Prep Page '00-01

St. Sebastian's, on the strength of a third period goal by John Toffey and stellar goaltending by Dave Cacciola, took the 2001 New England prep title with a 1-0 win over traditional powerhouse Cushing Academy in a classic up-and-down game before roughly 2,000 fans at the Icenter in Salem, N.H. this afternoon.

The winning goal came at the 3:15 mark of the third period when St. Sebastian's nifty freshman winger Joe Rooney swung behind the Cushing net and passed it out front to Toffey, who banged it past Penguins' junior goaltender Michael Boudreau for the game's only goal.

"I was backdoor," Toffey said afterward, "and no D was near me. He (Rooney) got it to me and I just fired it home."

Cacciola, named the tournament's most valuable player by USHR, faced a number of high-quality shots from Cushing's snipers, including a highlight film glove save on a Danny Murphy blast from the slot with 3:12 remaining.

"I just got in a groove today and I was 'feeling it,'" said a beaming Cacciola, "but I can't take all the credit: my teammates played really well in front of me."

Asked if he were at all nervous, Cacciola said, "Sure, before the game, but once I got out there I felt good."

As the final score indicates, this was a game in which defense dominated and, while St. Seb's captain Noah Welch was immense all weekend, every one of the Arrows defensemen were superb. So, too, were Cushing's. As a matter of fact, this typist can't remember a prep matchup that featured such a deep group of blueliners.

If there was a single difference in the game it came in the fact that St. Sebastian's not only attempted more high-quality plays, but completed them. A high-skilled team that seemed to gain confidence as the game went along, the Arrows did a good job using the full length and width of the Olympic sheet here.

Rooney, a 5'8" freshman from Canton, Mass. was a catalyst for St. Sebastian's, early on headmanning a couple of nice passes to send Toffey in alone, playing a gritty, physical game, and then, later, with the pressure rising with each shift, cooly setting up the big third period goal.

St. Sebastian's played a poised, confident game, never once going into a stretch where they allowed Cushing to get any truly sustained attack going.

"Before the game," Welch said, "I told the team 'Don't go on the ice today unless you're one hundred percent confident you can beat these guys.' The first period was huge because we really proved to ourselves that we could hang with them."

St. Sebastian's coach Steve Dagdigian gave credit for the win to strong team defense. "There are a lot of talented players here," he said, "and they're students of the game, too." It was a necessary combination to go into the game with, said Dagdigian, because Cushing has such a solid lineup. "They keep coming at you wave after wave. They're quick. They move the puck beautifully. They're just a fantastic team."

With the win, of course, the New England prep title returns to the Keller Division for the first time since Belmont Hill won it 11 years ago.

And for Cushing, the loss was its first of the season. In addition to not winning the title, their dreams of becoming one of the few select prep teams to ever run the table went up in smoke as well as well.

"It's very painful," said Cushing coach Steve Jacobs afterward. "But we faced a team that was playing outstanding hockey. We knew it would be a one-goal game. But every time we felt like we had it going, they would come back and fight us off. It was really two great teams going at it. I felt we lacked energy at times, and weren't quite clicking.

Jacobs was asked if going into the title game with an undefeated season on the line created an undue amount of pressure for his team.

"I don't think so," he said. "I think we're used to pressure. It (the undefeated streak) was something we never talked about. What we talked about was winning a championship."

In that department, Cushing came up short, but not by much. Right now, the hour belongs to St. Sebastian's, a program that's been carefully nurtured by Dagdigian and his staff for the past couple of years, and finally came of age today.

--- In the Division II title game, Tilton got a pair of goals from B.J. Pelkey and a goal and an assist from Eric Frank to knock off Williston-Northampton. Junior A.J. Bucchino picked up the shutout for Tilton, while Mike Waldlich, Williston's junior goaltender, came up with a big performance in a losing effort, keeping the game from turning into a full-fledged rout.... Earlier, in the East-West Senior All-Star Game, the East, behind big outings from Exeter's Tom Cavanagh (3g) and Lawrence Academy's Ryan Stevens (1g,3a), topped the West, 7-3.

When Cushing and St. Sebastian's meet for the New England prep title at 3:00 p.m. tomorrow at the Icenter in Salem, N.H., the former will be seeking to become the first prep school to go undefeated in 28 years while the latter will be hoping to become the first Keller Division team to win a prep title in 11 years.

In the first game, St. Sebastian's defenseman Noah Welch provided the heroics when, with one second left in the second period of a 0-0 game and his team on the power play, the Arrows captain wristed a knee-level shot into a crowd in front of the Deerfield net. It glanced off a Big Green defender, found the back of the net, and proved to be the game's turning point.

It stayed a 1-0 game until late in the third when freshman Joe Rooney put a nifty move on a Deerfield defender just outside the blue line, and fed it to senior linemate John Toffey, who fired it past Big Green goaltender Matt Hanson at the 13:07 mark.

Toffey added an empty-netter with 1:01 remaining for the final margin of victory.

Senior Dave Cacciola came up big in net for the Arrows, kicking out 20 shots to earn the shutout.

Welch, asked about his goal, said. "Tony Coskren slid it over to me (from the other point). When they came out, I looked to go down to Mike Morris with it, but he was covered. Then I saw Boyle and wristed it in there. I didn't see exactly how it went in, but it must have hit someone going through because Boyle said it didn't hit his stick."

The goal provided a huge shift in momentum. "It really lifted us up," Welch said. "All season, we've played our best in the third period, so we came back out with a lot of confidence."

Deerfield coach Jim Lindsay said simply, "We didn't bring our A game today," and allowed as to how Welch's goal caused an emotional letdown. "We'd outchanced them up to that point, but that goal took the wind out of our sails. Their D did a good job -- they were mobile, disciplined, and took away center ice nicely."

Now St. Seb's can set their sites on tomorrow. The last Keller team to win a prep title? Belmont Hill, in 1990. Several current Arrows, including Rooney, hadn't even reached their fifth birthday that March day.

In the second semi, Cushing got a shutout from junior Mike Boudreau, his ninth of the season, and a goal in each period as the Penguins topped an upstart Berkshire squad, 3-0.

The score could have been greater. A number of missed shots and some excellent saves by Berkshire junior goaltender Jeff Pietrasiak allowed Berkshire to hang around until senior Yale Lewis banged in his own rebound at 9:33 of the final period to put Cushing up 3-0, the final margin of victory.

Earlier, with 2:22 remaining in the first period, Cushing junior defenseman Brian Yandle walked in from the right point and fired a bullet that beat Pietrasiak stick side. It would prove to be the game winner.

In the second, junior Dan Murphy converted a nice goal-mouth pass from Michael Woodford to put Cushing up, 2-0.

Afterward, Cushing coach Steve Jacobs praised his team's total defensive effort. "We only gave up two 2-on-1's. We played solid defense, and it was a team effort all the way around. We also had a wide territorial advantage."

Berkshire coach Larry Rocha said, "The pressure was on them. If we had been able to convert in the first we may have been able to put them back on their heels a bit, but we couldn't and that let them get rolling a bit. They're a great team."

Rocha said that, overall, he was pleased with the season. "It's difficult to get this far in the season," he said. "You need great goaltending and we got that from Jeff all season long. He's the main reason we got here. Hopefully, we can return again sometime soon."

In the meantime, Cushing prepares to put the finishing touches on a season for the books. The last team to go through a full season undefeated was Exeter, which, under George Crowe, had back-to-back undefeated campaigns in 1971-73, going 16-0-1 the first season and 16-0-0 the following year. (Those numbers include prep competition only; Exeter in those days played both college freshman and JV teams.)

In Div. II play, #1 seed Tilton spotted St. Mark's an early 1-0 lead but roared back with four unanswered goals. Senior Andy Boschetto (1g,3a) had a hand in every one of them.... Williston rushed out to a 5-1 lead against Hebron, then held on for a 7-4 win. Senior Jesse Draper (4g,1a), junior Jared Brewer (2g,2a), and senior Travis Albano (1g,3a) provided the firepower. Williston and Tilton meet for the Div. II title at 12:30 pm tomorrow.

