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* * * HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT GUIDE * * *

Wed. 2/28/18

Quarterfinals Highlights

-- Nisbet, Mullahy Lead Dexter Past Milton

Brookline, Mass. -- Senior Jack Nisbet had two goals and junior goaltender Derek Mullahy kicked out 31 shots as #4 Dexter topped #5 Milton 4-1 in an Elite 8 quarterfinal here today.

With the win, Dexter advances, and will hit the road for a semifinal tilt at Salisbury on Saturday (3:00 pm).

Today's game was played at a brisk pace. Dexter came out hard, and Milton was a bit flat-footed in the first period. Dexter got on the scoreboard at the 9:35 mark when, on a delayed penalty call, Nisbet picked up a pass in his end and cut down the right side with speed, going wide and then cutting in and jamming a shot past Milton junior goaltender Erik Voloshin to make it 1-0. It would be the only goal of the period, though it could have been worse, as Voloshin had to come up with 2-3 big saves to keep Milton in the game.

Dexter had a 10-8 edge in shots in the period.

In the second period, the Mustangs began to find their legs, and had opportunities on the power play, but Mullahy came up with some great saves, flashing quick pads, and an equally quick blocker and glove.

But Dexter didn't slow down, making it 2-0 when senior D Jack Rathbone made one of the passes we've come to expect from him, a beauty zipping right up the middle onto the stick of Ian Murphy who drive to the net -- into the net, actually, puck and all -- at the 6:45 mark. 

Twenty-six seconds later, Murphy took a penalty, and Milton had some opportunities. Problem was, Mullahy was up for them all. Milton would have the edge in power play opportunities throughout the game, but Dexter played strong D, and what the shot-blockers or defensemen couldn't handle, Mullahy did. 

Milton's Voloshin made a couple terrific saves -- on Chase McInnis and Rathbone -- with about four minutes left in the period.

Later in the period, at 14:28, Dexter sophomore Ben Raymond, from sophomore defenseman John Fusco and junior center John Farinacci, made it 3-0. On Raymond's shot, a strong high wrister with a quick release from the right faceoff circle, Voloshin had little to no chance.

Shots in the second favored Dexter, 13-11.

The third was Milton's best period, but they couldn't get a puck past Mullahy until there was 5:50 left in the game, and that, on the power play, featured some tic-tac-toe passing by Milton's top line of Tiger Zhang, Tyler Campbell, and Quinton Fox. Zhang put it home to make it a 3-1 game.

Milton kept at it, but Nisbet's second goal of the night -- a rush down the right side, similar to his first, but finished off with a high wrister -- salted the game away for Dexter.

Milton had a 13-7 edge in shots in the third -- and there were others that were blocked. For the game, Milton outshot Dexter, 32-20.

"I think our team speed is what got us over the hump today," said Dexter head coach Dan Donato. "We tried to use that to beat their D wide. We came out ready to play and our PK was a huge factor. AJ Caprio was great blocking shots. That energized the players."

"I was impressed with Milton," Donato added. "They play with discipline. And I was impressed with the way our guys battled."

"Hats off to Dexter," said Milton head coach Paul Cannata. "They played hard, blocked shots, got sticks in there -- they earned a good win. They have some excellent players and they pushed the pace."

"It took us a while to find our game, but we had some good looks on the power play in the second. We could have tied it up then, but then they come down and instead of a 1-1 game, it's 2-1 and now we're chasing the game."

"Mullahy made 6-7-8 excellent saves," Cannata added. "From goal to forwards, they were deeper and better. But we had a great group this year. We went two months without losing a game. Any time you're in the Elite 8 you love your team."

Notes:

-- Before the opening faceoff, there was a ceremony for former Dexter star Ryan Donato. As the Donato family gathered at center ice, Ryan, wearing his Olympic jersey with the familiar #16, walked out in front of an adoring home crowd. A banner was unfurled at the far end, and Ryan dropped the puck for the ceremonial faceoff. News crews were there from local Boston TV stations to capture it.

-- When Dexter travels to Salisbury Saturday, it will mark their first-ever appearance there. And, of course, Salisbury is where Dan Donato earned his coaching spurs, leading a long parade of powerhouse teams. Asked about it, Donato said, "I have so many great memories. And I have a ton of respect for all the guys there. I'm looking forward to it."

-- In 11 of the 12 quarterfinal matchups today, the higher-seed won. The only exception was #5 Brunswick blanking  #4 Williston, 2-0.


***
Elite 8:

-- McGrath, Salisbury Blank Westy
-- Porter Stops 41; Rivers Beats Cushing
-- KUA, Dynan Slam the Door on Exeter

@ #1 Salisbury 3, #8 Westminster 0  -- PG goaltender Bryan McGrath posted a 23-save shutout and Brett Willits scored the game-winning goal just 15 seconds into the game to lead Salisbury past Westminster, 3-0. Noah Lee and Alex DiPaolo also scored for Salisbury, and Matt Holmes added two assists. Westminster senior Alex Gadowski (34/37) took the loss. Salisbury will host Dexter in a Saturday semifinal (3:00 pm).

#2 Rivers 4, #7 Cushing 1 -- Cushing tied the game up at 1-1 on a Patrick Borella goal 36 seconds into the third period. But Rivers responded, finishing the game with three unanswered goals -- from Tyler Capello, John Kantaros and, with an empty-netter, Billy Shea. Senior G Aidan Porter (41/42) earned the win; Cushing sophomore Joe Sharib (29/32) took the loss. Rivers will host KUA in a Saturday semifinal (4:30 pm).

#3 KUA 3, #6 Exeter 0 -- KUA senior G Sean Dynan had a 20-save shutout and Andranik Armstrong, Jordan Harris and Thomas Samuelsen (ENG) scored for KUA. Exeter sophomore G Ryan Welch (38/40) was the hard-luck loser. KUA travels to Rivers for a semifinal matchup Saturday.

#4 Dexter 4, #5 Milton 1 -- see above.

***

Large School:

-- Valiquette, Green Lead Hoggers
-- Seb's Davenport Wins it in OT
-- Carmichael, Dachille Keep it Going for Brunswick

#1 NMH 2, #8 Nobles 1 -- After Jerry Harding scored at 6:19 of the first to tie the game at 1-1, it took a goal from NMH senior Kyle Valiquette with 2:22 left in regulation for the Hoggers to pull this one out. NMH senior G Eric Green was excellent again, stopping 32 of 33 shots. Nobles senior Matt Lane (19/21) took the loss.
 
#2 St. Sebastian's 2, #7 Loomis 1 (OT) -- A James Davenport goal, from Liam Connors and Will Kiley at 1:04 of overtime, lifted the Arrows to a hard-fought 2-1 win here today. After a scoreless first period, Loomis junior Reilly Connors drew first blood, scoring midway through the period, Anthony Cipollone assisting. At 6:51 of the third, Seb's sophomore Liam Devlin, from defensemen Jayden Struble and James Davenport, tied it at 1-1 and set up overtime, where Davenport came through with the biggest goal of the season. Sophomore G Drew Commesso (24/25) earned the win; Loomis senior Patrick Pugliese (32/34) took a tough loss. Seb's will host Keller Division rival Thayer -- they just played each other five days ago -- on Saturday at 2:00 pm.

#3 Thayer 6, #6 Trinity-Pawling 0 -- No box score available.

#5 Brunswick 2, #4 Williston 0 -- The only goal that mattered today was Ryan Carmichael's second period tally, from Charles Shaffer and Jack Forrest. Schaffer added an ENG with five seconds left. This was a goalies' game, with Brunswick junior Dan Dachille (25/25) posting the shutout. Williston junior Greg Iverson (33/34) took the hard-luck loss. Brunswick will be at NMH for a Saturday semifinal matchup.


***
Small School:

-- Young, Shea, Fontaine Lead LA Attack
-- Gatcomb Notches Pair in Gunnery Win
-- Uhler, Sayles Come Through for Huskies

#1 Winchendon 5, #8 Vermont 2  -- No box score available.

#2 Gunnery 4, #7 Canterbury 2  -- Gunnery sophomore Mark D'agostino broke a 2-2 tie with what turned out to be the game-winning goal at 14:12 of the second period. Midway through the third, Gunnery's Marc Gatcomb salted it away with his second goal of the game. Senior Jericho Petkovich had a goal and an assist for Canterbury. Gunnery junior JP Mella (25/27) earned the win; Canterbury senior Anthony Cusano (31/35) took the loss. Gunnery will host Lawrence Academy Saturday (1:30 pm).

#3 Lawrence 6, #6 St. Mark's 2 -- Tyler Young (2g, 2a), Neil Shea (1g,3a) and Gunnar Fontaine (1g,2a) led LA's attack. Danny Ciccarello and Nolan Moore scored the St. Mark's goals. LA junior G Ian Graiff (16/18) got the win; St. Mark's senior G CJ McKennitt (39/45) took the loss. LA will travel to Gunnery for a Saturday semifinal.

#4 New Hampton 3, #5 Millbrook 0 -- Lukas Uhler (2g,1a)  figured in all three of New Hampton's goals, and Michael Kane (1g,1a) added two points. Junior G Matt Sayles (29/29) came through with the shutout. Millbrook junior G Cam Fernanadez (32/35) took the loss. New Hampton travels to Winchendon on Saturday (4:00 pm).


***
Saturday, March 3, 2018 -- Semifinals Schedule

Elite 8:
1/8 vs. 4/5 -- Dexter @ Salisbury, 3:00 pm
2/7 vs. 3/6 -- KUA @ Rivers, 4:30 pm

Large School:
1/8 vs. 4/5 --  Brunswick @ NMH, 1:00 pm
2/7 vs. 3/6 -- Thayer @ St. Sebastian's, 2:00 pm 1:00 pm

Small School:
1/8 vs. 4/5 -- New Hampton @ Winchendon, 4:00 pm
2/7 vs. 3/6 -- Lawrence @ Gunnery, 1:30 pm

Wed. 2/28/18-- Saturday's and Sunday's game times below.

