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| 11/27/00 #1 Cushing They're well-prepared, come out hard and fast, play the game with a snarl and have both high-end talent and depth. Up front, the Penguins have three lines that can score. Woodford (Michigan) and Ben Murphy (Maine) key the attack, with support from fellow seniors Chris White (Quinnipiac), Tony Mallozzi, Josh Angevine, and Yale Lewis, who could have a breakthrough year. Juniors Dan Murphy, Jamie Solon, and Steve Jacobs all know what it takes to succeed at this level. Last, but certainly not least, is 6'1" sophomore Kevin Coughlin, who has a huge upside. On defense senior Ryan Lannon and junior Marvin Degon, who just keeps getting better, are the key guys, though Blake Pickett will be called on to play a big role, too. With goaltender Ryan MacNeil gone, Michael Boudreau, a junior who's had to bide his time, gets his chance. Key losses are MacNeil, Brett Peterson, Jack Celata, Kurt Wright, and Brian Doherty. Last year: 25-3-0. Edged 2-1 by Deerfield in semifinals. #2 Taft They have four Div. I recruits up front, headed by ultra-clever center Ryan Shannon (BC) and including wingers Christian Jensen and Ryan Trowbridge (both Yale-bound) and Tim Plant (Vermont). Newcomer Chris Collins, who played for the Rochester Jr. B Americans last year, will step in and contribute right away, and Ben Driver, a junior, will play a bigger role this year. That's two solid lines, right there. On defense, junior Jaime Sifers stands out from the pack like a Shriner at the Harvard Faculty Club. In net, senior Mark Spadaccini is the #1 guy. A question mark for Taft: Who'll take on the role that Tim Pettit played last year? Pettit, a gritty, hard-working type, was the team's Mark Messier in the games we saw. Last year: 20-1-3. The sole loss was a 3-0 blanking by Avon in the prep quarterfinals. #3 Deerfield The Big Green couldn't win it all last winter with Tyler Kolarik and Rob Fried, which means they'll be hard-pressed to win it without them. Furthermore, their best players are underclassman, i.e. Ben Lovejoy, who was the team's best D as a freshman last year. Other underclassmen on D are Matt Hedrick, out of Orono HS, and Chris Kelley, who saw limited duty last year. Up front, a pair of PG's, 6'2" PG Kevin Lyons, who comes to Deerfield from Nobles, and UMass recruit Peter Trovato, the second leading scorer at CM last season year, will be the go-to guys. In addition, senior Eric Thomassian and junior Dennis Kim will have to put up big numbers for the team to succeed, as will fellow junior Jimmy Canner, and sophs Joe Norman and Bryan Ciborowski. In net, they're solid with Matt Hanson. Last year: 18-5-3. Lost to Avon, 3-2 in OT, in prep title game. #4 Avon How slick were they in the post-season? Whatever coach John Gardner said to them before the Taft game, the Winged Beavers took note, and rode it all the way to the prep title. Can they do it again? Probably not. Mick Mounsey, the team's top D, has gone off to the green pastures of UNH; defenseman Eric Pedersen is at Merrimack; and winger Mike Warner and center Scott Horvath are both at UMass. Who's that leave? Well, two key players from last year's championship team: Captain Chris Higgins, a Yale-bound center who turned down an invitation to join the U.S. National Team in Ann Arbor to return to Avon, is one. The other, of course, is goaltender Tim Warner, a UMass recruit who's at his best when everything's on the line. Those two won't be able to do it alone, though. For Avon to repeat, Gardner will have to play miracle man and coax some big years out of a few others. A player we think might step up is Bill Magnuson, a big senior wing. Last year: 20-5-2. Won New England Prep School title. #5 Lawrence Tony Voce, like Deerfield's Kolarik, is, if not irreplaceable, the next thing to it -- it's hard imagining Lawrence's offense without him. What it means is that seniors Erik Kent, Ryan Stevens, and Kevin Brooks; junior Mark Pandolfo, and sophomore Jonathan Swift will all have to step it up. On D Stephen Wood, Greg Lauze and Robbie Barker have graduated and moved on, to Providence, Merrimack, and Sioux Falls (USHL), respectively. Coach Charlie Corey has some quality D-men ready to step in -- like junior David Norton, who'll augment the offense; Chris Murray, Ryan Merritt, K.C. Thomson, and 6'1" 9th grader Jacob Schuster. Adam Geragosian, who's been the starting goaltender at St. John's Prep the past two years, will be taking over