As negative as the disruptions to last year’s prep school hockey season were, they had a unique effect on Alan Thompson’s club at the Holderness School.
With several high-impact upperclassmen opting to leave early in fear of what the season would look like, the Bulls made a couple of late additions and pulled two freshmen up to varsity.
After finishing the abbreviated Lakes Region season with a 1-5 record, it paved the way for a more experienced group this season.
Since starting 9-0, Holderness now sits at 15-1-1 after Wednesday’s 2-1 overtime defeat of Phillips Exeter (10-5-2) on the road. It is one of just four prep schools in New England with a single loss or less.
Trailing 1-0 after the first period, senior Cooper Warrington knotted it up for the Bulls in the second. After a scoreless third, junior Max Charbonneau potted the overtime-winner on a feed from classmate Finn O’Hara (Waitsfield, Vt.) for his 12th goal of the season.
“That was a bit of a blessing in disguise,” Thompson said of the previous season. “It set us up so well for this year.”
Behind senior captain and leading-scorer Cooper Boulanger (Barre, Vt.), ’02 forwards Sean Senier and Quinn McCarthy are next in line on the score sheet — both of whom hail from Melrose, Mass., and joined the team at the start of the 2020-21 season via Melrose High.
While Senier leads the Bulls in goals (13), McCarthy is second on the team in assists (16).
“He’s probably the smartest player I've coached,” Thompson said of McCarthy, who plays on the top line alongside Boulanger and co-captain (Ontario native) Nick Messina.
"He doesn't have elite speed but he creates so many chances in tight areas just by putting his body in the right spot or chipping a puck to the right area to create an opportunity that wasn't there before.”
Now sophomores, Jake Boulanger and Kaden Freelove (Tyngsboro, Mass.) are also making notable contributions after making their introduction to the varsity level last season.
In total, five Holderness skaters are averaging more than a point per game.
In addition to McCarthy, Senier and Boulanger — the latter of whom is garnering substantial college interest and on Tuesday became the third Holderness player to commit to the BCHL for next season — senior Dave Brandes and junior Aidan O’Connell (Wilmington, Mass.) are among the Bulls’ leading point-getters.
Brandes, an ’04 defenseman from North York, Ont., has been a standout for his exceptional two-way play.
“He’s got elite speed and he creates so many chances off the rush,” Thompson said. “He’s probably the fastest-skating defenseman I’ve seen come through here. He’s been fun to watch.”
The list goes on. With four lines to roll and balanced scoring across the board, the Bulls are firing on all cylinders heading into the final stretch.
Perhaps more important than the ones finding the back of the net, however, is the one keeping the opposing pucks out of harm's way.
In his third season between the pipes for the Plymouth, N.H., program, junior netminder Evan Plunkett is a top-5 goalie statically in prep. Through 14 games, the North Carolina native boasts a .944 save percentage and 1.60 goals-against average on nearly 400 shots faced.
“He’s been really strong,” Thompson said. “He’s made some made some big saves and when we do get flurries from other teams, he's been able to take away most of the Grade-A chances they create.”
Wednesday’s win was a big one for the Bulls. Now, it’s on to Kimball Union Academy (19-1-1) on Friday (and again a week later) for crucial measuring-stick matchups against a league rival and the region’s second-ranked team.
“Our strength is our team speed, so I think we can put a lot of pressure on teams’ defensive groups,” Thompson said.
“You’re most likely not going to score a lot of pretty goals against these types of teams, so you gotta get guys to the net, get traffic in front and score some dirty-area goals, too.”
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