We're into the dog days of the New England boys prep hockey season, but that doesn't mean things aren't interesting.
The hunt for the Elite 8 and postseason seeding is in full swing. Teams are jockeying for position as they take on their division rivals over the next bunch of weeks.
On an individual level, players are always fighting to produce so much that college coaches can't look away.
This week, various new names rose to the surface, which is always fun to see.
Let's dive in.
Holt
Top skater:Â Hunter McCarthy, Portsmouth Abbey
Portsmouth Abbey lost to Cushing, 6-3, on Friday before taking down Berwick, 9-3, the next day. McCarthy was vital in both games. He potted a goal and added an assist against Cushing. The senior '06 tallied three assists in the win over Berwick. He ranks second on his team in points with 12.
Honorable mentions: Adrian Mendoza, North Yarmouth Academy (1-4—5); Connor Nolan, Portsmouth Abbey (3-1—4); Noah Jimbo, Portsmouth Abbey (0-4—4); Jacob Colaluca, North Yarmouth Academy (2-1—3); Logan McManus, Portsmouth Abbey (1-2—3); Tomas Aubut-Lavin, Portsmouth Abbey (0-3—3); Sean Foster, Pingree (2-0—2)
Top goalie:Â Vincent Ouellet, North Yarmouth Academy
Ouellet had a strong week. It started with a 25-save shutout to take down BB&N, 5-0, on Friday. The next day, Ouellet made 45 saves in a 3-2 loss to Roxbury Latin.
Honorable mentions:Â None
Housatonic
Top skater:Â Liam Lefebvre, Trinity-Pawling
Lefebvre had a fantastic weekend. It started with two goals and an assist in a 7-4 loss to Canterbury. The Pride rebounded the next day with a 6-4 victory against Westminster. Lefebvre, a Vermont commit, was a big reason why they won, scoring a goal and tallying three assists.
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Honorable mentions: Andrew Migliore, Trinity-Pawling (4-2—6); Jack McGregor, Hotchkiss (3-2—5); Nick Peragine, Trinity-Pawling (0-5—5); Ludovik Gauvin, Trinity-Pawling (1-3—4); Greg Najda, Choate (1-2—3); Blake Burke, Westminster (1-2—3); Colin Feeley, Salisbury (2-1—3); Ryan Hedley, Salisbury (0-3—3); Gavin Burke, Trinity-Pawling (0-3—3); Gennaro Pompano, Loomis Chaffee (1-1—2); Joey Catanzariti, Loomis Chaffee (0-2—2); Jacob Jett, Avon Old Farms (2-0—2); Matthew Koch, Avon Old Farms (1-1—2); Matt Trudell, Choate (1-1—2); Michael Papaspyros, Choate (1-1—2)
Top goalie:Â Jacob Saldanha, Choate
Choate scored a big upset win, taking down then-No. 5 Phillips Andover, 4-3, in overtime on Saturday. Saldanha had a big day, making 37 saves, improving his save percentage to .936 and his goals-against average to 2.50.
Honorable mention:Â Anthony Palmer, Avon Old Farms (34 saves on 37 shots in one game)
ISL Eberhart
Top skater:Â Zach Baker, Groton
Groton went 2-1-0 over the last week, falling to Phillips Exeter 3-2, and beating Academie Saint-Louis 5-1, and Brooks 7-2. Baker went off, scoring two and adding an assist against Academie Saint-Louis before scoring another and tallying four more assists in the win over Brooks. The Williston, Vt., native has 17 points in 11 games.
Honorable mentions: Nathan Walsh, St. George's (1-5—6); Nate Moons, Groton (2-3—5); Evan Nee, St. Mark's (3-2—5); Cam MacPherson, St. Mark's (1-4—5); Will Manchuso, St. Mark's (0-5—5); Danny Buckley, St. George's (1-3—4); Harrison Freelove, Groton (2-2—4); Colin Walsh, St. George's (1-3—4); Sam Karp, Middlesex (0-4—4); Carter Meyer, Rivers (2-2—4); Finn Sears, Rivers (2-1—3); Max Donatelli, St. George's (0-3—3); Drew Carr, St. Mark's (1-2—3)
Top goalie:Â Tyler King, St. George's
King had a strong week. It started when he made 36 saves to beat then-No. 5 Phillips Andover, 5-4, on Wednesday. He continued his great play with 36 saves to beat Pomfret, 5-2. A sophomore '08, King seems to be settling into the St. George's net, which is great news for a Dragons team in the Elite 8 hunt.
