We’re roughly one week into the boys prep hockey season and there’s been action all over the region.
There was the Exeter Invitational this past weekend, along with a plethora of other good games. Each league had some heavyweight clashes, which is always fun to watch at the start of the season.
We’re going to highlight some of the standouts across the league in this space occasionally. We picked one goalie and one skater from each league who excelled on the ice.
If you ever have any top plays or notable performances you want to make sure we see, please send them to evan.marinofsky@hockeyjournal.com.
Here are the top performances from the week of Nov. 29 to Dec. 6 in boys prep hockey.
Holt
Top skater: Hunter McCarthy, Portsmouth Abbey
McCarthy, a sophomore forward, notched a goal in his team’s first game of the season, which was a 2-1 win over BB&N. In Portsmouth Abbey’s 6-2 win over Kents Hill, the ‘06 scored both a power play goal and an even strength goal in the second period. He also contributed an assist on Logan McManus’ tally.
Top goalie: Matthew Pimentel, Berwick
Like Portsmouth Abbey, Berwick also started its season 2-0, with wins over Kents Hill and Worcester Academy. That matches its win total from just a season ago.
The biggest part of the great start? Pimentel in net.
EXETER INVITATIONAL: Standouts and takeaways from a great weekend of prep hockey
Pimentel, an ‘05 from Quebec, only allowed one goal over both games, pitching a 33-save shutout over Kents Hill en route to a 3-0 win and making 41 stops on 42 shots to beat Worcester Academy 3-1.
Housatonic
Top skater: Jacob Ingstrup, Kent
Kent needed Ingstrup to take that next step on its blue line and early returns are very good. Over a week that saw Kent go 2-1 with wins over Hoosac and Hebron, along with a tight, 2-1 loss to Kimball Union in the Exeter Invitational, Ingstrup posted five points and was an integral part of Kent’s offense.
Honorable mentions: Gio DiGiulian, Kent (3-1–4); Arthur Mirante (2-2–4); Joe Connor, Avon Old Farms (1-3–4)
Top goalie: Rudy Guimond, Taft
This was a fairly easy one. Guimond, one of the most highly regarded goaltenders in prep hockey, showed why he’s a Yale commit over the last week. The ‘05 stopped 41 of 43 shots from Salisbury en route to a 3-2 upset win in overtime. He stopped 33 shots against Berkshire to win 5-1. He’ll be facing a lot of rubber this winter, but looks more than up to the challenge.
ISL Eberhart
Top skater: Andrew Gibbons, St. Mark’s
Gibbons had a week to remember. Over three big games, the Air Force commit posted four goals and an assist. In St. Mark’s big win over Dexter Southfield, Gibbons notched the opening tally. Against Winchendon, he factored into both goals in the win, assisting on Sebbie Johnson’s opening lamplighter and scoring the second. Even in the Lions’ season-opening loss to Milton Academy, Gibbons was a bright spot on offense, scoring two goals.
Honorable mention: Colin Walsh, St. George’s (0-4–4); Matt Egan, Middlesex (3-2–5)
Top goalie: Jeevan Anand, St. Mark’s
Yes, I know — a fair amount of St. Mark’s here. But the Lions had a good week, despite losing their first game of the season. One of the big questions with this team early was its goaltending and with wins over Dexter Southfield and Winchendon, Anand appears to be the answer. Anand stopped 34 of 35 shots against Dexter and then pitched a 28-save shutout against Winchendon.
ISL Keller
Top skater: Jack Farrell, Governor’s
Through three games, Farrell is having an outstanding start to his senior season. The defenseman posted a goal and two assists in a season-opening, 8-5, win over Proctor. While Farrell notched only one assist in a 3-3 tie with Middlesex, the Wilmington, Mass., native notched two goals an assist in a 5-0 win against Thayer.
Honorable mentions: Michael Marchese, Governor’s (3-3–6); Mikka Kelechian, Milton (2-3–5); Bear Brooks, Governor’s (2-3–5); Cam Gaffney, Tabor (1-4–5)
Top goalie: Thatcher Bernstein, Nobles
This was a close one between Bernstein and Tabor’s Gus Ackerman, but Bernstein was really solid against Belmont Hill, stopping 26 of 28 shots en route to a 4-2 win over last season’s Elite 8 finalist. There’s a reason Bernstein carries a lot of hype — his ability to stay square to the shooter and eliminate places for shooters to put the puck past him is elite. He’ll have lots of colleges watching his every move this winter.
Honorable mention: Gus Ackerman, Tabor (.942 save percentage, 2.00 goals against average, 65 saves in 108 minutes)
Lakes Region
Top skater: Joey O’Brien, Tilton
This was a tough decision among O’Brien, his teammates and Kimball Union’s Jackson Kyrkostas. But O’Brien posted two assists in a 7-5 loss to Stanstead College, a goal in a 4-1 win over Academie Saint-Louis and a goal and two assists in a blowout, 8-1 win over St. Paul’s. The Wakefield, Mass., native is doing a postgrad season at Tilton after playing for Wakefield Memorial. So far, so good for O’Brien.
Honorable mentions: Jackson Kyrkostas, Kimball Union (3-3–6), Keegan Knight, Tilton (3-3–6); Braden O’Hara, Tilton (3-3–6); Tyler Gwatkin, Proctor (2-2–4); Doyle Coughlin, Brewster (4-0–4)
Top goalie: Dan Heroux, Kimball Union
After an uncharacteristically slow start to the season pre-Nov. 29, Heroux bounced back with two good games over the last week. His first came in a 5-2 win over The Hill School, as the Vermont commit stopped 25 of 27 shots. While junior goalie Colby Boyce (Hartford, Vt.) posted a 24-save shutout against Rivers on Saturday in the Exeter Invitational, Heroux blocked 34 of 35 shots to edge out Kent, 2-1, on Sunday.
Independents
Top skater: Dale Campbell, Millbrook
The independents were easily the toughest category to sort out because many of these players could’ve been the top skaters in other conferences. There were lots of great performances over the last week, but Campbell’s five goals put him over the top. Campbell started the season with a bang, scoring two goals, one of which was the OT-winner, in a 5-4 win over Canterbury. He also added an assist on Zach Walsh’s opening tally. Then, against Lawrenceville, the ‘05 recorded a hat trick.
Honorable mentions: Jed Brazo, Canterbury (3-4–7); Landan Resendes, Cushing (3-3–6); Drew DellaSalla, Brunswick (2-4–6); Frankie Hipp, Northfield Mount Hermon (4-2–6); Ethan Gardula, Cushing (3-2–5); Jacob Rothman, Frederick Gunn (4-1–5); Beau Elson, Exeter (3-2–5)
Top goalie: Brendan Holahan, Brunswick
Holahan was busy over the last week. Despite losing, 3-2, against Loomis Chaffee to open the season, Holahan faced 45 shots and stopped 42, keeping Brunswick in the game. He followed that up with a 20-save effort to beat Exeter, 6-3.