Today's Quarterfinals Scoreboard

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Elite 8:
#1 Salisbury 3, #8 Westminster 0 
#2 Rivers 4, #7 Cushing 1
#3 KUA 3, #6 Exeter 0  
#4 Dexter 4, #5 Milton 1 

Large School:
#1 NMH 2, #8 Nobles 1   
#2 St. Sebastian's 2, #7 Loomis 1 (OT)
#3 Thayer 6, #6 Trinity-Pawling 0
#5 Brunswick 2, #4 Williston 0

Small School:
#1 Winchendon 5, #8 Vermont 2   
#2 Gunnery 4, #7 Canterbury 2   
#3 Lawrence 6, #6 St. Mark's 2    
#4 New Hampton 3, #5 Millbrook 0    

Saturday, March 3, 2018 -- Semifinals

Elite 8:
1/8 vs. 4/5 -- Dexter @ Salisbury, 3:00 pm
2/7 vs. 3/6 -- KUA @ Rivers, 4:30 pm

Large School:
1/8 vs. 4/5 --  Brunswick @ NMH, 1:00 pm
2/7 vs. 3/6 -- Thayer @ St. Sebastian's, 2:00 pm 1:00 pm

Small School:
1/8 vs. 4/5 -- New Hampton @ Winchendon, 4:00 pm
2/7 vs. 3/6 -- Lawrence @ Gunnery, 1:30 pm

Sunday, March 4, 2018 -- Championships
At Sullivan Arena
Saint Anselm College
Manchester, NH 03102
All games will be livestreamed at www.nepsac.tv
Small School Championship Game: 12:00 pm 
Large School Championship Game: 2:30 pm
Elite 8 Championship Game: 5:00 pm

Mon. 2/26/18

All-NEPSAC Team

As voted on by the league coaches:

WEST

Forwards:
Christian LeSueur -- Sr. -- Brunswick
Albert Washco -- Sr. -- Gunnery
Brett Willits -- Sr. -- Salisbury
Matt Holmes -- Sr. -- Salisbury
Briggs Gammill -- Soph. -- Berkshire
Jericho Petkovich -- Sr. -- Canterbury

Defensemen:
Nick Hale -- Sr. -- Salisbury
Andrew Lucas -- Sr. -- Loomis
Peter Diliberatore -- Sr. -- Salisbury
Patrick Dawson -- Sr. -- Westminster

Goaltenders:
Evan Ruschil -- Jr. -- Trinity-Pawling
Thomas Gale -- Jr. -- Deerfield

EAST

Forwards:
Jay O'Brien -- Sr. -- Thayer
John Farinacci -- Jr. -- Dexter
Matt Fawcett -- Sr. -- Winchendon
Neil Shea -- Sr. -- Lawrence
Andranik Armstrong -- Sr. -- KUA
Teddy Wooding -- Sr. -- Rivers
Aiden McDonough -- Sr. -- Thayer

Defensemen:
Jack Rathbone -- Sr. -- Dexter
Jordan Harris -- Sr. -- KUA
Nolan McElhaney -- Sr. -- Cushing
Jayson Dobay -- Sr. -- Thayer

Goaltenders:
Aidan Porter -- Sr. -- Rivers
Eric Green -- Sr. -- NMH

Sat. 2/24/18 -- Updated Monday 2/26

Quarterfinal Matchups

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Elite 8:
#8 Westminster @ #1 Salisbury, 3:30 pm
#7 Cushing @ #2 Rivers, 4:30 pm
#6 Exeter @ #3 KUA, 5:45 pm
#5 Milton @ #4 Dexter, 4:00 pm

Large School:
#8 Nobles @ #1 NMH, 3:00 pm -- at Amherst College
#7 Loomis @ #2 St. Sebastian's, 4:30 pm
#6 Trinity-Pawling @ #3 Thayer, 4:00 pm -- at Pomfret School
#5 Brunswick @ #4 Williston, 3:45 pm

Small School:
#8 Vermont @ #1 Winchendon, 4:00 pm
#7 Canterbury @ #2 Gunnery, 2:00 pm
#6 St. Mark's @ #3 Lawrence, 4:30 pm
#5 Millbrook @ #4 New Hampton, 4:30 pm -- at Holy Cross

Saturday, March 3, 2018 -- Semifinals

Elite 8:
1/8 vs. 4/5
2/7 vs. 3/6

Large School:
1/8 vs. 4/5
2/7 vs. 3/6

Small School:
1/8 vs. 4/5
2/7 vs. 3/6

Sunday, March 4, 2018 -- Championships
At Sullivan Arena
Saint Anselm College
Manchester, NH 03102
Small School Championship Game: 12:00 pm
Large School Championship Game: 2:30 pm
Elite 8 Championship Game: 5:00 pm


***

Note: Canterbury's appeal has been approved.  

The Issue: NEPSAC rules say that a team with a losing record may play in the tournament provided they have a winning record vs. other small schools. Canterbury, though, has a losing record vs. other small schools. Their argument revolved primarily around two points. 1) That, according to head coach Paddy McCarthy, there is an "unintentional geographic bias" as Canterbury, which is in New Milford, Conn., not far from the New York border, is a long haul from the bulk of small schools, which are numerous across Maine, NH, and Vermont. Also, Canterbury, which was a Div. I team before the 2009 dissolution of Div. II boys' hockey, has retained numerous traditional opponents from its old Div. I days and continues to play in the Lawrenceville and Cushing Tournaments. 2) The RPI, which McCarthy agreed does a great job comparing teams who don't play each other, makes the .500 rule vs. small schools "arbitrary."

Sat. 2/24/18

Sat. Feb. 24th Highlights

* SPS KO's NMH
* Worcester Wins Holt Championship
* T-P, on Musa Goal, Wins Empire Cup 
* Brunswick Edges Albany in a Wild One
* Andover Beats Exeter in OT

@ Gunnery 2, Berkshire 1 -- Berkshire, on a Briggs Gammill goal, led 1-0 after two periods, but host Gunnery came back with two third-period goals, with Zach Pellegrino scoring early and Albert Washco scoring the GWG on a power play midway through the third. JP Mella (14/15) picked up the win; Thomas Draper (32/34) took the loss.

Lawrence 2 @ Tabor 1 -- Senior D Jake Miller scored late in the third period to lift the Spartans to victory. Lawrence junior G Ian Graiff (28/29) was the winner. Junior Kyle Myer (32/34) had a strong game for the Seawolves.

@ Brunswick 7, Albany Academy 6 -- A crazy one here in the consolation game of the Empire Cup tournament. With the two teams tied 3-3 after two, Brunswick scored twice in the first minute of the third to take a 5-3 lead. But Albany scored three of the next four goals, the last coming off the stick of Joseph Pasquini -- his fourth goal of the game -- with 12 seconds left. Any reasonable person would expect OT at this point, but... seven seconds later, Christian LeSueur scored, from Jack Forrest and Charles Shaffer to give Brunswick the 7-6 win. For the winners, Forrest (1g,3a) and Shaffer (4a) led the attack. Defenseman Cooper Moore had a pair of goals, as did junior F Tom Richter. As we mentioned, Albany senior Pasquini, who has been a Cadet for five seasons, had four goals -- one in the first, one in the second, and two in the third.

@ Kents Hill 4, Hebron 3 (OT) -- Visiting Hebron scored three in the first period, but Kents Hill broke through in the third period with three of its own. Kents Hill PG Joey O'Leary scored the winning goal at 4:48 of overtime. Jaxon Friedman (30/33) got the win for Kents Hill, while Justus Kujala (45/49) was the hard-luck loser. Jay Gallagher (2g,1a) was Kents Hill's leading scorer.

@ Andover 5, Exeter 4 (OT) -- Exeter scored in the first, Andover answered with one in the second, then each teams exploded for three in the third -- all six goals coming in the first eight minutes -- to send the game to OT, where Kevin Ouellette, from Christian Powers, scored at the 1:46 mark, giving Andover and Exeter a split of the season series, with each team winning on its home ice. Andover sophomore G Charlie Archer (38/42) picked up a well-deserved win. Exeter senior Will Douthit (18/23) took the loss. Exeter, however, finishes the regular season 24-5-2 and moves on to the Elite 8.

Taft 2 @ Hotchkiss 2 -- Hotchkiss got first period goals from D Nick Traggio and F Michael Gillis, then, after a scoreless second period, Taft came back with two of its own, from D Billy Dobensky and F Shea Courtmanche. Sophomore Henry Wilder (18/20) was in net for Hotchkiss; senior Caleb Hannon (23/28) for the Rhinos.

Brooks 2 @ BB&N 2 -- A goal from sophomore Will Taft at 6:59 of the third lifted host BB&N to the tie.

Salisbury 9 @ Canterbury 0 -- Alex DiPaolo (1g,5a) had a six-point day and Nick Capone notched a hat trick. Salisbury outshot Canterbury, 48-19. Bryan McGrath (17/17) and Declan Colberg (2/2) shared the shutout. 

Choate 3 @ Kent 1 -- Junior Chris Guyette scored a goal in the first and another early in the second to give the Wild Boars a 2-0 lead. Kent's Patrick Goggin scored to cut Choate's lead to one, but Brent Valentine added an insurance goal late in the third. Choate senior Cal Stewart (27/28) picked up the win.

Nobles 3 @ Milton 3 -- Quinton Fox (2g,1a), Tyler Campbell (2a), and Tiger Zhang (1g) led the Mustangs attack. Jack Cronin (2g) and Will Zink (1g,1a) led Nobles. Milton junior Erik Voloshin (36/39) and Nobles senior Matt Lane (31/34) had to settle for the tie. Milton finishes its season 18-3-2 and moves on to the Elite 8.

St. Paul's 3 @ NMH 2 -- Senior Kyle Kazeroid scored NMH's first and last goals, but in between St. Paul's scored three straight, two from junior Eric Sinson and then, at 1:47 of the third, an unassisted goal from senior D Jordan Michaud, which turned out to be the game-winner. Junior Andy Beran (45/47) came up big for SPS, while Hoggers senior Eric Green (34/37) took the loss. The loss was the second in a row for NMH and knocked them out of the Elite 8. SPS finished the season as a dragon killer, winning four of its last six -- including wins over Cushing, Lawrence and, today, NMH -- to finish a game below .500 at 10-11-3.

