After two straight years of falling short in the Elite 8 title game, Cushing finally won it all last March, beating Dexter Southfield by a goal.
Had we polled prep fans on which of those three teams would win the Elite 8, there's no doubt last year's Penguins would've finished last. Last winter's version opened with two straight losses and went 3-4-1 from Jan. 15 to Feb. 5.
Then came an 11-game win streak to end the season. The rest is history.
A lot has changed since last season. After one season, Ryan Bourque left Cushing's head coaching job to be an assistant with the Providence Bruins. All of Cushing's Division-1-bound defenseman from last season graduated. Senior forward Max Dineen (Brentwood, N.H.), whose 58 points helped get him a Sacred Heart commitment, graduated, too. Junior goalie Maksim Corovic left a year early.
New head coach Dan Fontas will lead a younger team with plenty of upside, which is why the Penguins opened the season at No. 8 in my top 10. That accounts for expected growing pains.
But the ceiling on this team? That could be quite high.
High-end talent up front
Before Fontas mentions a player, he can't help but mention speed.
"I love our speed," Fontas said. "We've got a lot of speed up front."
He's not wrong. Along with speed, Cushing boasts higher-end talent up front than it had last season. That starts with returning players who have significantly improved.
It starts with Maine commit Joe Covelluzzi (Wakefield, Mass.), who missed the end of last season and still ranked second on the team in goals (18) and points (31). The '09 should build off those numbers this winter.
"If he didn't have that injury, he would have put himself on pace for potentially Rookie of the Year in New England prep," Fontas said.
Cushing returns vital upperclassmen in Miles Mireault (Topsfield, Mass.), Axel Favreau (Auburn, Maine), Jeff Swartz and Parker Murch (York, Maine). All were secondary scorers last season who should be ready to take the next step.
Chase Warsofsky (Northboro, Mass.) is a name to watch entering this season. While he only had 11 points in 20 games last season as a sophomore '09, the shifty, smart center has been a force in the fall and was impactful down the middle for Cushing en route to the title last spring.
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"At times, he's looked like one of our best forwards at times this fall," Fontas said, referring to Cushing playing as the Central Mass. Penguins during the fall.
If that wasn't enough, Cushing also brought in UNH commit Blake Cash (Hampton Falls, N.H.) and Brown commit Ben Marcolini. Cash arrives via Seacoast Performance Academy, while Marcolini has been a longtime member of the New Jersey Rockets.
"They're gonna have expectations as well," Fontas said. "There's going to be a little bit more of a label on them because they have the expectations of being a Division 1 player. In a lot of people's minds today, that carries weight. They're going to be expected to help carry the lead for us as well."
While the high-end talent is there, the majority of the scoring won't be run-and-gun.
"We have the ability to score goals, but that's going to have to come through structure," Fontas said. "We can't just be loosey goosey and back and forth. We're going to be able to get a lot of good scoring opportunities through structure."
Unproven and young in back
Facing Cushing's defensemen last season was a nightmare for opposing teams. Michigan State commit Tommy Bleyl, Arizona State commit Ryland Randle, Minnesota State commit Tyler Russo (Hamilton, Mass.) and St. Lawrence commit Kristopher Richards.
Getting to the middle of the ice was a chore. Most of Cushing's offense ran through Bleyl and Randle, too. All four graduated.
"This is where we're young," Fontas said.
Fortunately for Cushing, Oliver Svoboda is back. The '08 quietly had 12 points in 32 games last season as a sophomore. He made USA Hockey's Select 17 Camp this summer, posting two assists for the Southeastern District.
"He's a guy that we're going to count on in every single situation," Fontas said. "He's the guy who's been there, done that. I'm really looking forward to being able to see him develop in more of a role."
The rest of the crew on defense is mostly new. That starts with Colin Yandle, an '09 who arrives via Catholic Memorial. The Dorchester, Mass., native's two-way play helped Catholic Memorial win the MIAA Division 1 title in March.
"He's gonna be a kid that has the ability to step right in and give us more confidence in exits out of our own zone," Fontas said. "Pushing the pace up front and joining the rush when he needs to."
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AJ Haas was another '09 brought in. The 6-foot, 185-pound defender is from Illinois and was a longtime standout for the Chicago Reapers.
"He has that shutdown defensive mentality that has the ability to distribute pucks as well," Fontas said.
Former St. John's Prep defenseman Ryan Finn, an '07, will be a postgrad for Cushing. He will be counted on, along with Landon Nickulas (Barnstable, Mass.), an '09.
Brodie Anderson (Wayland, Mass.) is a '10 who should make an impact. The puck-moving defenseman has been a longtime standout for the Minuteman Flames.
"I love our D core," Fontas said. "I do think it's going to be a little bit of by committee because we have so many new faces on the back end."
It's the same in net. Mason Raycroft and Harper Hubbard, two '09s, have been brought in to replace Corovic. Raycroft, son of former NHL goalie Andrew, comes by way of Dexter Southfield and the Cape Cod Whalers. Hubbard was with the Carolina Junior Hurricanes last season.
"I think we've got two guys who are going to fill that void this year," Fontas said. "It's almost going to be kind of whose got the hot hand right now? They've both looked very well in the fall time frame, and then they've both looked, at times, like it's their first year in prep hockey.
"For me, I don't think there's a clear-cut guy right now."
Expectations
Can Cushing repeat?
That question will be asked a lot around rinks this winter. And even though I may let it slip on a RinkWise podcast or two, I think the question is somewhat unfair.
The Penguins are a different team than the one that skated off the ice as champs in March. Still, that doesn't mean expectations change.
"I would hope every coach would say their expectation is to be in the Elite 8," Fontas said. "That's our expectation: to be Elite 8 contenders."
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There will be growing pains. That was even the case last season on an arguably more proven roster.
"I feel we're going to be a team that has a similar path as we did last year," Fontas said. "We're going to have a lot of ups and downs, and we're going to have to battle adversity. I don't know when we get hot. It could be early in the year, it could be late in the year. But if we can find that groove like we did last year, we'll allow ourselves to be in a position to be successful."
