The Groton/Lawrence Holiday Tournament is always one of the top New England boys prep hockey holiday showcases to attend.
Last year, Holderness took down Thayer in the final. Both teams had huge wins to get there, with Thayer upsetting a stacked St. Andrew's College squad, and Holderness edging out Cushing, the eventual Elite 8 champs, in a shootout.
The teams project to be just as good this season.
St. Andrew's College replaced Dexter Southfield last season. They are back for another year.
Here's the full schedule:
Thursday, Dec. 18Â
- Game 1: St. Andrew’s College vs. Groton, 4:30 p.m. | at Groton, O’Brien Rink
- Game 2: Pomfret vs. Holderness, 5:30 p.m. | at Groton, Pratt Rink
- Game 3: Thayer vs. Proctor, 6:30 p.m. | at Groton, O’Brien Rink
- Game 4: Cushing vs. Lawrence Academy, 8 p.m. | at Lawrence Academy
Friday, Dec. 19
- Game 5: Game 3 loser vs. Game 1 loser, 2 p.m. | at Groton, O’Brien Rink
- Game 6: Game 2 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 3 p.m. | at Lawrence Academy
- Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 1 winner, 4 p.m. | at Groton, O’Brien Rink
- Game 8: Game 2 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 5 p.m. | at Lawrence Academy
Saturday, Dec. 20Â
- 7th place: Game 6 loser vs. Game 5 loser, 8 a.m. | at Lawrence Academy
- 5th place: Game 6 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 9 a.m. | at Groton, Pratt Rink
- 3rd place: Game 8 loser vs. Game 7 loser, 10 a.m. | at Lawrence Academy
- 1st place: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 11 a.m. | at Groton, O’Brien Rink
Now, here are the top storylines to watch throughout the tournament.
1. Holderness enters hot
Holderness has had a relatively easy schedule to start. Still, the Bulls have taken care of business, outscoring Proctor, Hebron, Brewster Academy, Tilton and Vermont Academy 27-5.
Senior forward Viktor Samal has broken out with four goals and nine points in his first five games, while freshman Antonin Riedl has done the same with two goals and seven points. Postgrad Sawyer Graubins and juniors AJ Jones and Michael Delaney all have six points apiece. Junior Quaye MacDonald, an '09, has five points.
Senior Mark Bierwirth provides stability in net. After a strong junior year, the Chelmsford, Mass., native has a 0.33 goals-against average and a .981 save percentage (is that good?) to start this season.
Holderness will have its first big tests of the season later this week. History says the Bulls should do just fine.
2. Could this be a springboard for Cushing?
It's funny to look back on Cushing not even making the championship of this tournament and going on to win the Elite 8 last year.
This season, the Penguins have beaten Winchendon, Williston Northampton and The Hill School, while losing to then-No. 1 Dexter Southfield and Stanstead College.
Cushing is young, and there were expected growing pains on defense and in net. Up front was supposed to be the strength.
Instead, it's been the opposite. Cushing has 11 goals for, which ranks near the bottom of prep. On the flip side, its 10 goals against rank near the top of prep. Many of the defensemen have begun their prep careers on the right foot, and sophomore Harper Hubbard and freshman Mason Raycroft (Wellesley, Mass.) have been stout and reliable in net.
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The positive for head coach Dan Fontas' team is that the offensive woes should be alleviated. With players like seniors Axel Favreau (Auburn, Maine), UNH commit Blake Cash (Hampton Falls, N.H.) and Brown commit Ben Marcolini, along with Maine commit Joe Covelluzzi (Wakefield, Mass.) and junior Chase Warsofsky (Northboro, Mass.), the offense should get going.
The Groton/Lawrence Tournament would be a great place to start.
3. Thayer's top forwards
Thayer's path back to the championship game this season starts with its top forwards. Junior Tommy Wilkinson (Duxbury, Mass.) has built off his strong spring, summer and fall by starting out with five goals and eight points in four games. Junior Michael Federico (Hanover, Mass.) has played down the middle with him so far and has been productive with three goals and five points. Junior Nick Sumner has played on the other side with two assists. Sophomore Jack Funk has three goals.
Getting Ty Hymovitz (Needham, Mass.) back, who has missed the start of the season due to injury, would be a huge boost. The 6-foot-1, do-it-all center can play in any matchup. All five players are uncommitted prospects to watch this weekend.
After dropping their first game of the season to St. George's, the Tigers have rebounded nicely with wins over Governor's Academy and Phillips Andover, as well as a tie with Winchendon.
4. Don't sleep on Pomfret
Pomfret has been one of the surprise teams in the early going. It started with overtime wins against Nobles (5-4) and Phillips Andover (4-3), followed by a victory over Albany Academy (5-1), a loss to Loomis Chaffee (4-3 OT) and a win against Pingree (4-3).
