The dust has settled from the New England boys prep hockey holiday tournaments, and most teams are off this coming week. That means that the top 10 will remain unchanged. No new rankings. Sorry, everyone.
But that also means something else: It's the perfect time to take stock of the next 15 teams.
We did this exercise before the start of the year. It's been over a month, and there's a large enough sample size to see which teams actually rank No. 11-25.
The new rankings are very different from the ones that ran on Nov. 18. That shouldn't be much of a surprise.
For these, I essentially threw away the preseason ones. A lot has changed, so I picked the next best 20 or so teams and compared them against one another. It was much harder than doing the top 10.
There are teams below others they've beaten, but it's based on the full schedule and not just head-to-head matchups. A handful of teams in here I picked due to how good their rosters are, too. Strength of schedule also heavily came into play.
I'm sure everyone will agree on every single team here. Let's dive in.
11. Tabor (5-2-0)
Preseason ranking: 19
Head coach: Gerry Dineen
So far, Tabor has taken care of business, and that was most recently on display at the Avon Old Farms Christmas Classic. The Seawolves have wins over Lawrence Academy, North Yarmouth Academy, St. Paul's, then-No. 7 Kent and Berkshire. Both losses were by a goal to Nobles and No. 3 Avon Old Farms. Dineen's big guns like senior forwards Colvin Callahan (Hull, Mass.) and Chase Watts (Barrington, R.I.), junior forward Ethan Travis (Narragansett, R.I.) and senior defenders Owen Carter (Warwick, R.I.) and Marcello Martinelli (North Providence, R.I.) have stepped up. But it's impossible to ignore yet another dominant season for goalie Vinnie D'Urso (Andover, Mass.). He sports a 1.57 goals-against average and a .946 save percentage.
12. Belmont Hill (5-1-2)
Preseason ranking: 12
Head coach: Brian Phinney Â
The Sextants are just where I'd thought they'd be. The wins have come against Northfield Mount Hermon, Nobles, Lawrence Academy, Millbrook and Nichols, while the lone regulation loss came to Governor's Academy. Phinney's team also has two ties to Choate and Stanstead College. Seniors like Patrick Woods (Charlestown, Mass.), Matthew Carolan (Stow, Mass.) and Evan Jones (Arlington, Mass.) have been outstanding, but the real story is with the younger players. Sophomores Nick Ware (West Roxbury, Mass.), Robert DeKleine, Jackson Burns (Wellesley, Mass.) and Alex Guo (Weston, Mass.), along with freshman Landon Roe (Belmont, Mass.), have been productive and are in big roles. Chief among them: freshman Sam Lee (Woburn, Mass.), who is tied for the team lead in points with 11.
13. Kent (6-4-0)
Preseason ranking: 5
Head coach: Dale Reinhardt
The Lions were high-flying after taking down then-No. 1 Dexter Southfield at the Exeter Invitational. Since then, the Lions have stumbled with losses to No. 7 Brunswick, No. 6 Salisbury, and then Tabor and St. Paul's at the Avon Old Farms Christmas Classic. The wins have been legit: Hoosac, Dexter, New Hampton, Frederick Gunn, No. 3 Avon Old Farms and Trinity-Pawling. The story with Kent has been its top line of seniors Jack Broderick and Lucas Husted-Edwards and junior Will Schlechtweg, who just committed to Maine. Kent could be without Schlechtweg, as he left for the USHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks. It's not official whether or not he will return to Kent. I still think this is a top-10 team come the end of the season.
14. Canterbury (6-2-0)
Preseason ranking: NR
Head coach: Paddy McCarthy
Canterbury has been one of the top breakout teams so far, making the pre-holiday tournament rankings at No. 10. While the Saints are firmly not a top 10 team after losses to No. 6 Salisbury and No. 2 St. Mark's, they've taken care of business otherwise with wins over Millbrook, No. 10 Hotchkiss, Berkshire, Loomis Chaffee, Worcester Academy and Vermont Academy. Senior Cody Hew has been stout in net with a 2.71 GAA and a .912 save percentage, while postgrad Jack McEleney (Woburn, Mass.) and seniors Seamus McMakin (Burlington, Mass.) and Gaines Clouts have gotten it done up front. Proving itself against better teams will be an objective.