Honorable mention:Â Sam DiFiore, Roxbury Latin (46 saves on 50 shots over two games)
ISL Keller
Top skater:Â Tommy Anderson, Thayer
Thayer climbed to No. 7 in our prep rankings this week. Anderson was a large part of his team's success this past week, tallying three assists in a 7-2 win over Middlesex and scoring two in a big, 4-3 win over Nobles. He's tied for second on the Tigers in points with 15 through 13 games played.
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Honorable mentions: Mason Shea, Thayer (4-0—4); Brodie Donovan, Governor's Academy (3-1—4); Billy MacAusland, Nobles (2-2—4); Jack Torr, Governor's Academy (2-2—4); Kyle O'Leary, Nobles (0-4—4); Peter Luecke, Thayer (0-4—4); Brendan Keaveney, St. Sebastian's (1-2—3); Declan Devin, Thayer (3-0—3); Ty Hymovitz, Thayer (1-2—3); Matthew MacDonald, Thayer (0-3—3); Tommy Sheehan, Tabor (2-0—2); Chase Watts, Tabor (0-2—2)
Top goalie:Â Vinnie D'Urso, Tabor
Tabor may have only played once over the last week, but D'Urso certainly left it all out there. The sophomore '08 made 44 saves against a strong St. Mark's squad to tie the Lions, 2-2. D'Urso's numbers are solid so far: a 2.82 GAA and a .919 save percentage.
Honorable mentions:Â Tommy Saulnier, St. Sebastian's (63 saves on 70 shots over two games); Keagin Wilson, Belmont Hill (21 saves on 21 shots in one game); JJ Thibodeau, Belmont Hill (21 saves on 23 shots in one game)
Lakes Region
Top skater:Â Alex Reed, Vermont Academy
Vermont Academy scored a big 4-3 win over Winchendon on Wednesday, which got the Wildcats past their win total of four from last season. Reed scored a goal and three assists in the win, factoring in on every goal. He followed it up with a goal in a 6-2 loss to then-No. 10 Tilton on Friday.
Honorable mentions: Max Gagnon, Tilton (1-3—4); Connor Dozois, Holderness (3-1—4); Luke Gerardi, New Hampton (3-1—4); Broden Wood, New Hampton (0-4—4); Colby Jewell, Proctor (2-1—3); Axel Black, Proctor (2-1—3); Aiden Ayojiak, Vermont Academy (0-3—3); Lucas Siomos, Kimball Union (0-3—3)
Top goalie:Â Sam Zygulski, New Hampton
Zygulski was busy over this past week. He turned away 46 shots to tie then-No. 2 Kimball Union, 3-3. On Saturday, he made 35 saves to beat Governor's Academy, 4-3. The Coventry, Conn., native has a 3.08 GAA and a .910 save percentage on the season. He's an '07 junior.
Honorable mention:Â Mark Bierwirth, Holderness (25 saves on 27 shots in one game)
Independents
Top skater:Â Ryan Lucarelli, Canterbury
It was a fun week to be on a line with Lucarelli. The Sacred Heart commit scored a goal and tallied a whopping eight assists over three games. It started with a goal and three helpers in a 5-3 win against Williston Northampton. Then came four assists in a 7-4 win over Trinity-Pawling and another in a 3-0 victory against Worcester Academy. The senior '06 has six goals and 20 points in 12 games so far.
Honorable mentions: Anthony Deluca, Winchendon (5-2—7); Duncan Thompson, Berkshire (3-3—6); Rian Chudzinski, Dexter Southfield (2-3—5); Jake West, Winchendon (2-3—5); Luke Corrigan, Pomfret (3-2—5); Nate Porter, Dexter Southfield (2-3—5); Matthew Itzkovitz, Pomfret (1-4—5); Andrei Dubchak, Frederick Gunn (2-2—4); Sam Gero, Millbrook (1-3—4); Avery Tymus, Canterbury (2-2—4); Kaden Kern, Winchendon (3-1—4); Britton Bethard, Canterbury (1-3—4); Brady Murnane, Winchendon (2-2—4); Parker Farnham, Canterbury (1-3—4); Alex Theodore, Phillips Andover (2-2—4); Jake Pomichter, Canterbury (2-2—4); Cooper Ludwar, Canterbury (1-3—4); Kaida Sahajpal, Winchendon (1-3—4)
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Top goalie:Â Kyle Ready, Dexter Southfield
Ready got the start on Friday in Game 1 against Brunswick, netting 23 saves to beat the Bruins, 6-3. On Saturday, Colin Davis started but his blade broke shortly into the game. Ready came off the bench and got 23 saves to help Dexter shut out Brunswick, 5-0.
Honorable mentions:Â Kyle Bolduc, Berkshire (39 saves on 41 shots over two games); Brendan Petraco, Phillips Exeter (45 saves on 46 shots over three games); Maxim Pitts, Canterbury (38 saves on 41 shots over two games)
