SALEM, N.H. — Eight teams met up at the Icenter here on Jan. 7 to begin the first of three days to decide the True Hockey Prep Cup.
Kimball Union Academy, Northwood School, Dexter Southfield, St. Andrew’s College, Mount Saint Charles, Nichols School, Frederick Gunn and Culver Academies represent a mix of full season and prep school teams in participating in the event. Mount Saint Charles won the inaugural event in 2020, held in North Andover, Mass.
Northwood handed KUA the Wildcats’ first loss of the season in the opening match of the event, while Dexter captured an emotional 6-5 shootout victory over the SAC Saints on day one, getting a lift from the return of captain Matt Fusco (Westwood, Mass.) to the lineup and a multi-goal game from Connor Sutherland (West Roxbury, Mass.). Third-string goalie Luca Ciccolo (Duxbury, Mass.) battled through some third-period adversity to stand tall in overtime and stop both shooters he faced to secure the win. The Rhode Island Saint M’s at Mount Saint Charles posted a decisive 6-3 victory over Nichols, while Frederick Gunn beat Culver by a 5-4 score.
On a day that was impacted by the area’s first meaningful snowfall of the year, plus several delays that impacted the game schedule, there was still a large presence of colleges and NHL scouts from the area to watch the teams compete. The event continues Saturday, with the tournament trophy decided in the Sunday playoff competition.
Northwood makes statement in win over KUA
Even with not starting No. 1 goalie Jan Korec and missing a couple of players out of the lineup, Northwood jumped out to an early lead and was able to pull out a big win even after KUA battled back to tie the game in the third period. It wasn’t a great showing by KUA, who entered the weekend with a 10-0-1 record, but they showed some tenacity to battle in the final frame and should be able to rebound quickly.
Starter Johann Tremblay-Kau made the stops he needed to in a 5-3 victory, while the Huskies got consistent traffic in front of the KUA net and goaltender Daniel Heroux to generate offense in a variety of ways.
Late ’06 forward Bill Zonnon was noticeable for his quickness and jump, playing an effective puck-possession style and making good decisions on the cycle. The Montreal native looks like an older, more experienced player at this level, and has no doubt grabbed the attention of junior scouts and the colleges in attendance. Although not in the lineup for the Prep Hockey Conference event in Woonsocket, R.I. back in November, Zonnon was noticeable in the 2021 Kevin Mutch Cup holiday tournament at St. Sebastian’s. Although he’s not an explosive skater in terms of speed and the ability to separate, he’s strong on his feet and can fight through contact to maintain control of pucks. His 6-foot-1, 170-pound frame lends to a pro-style game: the long-term upside is impressive as a younger member of the birth year, and he helped himself in this game.
It was a gutsy call for head coach Mark Morris to go with Tremblay-Kau over Korec, but it paid off. Watch for Korec to be in net against Dexter Saturday, and the late ’04 from Slovakia will carry Northwood’s hopes this season. Although not NHL draft-eligible until 2023, he’s a senior and a good bet to play in the USHL next season (or possibly major junior). What will make him an attractive option beyond his obvious abilities is that he’s already spent time in North America, adjusting to the smaller ice surfaces and culture. Whichever junior team lands Korec for 2022-23 will be getting an immediate impact starter who will be capable of carrying the bulk of his team’s duties in his critical NHL draft season.
For KUA, it was the weakest performance we have seen from Heroux this season. He was fighting the puck and several goals were of the leaky variety- hitting him and going in. On the first goal, in particular, he was off his angle, and while he got a piece of it, the puck trickled in to give Northwood first blood and a big lift. He’s been KUA’s workhorse with strong results, but this was not his day.
Dexter gets emotional lift in shootout win
In what started as a close affair late into the second period and Dexter Southfield holding a 3-2 advantage over St. Andrew’s, adversity set in. Dexter was already missing key forwards Grayson Badger (Hyde Park, Mass.) and Will Hughes (Andover, Mass.), but things would get even more challenging.
Goaltender Max Gatti (Winchester, Mass.), in net with starter Alex Mickanin (Hopkinton, Mass.) out of the lineup with illness, came out of the game with a medical situation that received attention from Salem EMTs. This triggered a series of delays that saw all games moved to the Icenter’s Olympic rink for the remainder of the afternoon and a wild third period between the two teams.
Ciccolo, a freshman came into the game in relief of Gatti and played his first prep hockey action against a formidable, talented team from Ontario. The Saints boast at least one sure NHL draft option in captain and power center Luke Devlin. The Cornell recruit is big, a superb skater and plays an effective two-way game. Devlin may not have an abundance of puck skill and natural scoring chops, but he’s an impactful player who excels in puck possession and is at his best when he takes pucks hard to the net.
Although the team’s other prospect for July’s draft, Harvard future blueliner Matthew Morden, was not in the lineup for this one, UMass recruit Franceso Dell’Elce and UConn’s Jax Wismer played well for David Manning’s team.
In what was a wild back-and-forth in the final 20 minutes that saw Dexter take 4-2 and 5-3 leads before SAC came back late for two goals to tie it, the two teams battled to a scoreless five-minute overtime period. In the shootout, ’06 forward Nate Porter (Hingham, Mass.) ended it for Dexter with an excellent goal to freeze Rowan Kimens with a fake before cutting across the front of the net to put his shot home. Porter scored Dexter’s first goal of the game with a patience and poise in front of the net to get Kimens to commit first, before putting the puck behind him. Porter continues to make the most of the opportunities he’s had with Dexter battling through coronavirus challenges in the past couple of weeks.
Fusco’s return after missing last week’s E.G. Watkins Invitational at Cushing Academy was noticeable. He moves pucks with authority and using his feet/agility to back defenders up with speed and can lead the rush with his confidence and experience at this level. He and junior Sutherland provided a big boost with strong third periods. Another ’06 pressed into duty with the forward depth tested, Teddy MacAusland (Westwood, Mass.), tallied his first prep goal in the third period by going to the net, grabbing a rebound and zipping it over the goal line.
Dexter will take on Northwood Saturday.
Lawrence, O’Neill continue to shine offensively for MSC
The 27-6-4 Rhode Island M’s at Mount Saint Charles got off on the right foot in this event, getting a pair of goals from Will Lawrence and another from Cam O’Neill. Matt Plante’s team does such a good job of counterattacking and playing with a relentless energy. Nichols did a good job of matching the pace early, but Lawrence broke the goose egg in the first period with a rebound shot that beat Matt Alberti.
Lawrence, a Bethesda, Md. native, is always noticeable for his sheer effort and pace. Whatever he might lack in pure skill, he makes up for in heart and drive. His dog-on-a-bone mentality with the puck is why he’s over the 20-goal mark and should lead to a D-1 commitment with an Atlantic Conference school at the very least. He’s a winning player.
Another standout in this one for the Saints was defenseman Seth Constance, who had been out of the lineup earlier in the season but was impressive here. The late ‘04 manages his gaps, employs an excellent stick, plays with jam and moves pucks quickly and efficiently. At 6-foot-2, 175 pounds, he has the size and mobility to be an impact 2-way defender at the Division 1 level and beyond. The Michigan product is someone to watch for the 2023 NHL draft.
Nichols leading scorer and UConn commit Joey Muldowney shows off his impressive speed/quickness and slick hands on every shift. Averaging almost two points per game, he could be playing in the USHL right now with the Des Moines Buccaneers, but will be ready to be an immediate top-2 line presence up front for that team in 2022-23.