15. Berkshire (7-4-0)
Preseason ranking: 9
Head coach: Kevin Czepiel
The Bears have somewhat gone chalk so far. They beat Académie Saint-Louis, Hebron, Albany Academy, Lawrenceville, The Hill School and Trinity-Pawling by a combined score of 43-3. They also beat Loomis Chaffee, 3-2. But they've fallen to Taft, Canterbury, Frederick Gunn and Tabor. Junior Alex Kim (Leonia, Mass.) has been solid in net with a 1.59 GAA and a .925 save percentage, while seniors James McMurray, Matt Lacombe (Marlboro, Mass.) and Jonah Rainisch have been dominant up front. Like Canterbury, the rest of the season will be about proving itself for Berkshire.
READ MORE: 11 standouts, takeaways from Kevin Mutch | 11 standouts, takeaways from Groton/Lawrence Tournament | 15 standouts, takeaways from Flood-Marr Tournament
16. Frederick Gunn (3-4-2)
Preseason ranking: 23
Head coach: Craig Badger
The record is somewhat misleading, and the Highlanders have had a wicked start to their schedule. The wins came against New Hampson, Berkshire and Loomis Chaffee, while the losses were against then-No. 3 Kent, Williston Northampton, Trinity Pawling (OT) and No. 3 Avon Old Farms. They also tied No. 10 Hotchkiss and No. 1 Dexter Southfield. No one on the roster has popped, but Badger is getting scoring from everywhere. I continue to believe the Highlanders are a massive sleeper team who can clearly hang with teams higher than them in the standings.
17. Choate (4-1-3)
Preseason ranking: NR
Head coach: Mike Pereira
Choate has far exceeded expectations. The wins came against Lawrence Academy, Westminster, Deerfield and Stanstead College, while the lone loss was to Loomis Chaffee. The games against Belmont Hill, Millbrook and Upper Canada College went in the books as ties. Seniors Greg Najda and Easton Kinsler have been massive so far with eight points apiece, while the Wild Boars have gotten solid goaltending from senior Jacob Saldanha and junior Tyler Donroe (Orange, Conn.).
18. Rivers (5-2-1)
Preseason ranking: NR
Head coach: Freddy Meyer
Remember Carter Meyer (Winchester, Mass.), Finn Sears (Medford, Mass.), Sam Pandolfo (Winchester, Mass.), Justin Graf (Lincoln, Mass.) and Freddy Meyer (Winchester, Mass.)? Of course. All five should be on this team, but left for the U.S. National Team Development Program or junior hockey, yet the Red Wings are proving they can survive.
The wins came against St. Sebastian's, Phillips Exeter, Groton, Brunswick and Northwood; the losses came against then-No. 2 Kimball Union and St. Sebastian's, and the tie was to St. George's. Freshman Carter Felt (Natick, Mass.) has proven to be a star, while seniors Jonathan Rivard (Newton, Mass.) and Stephen Rousell (Rosindale, Mass.) have broken out from last year. The core of defensemen has been terrific, along with the goalie duo of senior Derrick Huang (Carlisle, Mass.) and sophomore Will Torres (Framingham, Mass.). Rivers is a pain to play against.
19. Deerfield (3-4-1)
Preseason ranking: 10
Head coach: Tim McVaugh
McVaugh is well aware of the amount of talent he lost from last season's No. 1 in the Elite 8 team, and it's shown at times. The Big Green have fallen to Groton (OT), Choate, No. 3 Avon Old Farms and No. 10 Hotchkiss. The wins have come against Northfield Mount Hermon, Nobles and No. 5 Phillips Andover. Deerfield also tied No. 6 Salisbury, 1-1, at the Flood-Marr and made the tournament championship. Younger players like sophomores Alex Strug (Westport, R.I.), Colton Simas (Warwick, R.I.), Owen Andrews and freshman Owen Hannah (Newington, Conn.) are getting legit minutes and producing. Still, Deerfield will go as far as senior goalie and Brown commit Elliot Lennon takes them.
20. St. Paul's (5-4-0)
Preseason ranking: NR
Head coach: Scott Harff
St. Paul's has lost four of five, but still has enough to land at No. 20. The Pelicans opened with wins over Brewster Academy, Tilton, Vermont Academy and Proctor before losing to then-No. 1 Kimball Union. While St. Paul's fell to Tabor, No. 3 Avon Old Farms and Loomis Chaffee at the Avon Christmas Classic, it did beat then-No. 7 Kent, 4-1. Senior Harry Dermody (Bedford, N.H.), juniors Finian Kilbourne (Duxbury, Mass.) and Mitchell Smith, and sophomores Max O'Regan and John Bentley have provided a lot of the offense, while the tandem of senior Blake Truchon (South Burlington, Vt.) and junior Matteo Vessella has worked in net.