In the day's biggest upset, #3W Berkshire, behind junior goaltender Jeff Pietrasiak, went on the road and blanked #2W Taft, 2-0. This marks the second time in two years that Taft has had an excellent regular season only to get shut out in the prep quarterfinals by a lower-seeded team (last year it was Avon and Tim Warner putting the hoodoo on Taft, prevailing by a 3-0 score). Today, Pietrasiak, following in Warner's footsteps, kicked out 33 shots, at least eight to ten of which were Grade A scoring opportunities. The junior from Shrewsbury, Mass. established his presence early, particularly when three Berkshire turnovers late in the first led to three excellent scoring opportunities for the hosts, the last a clean breakaway by Ryan Trowbridge with two seconds left in the stanza. A goal there would have established momentum in Taft's favor, but Pietrasiak was having none of it. The first period, like the two periods that would follow, were marked by Taft swarming the Berkshire end, and Berkshire employing a lot of clutching and grabbing to keep them their hosts at bay. Even so, Taft controlled the play, but Pietrasiak was up to the task, especially in the third when Taft peppered Pietrasiak with 15 shots -- final shots were 33-19 Taft. As for the scoring, Berkshire scored on the powerplay at 6:22 of the second, when, with Sean Cronin off for interference (each team had only one penalty called on them all game), senior Nick Tsiantar scored for Berkshire. Junior Alex Watts would add an empty netter with 31 seconds left in regulation for the final 2-1 margin of victory. Pietrasiak will need to come through with more heroics on Saturday, as Berkshire faces off against Cushing at 7:00 in the late semi at Salem, NH.... In the other big game today, #4W Westminster visited #1W Deerfield for a 3:30 game that wouldn't end until nearly 7 p.m. when, with 2:54 remaining in the second overtime, Deerfield senior Peter Trovato, on a 2-on-1 with linemate Kevin Lyons, drilled a shot that hit Westminster junior goalie Phil Lauderdale on the shoulder. The puck popped to Lyons, who poked home the rebound for his second goal of the game. This was a classic prep hockey game that could easily have gone either way and featured an excellent tempo, good hard hitting in all three zones, plenty of scoring opportunities, and a packed house to add to the excitement. After a scoreless first period, the two teams swapped goals early in the second with junior Jimmy Canner scoring for Deerfield at the 3:06 mark and senior Jeff Natale, on a breakaway, answering for Westy 1:11 later. Then, with 27 seconds left in the period and Deerfield on the powerplay, Lyons scored on a wraparound to send Deerfield to the locker room with a 2-1 lead. It looked like a crusher for Westminster, but the Martlets held the fort in the third and, finally, with 1:27 remaining in regulation, forward Adam Swain got his stick on a shot from the point and directed it home for the equalizer. After that, afternoon turned to evening, and, finally, Trovato and Lyons came through for the game winner, sending Deerfield on to a date with St. Sebastian's on Saturday at 4:30 in Salem, NH.... The other two games today -- both in the east -- didn't have nearly the same dramatics as those in the west. At Needham, Mass. #2E St. Sebastian's knocked off #3E Exeter, 6-3, as junior Mike Morris (2g,1a) posted his third consecutive three-point game. Also posting three-point games were John Toffey (2g,1a), Brian Boyle (1g,2a), and Kenny Roche (1g,2a).... In Ashburnham, Mass., #1E Cushing easily handled #4E Nobles, also by a 6-3 score. It was the third straight year the two teams met in the quarterfinals, and for the third straight year Cushing came out on top. Senior Ben Murphy led the point parade with four assists. Senior Michael Woodford (1g,2a) had a three-point night while junior Dan Murphy (2g), and defensemen Ryan Lannon (1g,1a) and Marvin Degon (2a) each had two-point days.... Click on This Week's Scores for more info.

This evening in Ashburnham, Mass., #1 Cushing wrapped up an undefeated regular season with a 5-2 win over Holderness. Senior forwards Yale Lewis (2g,1a) and Chris White (1g,1a) led the Penguins attack.... #2 Taft rolled over arch-rival Hotchkiss, 6-0. Junior defenseman Jaime Sifers led all scorers with a four-point day (2g,2a). Seniors Ryan Shannon (1g,2a) and Christian Jensen (3a) each had three-point efforts, while sophomore Chris Collins had to settle for a goal and an assist. Senior goaltender Chris Ries kicked out 13 shots for the shutout... #3 Deerfield journeyed down to Simsbury, Conn, and knocked off Westminster, 2-0, as sophomore defenseman Ben Lovejoy scored both of the Big Green's goals. Junior goaltender Matt Hanson picked up the shutout.... #4 St. Sebastian's blanked Thayer 4-0 in the traditional regular season finale for the two teams at BC's Conte Forum. Junior Mike Morris, who had three points on Wednesday, picked up three more today (1g,2a) while sophomores Brian Boyle and Kenny Roche each had a goal and an assist. Sophomore Kevin Regan got the shutout for the Arrows.... Berkshire got first period goals from seniors Nick Tsiantar and Bostjan Kolaric, the latter on the powerplay, to take the championship game of the Empire Cup Tournament from co-host Millbrook by a 2-1 score. Earlier in the day, Berkshire, several players of which sat out the weekend letting their injuries heal, walloped Trinity-Pawling, the tournament's other co-host, by a score of 13-1.... Exeter got goals from eight different scorers in an 8-1 win over archrival Andover. Senior Tom Cavanagh scored his 41st goal of the year and added three assists.... St. Paul's sophomore goaltender Brad Shirley kicked out 20 shots and junior defenseman Michael Hutchins had three assists in a 4-0 win over Lawrence Academy, which finished the regular season with back-to-back losses and could finish out of the playoffs for the first time in a while.... For the third time this season, Nobles goaltender Rory Walsh beat Milton Academy, his former team. This time, Walsh kicked out 25 of 26 en route to a 4-1 win. Nobles got goals from four different scorers and an assist from senior captain Craig MacDonald, his 50th point of the season.... Host Tabor knocked off NMH 6-3 as juniors Andy Nelson (2g), Matt McCarthy (2g), and Brian Swiniarski (3a) led the way.... Senior forward Jack Devaney scored with the goaltender pulled and 14 seconds on the clock to lift visiting Canterbury to a 4-4 tie with Salisbury. Senior Steve Mitacek made 36 saves to keep his team in the game, as Canterbury was outshot 40-23.... Senior defenseman Sean Regan notched a hat trick as host Pomfret knocked off Kimball Union, 5-1.... Senior Joe Zappala (2g,3a) and junior Danny Shribman (2g,2a) lead BB&N past Belmont Hill, 6-4.... Chris Higgins had a hat trick and an assist as Avon defeated Loomis, 6-1.... Click on This Week's Scores for more info.

