We're roughly two weeks into the prep hockey season and there are already so many standout players.
On the cusp of the many holiday tournaments, there were still lots of great matchups over the course of the last week across all of the leagues.
Just like last week, I picked one skater and one goalie from each league who excelled, along with honorable mentions who I felt were worthy of highlighting. It felt like there were a lot this week because, well, there were a lot of great performances.
If you ever have any top plays or notable performances you want to make sure get seen, please send them to evan.marinofsky@hockeyjournal.com.
Here are the top performers from the week of Dec. 7-13 in boys prep hockey.
Holt
Top skater:Â Mark Evangelous, Worcester Academy
Worcester Academy went 1-2-0 over the past week, but a big bright spot was the great play of Evangelous, a postgrad forward. The Marlborough, Mass., native posted a whopping four goals and an assist in a 7-5 win against Hebron. He also added two assists against St. Mark's. He leads head coach Bob Lavin's team with six goals and nine points through five games.
Honorable mentions: Connor Dozois, Worcester Academy (2-4—6); Hunter McCarthy, Portsmouth Abbey (3-1—4); Logan McManus, Portsmouth Abbey (1-3—4)
'TIS THE SEASON: Full preview for the Groton/Lawrence Holiday Tournament
Top goalie:Â Aidan Farion, North Yarmouth Academy
Farion, a senior, went 1-1-0. He stopped 18 of 19 shots against Kents Hill to earn a win. On Friday, even though his squad lost, he stopped 27 of the 29 shots from Tabor sent his way, bringing his goals against average to 1.62 and save percentage to .934.
Housatonic
Top skater:Â Joe Odyniec, Avon Old Farms
This was a really tight one between Odyniec and Deerfield's Nate Heithoff because he, too, had a superb week, but I ultimately went with the Avon Old Farms forward. In three games, Odyniec potted four goals and added three assists. He was a constant over all three games, notching a goal and an assist against Taft, a goal and two assists against Trinity-Pawling and two goals against Deerfield. Avon won all three games with ease and the senior was a big reason why.
Honorable mentions: Nate Heithoff, Deerfield (4-3—7); Joe Connor, Avon Old Farms (2-4—6); Ryan Shaw, Westminster (4-2—6); Tom Molson, Deerfield (3-3—6); Gio DiGiulian, Kent (4-2—6)
CHECK IT OUT: Full schedules for all prep hockey holiday tournaments
Top goalie:Â Andrew Heinze, Loomis Chaffee
Loomis Chaffee is off to a fabulous start. A large reason for that is Heinze, a senior. The North Andover, Mass., native kicked the week off with a 24-save shutout against Pomfret. He followed that up by stopping 20 of 22 shots against Canterbury for a 4-2 win. Heinze got the day off in the third game of the week, as that went to sophomore netminder Liam Joyce (West Hartford, Conn.) who posted a 21-save shutout to beat Choate.
Honorable mentions:Â Stephen Peck, Avon Old Farms (61 saves on 65 shots in three games); Matteo De Luca, Westminster (58 saves on 63 shots in two games)
Independents
Top skater:Â Jacob Rothman, Frederick Gunn
Frederick Gunn is 6-0-0. Rothman is a big reason why. He leads all of New England prep hockey with points (13) and had eight of those over the last week. He kicked things off with three assists against Berkshire. He notched a hat trick and an assist in a 4-2 win over Kent and added a helper against Williston Northampton.
Honorable mentions: Alex LoGuercio, Frederick Gunn (5-2—7); Alex Ondos, Northfield Mount Hermon (3-3—6); Jacob Fletcher, Northfield Mount Hermon (3-3—6); Bobby Lachance, Northfield Mount Hermon (3-2—5); Drew Thibodeau, Austin Prep (2-2—4)
Top goalie:Â Ben Skowronek, Andover
Andover played four games over the last week and Skowronek was in net for three. He opened with a 33-save shutout over Thayer. In a 5-2 win over Brewster, the Arlington, Va., native stopped 29 shots. Even though he lost to New Hampton, 3-2, in overtime, he still made 31 saves. He's played in all but one game this season and has a 1.97 GAA and .946 save percentage.