Trinity-Pawling 5, Millbrook 4 -- A Joey Musa goal at 16:03 of the third period broke a 4-4 tie and lifted Trinity-Pawling to the Empire Cup Championship. This was a see-saw game, with T-P scoring two in the first, and Millbrook answering with two in the second. In the third, the two teams swapped goals back and forth until Musa, 17 seconds after Millbrook tied it, came through for the Pride. AJ Bella (2g), Jackson Breton (1g,1a), Musa (1g,1a), Gabe Blanchard (2a) and John Garvey (2a) each had two assists for T-P. Millbrook got goals from four different scorers.

Loomis 4 @ Avon 2 -- Loomis senior Mark Amatetti broke a 2-2 tie at 12:07 of the third, and Connor Leighton added an insurance goal 47 seconds later. It was Leighton's second goal of the night. Patrick Pugliese (27/29) got the win; Alex Aslanidis (23/27) took the loss.

@ Worcester Academy 7, Pingree 2 -- Behind the offense of Mitchell Pelletier (2g,3a), Jake Hughes (2g,2a), and Rory White (1g,2a) Worcester Academy cruised to the Holt Division championship. Worcester goaltender Nathan Pickett (22/24) got the win.

@ Cushing 6, Governor's 0  -- Senior center Matt Guerra (2g,2a) led the attack and goaltenders Max Caouette (13/13) and Pat Aalto (3/3) shared the shutout. Governor's G Drake Wheeldem (46/52) took the loss.

Sat. 2/24/18

It All Comes Down to This
The last day of the regular season is upon us; here's where things stand.

Elite 8 spots 1-6 are locked in, and in that order to boot. That leaves us with the #7 and #8 spots, currently occupied by NMH and Cushing. These spots are not locked in, but the other Elite 8 TICs (Teams in Contention) will require help from the other TUCs (Teams Under Consideration) for a changing of the 7/8 spot guard to occur.

Who are the TICs? In order of most likely to least likely to make the Elite 8: NMH, Cushing, St. Sebastian's, Westminster, and Thayer.

NMH is the only team that controls its own destiny. A win over St. Paul's today secures its spot in the Elite 8, specifically the #7 spot. Cushing, on the other hand, must beat Gov's and hope that no shift in the bottom of the top 16 occurs. They especially do not want to see Williston fall to Pomfret -- that could be disastrous for their Elite 8 hopes.

St. Seb's and Thayer would love to see Pomfret take down Williston as that, combined with a Trinity-Pawling win over Millbrook, would evict Williston from the top 16 and launch either St. Seb's (likely) or Thayer (needs yet more help) into the final spot of the Elite 8.

Westy needs a different scenario to take place: a Northfield loss to St. Paul's (a tie likely will not suffice) along with no detrimental shakeups to their cause at the bottom of top 16 (e.g., Brunswick and/or Lawrence getting bounced from the top 16).

There's a lot of hockey left to play, we could see swapping of the #7 and #8 spots throughout the day (i.e. as results come in). Track the USHR Scoreboard, RPI, JSPR, and Playoff Seedings pages to see how things play out in real-time. Enjoy the final day!

Notes:

-- Canterbury is out of the small school tournament, as they are below .500, which is OK with NEPSAC, but they also have a losing record vs. small schools, which is not OK with NEPSAC. They could make a formal appeal to NEPSAC, but we haven't heard anything yet about that happening.

-- There's plenty of potential for movement in the final spot(s) of the large and small school tournaments, as their seedings are based on who doesn't make the Elite 8. Current large school outsiders Nobles, Loomis, Worcester, Andover, and Tabor all have a shot, as do Proctor, Groton, Kents Hill, and Tilton in the small school tournament.

Sat. 2/24/18

This is It, Final Saturday

Hebron @ Kents Hill, 1:00 pm
Groton @ St. Mark's, 2:00 pm 4:00 pm
Wyoming Seminary @ Brewster Academy, 2:00 pm
Williston-Northampton @ Pomfret, 2:15 pm
Berkshire @ Gunnery, 2:30 pm
Salisbury @ Canterbury, 2:45 pm
Lawrence Academy @ Tabor, 3:00 pm
Brooks @ BB&N, 4:00 pm
Exeter @ Andover, 4:00 pm
Noble & Greenough @ Milton, 4:00 pm
Westminster @ Deerfield, 4:00 pm
Middlesex @ St. George's, 4:00 pm
Choate @ Kent, 4:30 pm
Taft @ Hotchkiss, 4:30 pm
St. Paul's @ Northfield - Mt. Hermon, 5:00 pm
Governor's @ Cushing, 6:00 pm
Loomis-Chaffee @ Avon Old Farms, 7:30 pm 7:00 pm

Empire Cup (Day 2 of 2)
Today's games will be played at the Brunswick School
Consolation: Albany Academy vs. Brunswick, 3:30 pm
Championship: Millbrook vs. Trinity-Pawling, 6:00 pm

Lakes Region Tournament (Day 2 of 2)
#6 Tilton @ #5 Proctor, 3:45 pm -- cancelled
Consolation: #4 Holderness @ #2 New Hampton, Time TBA -- cancelled
Championship: #3 Vermont Academy @ #1 Kimball Union, 4:30 pm

Holt Tournament (Day 2 of 2) 
Consolation: #4 Hoosac  @ #3 NYA, Time TBA -- cancelled
Championship: #2 Pingree @ #1 Worcester Academy, Time TBA

Fri. 2/23/18

Cushing Too Much for St. Mark's

Groton, Mass. -- In a game with Elite 8 playoff implications, Cushing, trailing 3-2 after the first period, roared back in the second with three straight goals en route to a 7-4 win here today.

The game was moved to Groton because the St. Mark's ice couldn't stand up to the warm spell on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Senior wing Vilho Saariluoma had three goals -- one an empty-netter -- and an assist, and senior D Nolan McElhaney had a goal and three assists to lead the Penguins' scorers. Sophomore goaltender Max Caouette, substituting for Joey Sharib, who suffered a concussion in Wednesday's game against New Hampton, was shaky in the first period, but settled in nicely after that, stopping 21 of 25 shots.

Senior Justin Biela (2g,1a) and junior Matt Toporowski (1g,1a) led the St. Mark's scorers. Senior goaltender CJ McKennitt (33/39) took the loss.

In the first period, there was no scoring for the first 13 minutes, then five goals were rolled out of the barrel over the next five minutes. Biela, on a pass from Toporowski off the draw, fired a high wrister from the top of the right faceoff circle that beat Caouette to make it 1-0 St. Mark's.

Cushing came back with a pair, as Vilho Saariluoma, off a nice cross-slot pass from Matt Guerra, tied it at 1-1 on the power play.

Cushing went ahead 2-1 on another power play goal, with a Cam Berube shot from the right faceoff circle apparently redirected by Saariluoma.

But St. Mark's came back with two goals in the final minute, as Toporowski and Biela teamed up again, picking the puck off the stick of Cushing D Pat Keegan, and firing it past Caouette to make it 2-2.

Just 28 seconds later, Justin Biela tapped home a puck which was just sitting in the crease to give St. Mark's a 3-2 lead after one.

That final minute looked like it could haunt Cushing when the two teams skated off for the first intermission.

But in the second period, Cushing came out hard, blitzing St. Mark's early for three goals in under three minutes, with Cam Recchi, Jake Hewitt, and Connor Wood all finding the back of the net. That was all the scoring in the second. After those quick goals St. Mark's settled the game back down, but, no matter how hard they worked, and no matter how much skill they have, they are still a very young team, physically underdeveloped, and lacking the depth -- a fourth line, and a third D pairing -- that the Penguins possess. St. Mark's never stopped working, but they were also wearing down, losing the battle of attrition.

In the third, Cushing senior D Nolan McElhaney scored a rebound goal, but, roughly a minute later, St. Mark's freshman Jackson Couto answered with a rebound of a shot from sophomore Danny Ciccarello to cut Cushing's lead to 6-4. That was as close as the Lions would get. With 27 seconds left Vilho Saariluoma added an an empty-netter.

"I don't think we were playing an honest game in the first," said Cushing head coach Steve Jacobs. "We were cheating a bit. In the second we came out more dialed in. We played the right way. We forechecked aggresively. We were on the right side of the puck. We made some nice plays for goals. I also thought we rallied around our goalie. He's worked really hard all year."

St. Mark's head coach Carl Corazzini said, "This game was like our game with Dexter. We can hang in there for a while because we have some talent, but we are young, with not enough depth. I really can't say enough about this group. I'm proud of them because they work, compete, and make it fun to come to the rink every day."

"Cushing moves the puck fast, and they hem you in. That first line of their's is really tough to handle."

"Of our guys, I though Toporowski was unbelievable tonight," Corazzini added. We should note that Jacobs also singled out the junior from Kirkland, Quebec for praise. There wasn't a shift in which he wasn't noticeable.

St. Mark's finishes up the regular season by hosting Groton on Saturday, while Cushing hosts Governor's Academy, who will come in feeling good, as today they won their first game of the season, topping Berwick, 4-2.

Fri. 2/23/18

Elite 8 Update

These are today's key games:

Thayer @ St. Sebastian's, 4:30 pm -- last game of year for both teams
Cushing @ St. Mark's (being played at Groton, 5:15 pm) -- Cushing also has a game Saturday, vs. Gov's.

But there's a wild card in all this. The #16 team among TUCs is New Hampton, which is playing in the Lakes Region Tournament. They will host Vermont Academy today and, depending on whether they win or lose, either Holderness or KUA tomorrow.

If New Hampton drops out of the Top 16, there would be some reshuffling, and a lot of teams in the top 16 will lose wins over New Hampton, so that's the main thing to watch for, in addition to the two above games.

That's the short version. More tomorrow.

Wed. 2/21/18

Wed. Feb. 21 Highlights

* A Rarity in Milton's 4-3 Win Over Thayer

Canton, Mass. -- Milton pulled off something we've never seen before, as its top line of Quinton Fox, Tyler Campbell, and Tiger Zhang scored on the first shift of each period, helping the Mustangs to a 4-3 road win over Thayer, halting the Tigers' nine-game win streak, putting a damper on senior night, and avenging last Friday's home loss to Thayer.

