A theme in this week's New England boys prep hockey top performers is big-time players stepping up for teams in the playoff hunt.
Three teams come to mind: St. Sebastian's, New Hampton and Winchendon. Those teams had top performers (and many honorable mentions) en route to weeks that either put them on the map or strengthened their reputations.
It's crunch time. Coming up big this time of year matters more. It will matter even more next week, and the week after that.
Here are the top performers from Jan. 28-Feb. 3.
Let's dive in.
Holt
Top skater: Kellan Kissane, Worcester Academy
Kissane continued to be on a tear. He had a goal and an assist in Worcester's 3-2 win over Pingree and 5-2 loss at Berwick. He followed that up with three helpers in a 5-4 win at Vermont Academy. Kissane is close to putting up two points per game with 10 goals and 28 points in 16 games.
Honorable mentions: Jack Goodrich, Berwick (4-0—4); AJ Oliveri, Worcester Academy (0-4—4); Chris D'Alleva, Pingree (2-1—3); Matt Lumia, Kents Hill (2-1—3); Reed Kenney, Berwick (0-3—3); Phil Skoczylas, Kents Hill (1-2—3); Ryan Mogielnicki, Austin Prep (1-2—3); Nick Ranaldi, Austin Prep (2-0—2)
Top goalie: DJ Patriss and Ethan Addazio, Berwick
The honor goes to Patriss and Addazio this week for their efforts in getting Berwick two wins. Addazio made 24 saves on 26 shots in a 5-2 win against Worcester Academy. The next day, Patriss turned away 35 shots in a big, 2-1 win over Roxbury Latin.
Honorable mentions: None
READ MORE: 13 former prep standouts to watch in the men's Beanpot
Housatonic
Top skater: Jack Broderick, Kent
The Cornell commit was at his best for Kent. In a 5-5 tie with Taft, Broderick had two goals and two helpers before dishing out three more assists in an 8-1 win over Westminster. Broderick leads Kent in points with 34.
Honorable mentions: Gus McGarvey, Westminster (2-5—7); Timmy Donohue, Westminster (2-4—6); Maddox Boyle, Kent (3-3—6); Lucas Husted-Edwards, Kent (3-3—6); Aidan Patton, Hotchkiss (3-2—5); JT Rothstein, Taft (2-3—5); Jake Harrison, Hotchkiss (1-4—5); Owen Burke, Westminster (3-2—5); Brayden Reynolds, Trinity-Pawling (3-1—4); Dylan Rafail, Kent (1-3—4); Grover Henderson, Avon Old Farms (2-1—3); Max Hu, Loomis Chaffee (1-2—3); Brooks Armstrong, Avon Old Farms (2-1—3); Joe Gannon, Taft (2-1—3); Stephen King, Avon Old Farms (2-1—3); Jason Segal, Kent (1-2—3); Luke Walkauskas, Salisbury (2-1—3); Evan Seow, Hotchkiss (1-2—3); Andrew Migliore, Trinity-Pawling (0-3—3); Elliott Bibeau-Rivard, Salisbury (1-2—3); Harry Holland, Deerfield (0-3—3); Liam Donnelly, Avon Old Farms (1-2—3); Dylan Rothstein, Taft (1-2—3); Xander Knauf, Kent (3-0—3); Louie Giannattasio, Trinity-Pawling (2-1—3); Brody Latkin, Avon Old Farms (2-1—3); Logan Smith, Taft (0-3—3); Greg Najda, Choate (2-0—2)
Top goalie: Neilan Johnson, Hotchkiss
Johnson got the nod in two of Hotchkiss' three games this past week, making 35 saves on 37 shots to tie Berkshire, 2-2, and turning away 24 of 25 shots to beat Deerfield 4-1. Johnson has the fourth-best save percentage among all goalies in the region at .943.
Honorable mentions: Anthony Palmer, Avon Old Farms (104 saves on 112 shots over three games); Bennett Lisi, Trinity-Pawling (82 saves on 90 shots over two games); Tyler Donroe, Choate (36 saves on 39 in one game); Cooper Ranawat, Kent (26 saves on 27 shots in one game)
ISL Eberhart
Top skater: Caiden Pellegrino and Evan Nee, St. Mark's
Pellegrino and Nee had the same stat line and are linemates, so they're going together this week. In an 8-2 win over Middlesex, Pellegrino found the back of the net twice and added three helpers, while Nee scored a goal and also tallied three assists. Nee scored once and posted two assists and Pellegrino had two helpers in a 5-1 win over Governor's Academy. Even in the 6-4 loss to Dexter on Monday night, both had a goal and an assist.
