The last time Pomfret played an official prep hockey game, it fell just short of its second New England championship in four seasons, dropping a 5-3 contest to the Frederick Gunn School in the 2020 NEPSAC Piatelli/Simmons final.
Although the team didn’t walk away with a trophy after impressive wins over St. Mark’s and Groton, it marked another successful season for the Matt Goethals-led group. It was their third showing in the Small School tournament since they won their first title — a 3-2 overtime win over Cushing — in 2017.
After no games in 2020-21, the Griffins are eager to embark on a full season with the goal of once again competing for a playoff spot in March.
“I think we’re going to have a good team,” said Goethals, who's entering his eighth season at the helm of the independent prep school in northeast Connecticut.
“It’s a group that, two years ago, made it to the Small School championship -- we've been in the tournament three of the past four years -- so we’re slowly moving our way up in prep hockey.”
With 12 seniors, Pomfret has the makings of an older group. In the back end alone, they boast six senior defensemen in front of senior goalie Kellen Beauton (Colchester, Conn.).
Like many of Pomfret’s key returners, the 2003-born netminder played split season for the Hitmen Hockey Club U19 Prep team in the fall. Over the summer, he was a standout in NEHJ’s viewings at the 2021 New England Pro-Am Pre-Draft Showcase.
“He hasn’t had much prep time yet because he only played a couple of games his sophomore year but he’s a good, solid goalie who we’re certainly going to be leaning on this year,” Goethals said.
For returning ‘D’, the team will look to a pair of seniors, Philippe Lamarre, a dual-citizen from Florida/Quebec, and Carter Rugg (Hingham, Mass.) to lead the back-end group.
Aiding the senior duo will be a pair of post-graduates, Canadian-born defenseman Noah Webster and ex-BC High blueliner Josh Milso (Bridgewater, Mass.).
Up front, at the start, Pomfret will look to three senior forwards, Nils Forselius (Guilford, Conn.), Declan Chapman (Douglas, Mass.) and Matt Spears (Barrington, R.I.), to lead the offensive unit.
Forselius, Lamarre and Beauton will serve as captains.
Another forward of note is incoming junior Aidan D'Urso, a Basking Ridge, N.J., native and Seton Hall Prep product who joins the Griffins via the USPHL’s Jersey Hitmen 16-U.
“He’s a really solid, 200-foot player,” Goethals said of D'Urso. “High-compete level, solid skillset with the puck. He’s just a really good, reliable player in all three zones.”
The pieces are there for Pomfret to return to the New England playoffs in 2022. It will come down to how quickly the team can get acclimated to the ebbs and flows of a full prep campaign.
“Once you’re in that mix of being a team that can be competitive, a lot of it comes down to whether you learn how to win close games,” Goethals said. “Do we play good team defense? Do we get timely scoring? All of those pieces that matter to try to win hockey games.
“It’s certainly a group that will compete. I feel good about our guys.”
With the fall season fading in the rearview, puck drop on the winter campaign is right around the corner. The Griffins are looking forward to their season opener, a Dec. 1 showdown with Noble and Greenough at Pomfret’s Jahn Rink, the recent benefactor of a $3 million renovation.
“It’s getting close and after a year off I think everyone's well-rested and ready to go,” Goethals said. "It'll be fun.”
(Previously in NEHJ’s prep school preview series: Brunswick, Gunnery, New Hampton, St. Mark’s, Tabor, Loomis Chaffee, Berkshire, St. George’s, Cushing, Belmont Hill, Middlesex)
@_LiamFlaherty
liam.flaherty@hockeyjournal.com