#1 Cushing picked up a win the easy way today as New Hampton, still reeling from the expulsion of seven players two weeks ago and not wishing to throw JV players to the wolves, forfeited today's scheduled home game against the Penguins.... Sophomore Chris Collins and junior Ben Driver each had a goal and an assist as #2 Taft visited Trinity-Pawling today and came home with a 3-1 win.... Senior Peter Trovato had two goals and an assist to pace #3 Deerfield to a 6-0 win at Kent.... #4 St. Sebastian's jumped out to a 3-0 lead at #9 Lawrence Academy, but allowed the hosts to score four of the next five goals to tie it up on senior forward Ryan Stevens' third goal of the game at 5:58 of the third period. The tie, though, didn't hold for long, as senior defenseman Noah Welch put St. Sebastian's ahead for good with 6:23 remaining. Lawrence had an opportunity to tie it up late when, with the man advantage and the goalie pulled, had a two-man advantage. However, with 11 seconds remaining and the puck about to be dropped on a faceoff in the neutral zone, Lawrence's Stevens got into it with the Arrows' Mike Morris. The gloves came off and a brawl ensued, with Lawrence players on the ice outnumbering St. Sebastians', 6-4. Both coaches, St. Sebastians' coach Steve Dagdigian and Lawrence's Charlie Corey, came on the ice and helped restore order while keeping the remaining players on the bench. However, the officials called off the game right there. Who knows what might have happened in those 11 seconds? Probably nothing, but we'll never know for sure. If Lawrence loses out on a playoff spot, they'll be kicking themselves for losing their composure with the game and, possibly, the season on the line. After the game, Corey went into the the St. Sebastian's locker room, apologized to the Arrows for the game's denouement, congratulated the visitors and handed over the ISL Keller Division cup, which Lawrence had won last season. Before we forget, we should mention that junior Mike Morris (2g,1a) and sophomore Brian Boyle (1g,2a) paced the Arrows with three points apiece.... A Lucas Madill goal 31 seconds into OT gave visiting Millbrook a 5-4 win over #5-ranked Berkshire. The goal was Madill's second of the day. Senior defenseman Ricky Reichenbach also had two goals for Millbrook, which nine days ago tied Berkshire, 3-3. Senior forward Ben Fraser had two goals for Berkshire.... Senior Jeff Natale had a hand in all four of his team's goals and classmate Mario Caouette had two goals and an assist as #6 Westminster knocked off host Gunnery, 4-1.... #7 Exeter rolled over visiting Pomfret, 8-0, with senior Chris Cagliuso (1g, 3a) the big point-getter.... A Kevin Hathway goal with 5:16 left in the second period turned out to be the game winner as visiting Salisbury topped #8 Hotchkiss, 3-1. Junior Bryan Bendjy had a goal and an assist for Salisbury.... #10 Nobles, trailing host GDA by a 2-0 score late in the third, rallied for two goals in a span of 1:17 to tie the game at 2-2 and send it into OT. There, senior forward Michael Zbriger, who had picked up assists on both of GDA's earlier goals, scored the game-winning goal with only five seconds left in OT.... Junior J.J. Morrissey had a goal and an assist for Nobles; freshman defenseman Phillip McDavitt did likewise for Nobles.... In other action, Choate had three-point afternoons from senior defensemen Chris DiStefano (1g,2a) and J.R. Bria (3a) in a 6-3 win at Loomis. Senior forward Colin Bradley had two goals and an assist for the hosts.... Sophomore Kevin Colwell had two goals in host Thayer's 5-2 win over BB&N.... A goal by senior Douglas Nannene at 2:33 of overtime gave host Belmont Hill a 2-1 win over St. Paul's..... NMH got two goals from junior Kevin Richardson -- the second his 50th point of the season -- in a 4-2 road win over Andover Academy.... Junior center Chris Hussey had two goals and an assist in leading Avon to a 6-3 home win over Canterbury.... Senior Slade LedDuke (nice name!) had a hat trick and classmate Ryan Bailey had two goals as host Albany Academy knocked off Div. II Vermont Academy, 8-4.... Click on This Week's Scores for more info.

A Marc Borden goal 15 seconds into overtime gave Governor Dummer a 3-2 road win over St. Sebastian's, knocking the #4-ranked Arrows from the ranks of the undefeated. On the winning goal, senior Michael Zbriger, who, with a goal and an assist in the game, increased his league-leading point total to 40, skated the puck out of the corner on a dump-in, and took a shot that was blocked by St. Sebastian's goalie Dave Cacciola. The rebound came out to Borden, a sophomore from Glenview, Ill., who knocked it home, stunning the home crowd that was hoping to see the Arrows take another step toward becoming the first undefeated St. Sebastian's team since the 1960-62 squads posted back-to-back undefeated campaigns. A thorn in St. Seb's side today was the play of junior goaltender Gabe Winer who, in making 28 saves, many spectacular, helped keep GDA in the game. GDA coach Peter Kravchuk said, "They (St. Seb's) are a very good team. They outplayed us, but we hung around and capitalized on our chances. All we wanted was to be in a position to win it in the third." It took the Governors a little longer than that, of course, but not much. GDA, it should be noted, was also responsible for the other blemish on the Arrow's record, a 2-2 tie up in Byfield, Mass. on Dec. 13.... In today's other games, #1-ranked Cushing, now the only undefeated team in prep hockey, cruised past host Kimball Union, 5-0. Senior Chris White paced the attack with two goals and an assist. Junior Steve Jacobs (1g,1a) and senior Yale Lewis (2a) each had two-point days, while junior Michael Boudreau kicked out 13 shots for the shutout.... Taft's first line of sophomore Chris Collins (2g,1a), and seniors Christian Jensen (1g,1a) and Ryan Shannon (2a) provided all the scoring as the Rhinos edged host Choate, 3-2. Choate got a goal and an assist from Chris Snizek as the Wild Boars came back from a 3-0 first-period deficit to make things interesting.... Deerfield knocked off visiting Exeter, getting two goals and an assist from senior Eric Thomassian and two-point efforts from junior Dennis Kim (1g,1a) and senior Zach Mayer (2a).... In an up-and-down game featuring tight defense, host Berkshire, ranked #6, edged #5 Westminster, 1-0 on a second period goal by junior Devon O'Rourke, with classmates Alex Watts and Jeff Saibil assisting. Junior Jeff Pietrasiak kicked out 17 shots for his sixth shutout of the season while Westminster junior Phil Lauderdale stopped 23 of 24 in a losing effort.... #8 Hotchkiss got both its goals from senior forward Chris Brooks as the visiting Bears topped Trinity-Pawling, 2-1.... Host St. Paul's got a game-tying goal from junior Mike Halitzki in the third period and then senior Bryan Conti of Watertown, Mass. won it with an OT goal as St. Paul's edged Thayer, 3-2.... A third-period goal off the stick of sophomore Tom Hughes led visiting Salisbury past Avon Old Farms, 3-2. Seniors Joe Versino (1g,1a), Kevin Hathway (1g,1a), and Bryan Lane (2a) each had two-point days for the Steaks.... Juniors Brian Bova (3g,1a), Sammy Vatrano (1g,3a) and Kevin Richardson (4a) each had four-point games as the NMH Hoggers crushed Loomis-Chaffee, 7-2.... Big Matt Blabac (2g,1a) figured in all of Millbrook's scoring in a 3-3 tie with Pomfret.... Click on This Week's Scores for more info.

Junior Mark Zwicky (3g,1a) and senior Ben Murphy (4a) had four-point afternoons and seven other players had two points apiece as #1 ranked Cushing kept up its undefeated ways with a 10-2 home trouncing of Andover Academy.... At the same time, the day's marquee game -- Deerfield vs. Taft, a pair of teams deadlocked for the second slot in the USHR prep poll -- was taking place 50 or so miles to the west. There, Deerfield jumped out to a 1-0 first period lead on a goal by senior Dave Thomas only to watch Taft come back with a pair of second period goals. A powerplay tally by junior defenseman Jaime Sifers put Taft on the board at the 13:52 mark, with an assist going to sophomore Chris Collins. Thirteen seconds later Collins would notch one of his own, making it 2-1 Taft. And that, after a scoreless third period, is how it ended.... Undefeated and #4 ranked St. Sebastian's clinched the ISL Keller Division title with a 5-2 win at St. Paul's. Junior Mike Morris had a hat trick and freshman Joe Rooney added two goals.... Senior Jeff Natale notched a pair of goals and added an assist as #5 ranked Westminster knocked off Loomis-Chaffee, 5-1.... Senior Tom Cavanagh had a pair of goals and added an assist as #7 Exeter romped over Bridgton Academy, 8-2.... Senior Kevin Brooks had a four-point afternoon (2g,2a) as #9 ranked Lawrence Academy, playing at home, knocked off Governor Dummer, 5-2.... Senior Chris Higgins had a hat trick as host Avon defeated Choate, 6-4.... Seniors Joe Versino (3g,3a) and Kevin Hathway (6a) both had six-point afternoons as host Salisbury rolled over Albany Academy, 9-1.... Senior Craig MacDonald had a hat trick, junior Pat Noonan added a goal and two assists, and sophomore Josh Fillman kicked out 20 of 21 shots as host Nobles defeated BB&N, 5-1.... Junior Bill Petrucci picked up his second straight shutout, this time against his former team, as Tabor had no problem with visiting Thayer Academy, coming out on top 6-0. Juniors Brian Swiniarksi (2g), Derek Kilduff (1g,1a), Bryan Crabtree (1g,1a), and Chuck Tomes (1g,1a) each had two-point games.... Senior Marc Russell had two goals and added two assists as host Lawrenceville defeated the Portledge School, 6-3.... Millbrook got goals from four different scorers in a 4-2 home win over Trinity-Pawling.... Senior Doug Kisielius picked up the shutout as host Hill topped Delbarton, 3-0.... Nine different players notched a point in Kimball Union's 4-1 win over New Hampton.... Click on This Week's Scores for more info.

