The preseason jamborees are over. Action starts for real Wednesday as the 2017-18 New England Prep School Ice Hockey Association (NEPSIHA) season gets underway.
Defending Elite 8 Tournament Champion Kimball Union is poised to be a strong contender to repeat, but Tim Whitehead’s Wildcats won’t start the season in the first position of the New England Hockey Journal’s Prep Hockey Poll.
Top billing goes to Tony Amonte’s Thayer Academy Tigers. There will be no better line in prep hockey than Jay O’Brien, Aidan McDonough, and Tristan Amonte, if they stick together all season. Thayer now has the goaltending necessary to make a deep run with the big boys.
The New England Hockey Journal will post a Top 10 Prep Hockey Ranking each week during the season. This edition will feature the top 15 teams throughout New England.
1. Thayer
In addition to having O’Brien, the best player in prep hockey, the Tigers have a very solid top four on the blue line. UMass commit Jayson Dobay leads the way with Jake Flynn, Nolan Hayes and P.J. Garrett also being viable top four guys in prep. Highly touted goaltender Gavin Fitzpatrick has come over from BB&N and Jimmy Scannell should push him for tme. Reilly Moran, an Army commit, and Evan Googins should provide plenty of secondary scoring. What sets Thayer apart from the rest of the field is the senior-laden, older team.
2. Kimball Union
The Wildcats are led by two of the best defensemen in prep school hockey in Jordan Harris (Northeastern) and Bryce Dolan (Holy Cross). Newcomers Christian Felton, and Devan Newhook should be strong blue liners. Senior Sean Dynan has come a long way and is a reliable number one goaltender in prep. The whole first line is gone, but KUA reloaded with the additions of Canadians Paul Dore and Drew Bennet.. Zach Whitehead is another fresh face to keep an eye on up front. Arlo Merritt (Ohio State), Logan Cash, Thomas Samuelsen (UConn) and Andranik Armstrong are the top returning forwards.
3. Dexter Southfield
Danny Donato’s team is loaded and primed to be a serious contender to win the Elite 8. Harvard commit and Vancouver Canucks draft pick Jack Rathbone on the blue line leads Dexter. Ben Meehan (UMass Lowell), John Fusco, Kevin McKay and Bobby Pearl provide plenty of reinforcement on the backend. Shattuck-St. Mary’s transfer Derek Mullahy, also a Harvard commit, will be the team’s starting goaltender. Up front, the team’s third Harvard recruit, John Farinacci, will be the catalyst. Seniors Ian Murphy, a Williams recruit, and Jack Nisbet will be key contributors. Chase McInnis, and newcomers Ben Raymond and Aidan Connolly will also increase offensive production.
4. Salisbury
Andrew Will’s team lost some firepower, including Michigan commit Johnny Beecher, New Hampshire recruit Ryan Verrier and Providence commit Tyce Thompson. However, the Crimson Knights always come up with players to fill needs. Kevin Wall (Merrimack), Jacques Bouquot (BC), Alex DiPaolo (UMass), Brett Willits and Matt Holmes are key returners up front. UConn commits Arsenii Smekhnov and Ilya Usau and Maine commit Nick Capone are key offensive additions. Groton transfer Chris Brown, Matthew DeBoer and Michael Fairfax are also big additions. Defensively, Peter Diliberatore (Quinnipiac) and Nick Hale (Holy Cross) will lead the way. Luke Krys is the top defensive recruit to the program. Roxbury Latin transfer Bryan McGrath and Jared Levine should split the goaltending duties.
5. Lawrence Academy
The Spartans are missing some key players from last season’s team due to graduation, but return quite a bit of talent. Robbie Barker’s team got a big boost when Northeastern recruit Neil Shea returned from the USHL at the Thanksgiving break. Fellow Huskies commit Sam Colangelo is a sharpshooter who should see his production increase this season. Pingree transfer Connor Sweeney (Pingree) has the talent to light the lamp early and often. Moses Brown transfer Gunnar Fontaine is another offensive weapon who plays with grit. Tyler Young, the son of former BU and NHL star Scott Young, is another newcomer, transferring from St. Mark’s. On defense, LA should be very strong with Jack Cameron (Dartmouth), Braden Doyle (Boston University) and Drew Bavaro. Matt Connor is the top newcomer on the blue line. Expect junior Ian Graiff to take the reigns in between the pipes.
6. Avon Old Farms
It’s tough to imagine a team that lost three players early to the NTDP could still be in the top 10, but the Winged Beavers always reload. John Gardner’s team will replace Boston College recruit Spencer Knight with Providence commit Alex Aslanidis in goal. Moe Acee (St. Lawrence) adds some size to a defensive group that has veterans Aaron Pinto and Cullen Young as well as Mac Wiseman (UConn) back from last year’s team. Offensively, AOF brought in some older forwards to rejuvenate the scoring efforts. Former Tabor standout Max Sauve, Brown commit Zach Rehbaum and Brooks transfer Max Rand enter. Freshman Jason Siedem (Boston College) is the most highly touted newcomer. Other young forwards joining the mix are Ryan Kirwan (Penn State), John Louder, Tim Heinke and Stefan Miklakos. Nick Wildgoose (St. Lawrence) and Matt Kirwan are the top returning forwards.
