Prep hockey playoff time is here, so New England Hockey Journal’s Coaches Poll is back for one final time before tournament play begins. Quarterfinal matchups have been revealed as every team has its sights set on Sunday’s championships at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn.
The top four teams in this week’s rankings all enter postseason play coming off perfect weeks and will look to continue their successes over the next several days. In all, a panel of New England coaches kept nine of NEHJ’s ranked teams in top-10 positions from a week ago.
Seven other teams received consideration for a spot in the rankings, but playoff results will be the ultimate decider as the season moves forward and reaches its conclusion very soon. (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 here on hockeyjournal.com, with the final ranking of the season coming out next week.
1. Avon Old Farms (23-2)
112 points - 7 first-place votes
Last week: 1st
The Winged Beavers finished their season on a 10-game winning streak after defeating Canerbury, 5-1, and Loomis Chaffee, 4-2. Greenwich, Conn., natives Patrick Neal and Jason Marsella each scored two goals against Canterbury while Timothy Heinke (Berlin, Conn.) also contributed to the offense multiple times with a goal and an assist.
Heinke was also one of four goal scorers against Loomis; Tabor Heaslip (1-1-2) and Drew Tsakounis (0-2-2) were the multipoint contributors. Goaltenders Andrew Capasso (Northford, Conn.) and Connor Callaghan each picked up a win during the week.
T2. Lawrence (22-2-2)
100 points - 5 first-place votes
Last week: 2nd
The back-to-back ISL champion Spartans have not lost since Jan. 24 after defeating St. Sebastian’s, 5-1, and Tabor, 4-0, during the final week of the season. Riley Duran (Woburn, Mass.) scored a hat trick against Sebs while Blake Humphrey dished out three assists and was one of three Lawrence skaters with multiple helpers. John Riggins and James Broderick (Wellesley, Mass.) also scored goals.
In the shutout win over Tabor, Duran scored twice and added an assist, Conor Lovett (Franklin, Mass.) had a goal and an assist, Broderick also found the net and Humphrey assisted twice.
T2. Salisbury (21-3-1)
100 points
Last week: T3rd
Salisbury enters the postseason following back-to-back shutouts from Max Donoso (2-0; 30 saves) and Nicholas Haas (3-0; 18 saves) at Hotchkiss and Canterbury, respectively.
In the Hotchkiss game, Jake Quillan scored a goal and also assisted on Cole Vallese’s game-winner earlier in the third period. Lucas Mercuri (1-1-2) and Matthew DeBoer (0-2-2) both chipped in on multiple goals against Canterbury. Vallese and James Cerepak also found the back of the net.
4. Dexter Southfield (22-4)
86 points
Last week: T3rd
Last Wednesday, Dexter finished its regular season with a 5-2 win over Hoosac. Aidan Connolly (Marshfield, Mass.) factored into all five goals, scoring one, assisting on the remaining four. Jack Dempsey (Natick, Mass.) scored twice and added an assist. Doug Grimes (Brookline, Mass.) and John Fusco (Westwood, Mass.) rounded out the goal scoring and each contributed a helper as well. Dylan Silverstein (Woburn, Mass.) made 20 saves in net.
5. Hotchkiss (17-4-2)
61 points
Last week: 5th
Hotchkiss bounced back from its 2-0 loss to Salisbury with a 5-0 shutout win against Taft to conclude the season. After Henry Wilder (Needham, Mass.) made 30 saves in the narrow setback to New England’s No. 1 team, he made 26 against Taft and shared the clean sheet with Alex Takoudes (Needham, Mass.). Five players scored goals, including Jack Ferguson (Darien, Conn.), who also added an assist. Nick Traggio (Sharon, Conn.) was the leading Bearcat point producer with three assists.
6. Kimball Union (24-6-2)
51 points
Last week: 6th
The Wildcats split their final two games in the Lakes Region Tournament, earning a 5-3 win over New Hampton after taking a 3-2 loss against Proctor. In defeat, Sullivan Mack scored both goals and Zak Brice made 30 saves. KUA closed the season with a victory as Veeti Kohvakka stopped 40 shots and five players scored goals, including Mack, Tomas Mazura and Paul Dore,who each scored and added an assist.
7. Nobles (18-5-3)
49 points
Last week: 7th
The Bulldogs finished the year on a four-game unbeaten streak, beating Governor’s, 5-2, and tying Milton, 3-3, during the final week. Bryan Kearns (North Easton, Mass.) scored the game-winning goal and was one of four multipoint scorers against Govs, joining David Jacobs (Needham, Mass.; 1-1-2), Casey Severo (1-1-2) and Colby Bailey (Southborough, Mass.; 0-2-2).
In the finale with Milton, Severo posted another goal and an assist while Jack Cronin (Hamilton, Mass.) and Roman Tacelli (Needham, Mass.) also scored. Marc Smith (Hanover, Mass.) earned both goaltending decisions, stopping 29 shots in the victory.
8. Bershire (16-7-2)
42 points
Last week: 8th
The Bears were winners of eight straight games to end the season and topped Millbrook, 3-2, and Gunnery, 5-2, last week. Jake MacDonald (Cumberland Center, Maine), Hayden Riva (Lakeville, Conn.) and Cole Paredes (Norwalk, Conn.) all scored against Millbrook, while Aidan Thompson assisted on two of the three goals.
Riva scored twice in the season finale and joined McDonald (1-1-2) and Thompson (0-2-2) as multipoint scorers. Jed Baliotti (New Canaan, Conn.) earned both wins in net, stopping a combined 49 of 53 shots.
9. Cushing (21-7-3)
23 points
Last week: 9th
There were goals aplenty for the Penguins during their final two games of the season as they toppled New Hampton, 8-4, and Governor’s, 7-3. Seven players had multiple points in the New Hampton game, with Jacob Banks (Westminster, Mass.) scoring twice and adding an assist to lead the way. Nick Rheaume scored a goal and added two assists while Jackson Dorrington (North Reading, Mass.) had three assists.
Jake Hewitt (Ashburnham, Mass.) had a goal and dished out three assists against Governor’s; Lucas Gustafsson also had three helpers and Rheaume scored twice. Jackson Irving (Newbury, Mass.) made 22 saves in the first of those wins before splitting the second with Pat Aalto (Barnstable, Mass.).
10. Loomis Chaffee (14-7-4)
7 points
Last week: Not ranked
Loomis had a three-game win streak snapped in its season finale after a 4-2 loss to Avon Old Farms followed a 5-2 win over Choate. Anthony Cipollone and Kennedy O’Connor (Springfield, Mass.) notched a goal and an assist as two of the five Pelican goal scorers in the victory. Kyle Chauvette (New Boston, N.H.) made 16 saves.
In the season-ending loss to Avon, Alex Krause and Oliver Flynn (Wolcott, Conn.) each found the back of the net.
Others receiving votes: Thayer, St. Mark’s, Brunswick, Groton, New Hampton, St. Sebastian’s, Millbrook
