Another prep hockey season is here, and little has changed in coaches’ views of the Housatonic League.
After the top three teams were separated by just four points in the standings last season, they expect the championship race to be tight again.
“It seems like the league continues to become increasingly competitive,” Deerfield coach Tim McVaugh said. “Every team is good.”
Two Housatonic teams enter the new season as reigning champions, as Salisbury beat ISL power Belmont Hill to repeat in the Elite Eight and Kent toppled top-seeded Brunswick to win the NEPSAC Large.
Salisbury has won six titles in Andrew Will’s 13 years as head coach. The Crimson Knights will have to reload after 16 players departed from last year’s championship roster, but a trio of Division 1 commits and talented sophomore Liam Kilfoil — a newcomer from the Mount St. Charles U-14 program — will be key additions.
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While Kent will have to find new goal-scorers with its top six forwards gone, the back end leaves significantly fewer questions to be answered. Providence commit Alex Bales leads the way for a roster that returns five of six defensemen and both goaltenders.
“This is the best D-corps and goaltending we have ever had at Kent,” Lions coach Dale Reinhardt said. “We expect to have a great year … and keep the strong run we have going alive.”
You can’t talk about the top of this league table without mentioning Avon Old Farms, which lost just three games before last year’s postseason. The Winged Beavers already boast three Division 1 commits, including one of their four point-per-game scorers in future Northeastern forward Joe Connor (Amherst, N.H.).
Former Hanover (Mass.) High School star Mikey Munroe is a player to watch among the league’s newcomers. He is expected to join Avon’s list of college-bound players soon.
“I hope (our team buys in) to the defensive side and embraces what it takes to win close games,” said Avon coach John Gardner, who earned his 800th career victory at the start of last season.
Loomis Chaffee and Westminster also look to build upon earning playoff bids. Like every prep team, developing the new talent joining these programs will be vital.
“Our success this year will be predicated on how quickly our team leadership can get our new players acclimated to prep hockey,” said Westy’s Tim Joncas (Branford, Conn.), whose team has three double-digit scorers returning. “Commitment in practice will play a vital role in this.”
Loomis has the luxury of a veteran goalie in Andrew Heinze (North Andover, Mass.), while Taft has a committed stopper in Yale-bound junior Rudy Guimond.
The Housatonic’s only new coach, Mike Doyle (Merrimac, Mass.), takes over a Hotchkiss program that hopes to find winning ways again with 72 percent of its goal-scoring production returning.
“There is a sense of excitement as we look to play a full season, the first since 2020,” said Doyle, who will have Mike Traggio (Middletown, Conn.) alongside as an assistant. The Bearcats had six games canceled last year.
“Our expectations are that the team gets back to the basics, re-establishes our core values and can become a team quickly,” Doyle said.
There is a new bench boss for the second straight year after Jesse Minneman took the reins at Choate, a program he looks to continue to build in 2022-23.
McVaugh’s Deerfield squad is in a similar state looking to return to its pre-pandemic form, and having two top scorers back will be a benefit. Trinity-Pawling also will have some offensive firepower back, including 33 points in the person of senior Jackson Graber.
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Even with new faces filling in for the old, know that the Housatonic League expects to be as strong as ever.
“I know from my time at Deerfield that every team we play, especially in the Housatonic League, will be a good team,” McVaugh said. “Year in and year out, the league is strong from top to bottom.”
Here's a complete look at every team in the Housatonic.
Avon Old Farms
Coach: John Gardner
2021-22 record: 22-3-0
Players to watch: Joe Connor, F; Charles Gollob, F; Nick Capasso, F; Jordin Palmer, D; Hudson Miller, D; Ryan Flaherty, F; Mikey Munroe, F; Stephen Peck, G
Outlook: The Founders League field looks strong again, but Avon always seems to find its way to the top. The Winged Beavers won the league title and were among New England’s final four last year. Gardner returns a solid veteran core — including a pair of double-digit goal scorers in Connor (Northeastern) and Capasso — and has brought in some new recruits who will look to make a difference. Miller (Yale) and Flaherty (Holy Cross) are also Division 1 commits. A USA Hockey National Camp invite, Munroe was NEHJ’s top freshman in Massachusetts high school hockey last season, playing for D-3 champion Hanover.
Choate
Coach: Jesse Minneman
2021-22 record: 4-17-3
Players to watch: Jake Kavanagh, F; Jake Gelman, F; Evan Partridge, F; Ethan Hodgson, F; Will Underwood, F; Ben Polomsky, F; Jack Badeer, D; Thomas Plamondon, D; Rowan Aggarwal, D
Outlook: The Wild Boars lose two of their most recent captains from the back end, but look for that unit to possess youthful skill led by sophomore Aggarwal. Minneman says several returnees will need to step up to provide leadership and stable play. Kavanagh was the top scorer (11 goals) a year ago and returns alongside linemate Partridge. The other two of the team’s top three point producers graduated.
