The boys prep hockey season is a month old so, naturally, it’s time to take a look back at my biggest questions heading into the 2022-23 campaign. Click here to check out the original story from Nov. 30.
Fortunately, these aren’t predictions, so no crow will have to be eaten.
Some of these questions can’t possibly have been answered by now. Still, we have a pretty good idea of the answers. A full month gives us a good sense of what each team’s identity will be, though there’s still lots of time left to right ships.
Let’s dive in.
1. Can Cushing live up to the hype?
So far, so good for Cushing.
The Penguins are 6-0-3 and on a five-game winning streak. This hot stretch comes after opening the season 1-0-3. While Cushing isn’t the No. 1 team in New England Hockey Journal’s latest rankings, being No. 2 isn’t bad.
The top line of juniors Landan Resendes (Marlborough, Mass.), Emerson Marshall (Gloucester, Mass.) and Ethan Gardula (Princeton, Mass.) has been the straw stirring the drink. Resendes has seven goals and 16 points, Marshall has five goals and 14 points and Gardula has six goals and 13 points.
On defense, seniors Ryan Philbrick (Concord, N.H.) and Zach Rizzo are leading the way. Philbrick, a New Hampshire commit, has eight assists while Rizzo has two goals and seven points.
Senior Cooper Rautenstrauch has been terrific in net, boasting a 1.85 goals against average and a .923 save percentage.
My only regret with Cushing is that Avon Old Farms isn’t on the schedule. Can you imagine that game? Oh boy. The Penguins have a tilt against Salisbury on Jan. 11 that’s sure to be a good one.
2. How does Belmont Hill do after losing so much in the offseason?
Losing James Fisher (Wilmington, Mass.), Teddy Stiga (Sudbury, Mass.) and Sam Scopa (Lexington, Mass.) in the same offseason is no fun, but Belmont Hill is finding a way to make it all work.
Seniors Ronan O’Donnell (Fairfield, Conn.) and Dane Carter (Concord, Mass.) and junior Jake McManus (Winthrop, Mass.) have shouldered a lot of the offense. Carter leads the charge with 12 points, while O'Donnell and McManus have 10 apiece.
McManus is interesting. Head coach Brian Phinney had him as a player who had a real opportunity to step up, and so far he has.
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After a tough opening loss to Nobles, Belmont Hill pieced together four-straight convincing wins. Since then, it’s been two overtime losses (one counted as a tie) and a regulation loss.
It’ll be interesting to see how Belmont Hill evolves over the final two months.
3. Who is best positioned to knock off Salisbury in the Housatonic?
The easy answer to this question is Avon Old Farms. Currently the No. 1 team in the region, Avon is a perfect 9-0-0 with arguably the best player in prep hockey in Northeastern commit Joe Connor (Amherst, N.H.). His 18 points are tied for second in the region. Fellow senior forward Joe Odyniec (Ridgefield, Conn.) and Charlie Gollob have also been key cogs in an offense that has averaged almost five goals per game.
Senior Stephen Peck has been a brick wall in net, boasting a 0.89 GAA and .959 save percentage.
These two teams don’t meet until Feb. 18.
Salisbury’s two losses have come against Taft and Kent — two very good teams in the Housatonic who could knock off the reigning Elite 8 champs. Loomis Chaffee is having a solid start to the season at 6-2-1, but the Pelicans don’t face Salisbury until Feb. 11.
The four teams above certainly have a good shot at sliding past Salisbury, but after last season’s run of winning 18 of 19 games to close the season, it’s hard to doubt Salisbury head coach Andrew Will.
4. Who steps up offensively for Dexter Southfield?
This one is still unanswered because so far, Dexter has had some trouble generating offense. The squad is 5-4-1 and has only scored more than four goals in a game once (Dec. 30 in a 7-3 win against Stanstead College).
Dexter’s strength is on defense, which is why it isn’t surprising that basically all of its games have been low-scoring.
So far, the main characters up front have been senior Connor Sutherland (West Roxbury, Mass.), junior Cullen Emery (Reading, Mass.) and sophomore Nate Porter (Hingham, Mass.). Emery is still averaging a point per game with four goals and 10 points in 10 contests.
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In my viewings of Dexter, Emery has stood out. He’s dynamic, hard on the forecheck and good at driving the play.
The groundwork is there for Dexter, with a strong 1-2 punch down the middle with Emery on the first line and Porter on the second. Head coach Dan Donato and assistant coach Will Ortiz, who deals with the forwards, are two outstanding hockey minds. If anyone can figure out how to generate offense, it’s those two.
5. Where does top prep talent commit for college?
The only two commitments since the prep hockey season started have been Odyniec committing to UConn and Holderness blueliner Caeden Herrington (Manchester, Vt.) pledging to Vermont. A few days after committing to the Catamounts, Herrington (basically) said, “Hey, let’s make this week better,” and scored a goal on The Michigan, which was the eventual game-winner.
As for the top sophomores, this is a question we won’t know the answer to until next August at the earliest. The names I listed as the top prep players to watch for colleges were Teddy Mutryn (Norwell, Mass.), Richard Gallant (Concord, Mass.), Michael Munroe (Hanover, Mass.), Liam Kilfoil, Thatcher Bernstein (Brookline, Mass.) and Porter. None have done anything to lower their value.
Recently, colleague Jeff Cox listed the sophomores who will be getting calls when the clock strikes midnight on 2023. All six of the players listed above will be getting calls from top college hockey programs here in New England. Some, like Gallant, could even be generating interest from outside the region too, according to Cox.