for the graduated Bo Christini. And Lawrence will once again take the Keller Division. Last year: 23-4-1. Lost 2-0 to Avon in prep semifinals. #6 Hotchkiss A lot of losses here. Brent Robinson is at Brown, Adam Foote is at Middlebury (no shame there, but he's a Div. I player in our eyes), Jamie Fitzpatrick is graduated and playing Tier II in Canada, Chris Swon left a year early to play for Tri-City in the USHL, Andy Helming is at Middlebury, Mike Gershon has transferred to Salisbury. But coach Damon White still has some players. They are strong in goal with Kyle McNulty, who's a senior this year. The defense is led by 6'1" University of Michigan recruit Brandon Rogers and sophomore Tim Cook. Up front, senior Brian Phinney, junior Alexis Augsberger, sophomore Sam Bowles, and freshman Steven Mandes will all be expected to contribute offensively. Last year: 16-5-3. Lost 5-2 to Deerfield in prep quarterfinals. #7 Westminster A lack of big guns has kept Westminster from reaching the upper echelon lately. However, when Tom Earl's teams hit the ice, they give the powerhouses all they can handle (Deerfield couldn't beat them in two tries last winter), and only once in a blue moon lose to inferior teams. It'll probably be the same this year. Up front, Mike Kennedy has graduated and is playing for Middlebury and Rob Hammel is in the USHL with Waterloo, but speedster Mario Caouette, is back, as are fellow seniors Spencer Morton, Gharitty McNett, and Adam Swain. Big 6'4" defenseman Jim Hakewill, an early commit to St. Lawrence, will head up the defensemen. In net is junior Phil Lauderdale, who was extremely impressive last year, and will be a key for Westminster again this winter. Last year: 18-6-2. Failed to make the Division I tournament, but won the 1-A tournament which, by the way, has been bagged after a one-year trial. #8 Nobles The only significant losses are forwards Kevin Lyons (PG'ing at Deerfield) and Chris Owen (Princeton). Other than that, they look solid up front with three returnees in senior Ben McManama, who should have a big year; Jake Clapton; and Craig MacDonald. Those guys will likely carry the bulk of the scoring, though junior Cam Marchant, CM transfer Pat Noonan, and senior Pat Bigelow should help, too. On defense, Kevin Darcy and Tom McCarthy will provide senior leadership for kids like Phil McDavitt, an '85, Joe Cappellano, another '85, and Dan McGoff, an '86. McGoff, skilled and tough as nails, is a player you'll be hearing from for a long time to come. Goaltending was an area where Nobles failed to find any consistency last year. This year, things look better, as Milton Academy transfer Rory Walsh takes over. Nobles has a new coach, as Tom Daccord takes over for Tom Resor, who'll be coaching the girl's squad. Last year: 17-8-2. Lost to Cushing 9-0 in prep quarterfinals. #9 Exeter The top line of Harvard recruit Tom Cavanagh, Colin FitzRandolph, and UNH recruit Eddie Caron is as good as you'll find in prep hockey. After that, however, it thins out quickly, but if seniors John Reuland and Ryan Weggler; and junior Nate Jackson can chip a few home, Exeter could make some noise. On the blue line, PG Gerry Burke, out of BC High, and junior Robbie Bergan lead the way. Goaltending is a question mark, as the load falls squarely on the shoulders of Ryan Dooley, a PG out of Chaminade HS in St. Louis. Last year: 15-8-1. Failed to make Div. I tournament. # 10 St. Sebastian's The Arrows have lost only two players of significance off last year's team: defenseman Evan Shaw, who was selected for the U.S. National Program; and forward Tim Coskren, who's at Holy Cross. However, there's a lot of skill on this team, even if it's top-heavy with underclassmen. Up front, coach Steve Dagdigian has the makings of two top lines with senior John Toffey, juniors Mike Morris and Mike Aylward, sophomores Kenny Roche and Brian Boyle and freshman Joe Rooney. 8th grader Nick Coskren is another forward who has enormous potential, though St. Seb's tends to go slow with young players. On defense, senior Noah Welch will be leading the way, with senior Tony Coskren, junior Seamus Young, and sophomore Sean Sullivan right in there, too. Alex DiPietro will step in and add an offensive component at the blue line. Senior Dave Cacciola is in net. Last year: 11-9-3. Failed to make the Div. I tournament. Bubbling Under:
Note: The regular season weekly polls will begin on Dec. 11, two weeks from now.
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