Dexter Southfield’s six-week run atop the New England Hockey Journal Prep School Coaches Poll is over.
Each of the top four teams had their respective winning streaks snapped over the past week, but last Wednesday’s 7-0 shutout at Trinity-Pawling allowed the Crimson Knights of Salisbury to take over a one-point lead at the top.
Dexter still earned four first-place votes and established more than a 20-point difference between itself and the No. 3 team in the rankings.
All told, the coaches voted in nine teams of the top 10 from the previous poll. Nobles was a big riser this week as it carries a three-game winning streak and 7-1 record over its last eight games into a new week of play.
Five other teams received consideration for the top-10 rankings as voted upon by a panel of the region’s coaches. (Teams receive 10 points for a first-place vote, nine for a second-place vote, eight for a third-place vote, etc.)
The NEHJ Prep School Coaches Poll is released every Tuesday during the season on hockeyjournal.com. Please send an email to jkummins@hockeyjournal.com if you are interested in participating in our polls throughout the winter.
1. Salisbury (14-2-1)
120 points - 9 first-place votes
Last week: 2nd
The Crimson Knights extended their winning streak to nine games and unbeaten streak to 15 games with a 7-0 shutout at Trinity-Pawling before it was halted Monday with a 4-2 loss to Berkshire. Matthew DeBoer (3-1-4) and Lucas Mercuri (2-2-4) led the Salisbury offense against T-P, Jake Quillan (1-1-2) and Cole Eichler also scoring goals. Max Donoso made 20 saves to record the team’s fourth clean sheet of the winter. Against Berkshire, Mercuri scored both goals and Nicholas Haas stopped 24 shots.
2. Dexter Southfield (16-2)
119 points - 4 first-place votes
Last week: 1st
Dexter Southfield had its four-game winning streak snapped with a 4-3 loss to Thayer, but Dan Donato’s team bounced back quickly with a 7-0 victory over Brooks. Doug Grimes (Brookline, Mass.), Brendan O’Donnell (Hull, Mass.) and Michael Adamson (Quincy, Mass.) all had two points in the loss. Six players scored against Brooks, including Matt Copponi (Mansfield, Mass.), who had two goals and an assist. Patrick Morrissey (Canton, Mass.) and Culin Wilson (Hingham, Mass.) each had three assists. Ryan Kazmouz (Nashua, N.H.) made 10 saves for the shutout.
3. Avon Old Farms (14-2)
97 points
Last week: 3rd (tied)
The Winged Beavers bookended their week with victories over Northfield Mount Hermon, 4-1, and Westminster, 3-1, but the team’s eight-game win streak came to an end with Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Berkshire. John Turner (East Falmouth, Mass.) scored twice against NMH and added an assist to help out Paul Davey, who was one of three goal scorers against Westminster. Connor Callaghan earned both victories, making 16 and 21 saves, respectively.
4. Lawrence (12-2)
78 points
Last week: 3rd (tied)
The Spartans opened their two-game week with a 7-5 win over Milton, extending their winning streak to seven games, before falling to nearby foe Nobles, 3-2. Riley Duran (Woburn, Mass.) led the way with three goals and one assist in the victory. In addition, Blake Humphrey scored and added two assists, Conor Lovett (Franklin, Mass.) lit the lamp twice and Tomas Pientka made 20 saves. Against Nobles, Duran assisted on Humphrey and Damien Carfagna goals while Pientka made 30 saves.
5. Nobles (11-4-1)
53 points
Last week: 9th (tied)
Brian Day’s Bulldogs jump up after earning a pair of 3-2 victories over Lawrence and Andover this past week. Jack Cronin (Hamilton, Mass.) scored twice, and Casey Severo contributed one goal and one assist against Lawrence. In Andover, Peirce Kenney (Needham, Mass.) capped a run of three straight goals with the game-winner while Severo joined him with one goal and one assist, and Roman Tacelli (Needham, Mass.) also scored. Marc Smith (Hanover, Mass.) picked up both wins in the goal, making 26 and 24 saves, respectively.
6. Loomis Chaffee (10-2-3)
52 points
Last week: 6th
Loomis went 2-0-1 on the week as it beat Taft, 5-1, and Westminster, 2-1, before drawing with Cushing, 1-1. Rory Andriole (Branford, Conn.) scored twice against Taft while Cody Hoban (Guilford, Conn.) and Oliver Flynn (Wolcott, Conn.) had a goal and an assist each. Hoban scored both Pelican goals against Westminster and helped Kyle Chauvette (New Boston, N.H.) earn his second consecutive win with 32 saves. Alex Krause assisted on both goals in the second Loomis win of the week. Against Cushing, Thomas Costello (West Hartford, Conn.) scored the team’s only goal and Chauvette made 27 saves.
7. Kimball Union (15-4-1)
50 points
Last week: 5th
The Wildcats had a six-game winning run snapped with a 3-1 loss to Deerfield before they started a new winning streak with triumphs against Brewster Academy, 6-2, and Stanstead College, 5-3. Luca Fantlli scored the lone goal in the loss to Deerfield, and added a goal and an assist in the next two games. Sullivan Mack scored a hat trick and Tomas Mazura dished out three assists before outdoing those point totals against Stanstead. In KUA’s final game of the week, Mazura had four assists and Mack scored twice before adding an assist. Zach Whitehead (Meriden, N.H.) also scored two goals. Goaltenders Veeti Kohvakka and Zak Brice both earned wins during the week.
8. St. Sebastian’s (12-3)
45 points
Last week: 7th
The Arrows allowed just single goals in their two most recent games, topping Andover, 3-1, and Governor’s, 7-1. Liam Connors (Westborough, Mass.; 1-1-2) and Brendan Dumas (North Attleboro, Mass.; 0-2-2) both had multipoint outings against the Big Blue. Against Governor’s, Brendan Gorman (Arlington, Mass.) scored twice in the first period and added an assist to pace five multipoint contributors and six goal scorers. Sebs scored seven unanswered goals against Governor’s in the win. Luke Garrity (Duxbury, Mass.) earned both victories, posting 25 saves on 26 shots in each.
9. Hotchkiss (9-4-1)
31 points
Last week: Not ranked
The Bearcats continued a four-game unbeaten streak with back-to-back wins over Kent, 5-0, and Exeter, 5-1, over this past week. Gavin Puskar led the Hotchkiss offense with a hat trick and an assist while Karsen Dorwart handed out two assists. Jon Horn was one of five goal scorers against Exeter and also added two helpers, while Dorwart and Puskar both had two points. Henry Wilder (Needham, Mass.) and Cameron Smith split the victories, but it was Wilder who finished the 23-save shutout.
10. Brunswick (12-4-2)
30 points
Last week: 8th
The Bruins extended their unbeaten streak to four games with victories over Hoosac, 4-3, and Hill School, 8-2. Against Hoosac, Henry Foster scored the game-winning goal to cap a three-goal run in the second period while Jude Brower assisted on all four goals and Andon Cerbone and Matthew McGroarty added a goal and an assist apiece. Eight Brunswick players scored against Hill, including Cerbone, who added two assists. Brendan Holahan (New Canaan, Conn.) earned a 10-save victory against Hoosac before Alexander Rohlf made 18 stops against Hill.
Others receiving votes: Berkshire, Gunnery, Kent, Cushing, Thayer.
