The Avon Christmas Classic is a highlight on the prep hockey calendar.
Last season, Avon Old Farms, the team that went on to win the Elite 8, took down Loomis Chaffee for the tournament championship.
The Winged Beavers are far from the only good team there.
The tournament, which is in its 40th season, is made up of two divisions. Here is how each breaks down.
Pierpont divisionÂ
- Frederick Gunn
- Kent
- Loomis Chaffee
- Trinity-Pawling
Trautman divisionÂ
- Avon Old Farms
- Berkshire
- St. Paul's
- Tabor
Here's how the schedule looks for the three day event.
Thursday, Dec. 14Â
- Frederick Gunn vs. Loomis Chaffee, 1 p.m.
- Kent vs. Trinity-Pawling, 3 p.m.
- St. Paul's vs. Avon Old Farms, 5 p.m.
- Berkshire vs. Tabor, 7 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 15Â
- Trinity-Pawling vs. Frederick Gunn, 9 a.m. (at Trinity College)
- Kent vs. Loomis Chaffee, 9 a.m.
- St. Paul's vs. Berkshire, 11 a.m. (at Trinity College)
- Tabor vs. Avon Old Farms, 11 a.m.
- Loomis Chaffee vs. Trinity-Pawling, 3 p.m.
- Frederick Gunn vs. Kent, 5 p.m.
- Tabor vs. St. Paul's, 7 p.m.
- Berkshire vs. Avon Old Farms, 9 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 16Â
- Fourth place Pierpont vs. Fourth place Trautman, 8:30 a.m.
- Third place Pierpont vs. Third place Trautman, 10:30 a.m.
- Second place Pierpont vs. Second place Trautman, 1:30 p.m.
- First place Pierpont vs. First place Trautman, 3:30 p.m.
All games played at Avon Old Farms except for two at Trinity College.Â
The competition levels will be high, as they always are. A number of the eight teams in attendance will be legitimate threats to stopping Avon Old Farms from repeating as champion.
Let's dissect how each team has begun their season.
Avon Old Farms
The Winged Beavers are undoubtedly the top dogs in the Christmas Classic. Head coach John Gardner's team opened with three-straight wins, with drubbings of Williston Northampton and The Hill School. On Wednesday, Avon took down Taft, 5-2. Even though the Winged Beavers lost a lot from last year's Elite 8-winning team, postgrad Alex Pelletier's decision to stay has paid off — his five goals and 10 points lead the team. Seniors Lefty Markonidis (Hudson, Mass.), Brendan Tighe and Ryan Flaherty (Milton, Mass.), along with juniors Michael Munroe (Hanover, Mass.) and Cooper Snee are key contributors up front.
Defensively, seniors Drew Pitts, Blake Jones and Hudson Miller have started off strong. Junior Michael Heinke (Old Saybrook, Conn.) and sophomore Anthony Palmer (Lynnfield, Mass.) have both seen time in net.
Berkshire
New head coach Kevin Czepiel has Berkshire playing well to begin its season. The Bears took down Albany Academy, 5-1, and Taft, 4-3, in their first two games. Berkshire followed that up with two close losses, falling 2-1 to Canterbury and 5-4 to Frederick Gunn.
Duncan Thompson and Evan Regan (Acton, Mass.), two juniors, are leaders on offense with three goals and five points each. Sophomore Matt Lacombe (Marlboro, Mass.), an '07, has the same stat line. Postgrad Stephen Campbell, senior Antoine Gauthier and freshman Jonah Rainisch have also been vital to Berkshire's offense. Junior Josh Williams (Boxford, Mass.), an '06, has four assists in four games to open the season. Senior defenders Nico Pasquale and Jack Turowsky (East Longmeadow, Mass.) have been impactful, too, along with sophomore Gus Chong.
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One of the biggest advantages Czepiel's team has is in net. Senior Tommy Adams (Fairfield, Conn.) and junior Kyle Boduc (Bolton, Conn.), who followed the bench boss from Northfield Mount Hermon to Berkshire, are strong netminders.
Long story short, Berkshire is an improved team.
Frederick Gunn
Head coach Craig Badger's team returned most of its core that fell to Lawrence Academy in the Small School title game last March. So it's no surprise that seniors Alex LoGuercio (Monroe, Conn.), Mark Pizzo (Monroe, Conn.) and Jacob Rothman are leading the way offensively. But there's also been a lot of upperclassmen — Billy Collins, Will Jackson and Connor Ferguson — behind them contributing at a high rate.
That offense has helped Frederick Gunn earn wins over its first four opponents: Hotchkiss, Exeter, New Hampton and Berkshire.
