 2-10-2, and scoring fewer than 2 goals per game has put inordinate pressure on senior goalie Matt Pierce (Lincoln, R.I.) to be perfect. It’s not an easy task to keep a team focused and moving forward when scoring has been so hard to come by, but there are some foundational pieces here going forward if they can keep it together.