7. Exeter
As usual, Dana Barbin’s Big Red squad will be a deep team with plenty of older players, which helps them compete with more skilled opposition. Forwards Bobby Murray, Kyle Jadatz and Garrett Foster are all back. Newcomers Ethan Abraham, Ted Aiken, Danny Colon, Joe Schubert and Andrew Seaman will add to the offense. Senior Cam Speck and PG Max Alsarraf should lead the way on the blue line. Ryan Welch returns in goal. Exeter will win a lot of games, but whether they can keep it rolling into March is still up in the air.
8. St. Sebastian’s
The Arrows have no shortage of talent, but whether or not they can put it all together remains to be seen. Northeastern commit Riley Hughes leads the way up front. Wyatt Schlaht, Liam Gorman and Tommy Lyons (Brown) are three other juniors that should have big seasons. Liam Connors (BU) is an elite player who could play a big role. James Davenport, Blake Colman, Thomas Messineo and Ryan MacDermott will be tasked with protecting sophomore goaltender Drew Commesso, who is a NTDP candidate for next season.
9. Gunnery
Craig Badger’s team will be thin on defense, but has a good mix of young and old up front. Sophomore defenseman Jimmy Rayhill, a Cornell recruit, has been named the team’s captain. Classmate Mark D’Agostino, a UConn recruit, is the team’s top forward prospect. Seniors Albert Washco, Zach Pellegrino and Marc Gatcomb should put up numbers. Latvian Artjoms Lapiks and Arlington Catholic transfer Mason Beecher are the top new forwards. New goaltenders JP Mella and Carmine Andranovich will be the duo to lead Gunnery between the pipes.
10. Loomis Chaffee
The Pelicans will be young in some key positions, which will likely keep them out of the Elite 8. John Zavisza’s team will be led by its defense as four-year standout Andrew Lucas (Vermont) is back, and even better than before. Fellow Catamount recruit David Paluch joins the blue line from Ontario. Dartmouth commit Cody Hoban is the top forward back after Harry Roy and Joey Cipollone left early for the USHL. Seniors Trent DeNuccio, Connor Leighton, Mark Amatetti and Johnny Barbieri should provide stability up front. Keep a close eye on Anthony Cipollone (Vermont) and Californian Alexander Krause to make a splash as new additions to the offense. Patrick Pugliese should get the majority of the work in goal.
11. Rivers
An easy schedule and a senior goaltender will help Rivers be a contender to make the Elite 8 all season long. Aidan Porter (Princeton) was a shutout machine for the Red Wings last year. Senior Teddy Wooding will lead the offense. Classmate Tyler Capello and sophomore Phillip Tresca should make a big impact. Defenseman Cade Webber (BU) spurned the NTDP to stay in prep school. Tony Andreozzi (Brown) is a puck-moving defender with poise and experience.
12. New Hampton
Casey Kesselring’s team could sneak into the Elite 8. Not a perennial power, the Huskies have some key pieces in place to make a run. Defenseman Michael Kesselring (Merrimack) and forward Lynden Breen (Maine) are the two biggest reasons for optimism. Beyond that, watch for Michael Kane (Holy Cross), Joe Dunlap, Bradley Shaw, Lucas Uhler and Thomas Albert to have big years offensively. Goaltending was a weakness last season, but Matt Sayles and Andrew Ehler should improve that.
13. Cushing
Longtime coach Steve Jacobs is back in Ashburnham after a brief hiatus away from the school. The Penguins fell just short of a Small School title last season, losing to Pomfret in overtime. Senior forwards Vilho Saariluoma, Matthew Guerra and Michael Outzen should provide veteran leadership up front. Nolan McElhaney, Cam Berube and Patrick Keegan (Wisconsin) lead the way on defense. Joe Sharib will be the man between the pipes.
14. Brunswick
The Bruins lost a few key pieces, namely star goaltender Strauss Mann, who is now tending net in the USHL. Senior Christian LeSueur (Dartmouth) and Charles Shaffer lead the way up front. A trio of young freshmen, Ryan St. Louis, Matt McGroarty and Paul Davey, have skill and upside. Whether they can make an impact at the prep level is left to be determined. Junior Cooper Moore, sophomore Shayan Farjam and senior Ryan Carmichael are the top defenders. Junior goaltender Dan Dachille is a nice replacement for Mann.
15. Belmont Hill
Jeremiah McCarthy’s team lost a lot of firepower up front with the losses of Christian O’Neill (Princeton) and Sam Hesler (Dartmouth). The reason for optimism is a very good group of defenders led by captain Robert Radocchia and fellow junior James Perullo. Michael Brown and Brett Bliss are two younger defenders to keep an eye on. Big John Copeland is making the move to defense after previously playing forward. Connor Hopkins (Yale) will be a steadying influence at the goaltending position. Juniors Andrew Holland and Joe Goguen will lead a young and unproven offense.
On the cusp: Pomfret, Taft, Deerfield, Trinity-Pawling, Westminster, Kent