Honorable mentions: Alejandro Hassan, Groton (2-5—7); Owen Cronan, Groton (3-3—6); Nate Moons, Groton (1-5—6); Jonathan Rivard, Rivers (3-2—5); Will Manchuso, St. Mark's (3-2—5); Davis Jamison, Groton (2-3—5); Teddy Drury, St. Mark's (1-4—5); Max Donatelli, St. George's (1-3—4); Tavian Mandeville, Rivers (1-3—4); Elliot Wood, Groton (2-2—4); Stephen Rousell, Rivers (3-1—4); Aiden Ferreira, St. George's (2-2—4); James Foster, Rivers (2-2—4); Logan Cotter, St. Mark's (1-2—3); Cam Daigle, St. George's (2-1—3); Bruce Li, Groton (2-1—3); Kaiden Donia, Groton (1-2—3); Phin Howard, St. Mark's (1-2—3); Cam MacPherson, St. Mark's (1-2—3)
READ MORE: 13 standouts, takeaways from Dexter's win over St. Mark's
Top goalie: Derrick Huang, Rivers
Huang guided Rivers to two of its three wins last week. He made 16 saves to take down Roxbury Latin, 4-2. His best day, however, was a 38-save shutout to beat Nobles, 2-0. The best part of the last seven days for Huang: committing to Yale.
Honorable mentions: Wes DiModica, Groton (62 saves on 66 shots over three games); Matt Cloutier, Middlesex (98 saves on 111 shots over two games); Alex Wang, St. George's (26 saves on 27 shots in one game)
ISL Keller
Top skater: Charlie Delay, St. Sebastian's
Leave it to the senior captain to have his best stretch of the year during St. Sebastian's best stretch of the season. Delay dished out three helpers to beat Nobles, 7-1, last Wednesday, before finding the back of the net in a 3-1 win at Thayer. He added two more assists in a 4-1 win against Tabor.
Honorable mentions: Jameson Needham, St. Sebastian's (4-1—5); Sam Fishbone, St. Sebastian's (1-4—5); Robbie Daley, Governor's Academy (2-2—4); Jack Couture, Governor's Academy (1-3—4); Brendan Matthews, St. Sebastian's (1-3—4); Jack Queally, St. Sebastian's (1-3—4); Evan Jones, Belmont Hill (1-2—3); Karolis Janulis, Lawrence Academy (2-1—3); Justin Garvey, Milton Academy (2-1—3); Cooper Schuhwerk, Governor's Academy (2-1—3); Ethan Travis, Tabor (2-1—3); Patrick Woods, Belmont Hill (1-2—3); Nick Ware, Belmont Hill (0-3—3); Brendan Martin, St. Sebastian's (0-3—3)
Top goalie: Tommy Saulnier, St. Sebastian's
Saulnier has arguably been the best goalie in prep this winter. He made 23 stops to beat Nobles, 29 to take down then-No. 10 Thayer and made a whopping 41 saves to emerge the victor against then-No. 8 Tabor. Is a 1.66 goals-against average and a .946 save percentage for the season any good?
Honorable mentions: Timmy Heaslip, Governor's Academy (56 saves on 58 shots over two games); Aiden Emerick, Lawrence Academy (66 saves on 71 shots over two games); JJ Thibodeau, Belmont Hill (27 saves on 28 shots in one game); Tyler Moschella, Thayer (57 saves on 63 shots over two games); Vinnie D'Urso, Tabor (56 saves on 62 shots over two games)
READ MORE: The most fascinating story in hockey
Lakes
Top skater: Oliver Quong, New Hampton
New Hampton's been scorching of late, and that carried into the last seven days with wins over Tilton (9-2) and Holderness (3-2 in overtime). Quong showed up huge in both games, posting two goals and two assists to beat Tilton before tallying another goal and a helper. The junior forward has 16 points in 20 games.