Milton, which had seen Thayer come into their building last Friday, come back from a two-goal third-period deficit and put an end to the Mustangs' 14-game unbeaten streak, made a quick opening statement, scoring 10 seconds into the game when Tyler Campbell came down the left side and, from the faceoff circle, fired a shot that beat Thayer sophomore goalie Gavin Fitzpatrick high to the far corner, quickly silencing the home crowd.

Thayer, though, came back midway through the period to tie it at 1-1 when Evan Googins made a nice pass to Reilly Moran, who threw it on net. The puck deflected off the body of Milton goalie Erik Voloshin, and found a space between the pipe and goalie to make it 1-1.

At the start of the second period, Milton needed all of 22 seconds to regain the lead as they broke into the Thayer zone, with Zhang taking a pass from Campbell and beating Fitzpatrick high glove side.

Again, Thayer came back to tie it as Jay O'Brien, on the power play, took advantage of Milton's inability to clear the zone and beat Voloshin high at 9:31 to tie the game at 2-2, with assists going to Tristan Amonte and Jason Dobay.

Milton freshman Bobby Beniers, on the power play, took a nice pass from senior Max Cantor and scored what would turn out to be the game-winner with 5:43 left in the second period, giving Milton a 3-2 lead to take to the dressing room.

At the start of the third, Campbell needed all of 18 seconds to complete a nice tic-tac-toe passing sequence with Fox to put the Mustangs up 4-2.

Thayer had chances, as Dobay hit a a post, one of many Thayer would hit, shortly after.

Midway through the period, Thayer's O'Brien, ever-dangerous, took himself out of the game for a couple of minutes with an ill-advised offensive zone penalty for slashing. 

Finally, Thayer junior defenseman Jack Murphy, from O'Brien, wristed a shot from the right point that found its way through a crowd, beating Voloshin to make it a 4-3 game with 5:56 left.

The final five minutes of a tense game were made even more so when Milton was called for back-to-back minors, for interference (a dubious call) and hooking. Thayer poured it on, hitting a post or two in the process, but couldn't tie it up, though McDonough came close, hitting another post.

Milton coach head coach Paul Cannata, asked about the three first-shift goals, said, "They weren't designed per se, it was just good players doing good things. Our guys had some jump today, they were more on point than the last game (against Thayer). We had some puck luck, too."

Thayer head coach Tony Amonte said, "We feel like we handed it away with those three first-shift goals. We weren't sharp. No excuses, though. Give them credit. They won the Keller Division."

Asked about the hit posts, Amonte said, "I think we hit five posts. (Aidan) McDonough must have hit three of them hard. Usually, you can get in for the rebound."

"This time of year is tough. I think we can regroup by Friday and see where we're at. Seb's is always though in their building. That game is historically difficult for us."

Notes:

-- This game doesn't appear to have budged Thayer from the final slot in the Elite 8, but it likely makes Friday's regular season finale at St. Sebastian's a crucial game.

-- Milton, still hoping to move up a notch and gain home ice for the playoffs, finishes up by hosting Nobles on Saturday.

***

* Andover Tops NMH, 5-4
* Washco, Mella, Sansbury Lead Gunnery Past Westy
* Exeter Ties Up Winchendon, 2-2, With Three Seconds Left
* Guerra Goal Gives Cushing Crucial Win
* Duffy Natural Hat Trick Leads RL

Millbrook 3 @ Berkshire 1 -- Dan Dimon, from Jake Gagnon, broke a 1-1 tie midway through the third. Dimon also added an ENG in the final minute. Cam Fernandez (29/30) earned the win; Thomas Draper (25/27) took the loss.

@ Avon Old Farms 6, Canterbury 4 -- Entering the third period down 3-1 in their own barn, the Winged Beavers took flight with five third period goals, each from a different scorer. Freshman Jason Siedem (1g,2a) scored the game-winner at the 12:43 mark.

@ Andover 5, NMH 4 -- Less than a minute after NMH had tied it up at 3-3, Andover's Kevin Ouellette scored the GWG. NMH senior Kyle Kazeroid had a hat trick. The only other time NMH goalie Eric Green (26/31) allowed more than three goals in a game this season came back on Dec 1, a 5-1 loss to Westminster. Sophomore Charlie Archer (30/34) picked up the win, which allowed Andover to reach .500 at 12-12-1.

Gunnery 3 @ Westminster 1 -- An Albert Washco SHG at 6:42 of the third period turned out to be the game-winner. Hunter Sansbury had two goals for Gunnery, one of which was shorthanded. JP Mella (27/28) earned the win; Ian Shane (21/24) took the loss.

Salisbury 5 @ Hotchkiss 1 -- Ilya Usau and Kevin Wall both had two goals and Matt DeBoer had two assists to lead the Knights' attack. Bryan McGrath (16/16) played the first two periods in net for Salisbury. Jared Levine (8/9) took over for the third.

Loomis 4 @ Choate 2 -- Trent DeNuccio (2g,1a) and Alex Krause (1g,2a) led the Pelicans' scorers. With the win, Loomis moves a game above .500 at 11-10-3.

Trinity-Pawling 5 @ Taft 2 -- Taft held a 2-1 lead after one, but couldn't hold it as T-P answered with five straight goals, with Stephen Willley (2g), Joey Musa (1g,1a), and Phip Waugh (2a) each earning multiple points. T-P improves to 11-7-5.

Vermont Academy 5 @ Tilton 1 -- John Kondub (2g,2a) figured in four of VA's five goals, and Dylan Regan (34/35) earned the win in net.

Groton 7 @ Middlesex 1 -- Middlesex goalie Joe Stanizzi (24/31) had a rare bad outing and Groton took advantage. Jonah Gold and Dan Herdiech each had two goals and Marc Borghi had three assists for the Zebras.

@ Hoosac 4, Worcester Academy 3 (OT) -- Noah Dontigny completed his hat trick with a PPG at 3:05 of overtime.

St. Mark's 6 @ St. George's 2 -- Jackson Coutu had two goals and Danny Ciccarello (1g,2a) and Nolan Moore (1g,2a) each had three points to lead the Lions. CJ McKennitt (36/38) earned the win.

Holderness 4 @ Berwick 3 -- Alex Gagnon (2g,1a) led the Bulls' attack; Keenan Alnahas (34/37) earned the win in net.

Exeter 2 @ Winchendon 2 -- Exeter D Cam Speck lifted Exeter to the tie with the goalie pulled and three seconds left on the clock. Twelve penalites were called in this game, including a couple of majors and a misconduct. Winchendon is figting to get into the Elite 8, while Exeter is already there, but fighting for position.

Williston 4 @ Albany Academy 3 -- A third period goal from Logan Geisness broke a 3-3 tie. Earlier, Williston had gone ahead 3-0, but Williston tied it up ith three goals of their own.

Pomfret 5 @ Kents Hill 4 (OT) -- In a neutral-site game played at Exeter, Pomfret, which held a 3-1 lead after two, needed an OT goal from Alex Rondeau to win it.

Rivers 4 @ Brooks 0 -- Rivers got goals from four different scorers. Aidan Porter (9/9) got the shutout; Spencer Pierce (47/52) saw a ton of rubber in the Brooks net. This ends the regular season for Rivers, and it wasn't a bad one either: 26-1-2.

@ Nobles 4, Governor's 2 -- Nobles saw its 3-0 lead whittled to 3-2 by the end of the second, but a Jack Cronin third period goal salted it away for the Bulldogs. With the win, Nobles improves to a game over .500 at 13-12-1. Governor's falls to 0-21-4. Gov's has two games left in which to avoid a season without a win: vs. Berwick (Fri.) and @ Cushing (Sat.)

@ Tabor 7, Belmont Hill 4 -- Eric Pedro had three goals and an assist to lead the Tabor attack. With the win, Tabor improves to .500 at 11-11-3.

@ St. Sebastian's 7, Lawrence 2 -- LA held a 3-2 lead halfway through the second period, but St. Seb's scored five unanswered goals to put this one in the win column. Will Kiley (1g,2a), Riley Hughes (1g,2a), and Liam Devlin (2g) lead the attack. Drew Commesso (32/35) earned the win.

@ Cushing 3, New Hampton 2 -- In a penalty-filled game (15 total), a Matt Guerra goal at 11:43 of the third period broke a 2-2 tie and gave Cushing an all-important win. Michael Outzen had a goal and two assists for the Penguins.

@ Deerfield 3, Kent 0 -- Deerfield got goals from three different scorers and Tyler McDermott (24/24) posted the shutout. Blaine Moore (27/30) took the loss.

Roxbury Latin 3 @ BB&N 2 -- Jimmy Duffy (3g,1a) had a natural hat trick and Jack Luca (2g,3a) figured in all but one of the Foxes goals. Joey Ryan had three assists.

Missing game:
NYA @ Pingree

Wed. 2/21/18

Today's Big Games

Milton @ Thayer (4:00 pm) is huge, as a win seals Thayer's slot in the Elite 8. A loss could evict them from contention, but that's not ironclad, as the Tigers have a very good record vs. Teams Under Consideration.

Exeter @ Winchendon (4:00 pm) is another big game. If Winchendon wins, they might be able to sneak into the Elite 8, but they'd need help from other teams.

We see the #8 spot potentially shifting, with Cushing (at home vs. New Hampton, 4:45 pm) having the best shot among the outsiders. This could be the most important game today, as a New Hampton loss would knock the Huskies out of the Top 16 in RPI, which in turn would change things for a number of teams as a new set of comparisons would enter the picture.

Saying that, there's always the wild card, and that's the last spot in the top 16 by RPI. If, for example, Cushing beats New Hampton, and the latter drops out of the top 16, Berkshire or Williston could takes its place. In turn, that would cause a major shakeup in the bottom of the Elite 8, since JSPR comparisons will be influenced by the new #16 team.

There may be other permutations -- there always are -- but the ones above are the most clear-cut. We'll have more on the race tomorrow.

Tues. 2/20/18

Down the Stretch They Come

With just three game days remaining in the 2017-18 prep hockey season we thought it would be a good time to fill our readers in on the state of affairs in the various playoff races, and why the current playoff seedings are the way they are.

If you're new to USHR then you may have encountered an unfamiliar term under the "Playoffs" dropdown menu: JSPR. What is this, and why on earth is Thayer, a team with a significantly weaker RPI than, for example, Cushing, currently slotted in the final spot of the Elite 8?