As was the case on Wednesday, the top six teams in this week's prep poll all skated off with wins today.... #1 ranked Cushing had an easy time with Canterbury, blanking the Saints, 6-0. Michael Woodford (1g,1a), Steve Jacobs (1g,1a), Chris White (1g,1a), James Solon (2a), and Danny Murphy (2a) led the Cushing attack. Mike Boudreau and Keith Longo combined for the eight-save shutout.... Taft jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a Ryan Shannon powerplay goal in the first, but a Brian Phinney goal with three seconds left in the second period made things interesting going into third, when Ryan Trowbridge converted a Taylor Leahy pass, firing a low wrister past Hotchkiss' Kyle McNulty with 3:30 remaining in regulation.... Deerfield beat host Avon, 3-2, getting goals from three different scorers. Avon goaltender Timmy Warner made 38 saves, as Deerfield outshot their hosts by a 41-21 margin.... St. Sebastian's linemates John Toffey (1g,2a) and Joe Rooney (2g,2a) led the Arrows' attack in today's 6-0 win over Div. II Middlesex.... Host Choate outshot #5-ranked Westminster 29-15 today, but came up on the short end of a 5-3 score. Mario Caouette (2g,1a), Adam Carlson (2g), and Jeff Natale (1g,1a) led the Westminster attack. Defenseman J.R. Bria, with a goal and two assists, figured in all three Choate goals.... Berkshire topped Winchendon, 6-1, with Jamie Carroll (3a), Bostjan Kolaric (1g,2a), Pat Donlan (2g), Alex Watts (2a), and Nick Tsiantar (1g,1a) leading the attack.... #8-ranked Exeter got a hat trick from Tom Cavanagh in today's 10-8 win at Northfield-Mt.Hermon. The goals give Cavanagh, a Harvard recruit, 35 on the season, one away from Exeter's regular-season record of 36, set by Eddie Caron two seasons ago. Early in the second, Exeter senior forward Colin Fitzrandolph broke his collarbone and is out for the year.... Junior Pat Noonan had a hat trick; senior Craig MacDonald had four assists; and junior goaltender Rory Walsh had 33 saves in Nobles' 6-1 win at Milton.... Joe Versino had a pair of goals in Salisbury's 5-2 win over Loomis.... Michael Zbriger and J.J. Morrissey each had a goal and five assists as Gov. Dummer whacked host BB&N, 8-1. Sophomore forward Marc Borden had a hat trick and added an assist for GDA..... Click on This Week's Scores for more info.

The top six teams in this week's prep poll all won today. Let's start with #1 Cushing, which got a lot of offense out of their defensemen as senior Ryan Lannon (2g), and juniors Marvin Degon (3a) and Brian Yandle (1g,1a) all had productive afternoons. While Cushing outshot Winchendon, 42-13 you may notice that top gun Michael Woodford's name is missing from the scoreboard: he was used sparingly due to a 10-stich cut on his wrist..... Host Deerfield got two goals from senior Kevin Lyons and two from sophomore John Sales in today's 6-2 win over Loomis... Ryan Shannon notched two goals and an assist as Taft blanked host Salisbury, 4-0. Chris Ries made 20 saves for the shutout.... Senior John Toffey had four points (2g,2a) as undefeated St. Sebastian's, ranked #4, topped host Belmont Hill 4-2. Freshman Joe Rooney and junior Rick Baker each had a goal and two assists for the Arrows.... #5 Westminster went on the road and knocked off #7 Hotchkiss, 4-1. Seniors Mario Caouette (1g,1a) and Spencer Morton (1g,1a); and junior Adam Carlson (2a) led Westy's attack while junior goaltender Phil Lauderdale kicked out 19 of 20 shots for the win.... #6 Berkshire hosted Kent and skated off with a 4-1 win. Slovenian senior Bostjan Kolaric had a goal and an assist for Berkshire, which outshot Kent 49-22.... A goal from junior Kevin Child with 3:59 left in regulation lifted #9 St. Paul's into a 3-3 tie with visiting Milton Academy.... #10 Lawrence got big afternoons out of senior Ryan Stevens (1g,1a), and sophomores Jarred Gagnon (2g,1a), John Geverd (1g,1a), and Jonathan Swift (2a) in today's 6-2 win over host Thayer.... A Craig MacDonald goal at 5:03 of the third period gave host Nobles a 3-2 win over Governor Dummer.... Seniors Chris Snizek (1g,3a) and Matt Scanlan (2g,1a) paced the attack as Choate knocked off host Pomfret, 5-2.... A Chris Higgins goal with 1:16 left in the third gave Avon Old Farms a 3-2 win over host Gunnery.... Gino Rotondi (1g,1a) and defenseman Steve Mead (2a) led the attack and Theo Novak came up with a 20-save shutout as Andover topped host Kimball Union, 5-0...Latvian senior Andris Kozloviskis notched a pair of goals to lead the Hill School to a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Jr. Flyers.... Click on This Week's Scores for more info.

With many schools on winter break, there was a limited slate of games today.... We don't have a box score yet but we can tell you that #1 Cushing beat Exeter 9-1, in Ashburnham, Mass. Exeter, of course, was without Ed Caron, who is out with mono, quite likely for the remainder of the season.... St. Paul's suffered its second loss in two days, bowing to Nobles, 4-3, in Dedham, Mass. Rory Walsh kicked out 27 shots for the win and Craig MacDonald paced the Nobles offense with a goal and two assists. Kent Frees scored a pair of goals for St. Paul's... A Brian Swiniarski goal with 26 seconds left in the third period lifted visiting Tabor to a 4-4 tie with Northfield-Mt.Hermon. Brian Bova (2g), Eric Roos (1g,1a), and Kevin Richardson each had two-point games for NMH.... Senior Mike Zbriger scored three goals (the last into an empty net) to pace host GDA to a 5-2 win over Thayer. Gabe Winer kicked out 18 shots for the win. For Thayer, junior defenseman Tom Sullivan had a pair of goals.... Senior Mike Cholette scored four goals and added two assists for a six-point afternoon as Hill topped Lawrenceville, 8-2.... In Friday's action, Kenny Roche scored three goals, the last one breaking up a 3-3 tie with 1:57 remaining, to pace undefeated St. Sebastian's to a 5-3 win over visiting Lawrence Academy. Junior Mike Morris had a five-point afternoon (1g,4a) for the Arrows, while Noah Welch (2 assists and an empty-net goal) and Brian Boyle (2a) also had big afternoons..... Milton, trailing 2-0 after one period, got six unanswered goals to sail past St. Paul's, 6-3. Josh Hennessey (1g,2a), Tripp Egan (2g,1a), Brendan Byrne (3a), and Mike Carthas (2a) led the Milton attack.... Senior Jarrett Konkle scored five goals in the third period to lead New Hampton to a 6-1 win over Tabor Academy.... Click on This Week's Scores for more info.

