The prep school hockey holiday tournaments featured some great matchups over the weekend that had players, coaches, scouts and fans buzzing.
Kimball Union downed Salisbury 3-2 on a late goal in the consolation game of the Flood-Marr Tournament and Kent took down Avon Old Farms in overtime of the Avon Old Farms Christmas Classic.
The results of those games and many others over the last week had a significant impact on this week’s edition of the New England Hockey Journal Prep School Hockey Power Rankings. With prep school teams now on break until after Christmas, here are the final rankings until the calendar switches to 2022:
1. Kimball Union
League: Lakes Region | Record: 10-0-1 (3-0-0) | Previous: 1
Next game: Jan. 7 vs. Northwood Junior (10:30 a.m.)
Despite finishing in third place at the Flood-Marr, the Wildcats still have not lost a game. A 3-3 tie against Milton and a lost tiebreaker sent Tim Whitehead’s team to the consolation game. That was the matchup most observers, including me, thought would be the final. KUA is primed for a big season thanks to top players in key positions and a good amount of depth. Revy Mack (4-2–6), Tyler Wishart (2-5–7), Jackson Kyrkostas (0-6–6) and Jaiden Moriello (4-1–5) led the way offensively over the four games at the Flood-Marr Tournament.
2. Avon Old Farms
League: Founders | Record: 8-1-0 (2-1-0) | Previous: 2
Next game: Jan. 8 vs. Taft (2:30 p.m.)
The Winged Beavers fell just short of winning their own tournament, but still showed why they’ll be among the elite of prep hockey in 2021-22. John Gardner’s team has solid depth, plenty of veteran experience, and a solid postgraduate in goal. The big winner individually from the four games over the weekend was big junior Charlie Gollob. The '04 from Toronto, Ontario, was getting a ton of buzz among college coaches following his goal and five assists. It doesn’t always look pretty, but Gollob has size, hockey sense, compete and consistently makes plays offensively.
3. Nobles
League: ISL (Keller) | Record: 7-0-1 (1-0-1) | Previous: 5
Next game: Dec. 31 vs. Williston Northhampton (1:15 p.m.)
Brian Day’s roster that won the Flood-Marr Tournament is an interesting one as it has a mix of old and young. One of the team’s older players, recent Bowdoin commit and star offensive defenseman Aidan Lyons had a big weekend on the score sheet with five assists, all coming in the final two games. Junior center and Harvard commit Ben MacDonald impressed NHL scouts. Meanwhile, '06 freshman Thatcher Bernstein was named MVP after a great performance in net. Defenseman Joe Mense and forwards Ben Nakata and Dennis Davidson earned themselves quite a bit of recognition as fellow '06s.
4. Kent
League: Founders | Record: 7-3-0 (1-0-0) | Previous: 10
Next game: Jan. 8 vs. Loomis Chaffee (5:30 p.m.)
It’s hard to put Kent below Avon after the big win, but the body of work holds Dale Reinhardt’s team down a little. The Lions have won five straight and all were against stiff competition. Kent is young on the backend, but its older players shined through up front. Michael Hurst was the overtime hero in the final, which culminated in a three-goal and five-assist weekend. Jake Kraft and Max Resnick each had two goals and five assists over the four games. Individually, there are better goaltenders in prep hockey, but the goaltending tandem of Harrison Fogel and Aidan Hopewell is unmatched.
5. Belmont Hill
League: ISL (Keller) | Record: 5-0-1 (2-0-1) | Previous: 4
Next game: Dec. 28 vs. Millbrook (9:00 a.m.)
Unsurprisingly, Belmont Hill made quick work of the opposition at the Lawrenceville Invitational. Brian Phinney’s team posted three shutouts en route to outscoring its opponents 19-2. Two of those shutouts belonged to star sophomore Sam Scopa while Northeastern commit and top-line right wing James Fisher took home MVP honors. Another key for Belmont Hill was getting goal scorer Ronan O’Donnell back into the lineup after he was held out for the team’s first couple of games.
6. Cushing
League: Independent | Record: 6-1-1 (3-1-0) | Previous: 3
Next game: Dec. 31 vs. Canterbury (3:00 p.m.)
The Penguins came up second in the Groton/Lawrence Tournament as Paul Pearl’s squad lost a hard-luck game against Dexter Southfield in the quasi-final of the round-robin event. A big winner over the weekend was Mason Kesselring who popped three goals and added three assists. I’ve always been intrigued by Kesselring, but it was his best performance I’ve witnessed to date. Cushing lacks depth on the blue line, which could come back to bite them in the end, but having Jackson Irving as the last line of defense in between the pipes bodes well.
7. Brunswick
League: Independent | Record: 5-2-1 (1-0-0) | Previous: 8
Next game: Dec. 28 vs. Nichols (1:00 p.m.)
I enjoy watching the Bruins play. After a couple of shocking losses the prior week, Mike Kennedy’s team bounced back with two wins and a tie at the St. Sebastian’s Christmas Tournament. The team’s youth is on full display as uncommitted players such as forwards Drew DellaSalla, Brendan Giles, and Sean Gibbons and defenseman Sloan Farmer earn recognition from college coaches in the crowd. Brendan Holahan is a solid goaltender who also continues to create some buzz among those taking notes.
8. Salisbury
League: Housatonic | Record: 5-4-0 (1-1-0) | Previous: 7
Next game: Jan. 7 vs. Brunswick (5:00 p.m.)
It could be argued that Salisbury doesn’t earn this spot in the rankings based on the team’s play to date. I’d counter that with the eye test. The Crimson Knights, despite their four losses, look like a top-five team in prep hockey. Andrew Will is a top coach in the circuit and will get his boys back on track. Northeastern commit Dylan Hryckowian had a goal and four assists in the team’s four games at the Flood-Marr. One interesting early-season story is the solid play of Trey Deere, who is better known for his play on the lacrosse field. Committed to Syracuse, the Quebec native is certainly acquitting himself nicely on the ice sheet this winter.
9. St. Mark’s
League: ISL (Eberhart) | Record: 6-1-1 (2-0-0) | Previous: HM
Next game: Jan. 8 vs. Tabor (4:00 p.m.)
After an opening night loss at the hands of Dexter Southfield, Carl Corazzini’s team has gone 6-0-1 since. The team has plenty of talent that includes 2022 NHL draft prospect Michael Fisher on the blue line. However, the star player so far has been '07 freshman Richard Gallant. In three games at the tournament hosted by St. Mark’s and Middlesex, Gallant had two goals and five assists. Holy Cross commit Dom Murphy had four goals and two assists and drew accolades from a couple of NHL scouts who were in town watching Fisher.
10. Holderness
League: Lakes Region | Record: 7-0-0 (2-0-0) | Previous: HM
Next game: Jan. 8 vs. Vermont Academy (4:45 p.m.)
After eking out a 4-3 win over Pomfret in the opening round of the Groton/Lawrence Tournament, Holderness smoked Groton and Proctor by identical scores of 6-1 to win that side of the round-robin. Sean Senier, a postgraduate student from Melrose High School, had two goals and four assists. Alan Thompson’s team has yet to be seriously tested and that likely won’t happen until February when the Bulls face Kimball Union twice and also pay a visit to Exeter.
Honorable mention: Dexter Southfield, Westminster, Frederick Gunn, St. George’s
