A No. 8 seed won the Elite 8 in New England boys prep hockey. What else is there to say?
Avon Old Farms took on No. 1 Dexter Southfield, No. 5 Hotchkiss and No. 2 St. Mark's and outscored them 13-4. The Winged Beavers dealt with injuries all season, lost a top forward in Ethan Gingeleskie (West Hartford, Conn.) during the Elite 8 and even lost starting goalie Anthony Palmer (Lynnfield, Mass.) two minutes into the championship.
They didn't miss a beat.
There were many high-end performances in the 2026 big dance, but these players stood out the most.
Here is our MVP of the Elite 8, along with our all-tournament team.
Most Valuable Players: Anthony Palmer & Will Bagot, Avon Old Farms
Palmer and Bagot teamed up for one of the most memorable Elite 8 runs ever. Palmer made 47 saves to beat No. 1 Dexter Southfield on the road, 4-2, before shutting out No. 5 Hotchkiss with 32 stops. Palmer made three saves less than two minutes into the Elite 8 final, but then he left with an injury. In came Bagot, who made an incredible 48 saves to take down the No. 1 offense in prep, beating St. Mark's, 4-2.
Palmer capped off a stellar prep career with an Elite 8 championship, while Bagot stepped in and produced a game he'll never forget.
All-Elite 8 Team
Forward: Nico Ciardiello, Avon Old Farms
Ciardiello found a new level in the postseason with seven points in three games. After notching an assist on a Gingeleskie goal against Dexter, he exploded for four goals and an assist in his team's 5-0 romp of Hotchkiss. He scored in the final, too, finding the back of the net on a beautiful play in which he entered the offensive zone, cut middle and sniped one. He was one of Avon's top players all year and played like it when it mattered most.
MORE CHAMPIONS: Boys Large School — Cushing beats Brunswick | Boys Small School — Winchendon beats Holderness | Girls Elite 8 — Loomis Chaffee beats Deerfield | Girls Large School — Phillips Exeter beats Choate | Girls Small School — Groton beats New Hampton
Forward: Sean Millen, Avon Old Farms
Millen turned in a fantastic Elite 8 playing with Ciardiello and Liam Donnelly. He scored a massive power-play goal against Dexter and assisted on Maks Morgoslepov's shorthanded goal. He assisted on all four of Ciardiello's goals against Hotchkiss and Ciardiello's lamplighter against St. Mark's. What a tournament for the Wethersfield, Conn., native, who missed parts of the season due to injury.
Forward: Will Manchuso, St. Mark's
Manchuso made an offensive impact in all three of the Lions' games. The Dartmouth commit scored against No. 7 Belmont Hill in a 7-2 win, before filling the scoresheet with two goals and two helpers in a 7-3 win over No. 6 Kimball Union. In that win over KUA, Manchuso scored on a shorthanded breakaway that put the Lions in command, and he set up Cam MacPherson's (Hopkinton, Mass.) goal that gave the Lions a two-goal lead late. Manchuso also scored and registered an assist in the final.
Defenseman: Max Yakub, Avon Old Farms
Yakub was all over the scoresheet in the tournament, but there's no question what his biggest play was: the block. Five minutes into the game, Bagot was somewhat out of position from committing to Caiden Pellegrino (Uxbridge, Mass.), who had the puck to shoot. But the puck ended up in the slot with Evan Nee (Arlington, Mass.), who had an open net. Yakub got down and saved the puck with his foot, completely changing the game.
The former Mount St. Charles defenseman tallied three assists against Dexter and one against Hotchkiss. But there's no question that the block was his biggest — and most memorable — contribution.
Defenseman: Logan Cotter, St. Mark's
Cotter finished with two assists over the three games, so his production wasn't eye-popping, but his play on the ice was. The '10 defenseman skated pucks with confidence and consistently made smart reads on passes. In the championship, he was St. Mark's best player, time and again creating offense and using his speed to shut plays down. He moved himself into being a player who probably should have been invited to U.S. National Team Development Program Evaluation Camp.
READ MORE: Relive Avon's win over St. Mark's
Goalie: Anthony Palmer & Will Bagot, Avon Old Farms
No question here. Palmer, a Tufts commit, was such a steady hand over his three years at Avon. After splitting time (but getting the majority of it) as a sophomore in 2023-24, he took the starter reins last winter and hit a new level this winter with a 1.94 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage. Bagot, on the other hand, positioned himself well to get the net next season. He'll forever be known as a big-game player.