Deerfield ran into a hot goalie in Andover's Theo Novak today, firing 35-40 shots on the senior from Chicago before finally prevailing when, with 1:29 remaining in OT, Andover's defense, facing heavy pressure, dislodged the net from its moorings, with an automatic penalty shot ensuing. Dennis Kim took the shot and buried it, giving host Deerfield a 2-1 win. Approximately 7-10 of Novak's saves were, in the words of Deerfield coach Jim Lindsay, "phenomenal.".... Senior Michael Woodford had two goals and an assist to pace undefeated Cushing to a 6-2 win at Pomfret. Junior forward Dan Murphy (1g,1a) and senior defenseman Blake Pickett (2a) also came up big for the Penguins.... Host Taft had three-point afternoons from Kevin Nee (2g,1a) and Ryan Shannon (1g,2a) and a two-point afternoon from Tim Plant (1g,1a) to defeat Kent, 6-1.... Senior Dave Cacciola posted his fourth straight shutout as undefeated St. Sebastian's knocked off BB&N, 3-0, in Cambridge, Mass....Avon Old Farms jumped out to a 4-1 lead early in the second period and held on for a 5-4 road win over Westminster. Senior Paul Knight led the way for the Winged Beavers with a four-point afternoon (2g,2a) while junior Chris Hussey had a three-point day (2g,1a).... As the Exeter bus made its way up to Holderness, NH a cell phone call from the school doctor confirmed that star winger Ed Caron had mono, and would be unable to play again for 3-5 weeks. With Caron watching from the sidelines, Exeter was trailing Holderness 1-0 when, with approximately 16 minutes left in the third period, the lights went out, all over the Holderness campus and across town, too. It's uncertain if the game will be replayed unless Exeter needs it for a playoff spot.... Berkshire broke open a 2-2 game with a pair of goals 34 seconds apart late in the third period to defeat Canterbury on the road, 4-2. Senior goaltender Brad Roberts had another big game for Canterbury, kicking out 49 of 53 shots... Hotchkiss sophomore Todd Sheridan and Choate senior Chris Schod took a 1-1 goaltending battle into OT, where Hotchkiss prevailed on a goal by senior defenseman Brandon Rogers... A powerplay goal by senior Tim Graham midway through the third period gave St. Paul's a 2-1 road win over GDA.... Junior Pat Noonan scored with under three minutes to play to lift Nobles to a 4-3 win over Thayer. Jake Clapton (2g), Noonan (1g,1a), and Pat Bigelow (1g,1a) each had two-point afternoons.... Sophomore forward Jarred Gagnon and senior Ryan Stevens each scored two goals in Lawrence Academy's 7-1 win over Belmont Hill.... Junior Jason Wilson scored at 1:05 of OT to give Northfield-Mt. Hermon a 5-4 win over Kimball Union. Junior forwards Kevin Richardson (1g,3a) and Brian Bova (2g,1a) each had big afternoons for the Hoggers.... Junior forward Brian Bendjy figured in both of Salisbury's goals in today's 2-1 win at Trinity-Pawling. Senior David Sandals kicked out 22 shots for the win.... Senior forward Craig MacDonald had a hat trick in New Hampton's 4-4 tie with Hebron Academy... Sophomore goalie Matt Silliker had 23 saves in Millbrook's 4-1 win over Brunswick.... Click on This Week's Scores for more info.

#1 Cushing, playing at home, rolled over the Salisbury School 7-1 this afternoon. Senior Ben Murphy (2g,2a) and younger brother Dan (4a) each had big games, as did senior Mike Woodford (1g,2a) and junior Marc Zwicky (2g).... #4 Deerfield got a shutout from junior Matt Hanson in today's 2-0 road win over #8 Hotchkiss... Freshman Joe Rooney and senior John Toffey each had a goal and an assist as #5 St. Sebastian's continued its unbeaten ways with a 3-2 home win over Thayer Academy.... At Concord, N.H. junior Mike Halitzki of St. John, Newfoundland notched a hat trick as #9 St. Paul's knocked off Lawrence Academy, 4-3.... Senior Ed Caron and junior Nate Jackson each notched hat tricks en route to four-point afternoons as #10 Exeter knocked off Tabor, 6-3, in Exeter, N.H.... Senior forward Patrick Walsh scored two third-period goals (one shorthanded) and senior goaltender Chris Schod kicked out 17 of 18 shots to give Choate a come-from-behind 2-1 win over struggling defending prep champs Avon Old Farms.... Junior Drew Sudbury scored in overtime to give Canterbury a 6-5 win over Pomfret.... In Friday's action, Brian Bova scored four goals to lead NMH to a 5-4 win over Bridgton Academy.... Senior Tom Cavanagh (3g,1a) and and junior Nate Jackson (2g,1a) led Exeter to a 7-2 home win over Nobles.... Click on This Week's Scores for more info.

#1 Cushing outshot NMH 32-8, but it took a Kevin Coughlin powerplay goal at 2:26 of the third to give the Penguins a 3-2 road win over the Hoggers this afternoon... Christian Jensen (2g,3a) and Chris Collins (2g,3a) each had five-point afternoons as #2 Taft went on the road and rolled over Kent, 8-0..... Deerfield, which had lost 3-1 to Westminster in the final of the Flood-Marr Tournament on Dec. 17, gained a measure of revenge today as Zach Mayer scored 49 seconds into overtime to give host Deerfield, ranked #4, a 3-2 win over #3 Westminster. The rubber match will be Sat. Feb. 24 at Westminster.... #5 St. Sebastian's continued undefeated, heading down the street to Noble & Greenough and returning with a 3-0 win. Mike Morris, Kenny Roche, and Mike Aylward scored for the Arrows, with all goals coming in the third period, while Dave Cacciola notched his third straight shutout.... Bostjan Kolaric had two goals and one assist as #6 Berkshire edged Pomfret, 4-3.... Jonathan Swift scored two goals and Charles Crepin earned the win in his first career start in goal as #7 Lawrence Academy defeated visiting Andover Academy.... #8 Hotchkiss got goals from four different scorers in today's 4-1 win at Canterbury.... #9 St. Paul's lost 5-1 at Thayer, as the Tigers were led by a 27-save effort by junior Tim Kane. Freshman Jimmy Russo and senior Steven Kelleher each had two goals for Thayer while junior D Thomas Sullivan chipped in with three assists.... Host Avon, leading Loomis 5-1 after two, gave up four straight unanswered goals in less than five minutes early in the third. However, at 12:04, Chris Hussey scored, breaking the tie, and bailing out the Winged Beavers... Click on This Week's Scores for more info.

Unranked Gov. Dummer, which has struggled this season, played host to #6 ranked Lawrence Academy this afternoon and despite being outshot 23-15 walked back to their dorms with a 5-3 win. Senior Mike Zbriger had a pair of goals for GDA while junior Gabe Winer kicked out 20 shots.... In other games, #2 Taft topped Canterbury, 4-0, getting goals from Ryan Trowbridge, Ryan Shannon, Jaime Sifers, and Christian Jensen. Mark Spadaccini had a 12-save shutout.... #3 Westminster rolled over hapless Loomis-Chaffee, 6-0. Spencer Morton had a hat trick and Gharrity McNett had a two-goal day.... #4 Deerfield, playing at home, had to come from behind to edge Choate, 3-2. Darwin Hunt, Brian Ciborowski, and Ben Lovejoy scored for Deerfield. Lovejoy's goal, with 2:58 left in the third, was the game-winner.... Senior goaltender Dave Cacciola picked up the shutout and was named MVP of the Travis Roy Cup for the second straight year as #5 St. Sebastian's topped visiting Tabor 2-0.... Junior Jeff Pietrasiak posted his fifth shutout of the season to lead #7 Berkshire to a 2-0 road win over Avon Old Farms. Pietrasiak had 27 saves while his counterpart in the Avon net, Tim Warner, stopped 24 of 26.... #8 Exeter rebounded from a three-game losing streak (to St. Paul's, Andover, New Hampton) by knocking off Lawrenceville 8-3 in a penalty-free game at Exeter. Tom Cavanagh had a four-point game (2g,2a) for Exeter.... #9 Nobles bounced back from a Friday afternoon loss at Lawrence Academy by beating Andover, 4-1, on the road. Sophomore Josh Fillman kicked out 15 of 16 shots for the win.... Junior Mike Carthas had a three-point afternoon (2g,1a) to lead host Milton Academy to a 5-2 win over Thayer... Juniors Kevin Richardson (2g) and Brian Bova (1g,1a) paced Northfield-Mt.Hermon to a 5-4 home win over Holderness.... Junior Adam Dann had a three-point afternoon (2g,1a) and sophomore Brad Shirley posted a 1-save shutout as host St. Paul's easily handled Belmont Hill, walking off with a 5-0 win....Tilton cancelled their trip to #1 Cushing, citing snow, though the 'snow' certainly didn't keep any other teams in the region from playing their scheduled games.... Click on This Week's Scores for more info.