Honorable mentions:Â Michael Salvatore, Exeter (75 saves on 82 shots in two games); Beau Johnson, Pomfret (61 saves on 65 shots in two games)
ISL Eberhart
Top skater:Â Richard Gallant, St. Mark's
Seven points in three games is a heck of a return for the high-profile sophomore. The Concord, Mass., native missed the first three games of the season due to injury. In his return to the ice, he posted three assists against Worcester Academy. Against BB&N, he had a goal and two assists. He added an assist in a win over Brooks. St. Mark's won all three games and it's clear Gallant gave the Lions the jolt they needed. His addition is massive.
HISTORIC: Full preview for the Avon Old Farms Christmas Classic
Honorable mentions: Jonathan Balzarini, St. Mark's (3-3—6); Sebbie Johnson, St. Mark's (4-2—6); Calvin Beard, St. Mark's (1-4—5); Tate Pecknold, St. George's (2-2—4); Ben Buckley, St. George's (2-2—4); Jeremy Emch, Brooks (3-1—4); Brett Stone, Rivers (2-2—4)
Top goalie:Â Ethan Ramonetti, Groton
While Ramonetti's record over the last week doesn't jump off the page at 0-1-1, he was stellar in both games. He turned away 23 of 24 shots in a 1-1 tie with Roxbury Latin. In a 4-1 loss to Rivers, the junior was peppered with shots, stopping 39 of 43. In 167 minutes this year, the East Northport, N.Y., native has a 1.94 GAA and .941 save percentage.
ISL Keller
Top skater:Â Teddy Mutryn, St. Sebastian's
This may come as a surprise to some, but eight points in two games is pretty good. Mutryn, the sophomore forward, posted five helpers in a 6-1 win over Portsmouth Abbey. The Norwell, Mass., native followed that up with two goals and an assist in a 4-0 win over Exeter. Matt Cataldo and Isaac Mitchell, Mutryn's linemates, also made legitimate cases for top skater.
Honorable mentions: Matt Cataldo, St. Sebastian's (4-3—7); Ronan O'Donnell, Belmont Hill (3-3—6); Isaac Mitchell, St. Sebastian's (3-3—6); Dane Carter, Belmont Hill (2-4—6); Jack DesRuisseaux, Tabor (2-3—5); Ted MacAusland, Nobles (1-2—3)
Top goalie:Â Gus Ackerman, Tabor
Tabor went 1-0-1 with two big performances this past week and both pointed back to Ackerman. The senior, who was an honorable mention last week, stopped an incredible 47 of 51 shots against Nobles to earn a tie. Then, against North Yarmouth Academy, the Marion, Mass., native earned a 23-save shutout. Ackerman's numbers through two weeks have been sparkling with a 1.95 GAA and .944 save percentage.
Lakes Region
Top skater:Â Danny Storella, Tilton
Like many of the choices in this story, this was a tough one given the number of good performances from the Lakes Region (Tommy Duane, Keegan Knight, AJ Noel and Josh Swan). But Storella put up great numbers and was clutch. In a 6-5 OT win over New Hampton, the Stoneham, Mass., native had two goals with one being the overtime winner. Storella followed that up with a goal and two assists in a 5-3 win over Holderness. He added an assist in a win over Tilton.
Honorable mentions: Josh Swan, Vermont Academy (2-5—7); Tommy Duane, Holderness (3-3—6); Keegan Knight, Tilton (4-2—6); AJ Noel, Kimball Union (3-3—6)
Top goalie:Â Caden Pasqualone, Proctor
Pasqualone made 30 saves to beat St. Paul's, 7-2. Against Vermont Academy, the Long Beach, N.Y., native made 22 saves en route to a 3-1 victory.
