USHR 2001 New England Prep Player of the Year
Noah Welch, D, St. Sebastian's School 

Senior

 Brighton, Mass.  
From the very first game of the season, Welch, the 6'3", 190 lb. Harvard-bound St. Sebastian's captain, was a commanding presence at the blue line, playing with poise, purpose, consistency, and confidence. In short, he was at the top of his game. His teammates, talented but young, fed off that, playing solid, disciplined hockey, and losing but one game in a storybook season that culminated with a 1-0 win over Cushing Academy in the NEPSAC final on the first Sunday in March in Salem, NH. Throughout, Welch was the man.
 
Previous Winners:
1998: Jeff Giuliano, St. Paul's School 
1999: Tony Voce, Lawrence Academy
2000: Michael Woodford, Cushing Academy

 

USHR 2001 New England Prep Goaltender of the Year
Jeff Pietrasiak, Berkshire 

Junior

 Shrewsbury, Mass. 
Back in November, nobody in their right mind would have predicted that Berkshire would have made it to Salem, NH and the Final Four. But, after 6'1" junior goaltender Jeff Pietrasiak's sparkling shutout performance against Taft in the NEPSAC quarterfinals, there they were. It wasn't the first time Pietrasiak had bedeviled Taft, either. Way back on Dec. 2, Pietrasiak had battled Taft to a 1-1 overtime tie, kicking out 33 shots. On Jan. 13, he made 33 saves in a 2-2 overtime tie, this time against Cushing. All that, though, was just a prelude to the big playoff win over Taft, a 33-save effort, 15 of which came in a Taft third period blitz. Pietrasiak's luck ran out in the prep semis when, despite another strong game in net, Cushing was just too much, knocking off the Bears, 3-0. Still, Berkshire became a contender this season, and Pietrasiak was the one who got them there. 
Previous Winners:
1998: Dan Lombard, G, Belmont Hill 
1999: Tim Kelleher, St. Sebastian's
2000: Rick Massey, BB&N

 

2001 USHR New England Prep Most Improved Player
Bill LeClerc, D, St. Paul's School 

Sophomore 

 Acton, Mass.  
LeClerc, a sturdy defenseman who has spent a lot of time up front, has had some bad luck getting his prep season started -- for example, breaking a leg last season. This year, though, he was healthy, thus able to get into a groove and play with confidence. Is it improvement, just being healthy, or a combination of the two? We'd guess the latter. Look for LeClerc to become a strong Div. I prospect over the next couple of seasons. 
Previous winners: 
1999: Michael Woodford, Cushing Academy
2000: Ryan Shannon, Taft

 

2001 USHR New England Prep Rookies of the Year                 (by class)
Matt Hedrick, D, Deerfield Academy  Junior Orono, Maine
Chris Murray, D, Lawrence Academy  Sophomore Dover, Mass.
Joe Rooney, F, St. Sebastian's Freshman Canton, Mass. 
Brian McCafferty, D, Belmont Hill 8th Grade Lexington, Mass.

 

2001 USHR New England Prep Coach of the Year
Steve Dagdigian  St. Sebastian's School
In 1999-2000, St. Sebastian's finished at 11-9-3 with essentially the same cast as this year's team. From a scouting standpoint, they were fun to watch -- they had talent and played a solid team game. However, they were young and had yet to learn how to put teams away. This year, they put it all together, winning both the Barber and Tabor tournaments in December, and then, bolstered with confidence, rolled all the way to the prep title. Dagdigian, an ex-Harvard forward known nationally for his work with goaltenders -- he's had a few good ones, don't you think? -- tweaked the lines, got an excellent year out of Dave Cacciola, and wound up bringing the NEPSAC championship trophy back to the Keller Division for the first time in 11 years. 
Previous winners: 
2000: John Gardner, Avon Old Farms

 

2001 USHR New England Prep 1st All-Star Team
Jeff Pietrasiak, G, Berkshire  Junior Shrewsbury, Mass.
Noah Welch, D, St. Sebastian's  Senior  Brighton, Mass. 
Brandon Rogers, D, Hotchkiss  Senior Rochester, N.H. 
Michael Woodford, F, Cushing  Senior  Westford, Mass.
Tom Cavanagh, F, Exeter  Senior  Warwick, R.I.
Ryan Shannon, F, Taft   Senior  Darien, Conn. 

 

2000 USHR New England Prep 2nd All-Star Team
Phil Lauderdale, G, Westminster Junior Greenwich, Conn.
Ryan Lannon, D, Cushing Senior Grafton, Mass.
Jaime Sifers, D, Taft Junior Stratford, Conn.
Chris Higgins, F, Avon Old Farms Senior Smithtown, N.Y.
Josh Hennessy, F, Milton Academy Freshman Rockland, Mass.
Ed Caron, F, Exeter Senior Hudson, N.H.