#1 Cushing had no problem today, knocking off Thayer Academy, 6-1, as sophomore Kevin Coughlin knocked home a pair of goals... Mark Spadaccini had a four-save shutout as #2 Taft steamrolled hapless Loomis, 8-0.... #3 Westminster outshot Canterbury 35-8, with four different players scoring, as the host Martlets rolled to a 4-0 win. Brad Roberts had a strong game in the Canterbury net, making 31 saves.... Senior Dave Thomas had both of Deerfield's goals as the #4 Big Green edged Kimball Union Academy.... #5 St. Sebastian's crushed Andover 7-1 today as junior Rick Baker and sophomore Brian Boyle each had a pair of goals.... #6 Lawrence received two goals apiece from senior Kevin Brooks and junior Jeff Harnois in a 6-1 road win over BB&N.... #7 Berkshire got four goals from junior Jeff Saibil, the last two into an empty net, in a 7-3 win over Choate.... Jesse Driscoll scored an OT goal to give New Hampton, smarting from an 8-1 drubbing at the hands of Exeter less than two weeks ago, a 3-2 win this time around. George Huggins and Jarrett Konkle also scored for New Hampton, while Mike O'Brien kicked out 45 shots. Exeter, ranked #8 this week, has lost three straight games, averaging just one goal per game over that span.... #9 Nobles was downed by host St. Paul's, 5-3, behind a three-point afternoon from junior Mike Halitzki.... As of the midnight reporting deadline, we hadn't received a score from #10 Hotchkiss, which played at Kent.... Brodie Merrill had two goals and an assist as host Salisbury topped Trinity-Pawling, 3-1.... Senior defenseman Ryan Foster had a goal and an assist and Scott Sortal kicked out 21 shots as NMH topped Avon 4-2 on the road.... Host GDA, leading 5-2 going into the third, needed a J.J. Morrissey goal with 1:53 left in regulation to hold off Holderness. The final score: 7-6, GDA.... Click on This Week's Scores for more info.

Host Berkshire, which early in the season tied #2 Taft, did the same to #1 Cushing today, tying up the Penguins 2-2 behind junior G Jeff Pietrasiak, who made 31 saves, many of them excellent; and senior winger Nick Tsiantar, who had a goal and an assist. Junior Dan Murphy (1g,1a) and senior Mike Woodford figured in both of Cushing's goals. The Penguins led 2-0 after 1, but Berkshire came back with two of their own in the second. And that was it for the scoring.... #2 Taft, behind a hat trick from Ryan Shannon, defeated visiting Choate, 5-2. The game was tied at 2-2 going into the third.... Mario Caouette (1g,2a), Adam Swain (2g), and Jeff Natale (1g,1a) led the way as #3 Westminster rebounded from Wednesday's loss at Taft to defeat visiting Salisbury, 4-1... At Groton, Mass., #5 Lawrence knocked off Thayer, 4-0, behind junior Adam Geragosian's 26-save shutout... A second-period goal by senior John Toffey proved to be the game-winner as #7 St. Sebastian's edged visiting St. Paul's, 3-1. Early in the first, Rick Baker scored for the Arrows; in the third, defenseman Sean Sullivan added an empty-netter to salt it away for the Arrows, who remain undefeated. Defenseman Mike Hutchins scored the lone SPS goal.... Host Kent twice had one-goal leads, but #8 Avon Old Farms got two goals late in the third by, respectively, Paul Knight and Brian Casey, to pull out the win... Tabor senior forward Bryan Crabtree notched a hat trick in the Seawolves 8-3 win over host Kimball Union... Seniors Derek Hilmershausen and Mike Cholette each had a goal and three assists as host Hill knocked off the National Sports Academy, 6-3... Junior Kevin Richardson had two goals in NMH's 4-2 win over visiting New Hampton Prep.... A third-period goal by Canterbury senior forward Ryan Mattison proved to be the game winner in today's 3-2 win at Albany Academy.... Click on This Week's Scores for more info.

In a battle of a pair of top-ranked teams, #2 Taft edged #3 Westminster, 3-1 on a pair of Christian Jensen goals. Ryan Shannon added a late empty-netter for the final margin of victory. Taft outshot their visitors 25-9 but Westminster junior goalie Phil Lauderdale kept it close... Seniors Ben McManama (2g), Jake Clapton (1g,2a), and Craig MacDonald (3a) paced the attack as #10 Nobles edged #5 Lawrence, 4-3, at Dedham, Mass... In a game that benefited absolutely no one, #4 Deerfield cake-walked past visiting Loomis, 11-2. Junior Dennis Kim had a six-point day for the Big Green... St. Paul's defeated #6 Exeter, 3-1, as junior Mike Halitzki scored two goals and sophomore Brad Shirley kicked out 34 shots... Senior goaltender Brad Roberts had a big game for Canterbury, kicking out 45 shots in a 3-3 tie with Choate... Colorado College-bound forward Nick Tsiantar had a hat trick as #9-ranked Berkshire routed host Albany Academy, 8-2. Ed Naessens had both of Albany's tallies... Andrew Cleary had three points (2g,1a) as Belmont Hill rolled over visiting Thayer Academy, 5-3... Senior defenseman Jonn Tammaro had a three-point afternoon (2g,1a) to lead Kent to a 4-3 win over host Trinity-Pawling.... Senior Michael Zbriger (3g,2a) had a hand in all of GDA's goals in a 5-2 win over visiting BB&N... Click on This Week's Scores for more info.

At Avon, Conn., senior forward Paul Knight scored 49 seconds into OT to give #9 Avon Old Farms a 3-2 win over #2-ranked Taft. Senior goaltender Timmy Warner kicked out 33 saves for the Winged Beavers... Kenny Roche had a four-point afternoon (3g,1a) and Noah Welch had three assists as #7 St. Sebastian's rolled over Belmont Hill, 7-2. Belmont Hill was outshot by a 33-10 margin... #5 Lawrence Academy got three-point afternoons from Cam Finch (1g,2a) and Kevin Brooks (2g,1a) en route to a 7-2 home win over Milton Academy... Senior forward Pat Bigelow had a goal and an assist and junior goaltender Rory Walsh had 21 saves in #8 Noble & Greenough's 2-1 home win over Thayer... Canterbury, trailing Lawrenceville 4-1 at home, got four consecutive goals from senior Chris Garceau, the last in OT, to pull off a 5-4 win... #4 Deerfield got a third-period goal from Peter Trovato to pull out a 2-1 win over visiting Salisbury... #1 Cushing got goals from five different scorers in a 5-1 home win over Winchendon. Cushing outshot the visitors, 45-8. Senior goaltender Joe Burley kicked out 40 shots in a losing effort... Colin Fitrandolph (5a), Tom Cavanagh (3g), and Eddie Caron (1g,2a) were the big guns as #6 Exeter plowed over visiting Kimball Union, 10-2... St. Paul's beat visiting Governor Dummer, 4-2, with senior Tim Graham (3g,1a) figured in all of his team's goals.... Senior Mario Caouette had a pair of goals as #3 Westminster beat visiting Trinity-Pawling, 5-1... Click on This Week's Scores for more info.

Rooney Comes Through in OT

Marion, Mass. -- St. Sebastian's freshman forward Joe
Rooney scored an unassisted goal at 1:46 of overtime to give
the Arrows the championship of the Joshua H. Weeks Tabor
Invitational Tournament.

In the third place game, host Tabor tied the New England
Junior Coyotes, 1-1. Chris Chaput scored for the Coyotes,
while Bryan Crabtree answered for Tabor. One overtime
period was played.

A third-period goal by junior Jullian Madden proved to be
the game winner as Milton toped Hill, 3-2, in the fifth place
game. Brendan Bryne and Mike Carthas scored Milton's
other goals, while goaltender David Scardella picked up the
win in net. For Hill, Derek Hilmershausen and Vince
Bryniczka found the back of the net.

A Mike Zbriger goal with three seconds left in regulation
lifted Gov. Dummer to a 1-0 win over Tilton.

Cushing Knocks off Lawrence;
Takes Watkins Crown

Ashburnham, Mass. -- Cushing Academy, behind goals from Chris White, Marvin Degon, and Mike Woodford, topped Lawrence Academy to win this year's Watkins Tournament. Cushing senior center Ben Murphy, who was named tournament MVP, had two assists. Penguins junior goaltender Mike Boudreau kicked out 13 saves for the shutout. Adam Geragosian kicked out 36 of 39 in the Lawrence net.

Box Score: Cushing 3, Lawrence 0

Watkins Tournament All-Star Team:

Cambridge, Mass. -- BB&N junior forward Danny Shribman scored a shorthanded breakaway goal with .7 seconds remaining in OT to give host BB&N an 8-7 win over New Hampton in the title game of the BB&N Holiday Showcase today.

The game, a wild and wooly one, featured huge momentum shifts, several lead changes, and a five-point (4g,1a) performance by BB&N senior center Joey Zappala, who was named Offensive MVP of the tournament. Shribman (1g,2a), junior Josh Klimkiewicz (2g), and senior Andrew Jewett (2a) all played well up front for the Knights. Senior Joe Phelan was named the tournament's Defensive MVP.