READ MORE:Â Top boys prep performers from the holiday tournaments
21. St. Sebastian's (5-3-0)
Preseason ranking: NR
Head coach: Sean McCann
In years past, the Kevin Mutch Tournament has been a thorn in St. Sebastian's side. But leave it to this year's team to break out and win it. The season started slow with losses to Rivers, Portsmouth Abbey and Phillips Exeter. But the Arrows have won four in a row against Brooks, Northfield Mount Hermon, Winchendon and Rivers. They also took down Milton Academy on Dec. 7. McCann was always going to have to lean heavily on younger players this season and they've delivered: sophomore forward Cade Noonan (Needham, Mass.) leads the team in points (12), Jack Queally (Milton, Mass.) looks like an NTDP Evaluation Camp candidate and freshman defenseman Sam Fishbone (Needham, Mass.) has been a set-up machine.
22. Williston Northampton (3-3-2)
Preseason ranking: 16
Head coach: Brandon Borges
Williston has struggled to score this season, failing to score more than three goals in a game until last Saturday's 5-0 win over Northfield Mount Hermon. The wins have come against Vermont Academy, Frederick Gunn and NMH. While those may not jump off the page, Williston lost to No. 3 Avon Old Farms, No. 9 Cushing and No. 7 Brunswick by a goal in each game. The Wildcats have also tied Westminster and Northwood.
The story has been sophomore Kamden Jackson (Manchester, N.H.) in net, who has a staggering 1.33 GAA and a .964 save percentage. Once Williston scores consistently, it should fly up these rankings.
23. Thayer (3-3-1)
Preseason ranking: 14
Head coach: David Hymovitz
Thayer has been a roller coaster. The Tigers have taken down Governor's Academy, No. 5 Andover and Proctor, as well as tying Winchendon. But the losses have been bad: 6-3 to St. George's, 6-3 to St. Andrew's College and 7-1 to No. 9 Cushing. The only reason Thayer is still on here is because of its high-end talent: juniors Michael Federico (Hanover, Mass.), Tommy Wilkinson (Duxbury, Mass.), Nick Sumner (Hingham, Mass.) and Ty Hymovitz (Needham, Mass.) have been huge for the offense, while sophomore Jack Funk (Duxbury, Mass.) has six goals. Junior Brian McFadden (Holbrook, Mass.) leads a strong defensive core on paper.
24. Loomis Chaffee (5-3-1)
Preseason ranking: NR
Head coach: John Zavisza
Loomis pulled off a stunner on opening night, taking down No. 7 Brunswick, 2-1. Since then, the Pelicans have proven themselves with wins over Pomfret, Choate, Trinity-Pawling and St. Paul's. The losses came to Canterbury, Frederick Gunn and Berkshire. Zavisza's team has an older core leading the scoring, with junior Logan Ferrara popping off for six goals and 15 points so far. Seniors Carson Woolcott, Owen Schwarz (Fairfield, Conn.) and Will Watson have pitched in with quite a bit of production, too. Junior Markus Weber has been steady in net with a 2.93 GAA and a .916 save percentage.
READ MORE: Top 10 goes into chaos after holiday tournaments
25. New Hampton (5-4-0)
Preseason ranking: NR
Head coach: Connor Gorman
New Hampton is fresh off winning the Brooks/Pingree Tournament by beating Berwick in overtime. The other four wins came against Winchendon, Tilton, Phillips Exeter and Brooks, while the losses came against Frederick Gunn, then-No. 5 Kent, No. 5 Phillips Andover (OT) and North Yarmouth Academy. Senior forwards Johnny Niemela, Matthew Homer and Dylan Podergois have supplied most of the scoring, while senior goalie Sam Zygulski sports a 2.25 GAA and a .917 save percentage. If Gorman's team can use the Brooks/Pingree Tournament win to generate some consistency, they should be in the playoffs.
IN THE HUNT: Millbrook, Austin Prep, Middlesex, Winchendon, St. George's