To begin, the JSPR algorithm was developed here at USHR in partnership with NEPSIHA in order to statistically determine the strongest teams in prep hockey. It was created when the Div. II designation was eliminated and, in one fell swoop, all NEPSIHA teams became Div. I with the start of the 2009-10 season. 

For the in-depth canonical JSPR breakdown article, see JSPR Explained

JSPR builds on the traditional rating system (RPI) by taking the top 16 teams by RPI (excluding prep affilliate teams) and applying the following criteria:

1) Head-to-head result(s)

2) RPI comparison

3) Record against common opponents

4) Record against Teams Under Consideration (TUCs), i.e., the 16 top teams as measured by RPI, which also become the 16 JSPR teams. TUCs is another term for JSPR. 

A JSPR point is granted if a team beats its opponent in the above comparisons (tie-breaker goes to the winner of head-to-head results, followed by RPI).

In a nutshell, that's it, Elite 8 is selected based on number of JSPR points. Now, why is Thayer in the #8 spot and not Cushing? Let's take a look:

Cushing beats Thayer in the common opponents comparison, as well as in RPI, so we have at least a tie in Cushing's favor; things are looking good for the Penguins!

Thayer, on the other hand, beats Cushing in the TUCs comparison (i.e., they tend to step it up a notch against the best competition). Let's take a look at the head-to-head comparison. On January 17th, Thayer edged Cushing, 4-3, so it's a JSPR comparison tie.

According to the tie-breaker rules, it's head-to-head results first, and then RPI. Cruel world: Thayer takes the JSPR point; Cushing's on the outside looking in.

As for the Martin/Earl (Large School) and Piatelli/Simmons (Small School) tournaments, they fall out naturally once the Elite 8 teams have been determined -- just take eight teams from each of the small and large school pools, ordered by RPI from strongest to weakest.

A lot can happen between now and the end of the regular season. We'll fill you in as we get closer to the finish line. Down the stretch they come...

Mon. 2/19/18

Salisbury #1 in Season's Final Weekly Poll

Well, this is it. The team that was #1 in the first poll is also #1 in the final poll. It's been a surprisingly stable season, with a group of eight teams in the poll week after week, with the last couple of spots a bit of a revolving door. Even in this final poll, there is a team making its first appearance.

We've included tonight's game results in our figuring.

Now, we'll see what happens on Saturday night when the regular season comes to a close.

We've had fun with the poll this season, particularly in trying to explain why teams are going well -- or not -- and digging deeper into the numbers to see what sort of nuggets are hiding within. We hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have.

See you in December!


USHR Prep Poll, Week of Feb. 19, 2018

Sun. 2/18/18-- Last updated: Friday afternoon Feb. 23

Prep Composite Schedule, Week of Feb. 19, 2018

Mon. Feb. 19, 2018
St. John's Prep @ Danvers, 11:30 am
Central Catholic @ Westford Academy, 1:00 pm
Belmont Hill @ St. Sebastian's, 2:00 pm
Portsmouth Abbey @ Worcester Academy, 4:00 pm
St. George's @ Tabor, 5:00 pm
Proctor @ Holderness, 5:00 pm
Brewster Academy @ Andover, 5:00 pm
Kent @ Hotchkiss, 5:30 pm
St. Paul's @ Lawrence Academy, 6:00 pm
New Hampton @ Dexter, 6:00 pm
Roxbury Latin @ Middlesex, 6:00 pm

Buddy Ferreira Classic
At Falmouth Ice Arena, Falmouth, Mass.
Hingham vs. Duxbury, 1:00 pm
Arlington Catholic vs. Archbishop Williams, 3:00 pm
BC High vs. Austin Prep, 5:00 pm
Reading vs. Falmouth, 7:00 pm

Wed. Feb. 21, 2018
Millbrook @ Berkshire, 2:30 pm
Salisbury @ Hotchkiss, 2:30 pm
Northfield - Mt. Hermon @ Andover, 2:30 pm
Canterbury @ Avon Old Farms, 2:30 pm
Groton @ Middlesex, 2:30 pm 3:00 pm
Gunnery @ Westminster, 2:30 pm
Trinity-Pawling @ Taft, 2:30 pm
Loomis-Chaffee @ Choate, 3:00 pm
Belmont Hill @ Tabor, 3:30 pm
Vermont Academy @ Tilton, 3:30 pm
Williston-Northampton @ Albany Academy, 4:00 pm
Rivers @ Brooks, 4:00 pm
Lawrence Academy @ St. Sebastian's, 4:00 pm
St. Mark's @ St. George's, 4:00 pm
Exeter @ Winchendon, 4:00 pm
Milton @ Thayer, 4:00 pm
Worcester Academy @ Hoosac, 4:00 pm
Pomfret @ Kents Hill, 4:15 pm -- at Exeter
Roxbury Latin @ BB&N, 4:30 pm  5:30 pm
Holderness @ Berwick, 4:30 pm
Wyoming Seminary @ Princeton Day School, 4:30 pm -- MAHL Championship
New Hampton @ Cushing, 4:45 pm
Brewster Academy @ Hebron, 5:00 pm
North Yarmouth Academy @ Pingree, 5:00 pm
Governor's @ Noble & Greenough, 5:00 pm
Kent @ Deerfield, 5:30 pm
St. John's Prep @ Braintree HS, 7:00 pm

Cardinal Classic
At Olympia Center, West Springfield, Mass.
Malden Catholic vs. St. Mary's-Lynn, 6:00 pm
Pope Francis vs. Central Catholic, 8:00 pm

Buddy Ferreira Classic
At Falmouth Ice Arena, Falmouth, Mass.
Losers Bracket:
Duxbury vs. Arlington Catholic, 5:00 pm
Austin Prep vs. Falmouth, 7:00 pm

Thurs. Feb. 22, 2018
Cardinal Classic
At Olympia Center, West Springfield, Mass.
Consolation: St. Mary's-Lynn vs. Pope Francis, 2:00 pm
Championship: Malden Catholic vs. Central Catholic, 4:00 pm

Buddy Ferreira Classic
At Falmouth Ice Arena, Falmouth, Mass.
Winners Bracket:
Hingham vs. Archbishop Williams, 5:00 pm
BC High vs. Reading, 7:00 pm

Fri. Feb. 23, 2018
Thayer @ St. Sebastian's, 4:30 pm
Cushing @ St. Mark's, 5:00 pm 5:15 pm -- Moved to Groton School
Albany Academy @ Millbrook, 5:30 pm
Winchendon @ Williston-Northampton, 5:30 pm
Dexter @ St. Paul's, 6:00 pm
Wyoming Seminary @ Brewster Academy, 6:00 pm
Berwick @ Governor's, 6:30 pm
Belmont Hill @ Westminster, 8:00 pm  6:00 pm -- at Holy Cross

Empire Cup (Day 1 of 2)
T-P lost its ice, so both games are now at Millbrook
Game 1: Brunswick @ Trinity-Pawling, 4:00 pm
Game 2: Albany Academy @ Millbrook, 6:30 pm

Lakes Region Tournament (Day 1 of 2)
#4 Holderness @ #1 Kimball Union, 4:00 pm
#3 Vermont @ #2 New Hampton, 6:00 pm

Holt Tournament (Day 1 of 2)
#3 NYA @ #2 Pingree, 5:00 pm
#4 Hoosac @ #1 Worcester Academy, 5:00 pm

Sat. Feb. 24, 2018
Hebron @ Kents Hill, 1:00 pm
Groton @ St. Mark's, 2:00 pm 4:00 pm
Wyoming Seminary @ Brewster Academy, 2:00 pm
Williston-Northampton @ Pomfret, 2:15 pm
Berkshire @ Gunnery, 2:30 pm
Salisbury @ Canterbury, 2:45 pm
Lawrence Academy @ Tabor, 3:00 pm
Brooks @ BB&N, 4:00 pm
Exeter @ Andover, 4:00 pm
Noble & Greenough @ Milton, 4:00 pm
Westminster @ Deerfield, 4:00 pm
Middlesex @ St. George's, 4:00 pm
Choate @ Kent, 4:30 pm
Taft @ Hotchkiss, 4:30 pm
St. Paul's @ Northfield - Mt. Hermon, 5:00 pm
Governor's @ Cushing, 6:00 pm
Loomis-Chaffee @ Avon Old Farms, 7:30 pm 7:00 pm

Empire Cup (Day 2 of 2)
Today's games have been moved to Brunswick
Consolation: Albany Academy vs. Brunswick, 3:30 pm
Championship: Millbrook vs. Trinity-Pawling, 6:00 pm

Lakes Region Tournament (Day 2 of 2)
#6 Tilton @ #5 Proctor, 3:45 pm -- cancelled
Consolation: #4 Holderness @ #2 New Hampton, Time TBA -- cancelled
Championship: #3 Vermont Academy @ #1 Kimball Union, 4:30 pm

Holt Tournament (Day 2 of 2) 
Consolation: #4 Hoosac  @ #3 NYA, Time TBA
Championship: #2 Pingree @ #1 Worcester Academy, Time TBA


-- END OF THE REGULAR SEASON --

Sat. 2/17/18

Sat. Feb. 17th Highlights

* Shea (2g,3a) the Hot Hand for LA
* Lachaine Notches GWG for #1 Salisbury
* #3 KUA Tops #8 Cushing, 4-1
* Dexter Wins 10th Straight

@ Lawrence Academy 5, St. Mark's 1 -- Senior Neil Shea (2g,3a) had a hand in every Spartan goal this afternoon. LA has won 10 of its last 11, and Shea has a 14-17-31 scoring line in that stretch. LA, now 17-8-1, also got two points apiece from Tyler Young (1g,1a), Drew Bavaro (2a), and Gunnar Fontaine (2a). Junior Ian Graiff kicked out 21 of 22 for the win.

@ Trinity-Pawling 4, Hotchkiss 2 -- Junior D Phip Waugh scored two goals and junior G Evan Ruschil kicked out 18 of 20 shots to lead T-P.

@ Rivers 5, Middlesex 0 -- Rivers' goaltenders Aidan Porter (12/12) and Ben Joiner (5/5) combined on a shutout and Middlesex's Joe Stanizzi was the hard-luck loser, kicking out 47 of 52 shots. #2 Rivers, now 25-1-2, got goals from five different scorers.