For New Hampton, Craig MacDonald (2g,3a) and Jarrett Konkle (3g), both seniors from Toronto; and senior Sean Kennedy (1g,3a) all had a big day.

How crazy was this game? BB&N led 3-1 early in the second period, but New Hampton scored four unanswered goals to take a 5-3 lead into the third, whereupon BB&N reeled off four unanswered goals of their own to take a 7-5 lead, which was beginning to look fairly safe -- until New Hampton struck twice late in the third to force OT.

In winning the Lawrence tournament, Cushing outscored their opponents by a combined score of 21-5. It's no surprise that the top line of Dan Murphy, older brother Ben Murphy, and tournament MVP Michael Woodford accounted for the bulk of the scoring, notching 14 -- that's two-thirds -- of Cushing's total goals. In the tournament's three games, Woodford was 4-9-13; D. Murphy was 3-7-10; and B. Murphy was 7-2-9.

Here's the all-tournament team from the Flood-Marr. Note that there is no first or second team, just, as always, a list of 12 players voted on by the coaches of the teams finishing in the top four. As in the past, it's an extremely senior-laden list, with only two underclassmen included, both goaltenders.

Westminster: Jim Hakewill, D; Mark Szematowicz, D; Jeff Natale, F (MVP); Phil Lauderdale, G (Jr.).

No one asked us, but the most-deserving underclassman not on the all-tournament team -- and this is easy -- was Milton Academy freshman center Josh Hennessey.

Once again, Taft beat Choate to win the Lawrenceville Tournament. However, the title game was closer than Taft's 32-12 shot advantage or, for that matter, the final score of 5-3 would indicate.

With the score knotted at 2-2 after Choate senior forward Patrick Walsh knotted the game at 2-2 with a goal at the 10:07 mark of the third, it took exactly 1:45 for Taft's Ryan Shannon to score what would turn out to be the game winner.

Taft would add two late empty-net goals to account for the final margin of victory.

Taft's Shannon had a four-point afternoon (2g,2a) to give him a tournament leading 2-7-9 line. Shannon's linemate, Christian Jensen, had a pair of goals to give him a 7-0-7 line on the weekend.

Chris Schod kicked out 29 of 32 shots for Choate, while Taft's Chris Ries stopped 10 of the 12 shots he saw.

The Westminster School, behind a 26-save effort from junior goaltender Phil Lauderdale, topped Deerfield 3-1 in the title game of the 36th Annual Flood-Marr Tournament this afternoon.

Deerfield had been going for a four-peat, not having lost the tournament since 1996, when Westminster last won it. However, the Big Green, despite outshooting Westminster 27-19, came up short.

After freshman defenseman Fred Dirkes, whose older brother played for Deerfield a few years back, put Westy ahead 1-0 earlier, Deerfield tied it up when Dennis Kim knocked home the rebound of a Pat Walsh shot with 2:40 remaining in the first half.

Midway through the second half -- with 11:37 remaining, to be precise -- Westminster junior forward Adam Carlson scored from a scrum in front to put his team up, 2-1. It would hold up as the game-winning goal. One minute later, Mario Caouette added an insurance goal, knocking home a nice pass from Jeff Natale to put Westminster up by 3-1, the final margin of victory.

Natale, a senior, was named tournament MVP, joining Rob Fried (Deerfield, 1999), Aaron Kim (Deerfield, 1998), Ty Hennes (Deerfield, 1997), Nick Carso (Westminster, 1996), Chris Corrinet (Deerfield, 1995), J.R. Prestifilippo (Hotchkiss, 1994), and Marty Reasoner (Deerfield, 1993).

Lauderdale, aka "Fort" Lauderdale, a junior from Greenwich, Conn., finished the tournament with a 1.30 gaa.

Div. II Tilton School outworked and outhustled St. Sebastian's in the title game of the Barber Tournament -- and almost pulled off a big upset before bowing in OT, 3-2, on senior center John Toffey's second goal of the game.

Tilton got first period goals from senior Andy Boschetto and junior Ryan Coakley to go up 2-0, a lead that held up until the final minutes of the second period, when Toffey scored off a breakaway, followed quickly by a powerplay goal off the stick of Mike Morris. Suffering from a bad shoulder, Morris only made two or three appearances all game, all coming on the power play.

After a scoreless third period, Toffey, at 2:28 of overtime, scored his second goal of the game, a wrister from in front, to give St. Sebastian's their first Barber title since 1997.

Tilton senior D Mike Pelletier of Tucson, Arizona, had a strong game for Tilton, as did both goaltenders, Dave Cacciola of St. Seb's, and A.J. Bucchino of Tilton.

With 52 seconds left in overtime, Millbrook's Lucas Madill scored an unassisted goal to give his team the Albany Academy Holiday Tournament title with a 4-3 win over the Hill School. On the game-winning goal, Madill stole the puck at the offensive blueline, walked in all alone, and beat Hill goaltender Doug Kisielius.

Senior LW Eddie Caron, coming off a hat trick Saturday vs. Cushing, notched five goals this afternoon to lead Exeter past visiting Northfield-Mt. Hermon. Caron's linemates, C Colin Fitzrandolph (4a) and RW Tom Cavanagh (1g,3a) each had four-point days while D Patrick Nugent had three assists. Matt Walsh (2g,1a) had a three-point game for the visitors.... Ryan Shannon and Christian Jensen each notched a goal and an assist as Taft edged the Gunnery, 3-2, despite posting a 35-15 shot advantage.... Dennis Kim (1g,2a), Chris Kelley (2a), Eric Thomassian (1g,1a), and Zach Mayer (1g,1a) helped lead Deerfield past visiting Avon Old Farms, 6-2.... Tim Graham and Bill LeClerc each had five-point outings as St. Paul's rolled over Div. II St. Mark's, 9-0. Mike Halitzki (3a), Colin Koch (2g), and Mike Hutchins (1g,1a) also put up squiggly numbers for St. Paul's. Brad Shirley kicked out 18 shots for the shutout.... Less than a minute after Noah Welch gave St. Sebastian's a 2-1 lead on a blast from the point 47 seconds into the third period, Brian McGuirk got it right back with a powerplay goal for Gov. Dummer as the two teams skated to a 2-2 tie at Byfield, Mass.... Gus LaBelle (2g), Jared Gagnon (2a), Ryan Merritt (2a), Ryan Stevens (1g,1a), and Cam Finch (1g,1a) paced Lawrence Academy to a 6-1 road win over Milton Academy. Adam Geragosian had another good effort in goal for Lawrence, kicking out 24 of 25 shots....New Hampton, behind a hat trick from PG Jarrett Konkle, topped Div. II Proctor School, 5-3... Click on This Week's Scores for more info.

Ben Murphy (2g,1a) and linemate and younger brother Danny Murphy each had three points in Cushing's 7-4 road win at Exeter. Cushing jumped out to an early 3-0 lead causing Exeter to pull goaltender Ryan Dooley at the 6:59 mark. Exeter quickly came to life afterward, as UNH recruit Ed Caron struck for the first of his three goals on the day. However, it was not enough to overcome the early deficit... In a huge upset, Trinity-Pawling went into Avon's building and knocked off the Winged Beavers behind a 45-save shutout by Kevin McGowan.... Former Arlington High star Matt Walsh, a UMass-Amherst recruit, had three goals and an assist in NMH's 6-2 win over Holderness.... Deerfield, behind two-point efforts from Dennis Kim (2g) and Eric Thomassian (1g,1a) and a shutout by Matt Hanson topped Choate 5-0 on the road... Gabe Tash kicked out 18 shots in Salisbury's 3-0 shutout win at Kent... Kevin Brooks scored an unassisted shorthanded goal with 2:29 left in regulation to lift Lawrence Academy to a 3-2 win at Belmont Hill. Adam Geragosian kicked out 27 of 29 shots for Lawrence... Noah Welch had a four-point game (1g,3a), Joe Rooney had a hat trick, and Kenny Roche (2g,1a) and Brian Boyle (3a) also had three-point games as St. Sebastian's rolled over BB&N, 8-1... Click on This Week's Scores for more info.