Honorable mentions: Mitchell Smith, St. Paul's (2-3—5); James Buchan, St. Paul's (1-4—5); Michael Ronan, New Hampton (2-3—5); Maddox Larocque, Vermont Academy (2-2—4); Josh Phillips, Kimball Union (1-3—4); Anthony Leech, Kimball Union (1-3—4); Andersen Kilbourne, St. Paul's (2-2—4); Keegan Hunt, New Hampton (1-3—4); Colin O'Leary, St. Paul's (1-3—4); Dylan Jordan, Proctor (1-2—3); Levi Jones, Vermont Academy (2-1—3); Guthrie Gatewood, Proctor (0-3—3); George Kavanaugh, New Hampton (0-3—3); Leyton Riendeau, Vermont Academy (0-3—3); Gavin Burley, New Hampton (2-1—3); Miles Sobsky, Proctor (0-3—3); Thomas Ojard, Kimball Union (0-3—3); Conal Mulkerrin, Kimball Union (1-2—3); Viktor Samal, Holderness (1-2—3); Justin Baxter, Proctor (2-0—2)
Top goalie: Sam Zygulski, New Hampton
Zygulski was superb for the Huskies, making 26 saves to take down Tilton before racking up 33 saves in his second win over Holderness in six days. He sports a 2.87 GAA and a .904 save percentage.
Honorable mentions: Blake Truchon, St. Paul's (68 saves on 74 shots over two games); Cam Ingram, Kimball Union (41 saves on 45 shots over two games); Vincent Vitale, Holderness (31 saves on 32 shots in one game); Colin Gall, Proctor (31 saves on 34 shots in one game)
Independents
Top skater: Charlie Puglisi, Winchendon
Puglisi went Sicko Mode this past week, posting an incredible 10 points in three games. It started with a goal and three assists in a 4-1 win at Phillips Andover. While he just notched an assist in a 5-1 victory over Pomfret, he showed up huge with two goals and three assists in an 8-2 takedown of Canterbury. The senior is up to 40 points in 22 games.
Honorable mentions: Tommy Browne, Canterbury (3-4—7); Cooper Ludwar, Winchendon (1-6—7); JP Messuri, Dexter Southfield (5-1—6); Joey Dellacroce, Northfield Mount Hermon (4-2—6); Jack McEleney, Canterbury (3-3—6); Seamus McMakin, Canterbury (0-6—6); Teddy Farren, Northfield Mount Hermont (1-4—5); James McMurray, Berkshire (4-0—0); Colin Yandle, Cushing (1-3—4); Jack Lee, Canterbury (2-2—4); Jake West, Winchendon (2-2—4); Rich Cavanagh, Pomfret (2-2—4); Jackson Smail, Winchendon (2-2—4); Giacomo Caliri, Pomfret (1-3—4); James Reilly, Berkshire (1-3—4); Cam Peltz, Pomfret (1-3—4); Jack Grahling, Millbrook (2-2—4); Anthony Pomarico, Winchendon (1-3—4); Sebastian Mogull, Cushing (1-2—3); Noah Poinsett-Yoshida, Phillips Exeter (0-3—3); Malkin Pierre, Millbrook (3-0—3); Noah Survilas, Dexter Southfield (0-3—3); Michael Rutledge, Millbrook (2-1—3); Myles Brosnan, Dexter Southfield (0-3—3); Cam Fiasconaro, Phillips Exeter (1-2—3); Benjamin Marcolini, Cushing (1-2—3); Joe Marchi, Dexter Southfield (2-1—3); TJ Swinson, Pomfret (1-2—3)
READ MORE: Boys prep rankings entering the final month
Top goalie: Brady Knode, Winchendon
As you can tell, it was a big week for Winchendon, and Knode was at the heart of it. He made 30 saves to beat Andover, and then made 24 saves in each of the wins over Pomfret and Canterbury. The senior has been much better in net with a 2.53 GAA and a .918 save percentage on the season.
Honorable mentions: Andrew Mowad, Millbrook (52 saves on 55 shots over two games); Alex Kim, Berkshire (51 saves on 54 shots over three games); Edouard Lord, Phillips Andover (57 saves on 63 shots over two games); Mason Raycroft, Cushing (36 saves on 39 shots and an assist in one game); Kamden Jackson, Williston Northampton (32 saves on 34 shots in one game); Kyle Ready, Dexter Southfield (22 saves on 23 shots in one game)