@ Dexter 5, Kents Hill 1 -- Ian Murphy (2g,2a) and John Farinacci (1g,2a) led the Dexter attack and Derek Mullahy kicked out 34 of 35 shots to lead #5 Dexter, now 18-4-2, to its 10th straight win.

St. Paul's 3 @ Holderness 0 -- Junior G Andy Beran posted a 32-save shutout; Eric Sinson had a pair of goals and Ryan Peck and Julien Menes each had a pair of assists to lead SPS. Holderness sophomore G Keenan Alnahas (41/44) was the tough-luck loser.

Canterbury 4 @ Kent 4 -- Kent, down 2-0 early, bounced back with 4 of the next 6 goals. The game-tying goal came off the stick of Tyler Cooligan with the goalie pulled and 40 seconds remaining in regulation. Both goalies -- Canterbury's Anthony Cusano (36/40) and Kent's Alex Contey -- kiccked out 36 of 40 shots. Kent soph Jason Kleinhans had two goals and an assist.

@ Andover 3, BB&N 0 -- Sophomore G Charlie Archer (31/31) posted a shutout and Dante Maribito, Quinn Doyle and Christian Powers each had a goal. BB&N junior goalie John Day (45/48) took the tough loss.

@ Salisbury 2, Avon Old Farms 1 -- A Nick Lachaine goal with 2:49 left in regulation broke a 1-1 tie and the #1 Knights improve to 21-1-1. In the first period, Alex DiPaolo scored for Salisbury. In the second, Max Sauve answered for Avon. Bryan McGrath (18/19) got the win; Alex Aslanidis (27/29) took the loss. Avon, at 11-10-1, is a game above .500.

Choate 3 @ Taft 2 -- The Wild Boars got off to a quick start, with Owen Collins, defenseman Sasha Tertyshny, and Jack Hoey all scoring in the first period. The Rhinos cut it to a one-goal game on a Scott Del Zotto third period tally, but could get no closer.

@ Exeter 4, Deerfield 0 -- Peter Scheschareg (1g,1a) and Sam Stone (1g,1a) each had two points, and Danny Colon and Paddy Bogart each added a goal as #6 Exeter improved to 24-4-1. Senior Will Douthit posted a 20-save shutout.

Hill 1 @ Albany 0 -- Sophomore Jack McLaughlin scored the game's only goal, at 11:48 of the third, asssisted by Nico McCurrach and Jay Luce. Senior Dalton Jerzak (29/29) posted the shutout, his fourth of the season.

@ Pomfret 4, Millbrook 2 -- Pomfret, which came into the game winless in its last five, got goals from four different scorers and junior G Peyton Durand kicked out 26 of 28. Millbrook junior Cam Fernandez (29/32) came out on the short end. The loss ended Millbrook's six-game win streak and dropped them to 13-11-1.

New Hampton 5 @ Proctor 2 -- New Hampton got goals from five different scorers and junior Matt Sayles stopped 29 of 30 shots as the Huskies, winners of 11 of their last 13 games, improved to 18-10-3.

Berkshire 8 @ Westminster 6 --  A goalies' nightmare here. Briggs Gammill (3g,1a), Thomas Horak (2g,1a) and  Jesse Lycan (2g,1a) led the Berkshire attack. Tasso Housakos had a hat trick and added an assist in a losing cause.
Westminster, after winning five in a row, has gone 1-3-1 in its last five. Berkshire, riding a six-game win streak, is making a late push for home ice in the playoffs

Groton 7 @ St. George's 1 -- Will Torriani (2g,2a), Kai Duenez (1g,3a), Tyler Forbes (1g,2a), and Marc Borghi (2g) led the Zebras' attack.

Roxbury Latin 4 @ Brooks 3 -- RL, entering the third period down 3-2, got the tying goal from junior Jack Luca and a game-winner from freshman D Patrick Morrissey. Also, senior Jimmy Duffy had a pair of first period goals for the Foxes.

Kimball Union 4 @ Cushing 1 -- Seniors Thomas Samuelsen (2g) and Andranik Armstrong (1g,1a) led the #3 Wildcats past #8 Cushing. KUA senior G Sean Dynan (20/21) got the win; Cushing sophomore Joe Sharib (30/33) took the loss. KUA improves to 23-5-1 while Cushing falls to 19-8-1.

Tilton 2 @ Hebron 0 -- Junior Brendan Sjostedt's second-period goal was all the scoring the Rams needed today, though Cam Ryan added an empty-netter with 3 seconds remaining. Tilton PG goalie Sean Keegans, with a 22-save shutout, took care of the rest.

Waiting on:
Tabor @ Thayer

Fri. 2/16/18

A Good Day For Two

The stars aligned themselves perfectly tonight for Boston-area prep hockey fans as two games -- one late afternon; the other in the evening -- featured four teams shooting for the Elite 8. And here they are:

***
#5 Dexter Wears Down #9 Winchendon
Brookline, Mass. -- A power play goal by sophomore Aidan Connolly at 2:28 of the third period broke a 2-2 tie and gave #5 Dexter its second lead of the night, one they hold en route to a 5-3 win over #9 Winchendon.

The game-winner came off a tic-tac-toe passing sequence, with junior defenseman Bobby Pearl getting it to John Farinacci, who spotted Connolly, who buried it.

Dexter made it 4-2 several minutes later in the third period as senior center Jack Nisbet scored an unassisted goal, winning the faceoff, cutting across the crease left to right, and slipping it five-hole on Winchendon PG goaltender James Corcoran. This goal would come in handy, as Winchendon came back five minutes later with Cam Gendron, on the power play, finishing off a sweet sequence with Matt Fawcett and Ryan Black to cut Dexter's lead to 4-3 with 7:42 left.

Farinacci scored his second goal of the night, this one an empty-netter with 41 seconds remaining, to make it a 5-3 final.

Earlier, in the opening period, the first of Gendron's two goals allowed Winchendon to take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. In the second period, Fawcett hit a post early on, but Dexter was able to tie it at 1-1 on a Farinacci wrister from the right faceoff circle.

Dexter would take its first lead at 12:05 of the second when Jack Rathbone, from his own goal line, made as good a stretch pass as you'll see at this level, hitting speedy Ben Raymond at the far blue line and sending him in alone to give Dexter a 2-1 lead, a lead that Winchendon negated when Fawcett, off passes from Black and Gendron, deked Dexter goalie Derek Mullahy and tucked the puck behind him at 16:55 to make it 2-2 after two. But in the third period, Dexter, with its depth, was able to wear down the Fawcett line, which was on the ice as much as humanly possible.

That line, which has Fawcett in the middle and fellow seniors Black and Gendron on the wings, had numerous sparkling plays. Fawcett, small but hard to hit, and with great hands and hockey sense, is a danger every time he steps on the ice. Dexter couldn't stop his line -- they figured in all of Winchendon's goals -- but they were successful in entirely shutting down the Wapitis other lines.

"Their PP is phenomenal," Dexter head coach Dan Donato said, "but I thought we played good all night."

Donato pointed to Dexter's second and fourth goals as keys. "The Raymond goal was a huge goal, confidence-wise. And Nisbet did a good job winning that faceoff and going 5-hole. He's dangerous, one of the best finishers in the league. I thought Winchendon was good. We knew they had a ton of firepower. We just hoped to contain them a bit."

Winchendon head coach Jarrett Sampson said he was happy wiht his team's effort. "They went as hard as they could," he said. "But Dexter is a great team and they were beating us in individual battles and on faceoffs. We were going with four D and that took the wind out of us."

***
#10 Thayer's Third Period Comeback Sinks #4 Milton
Milton, Mass. --  #10-ranked Thayer extended its winning streak to eight games with a come-from-behind 6-3 win over #4 Milton here tonight.

Milton entered the game with a 14-game unbeaten streak, with its last loss coming two months ago, in the Flood-Marr Tournament.

And things looked good for the Mustangs when senior Tiger Zhang scored his second goal of the game, beating Tigers' sophomore goalie Gavin Fitzpatrick on a high wrister from the slot with 12 seconds remaining in the second period, allowing Milton to take a 3-1 lead into the second intermission.

But when Thayer came out for the third, they had some jump and purpose to their game. When Milton's Nathan Katzaroff was called for hooking less than two minutes into the period, Thayer took advantage, as winger Aidan McDonough scored a beauty -- a turnaround high wrister from the slot that Milton goalie Erik Voloshin had no chance on. Suddenly,  just 3:29 into the period, it was a one-goal game. 

Exactly two minutes later, Thayer tied it up when junior Jake Flynn buried the rebound of a Jay O'Brien shot to tie the game at 3-3.

Center Evan Googins scored the game-winner at 8:39 off the faceoff, another high wrister, with Jay O'Brien assisting. It was the second goal of the game for Googins, and well-deserved, too, as the senior from Braintree worked his butt off all night. 

And that was it, really. Thayer added a pair of empty-netter in the final minutes, one from junior Christian Hayes, who already had a couple of assists, and the other from O'Brien, who also had three assists.

The shots over the first two periods favored Milton, 23-22. But in the third, Thayer outshot Milton, 15-6.

"We had a nice rebound in the third," Thayer head coach Tony Amonte said. "Over the first two periods we were sloppy, but we cleaned it up in the third and found success. One power play goal and a 5-on-5 got us back into it. And Fitzy made a couple of timely saves."

"Usually you can't get it back once you lose it," Amonte added, "but tonight we did, and against a good team, a team that we can measure ourselves against."

Milton head coach Paul Cannata said, "We were on our heels in the third. Thayer has some very good players who come at you and can finish. We held 'em for two periods, but then they told us we had to play three."

Note: With the win, Thayer (14-9-1) has slipped into the #8 slot in the Elite 8 while Milton (17-3-1) drops to #5 -- if the season ended tonight, that is. The two teams play a big game next Wednesday (4:00 pm in Canton).

Wed. 2/14/18

Wed. Feb. 14, 2018 Highlights

* Exeter's Welch Blanks NMH

Gill, Mass. -- Sophomore goaltender Ryan Welch kicked out all 27 shots he faced to lead #6 Exeter to a 2-0 shutout of #7 Northfield Mt. Hermon here this afternoon.