Senior forward Rich Cavanagh is building off last season's 34 points with four goals and 12 points in five games this winter. Postgrads Giacomo Caliri (Cranston, R.I.) and Cam Peltz (Simsbury, Conn.) have been big additions to head coach Matt Goethals' lineup with nine and seven points, respectively. Junior Nathan Dono (Sturbridge, Mass.) has also started strong with a goal and five points.
Sacred Heart commit Ian Sherman (Brooklyn, Conn.), who plays as reliable a two-way game as you'll find, is hitting his stride with offensive production. The senior has two goals and five points.
Senior Joey Mitchell has gotten the harder matchups yet in net, most notably making 46 saves to beat Phillips Andover.
5. How good is St. Andrew's College?
Real good.
St. Andrew's College is always one of the better 18U teams in North America, and this season is no different. After starting play in late August, St. Andrew's is 22-8-1 (17-3-0 in league play) and boasts seven Division 1 commits: forwards Nolan Long (Cornell), Tucker Sinclair (Princeton), Marcus Magri (UMass), Cooper Bordeaux (Western Michigan), and Alex Carscadden (Princeton), and defensemen Finn Kearns (UMass) and Luca Diplacido (Cornell).
Long leads the team with 14 goals and 34 points in 20 games.
6. Could Proctor shock some teams?
It's been a rocky start for Proctor. The Hornets opened with a loss to Holderness and a win against Albany Academy. Since then, they've lost three in a row to Phillips Andover, then-No. 1 Kimball Union and St. Paul's.
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Up front, postgrads Luke Long (Braintree, Mass.) and Garrett Aceto (Cape Neddick, Maine) have produced quite a bit. Long leads the team in goals (five) and points (nine), while Aceto has six points. Seniors Axel Black and Tim Sullivan (Lynnfield, Mass.) have also pulled their weight offensively with five points each.
There are vets on defense with seniors Alex Bourque and Édouard Belval-Tourmel, along with juniors Owen Dutton (Goffstown, N.H.), Justin Baxter (Exeter, R.I.) and Luke Kelley.
7. What is Groton?
Quite the question.
Groton was scorching hot after starting out with three straight wins over North Yarmouth Academy, then-No. 10 Deerfield and Roxbury Latin. The Zebras most recently lost to Rivers, 6-2, on Saturday, but still got 46 shots off.
Senior forward Owen Cronan (Ashland, Mass.) leads the offense with nine points, while junior Nate Moons is right behind him with eight. Sophomore Daniel Chang, an '09, has four assists, and senior Nolan Wilson (Middlebury, Vt.) has three goals.
The strength of Groton, however, is on defense. Quinnipiac commit Kaiden Donia (Townsend, Mass.) will have numerous NHL scouts watching him (more on that in a bit). The 6-foot-5 defender has three assists this season. Senior Elliot Wood (Newton, Mass.) has a goal and five points, while sophomore Bruce Li has four points. Seniors Connor Wig (Holliston, Mass.) and Alejandro Hassan have also made an impact up front. Senior Wes DiModica (Holliston, Mass.) has been fantastic in net with a 2.20 GAA and a .918 save percentage.
Groton is legit. Just...how legit? Head coach Bill Riley's team can answer that this week.
8. How will Lawrence Academy look?
The Spartans have started slowly at 1-3-0, falling to Choate, Tabor and Belmont Hill to open the season. The lone win was a good one, taking down Milton Academy, 3-0. The offense hasn't really been there, with only seven goals in the four games.
Still, there's potential up front with forwards Luke Allen (Billerica, Mass.), Chase Field (Barnstable, Mass.), Patrick Maguire and Owen Lundin (Bolton, Mass.). On defense, Matas Janulis (Lincoln, Mass.), John and Colby Mara (Bedford, Mass.), and Gavin Holland (Topsfield, Mass.) provide stability.
Aiden Emerick will be the x-factor for Lawrence Academy this week and going forward. The Winchester, Mass., native has a 2.28 GAA and a .924 save percentage so far. He's been great, and the Spartans will go as far as he takes them.
9. Two big, right-shot defensemen who are NHL Draft prospects
If I were to guess, this will be the holiday tournament with the most NHL scouts due to Thayer defenseman Brian McFadden (Holbrook, Mass.) and Donia.
Time to dissect every single thing they do.
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Both are 6-foot-5, right-shot defensemen, and NHL teams love them some big, righty defensemen. The good news for both is that players at that size must prove they can't play, and they both very much can. Everyone has a different opinion on both of them because they're raw and far from a finished product. I still expect both to be picked come June.
A strong showing this week, however, would go a long way in terms of making an impression and boosting their stock.