Deerfield Academy
Coach: Timothy McVaugh
2021-22 record: 8-16-0
Players to watch: Nate Heithoff, F; Owen Clifford, F; Tom Molson, F; Justin Tavares, F; Cam Herr, F; Ben Cook, D; Zachary Chehade, D Outlook: Looking to return to its winning form from prior to the pandemic, the Big Green hopes to play fast and move the puck effectively in all three zones. Two of the team’s three leading scorers a season ago were Clifford and Herr, who combined for 11 goals and 24 points. Cook is another returnee who can take a step up into more prominent roles on defense.
Hotchkiss School
Coach: Mike Doyle
2021-22 record: 4-16-0
Players to watch: Shayne Bjorn, F; Brennan Cail, F; Zach Bye, F; James Mackey, D; Michael Gallary, D
Outlook: Last season’s top two scorers (Bye and Cail) and 72 percent of the overall production return for the Bearcats, who welcome in Doyle as their new head coach from Brewster Academy. Former head coach Mike Traggio has moved into an assistant coaching role. The team will look to its seniors to lead the way as it hopes to push for the .500 mark and a return to the playoffs.
Kent School
Coach: Dale Reinhardt
2021-22 record: 17-8-0
Players to watch: Gio DiGiulian, F; Patrick Walsh, F; Alex Bales, D; Jacob Ingstrup, D; Braden Pohlman, D; Teddy Mallgrave, D; Denver Damphousse, D; Aiden Hopewell, G
Outlook: The Rhinos look to defend their New England Large School championship with the best defense and goaltending corps that Reinhardt has ever coached. Leading the way is Bales, a Providence commit and potential NHL draft pick who played for USA Hockey in the Five Nations Tournament over the summer. The top six scorers from last season are gone, but Walsh and DiGiulian are expected to contribute greatly.
Loomis Chaffee
Coach: J.R. Zavisza
2021-22 record: 14-10-0
Players to watch: Ryan Staples, F; Will Reardon, F; Aidan Healy, F; Makai Tarjamo, F; Drew Anastasio, D; Jacob Hookman-Vassa, D; Oaken Son, D; Andy Heinze, G
Outlook: A playoff qualifier that lost to rival Kent in the NEPSAC Large bracket last winter, the Pelicans expect to have a fast, hard-working team returning to the ice. Loomis loses some firepower from a season ago, but Reardon will be a leader with the ability to build upon a 20-point effort. The back end looks strong with Anastasio and Son back to key roles on defense and Heinze set for his senior year in goal.
Salisbury School
Coach: Andrew Will
2021-22 record: 20-5-0
Players to watch: Ty Creech, F; Seamus Latta, F; Trey Deere, F; Liam Kilfoil, F; Jared Rothman, F; Nicolas Petrut, F; Alex Zakrzewski, D; Sam Hall, D; Quinn McCall D; Anthony Biakabutuka, D; Hudson Gorski, D; Matt Alberti, G; Cooper Flemming, G
Outlook: Sixteen players are gone from the Crimson Knights team that won the Elite 8 championship in March, leaving plenty of room for new and returning players to make an impact. Deere is the team’s top returning scorer with seven goals and 22 points last season, and the Syracuse lacrosse commit should be a key piece to the depth that Salisbury hopes to develop. Brown-bound Zakrzewski leads what Will hopes will be another mobile and skilled defense, while two new goaltenders join the program as upperclassmen.
Taft School
Coach: Ryan Shannon
2021-22 record: 7-13-2
Players to watch: JJ Lemieux, F; Jackson Holl, F; Zave Greene, F; Archer Brown, F; Derek Tremblay, F; Alex Kenerson, D; Rudy Guimond, G
Outlook: The Rhinos are well-balanced with key returners at all three positions while having even distribution across graduation years. New additions at every position should help support Taft's dynamic upper classes. Guimond, a Yale commit, continues the program’s recent goaltending tradition as a returnee who saw action last season. Shannon looks to a few seniors as potential breakout candidates.
Trinity-Pawling
Coach: Robert Ferraris
2021-22 record: 8-16-1
Players to watch: Jackson Graber, F; Tobias Iantorno, F; Hunter Dickey, F; Raphael Denis, D; Tyler Fogu, F; Lucas Buchanan, F; Ethan Flintoff, D; Owen Robitaille, D
Outlook: Trinity-Pawling is another team that is striving to return to its pre-COVID winning ways, boasting a roster of players with high character and significant experience. Ferraris sees the team as coachable and, hopefully, hard to play against. Led by senior Graber (33 points), there are a pair of 10-goal scorers returning while three other players dished out at least 10 assists.
Westminster
Coach: Timothy Joncas
2021-22 record: 14-9-2
Players to watch: Ryan Shaw, F; Wade Volo, F; Rowan Masse, F; Brian Judge, F; Michael Bianco, F; Chase Arnett, F; Matt Hanscom, D; Tino DeFazio, D; Matteo De Luca, G
Outlook: The Martlets have three double-digit point scorers (Shaw, Volo and Masse) back from last season, but there are many new faces and a returnee in De Luca taking over the net in full. Joncas says those leaders will be key to the team’s success. Shaw and Hanscom are both RPI commits in their junior year.