"Ryan Welch played with poise and confidence," said Exeter head coach Dana Barbin. "He was psyched and ready to go. He knew about NMH's goalie (Eric Green) and the season he's been having, and was excited to go up against him."

NMH carried the play for the first half of the opening period, but Exeter cashed in midway through, at 9:03, on the first shot Green faced. It was a little flukey, as Green was preoccupied with an Exeter player while the puck sat still just outside the right post. Junior Michael Pitts, following up the play, tapped it over the goal line to make it 1-0.

Early in the second, at the 3:29 mark, Exeter PG Peter Scheschareg scored on a wraparound, as Green couldn't get over to cover the post in time. Pitts had an assist on the play.

That was it for the scoring. There were just two penalties in the game, one to each team. NMH's penalty, to Eric Fournier, was a double minor for a hit from behind on Exeter's Kyle Jadatz. Exeter set up shop in the Hoggers' end and had some good shots on Green, but couldn't get another one behind him. Today, Green seemed to be at his best when he was facing shots coming in rapid succession. Inactivity did not suit him. Final shots on goal favored Exeter, 34-27, though those numbers seem a little high to this observer.

"We played a smart game, said Barbin. "and were smart defensively. We knew coming in that if we gave up three or four goals -- with Green at the other end -- we were going to lose. Their top line, with 20 (Devan Tongue) and 16 (Kyle Kazeroid) can score."

But today they were kept off the board, as were all the Hoggers. It was just the second time this season that NMH was shut out. #3 KUA shut them out by the same 2-0 score on Jan. 31st.

"I don't think it was our best effort," NMH head coach Kevin Czepiel said. "We lost a lot of puck battles and we didn't create a lot of offense."


***

* Williston's Milnes Completes Hat Trick in OT
* Devin Moran Powers Wapitis With a Natural Hat Trick
* DeNuccio OT Goal Lifts Loomis to 7th Win in 8 Games
* KUA D Bryce Dolan Notches Hat Trick
* Kent's Cooligan Scores 3; Yes, Hat Trick Heaven Today

Avon Old Farms @ Choate 1 -- The Winged Beavers got goals from four different scorers, and Matt Kirwan, Will Christensen and Nick Wildgoose each had two points as Avon improved to 11-9-1. Junior Alex Aslanidis (19/20) got the win. Avon outshot Choate, 36-20.

@ Loomis Chaffee 3, Westminster 2 (OT) -- Down 2-0 until late in the second, the Pelicans scored three unanswered goals: one from Coby Hoban in the second, an unassisted tally from defenseman Andrew Lucas in the third, and the final one an OT strike by senior Trent DeNuccio. The win is the fourth straight for the Pelicans -- and their 7th win in their last eight games. It also lifted Loomis to a game above .500 at 10-9-3. Loomis senior Patrick Pugliese (24/26) got the win; Westy sophomore Ian Shane (34/37) took the loss.

@ Kent 7, Hotchkiss 2 -- Senior Tyler Cooligan had a hat trick and junior Alex Giummo and senior Jeremy Routh added three assists apiece to lead the Lions' offense. Kent sophomore G Blaine Moore (25/27) got the win.

Millbrook 6 @ Trinity-Pawling 3 -- Senior Greg Koutsomitis (3g,1a) and junior Jake Gagnon (2g,1a) led the attack and junior Cam Fernandez kicked out 30 of 33 as Millbrook won its fifth straight game to improve to 13-10-1. For T-P, junior defenseman Gabe Blanchard had two goals.

@ Brunswick 4, Albany Academy 3 -- Brunswick entered the third with a 3-1 lead but Albany Academy's Jake Glod gave them a scare, scoring with 1:04 left and the goalie pulled for an extra attacker. But the Cadets couldn't get the equalizer, and Brunswick improved to 12-9-4. Christian LeSueur (1g,2a), Patrick Burkinshaw (2g) and Tom Richter (2a) led the Bruins' attack. Dan Dachille (22/25) got the win; Arthur Leibowitz (34/38) took the loss.

Cushing 9 @ Andover 5 -- #8 Cushing brought out the heavy artillery, as Matthew Guerra (2g,3a), Vilho Saariluoma (1g,3a) Michael Outzen (1g,2a) Patrick Borella (1g,2a), and Matt McGrath (1g,2a) each had big days. The win was Cushing's fifth in its last six games. They are now 19-7-1.

Kents Hill 7 @ Hebron 5 -- Nicholas Garneau (2g,2a), Jay Gallagher (1g,3a), Joey O'Leary (3g) and Grady Friedman (1g,2a) led the attack for Kents Hill, now 13-11-1.

Tilton 4 @ Brewster 1 -- PG John Piggott (1g,2a) figured in three of the Rams' four goals, and junior G Jakob Wetman stopped 15 of 16 for the win.

Dexter 4 @ Berwick 1 -- #5 Dexter won its eight straight, led by Jack Nisbet (1g,2a) and junior G Derek Mullahy (20/21). Jack Rathbone, Tommy Grealy and John Fusco added a goal apiece as Dexter unloaded 45 shots on Berwick goalie Rafe Gaughan.

@ Williston 4, Canterbury 3 -- Senior Sam Milnes completed his hat trick with a goal at 2:33 of OT to halt a four-game losing streak in high style. Williston, which outshot Canterbury 41-21, improves to 11-9-2. Senior Jericho Petkovich scored two of Canterbury's goals.

Kimball Union 5 @ Proctor 1 -- #3 KUA got a hat trick from senior defenseman Bryce Dolan for their seventh win in their last eight games. Hugo Turcotte (24/25) earned the win; Proctor's Ryan Wilson (45/50) was busy, but took the loss. KUA is now 22-5-1.

@ Rivers 4, St. Mark's 1 -- Sophomore Phillip Tresca notched a pair of goals and senior Aidan Porter kicked out 16 of 17 as #2 Rivers rolls along. Rivers faces a tough match Friday night at #6 Exeter.

Winchendon 6 @ Holderness 1 -- Junior Devin Moran scored a natural hat trick to give the #9 Wapitis a 3-0 lead after two. In the third, Winchendon's Matt Fawcett added two goals, and Ryan Black one. PG James Corcoran (24/25) got the win. Winchendon, now 15-4-3, is 8-1-1 in its last ten games.

@ New Hampton 2, Vermont Academy 1 -- A PPG from senior Bradley Shaw at 8:06 of the third period lifted New Hampton. Junior Matt Sayles (20/21) got the win; VA junior Dylan Regan (32/34) took the hard-luck loss. New Hampton is 10-2 in its last 12 games and is 17-10-3 in prep play.

Lawrence 8 @ Governor's 0 -- Sam Colangelo (2g,2a), Neil Shea (4a) and D Jack Cameron (1g,2a) led the LA attack. The Spartans have won nine out of ten and are now 16-8-1.

Milton 2 @ Belmont Hill 1 -- A Max Cassella goal late in the second period broke a 1-1 tie and proved to be the game winner for the #4 Mustangs. Milton junior Erik Voloshin (31/32) got the win; Belmont Hill junior Connor Hopkins (27/29) took the loss. Milton has a 14-game undefeated streak going (13-0-1).

@ Nobles 4, BB&N 1 -- Nobles got goals from four different scorers to pull a game over .500 at 12-11-1. Nobles sophomore Marc Smith (14/15) picked up the win; BB&N junior John Day (43/47) took a tough loss.

@ St. Sebastian's 5, Tabor 0 -- Sophomore Drew Commesso kicked out all 18 shots he saw, and the Arrows got goals from five different scorers to improve to 13-9-1.

@ Groton 4, Brooks 1 -- Juniors Drew Burke (2g,1a) and Jonah Gold (3a) led the Groton offense. Freshman goalie Tristan Mecenas (25/26) earned the win.

@ Roxbury Latin 4, St. George's 1 -- Senior Jimmy Duffy (1g,2a) led the RL attack and sophomore G Mikey Jones kicked out 26 of 27 for the win. The Foxes improve to 11-8-1.

Pingree @ Worcester Academy -- Cancelled due to the flu at Pingree. It is unlikely to be made up.

Mon. 2/12/18

Salisbury Remains #1 in USHR Poll

Salisbury (19-1-1) suffered its first loss of the season on Saturday, a 1-0 decision at Loomis. However, that's not enough to knock them from the top spot in USHR's Weekly Prep Poll.

There's also a new team in the poll this week, checking in at #10.


USHR Prep Poll, Week of Feb. 12, 2018

 Sun. 2/11/18 -- If there are any rescheduled games missing from the below schedule, please contact us at cwarner@ushr.com  Thank you.

Prep Composite Schedule, Week of Feb. 12, 2018

Mon. Feb. 12
Westford Academy @ Central Catholic, 2:30 pm
Portledge @ Wyoming Seminary, 3:00 pm
Groton @ Worcester Academy, 4:00 pm
Albany Academy @ Berkshire, 4:30 pm
Portsmouth Abbey @ St. George's, 4:45 pm
Milton @ Governor's, 4:45 pm
St Luke's School @ Kingswood-Oxford, 4:45 pm
Gunnery @ Canterbury, 5:00 pm
Hotchkiss @ Westminster, 5:00 pm -- makeup of Wed. Feb. 7
Middlesex @ Pingree, 5:15 pm
Holy Ghost @ Princeton Day School, 5:15 pm
Kent @ Salisbury, 5:30 pm
Choate @ Pomfret, 6:00 pm -- makeup of Wed. Feb. 7
Austin Prep @ St. John's Prep, 7:30 pm

Tues. Feb. 13
Gunnery @ Avon Old Farms, 5:30 pm -- makeup of Wed. Feb. 7
St. Michael's College School @ Nichols, 5:30 pm