Taft, behind three-point games from Chris Collins (2g,1a) and Christian Jensen (1g,2a), rolled over visiting Avon Old Farms, 7-1, today. Ryan Shannon, Tim Plant, and Ben Driver each added a goal and an assist of their own. Chris Ries made 12 stops for Taft, while his counterpart in the Avon net, Tim Warner, was lifted after allowing five goals in two periods. Avon, you'll recall, ended Taft's undefeated season in the first game of the playoffs last season... Salisbury, with goals from five different scorers, knocked off visiting Hotchkiss, 5-4. Tim Cook had a pair for Hotchkiss.... Mike Carthas (3g) and Josh Hennessey (1g,2a) each had three-point games in Milton's 4-2 win over Thayer... Mike Zbriger (2g,1a) figured in three of GDA's goals in a 4-2 win over Belmont Hill... Deerfield got a pair of goals from Darwin Hunt, and singletons off the sticks of Dennis Kim, Jimmy Canner, and Ben Lovejoy... Defensemen Marvin Degon (1g,2a) and Phil Youngclaus (3a) led the scoring parade in Cushing's 6-1 win over Tabor. Jamie Solon (2g), Mike Woodford (1g,1a), and Danny Murphy (1g,1a) also had big afternoons... Brian Boyle (2g,2a) and Mike Morris (1g,3a) each had four-point afternoons as St. Sebastian's Country Day School rolled over St. Mark's, 6-0. All of Boyle's points came in the first period, as the Arrows rolled out to an early 4-0 lead.... Eddie Caron had a four-point afternoon (2g,2a) in Exeter's 10-1 romp over Winchendon. Tom Cavanagh added three points of his own (2g,1a). Four players had two points apiece: Nick Poulos (2g); Colin FitzRandolph (2a), Chris Cagliuso (1g,1a), and Gerry Burke (2a)... Adam Swain had a hat trick in in Westminster's 5-2 home win over Choate. Phil Lauderdale kicked out 22 shots for the win. Stephen Baldassari had both of Choate's goals.... Lawrence Academy, behind 28 saves from Adam Geragosian, shut out BB&N at Groton, Mass... Nathan Cook had a goal and an assist in KUA's 2-1 win at Holderness. John Czaplinski notched 23 saves for the win.... Jeff Pietrasiak had a 20-save shutout in Berkshire's 5-0 blanking of Gunnery.... Chris Evans and Jamie Parker of Trinity-Pawling, and Ed Naessens of Albany Academy each had a goal and an assist as the two schools battled to a 2-2 overtime tie.... Hill had two goals from Andris Kozlovskis and a three-point performance (1g,2a) by Derek Hilmershausen.... Click on This Week's Scores for more info.

Taft came within 21 seconds of suffering an opening night defeat at the hands of Berkshire, but, with goaltender Mark Spadaccini pulled for the extra skater, senior Ryan Trowbridge tied it up at 1-1 and sent the game into OT, where it ended in a deadlock. Jeff Pietrasiak, Berkshire's junior goalie, came up big as Taft, with four powerplays late in the third and another in overtime, had every opportunity to win it, but couldn't. Pietrasiak finished with 33 saves.... A pair of first period goals by Colin FitzRandolph sent Exeter on its way to a 5-0 win at Tabor today. Ryan Dooley kicked out 15 shots for the shutout.... Defensemen Marvin Degon and Ryan Lannon each notched a goal and an assist in Cushing's 3-0 home win over New Hampton.... Tim Graham had a pair of goals in St. Paul's 4-1 win over BB&N. Adam Dann and Bill LeClerc each had two assists in the game, which was played in the fair city of Cambridge, Mass.... Jamie Parker had a four-point day (3g,1a) in Trinity-Pawling's 6-1 road win over Loomis.... Steve Kelleher had two goals in Thayer's 3-2 home win over Governor Dummer.... A Darwin Hunt second period goal turned out to be the game-winner as Deerfield edged Holderness, 3-1 in a game played at Dartmouth College.... Lawrence Academy won its opener, a 2-1 decision over visiting Kimball Union. John Czaplinski had 29 saves for KUA; Adam Geragosian kicked out 18 for Lawrence.... Westminster got goals from four different scorers in a 4-2 win over NMH.... St. Sebastian's also got goals from four different scorers in its 4-2 win at Milton.... Ben MacManama and Craig MacDonald scored first-period goals in Nobles' 2-1 home win over Belmont Hill.... Brian Lane had a three-point afternoon (2g,1a) as Salisbury rolled in a 5-0 road win over Div. II Brunswick, who were outshot 60-8.... Click on This Week's Scores for more info.

Uh, haven't we been here before? In Avon Old Farms' last game, a Chris Higgins OT goal gave the Winged Beavers a 3-2 win over Deerfield and the NEPSAC Div. I title. Today, in Avon's season opener against the Army JV at West Point, NY, Higgins scored a goal late in the third period to tie the game up at 2-2, then put a punctuation mark on the proceedings with -- what else? -- an OT game-winner. Timmy Warner kicked out 37 of 39 shots in the Avon net... Mike Zbriger scored a perfect hat trick and Gabe Winer posted a 17-save shutout as Gov. Dummer topped Rivers, 3-0.... Brad Shirley kicked out 26 of 27 shots to lead St. Paul's to a 2-1 road win over Andover. Bill LeClerc and Mike Hutchins scored the visitors' goals.... Michael Woodford had four points (3g,1a) and Mike Boudreau had a four-save shutout in Cushing's 10-0 dismantling of visiting Bridgton Academy.... Tom Simmons had two goals and Nathan Cook added two assists in Kimball Union's 5-0 home win over Williston-Northampton. John Czaplinski kicked out 15 shots for the shutout.... The New England Junior Coyotes edged Deerfield 5-4 in a true scrimmage as the Big Green skated six lines and a batch of D-men. Deerfield will likely be approaching Friday night's scrimmage with Applecore in similar fashion.... In another scrimmage, Jeff Natale scored two goals to help pace Westminster past Kent, 6-2... Brad Roberts kicked out 30 shots to lead Canterbury past Millbrook, 3-1... Tabor had two goals by Andy Nelson and one by Chuck Tomes in a 3-1 home win over Tilton. Robbie Cowen was in net for the Seawolves. Click on This Week's Scores for more info.

With the prep season swinging into full gear tomorrow and Saturday, we want to take this opportunity to remind coaches at Div. I prep programs to send in your box scores to the U.S. Hockey Report.

With college recruiters from every major Div. I and Div. III program in the country combing through these results every morning, it's extremely important to use this (absolutely free) forum to get the word out on your players. For their efforts, they deserve that much.

As for the practical aspects, anyone can e-mail the box scores in -- head coach, assistant coach, student manager, player, parent, sports editor of the school paper -- and we'll take it from there. The only thing we ask is that box scores get sent in win or lose. To send in only "winning" box scores is disrespectful toward opponents.

-- Please strive for accuracy in transcribing info from game sheets. That means double-checking the scoring, shots on goal and goaltenders, and spelling of players' names.

-- Please aim to get the box scores e-mailed in ASAP, as readers will be waiting up for them. The drop-dead deadline is midnight, and that's primarily for night games.

-- Please feel free to shoot us a quick e-mail with the game score, and then follow it up with the details later.

-- Any student who does this regularly (and with a good effort, of course) for his school is considered to be an intern by the USHR. We're proud that several former USHR student contributors have gone on to internships at various media outlets as well as college sports information departments.

-- If you have any questions please send an e-mail to the above address or call the offices here at (617) 497-1659. Ask to speak to Chris Warner.

-- For those doing this for the first time, here are a few sample box scores to look over.

Penguins don't dress up in purple and they can't fly. However, Michael Woodford, last winter's USHR Prep Player of the Year, can, and he's a big part of the reason Steve Jacobs' squad will once again be there on the final weekend. After winning two times in three years, Cushing has bowed out in the semis the last two years, both times to Deerfield -- and both times by one goal. Look for that to change this year.

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 (Harvard) 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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; CM transfer Chris Murray, ex-Syracuse Jr. Crunch Ryan Merritt, St.John's-Shrewsbury transfer 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 (Harvard) 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.

Note: The regular season weekly polls will begin on Dec. 11, two weeks from now.

Last Week's Scores	This Week's Scores

'99-00 Archives	Weekly Poll

	Holiday Tourney Scoreboard