Luke Calabria's play on the back end has been impressive so far, posting one goal and four assists. Senior Mitchell McCusker has also been phenomenal, posting a 2.13 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage in the first four games.
Kent
It's been an inconsistent start to the season for Kent. The Lions opened with large takedowns of Hoosac and Hebron. Head coach Dale Reinhardt's team followed those up with a 5-2 loss to Kimball Union and a 5-4 defeat against Brunswick.
The roster is real strong, headlined by Cornell commit Gio DiGiulian (South Burlington, Vt.). The senior has three goals and five points to begin his season. Senior Owen Mahar has been the most productive forward so far, tallying three goals and eight points. Postgrad Fionn Keon and Michael Fiedorczuk have been right there, too, in terms of production. Seniors Jack Roberts and Patrick Walsh are vital as well.
Depth is also the name of the game on defense. Senior Teddy Mallgrave, a St. Lawrence commit, is the leader, and it shows on the scoresheet with his five assists. Seniors Denver Damphousse and Braden Pohlman, junior Nathan DiChiara (Fairfield, Conn.) and sophomore Ryan Poirier (Salem, N.H.) form a strong defensive core. Senior Aidan Hopewell is strong in between the pipes.
A strong Avon Christmas Classic would go a long way to establishing Kent as one of the better teams in prep hockey.
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Loomis Chaffee
The Pelicans are in the running for one of the more surprising starts in prep. Head coach John Zavisza's team opened the season with a big, 7-4 win over Brunswick. Loomis Chaffee stayed hot, beating Trinity-Pawling, 4-1, and Pomfret, 4-3.
Sophomore Indiana Grossbard (Wilton, Conn.) has broken out, scoring three goals and totaling six points in the three wins. Seniors Ben Carfora (West Haven, Conn.), Easton Swift (West Hartford, Conn.) and Cory Alissi (West Hartford, Conn.) all have five points each, while senior Ethan Woolcott has four.
Senior Brody Andriole (Branford, Conn.) and sophomore Jack Daly (Windsor Locks, Conn.) have led the way on the back end, while junior Liam Joyce (West Hartford, Conn.) has seen the majority of the time in net.
St. Paul's
Like Loomis, St. Paul's started hot, winning its first three games. First, it was a 4-2 win over Brewster Academy. Then, head coach Dan Murphy's team took down Tilton, 7-2, and earned a 2-1 victory against Vermont Academy.
Senior Lino Viau leads the forwards in goals (4) and points (5). Senior Jack Stadheim (Lyme, N.H.) has four assists, while junior Patrick Cooley (Rutland, Vt.) has tallied two goals and four points. St. Paul's has been fortunate to garner scoring from everywhere with 14 different players registering a point.
A strength of the team is in net with junior Treva Murphy (Manchester, N.H.) and sophomore Blake Truchon (South Burlington, Vt.). Murphy guided his squad past Brewster and Vermont Academy, while Truchon notched a win against Tilton. The duo is fortunate to be defended by seniors Matt Goldenberg, Brad Cox, Conley Bohan (Concord, N.H.) and Christian Yi.
Tabor
Tabor plays in the tough ISL Keller division, which is why its first two losses were both one-goal defeats to Lawrence Academy and Nobles. The lone win came against Portsmouth Abbey.
Up front, head coach Gerry Dineen's team doesn't have a prototypical prep hockey star, but it does have a slew of forwards who get the job done. Junior Will Doherty (Marshfield, Mass.) has three goals and four points, while senior Cam Gaffney (East Greenwich, R.I.) and juniors Adam Quinn (Franklin, Mass.) and Tommy Sheehan (Warwick, R.I.) all have three points apiece.
Senior Cole Estey (Barnstable, Mass.) leads the way on defense, but sophomore Owen Carter (Warwick, R.I.) has lots of promise as a strong skater and puck-moving defenseman.
In net, senior Brayden Bennett (New Bedford, Mass.) has seen the majority of time, posting a 3.50 GAA and a .901 save percentage. Junior Owen Byers was in net for the victory over Portsmouth Abbey.
ALL HOLIDAY TOURNAMENTS: Click or tap here for the full schedules to every boys prep holiday tournament
Trinity-Pawling
Trinity-Pawling had a tough stretch to open the season, facing Loomis Chaffee and Westminster. Head coach Robert Ferraris' team only lost by a goal to Westminster. Things only get more difficult as the Pride face Avon Old Farms on Saturday and then descend into the chaos of the Avon Christmas Classic.
Senior Tanner Duncan (Ridgefield, Conn.) was the leading producer last season and projects to do the same this winter. Also vital to the offense are senior Jackson Fahrbach, juniors Nick Peragine, Sam Marchand and Liam Lefebvre, and sophomore Jason Musa.