Wed. Feb. 14
MAHL semifinals: Hill, Princeton Day, and TBD
Millbrook @ Trinity-Pawling, 2:00 pm
Tilton @ Brewster Academy, 2:30 pm
Hotchkiss @ Kent, 2:30 pm
Avon Old Farms @ Choate, 2:45 pm
Thayer vs. St. Paul's, 3:00 pm -- at Warrior Arena; Boston
Kents Hill @ Hebron, 3:00 pm
Westminster @ Loomis-Chaffee, 3:00 pm
St. George's @ Roxbury Latin, 3:00 pm
Lawrence Academy @ Governor's, 3:00 pm
Tabor @ St. Sebastian's, 3:15 pm
Cushing @ Andover, 3:15 pm
Brooks @ Groton, 3:30 pm 3:45 pm
Middlesex @ Portsmouth Abbey, 3:30 pm
Albany Academy @ Brunswick, 4:00 pm
Kimball Union @ Proctor, 4:00 pm
Winchendon @ Holderness, 4:00 pm
Exeter @ Northfield - Mt. Hermon, 4:00 pm
Kingswood-Oxford @ Hamden Hall , 4:00 pm
Deerfield @ Taft, 4:00 pm
Pingree @ Worcester Academy, 4:00 pm -- cancelled
Berkshire @ Pomfret, 4:30 pm
St. Mark's @ Rivers, 4:30 pm
Canterbury @ Williston-Northampton, 4:30 pm
Seacoast College Prep @ Hoosac, 4:30 pm
Dexter @ Berwick, 4:45 pm
North Yarmouth Academy @ Bridgton Academy, 4:45 pm
Harvey @ South Kent School Varsity, 5:00 pm
Milton @ Belmont Hill, 5:00 pm
La Salle College @ Princeton Day School, 5:00 pm
BB&N @ Noble & Greenough, 5:30 pm
Vermont Academy @ New Hampton, 5:30 pm
Austin Prep @ St. Mary's Lynn, 6:00 pm
Arlington Catholic @ St. John's Prep, 7:30 pm

Fri. Feb. 16
Winchendon @ Dexter, 4:00 pm
Tilton @ Holderness, 4:45 pm
Berwick @ St. Mark's, 5:00 pm
Belmont Hill @ Noble & Greenough, 5:00 pm
Rivers @ Exeter, 5:30 pm
Andover @ Brooks, 5:30 pm
Williston-Northampton @ Deerfield, 6:00 pm
Roxbury Latin @ Brooks, 6:00 pm
Shattuck-St. Mary's @ Gunnery, 6:30 pm -- Gunnery Tournament
Hoosac @ Hebron, 7:00 pm
Thayer @ Milton, 7:00 pm
Kingswood-Oxford @ Pingree, 7:00 pm
Académie Saint-Louis @ Brewster Academy, 7:30 pm

Sat. Feb. 17
St. Mark's @ Lawrence Academy, 11:45 am -- moved back to 1:30 pm
Académie Saint-Louis @ Belmont Hill JV, 12:30 pm
Shattuck-St. Mary's vs. Brunswick, 1:00 pm -- Gunnery Tournament
St. Sebastian's @ Governor's, 1:30 pm
Duxbury @ Austin Prep, 2:00 pm
New Hampton @ Proctor, 2:00 pm
Berkshire @ Westminster, 2:30 pm
St. Paul's @ Holderness, 2:30 pm
Canterbury @ Kent, 2:30 pm
Hotchkiss @ Trinity-Pawling, 2:30 pm
Avon Old Farms @ Salisbury, 3:00 pm
Hoosac @ North Yarmouth Academy, 3:00 pm
Loomis-Chaffee @ Northfield - Mt. Hermon, 3:00 pm
Roxbury Latin @ Brooks, 3:00 pm -- moved up to 2:00 pm
Groton @ St. George's, 3:15 pm
Middlesex @ Rivers, 3:30 pm
Kents Hill @ Dexter, 3:30 pm
St John's-Shrewsbury @ St. John's Prep, 3:30 pm
Kimball Union @ Cushing, 4:00 pm
Tilton @ Hebron, 4:00 pm
Deerfield @ Exeter, 4:00 pm
Choate @ Taft, 4:00 pm
BB&N @ Andover, 4:15 pm
Millbrook @ Pomfret, 4:15 pm
Hill School @ Albany Academy, 5:00 pm
Brewster Academy @ Vermont Academy, 5:00 pm
Tabor @ Thayer, 5:00 pm
Nichols @ Culver Academy, 6:00 pm
Lawrenceville @ Worcester Academy, 6:00 pm

Sun. Feb. 18
Nichols @ Culver Academy, 10:45 am
Shattuck-St. Mary's vs. Kimball Union, 11:00 am -- Gunnery Tournament
Lawrenceville @ Pingree, 11:00 am
Hill School @ Worcester Academy, 1:00 pm
Brunswick @ Gunnery, 1:30 pm -- Gunnery Tournament
Northfield - Mt. Hermon @ Choate, 2:00 pm
Millbrook @ Albany Academy, 2:00 pm -- makeup of Wed. Feb. 7
Pomfret @ Avon Old Farms, 2:30 pm

Mon. Feb. 19
St. John's Prep @ Danvers, 11:30 am
Central Catholic @ Westford Academy, 1:00 pm
Belmont Hill @ St. Sebastian's, 2:00 pm -- makeup of Feb. 7
St. George's @ Tabor, 5:00 pm
Proctor @ Holderness, 5:00 pm
Brewster Academy @ Andover, 5:00 pm
Kent @ Hotchkiss, 5:30 pm
St. Paul's @ Lawrence Academy, 6:00 pm
 

Sat. 2/10/18

Sat. Feb. 10 Highlights

* Milton's Voloshin Shuts Out Nobles

Dedham, Mass. -- Milton junior goaltender Erik Voloshin posted a 20-save shutout and senior Tyler Campbell and junior Quinton Fox each had a goal and an assist to lead the #4 Mustangs to a 4-0 win over host Nobles here today.

"Voloshin is our rudder," said Milton head coach Paul Cannata. "He gives us a chance to win every day."

With the win, Milton extended its unbeaten streak to 12 games (11-0-1). They have not lost since the Flood-Marr Tournament.

Early on in the game, Nobles pressured Milton hard, but Voloshin kept them at bay. Milton got on the board first  as senior defenseman Tim Casilli, from the center point, fired a shot that made its way through a huge crowd in front of Nobles' goalie Matt Lane at the 7:29 mark

Later, with 44 seconds left in the period and Milton on the power play, junior Emmett Powell, from the top of the right faceoff circle, converted a nice pass from behind the net by Campbell to allow Milton to take a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.

"We were outworked and outplayed in the first period," said Cannata, "yet we came out 2-0... maybe undeserved."

After a scoreless second period, Milton's Campbell, who had a strong game, scored a short-handed goal off a rebound of Fox's shot at the 4:59 mark of the third.

Fox scored from a scrum with 5:14 remaining to make it 4-0, which is how things would end up.

"Nobles deserved a better result, but we slid out of there with a win," Cannata said.

Nobles' head coach Brian Day said, "I thought we worked hard. The effort was good. We had chances but weren't able to convert. Milton did a good job blocking shots in the D-zone. They took advantage of their scoring opportunities. They are a good team that does a lot of things well."


***
* Pugliese, Loomis Hand Salisbury Its First Loss
* Berkshire's Draper Blanks Brunswick, 1-0
* A Rare 0-0 Game
* KUA Squeaks Past Holderness

@ Rivers 5, Roxbury Latin 1 -- Senior center Teddy Wooding (1g,2a) picked up three points, doubling his point production of a year ago and leading #2 Rivers (22-1-2) to its 12th consecutive win. Rivers outshot RL, 39-10.

@ Harvey 4, Portsmouth Abbey 2 -- Junior G Ryan Goodliffe (22/24) and sophomores James Mettler (1g,2a) and Tyler Lunney (2g) led Harvey, now 15-2-1.

Millbrook 5 @ Williston 3 -- Zach Taylor (2g) and Jake Gagon (2a) each had two points, and junior G Cam Fernandez (23/26) earned the win. Millbrook (12-10-1) is on a four-game win streak.

@ Berkshire 1, Brunswick 0 -- Freshman Hayden Riva scored his second career goal -- this one a bounce off a shin pad -- and senior G Tom Draper (28/28) posted the shutout. Brunswick sophomore Alexander Rohlf (32/33) was the hard-luck loser in this one. With the win, Berkshire moves a game over .500 (10-9-3).

@ NMH 7, Worcester Academy 1 -- Senior F Kyle Kazeriod (2g,1a) and senior G Eric Green (27/28) led the way for #8 NMH, now 18-3-3.

@ Loomis 1, Salisbury 0 -- #1 Salisbury suffered its first loss of the season today, shut out by Loomis senior goalie Patrick Pugliese, who kicked out all 30 shots he faced.  Salisbury junior G Jared Levine (16/17) was the hard luck loser, beaten only once, by Sam DiMaio at 15:49 of the second period. With the win, Loomis improves to .500 at 9-9-3. Salisbury falls to 19-1-1, if you want to call that falling.

@ Proctor 8, Kents Hill 4 -- Myles Abbate (2g,1a), Aidan Torres (1g,2a), and Jack Swarbrick (3a) each had three points and Ronan Walsh had two goals to lead Proctor to the win, which lifts the Hornets to the .500 mark at 12-12-0.

Exeter 4 @ Choate 1 -- Senior F Bobby Murray had a pair of goals, junior D-man Gray Betts had 3 assists, and sophomore goaltender Ryan Welch (19/20) held down the fort as #7 Exeter improves to 21-3-1.

@ St. Mark's 2, Middlesex 1 -- In a battle of goaltenders, St. Mark's senior CJ McKennitt (37/38) got the better of Middlesex junior Joe Stanizzi (48/50). Senior Justin Biela and freshman Brendan Gibbons scored for the Lions, and junior Alex Rivet for Middlesex. The win was the fifth in a row for St. Mark's, now 12-8-3.

@ Gunnery 7, Lawrenceville 3 -- Cole Paredes, Albert Washco and Mark D'Agostino eacah had a goal and an assist for the Highlanders. Matt Manahan and Nikita Nesterenko did likewise for L'ville. Eight of the game's ten goals were scored in the second period, six for Gunnery and two for the visitors. After two straight losses, vs. Millbrook and Brunswick, Gunnery needed this one. They are now 14-6-2.

NYA 3 @ Brewster 2 -- After junior Julien Rudolph scored his second goal of the game, Brewster came right back and tied it with a pair of second period goals. But NYA senior Brent Rickett broke the tie with the winning goal midway through the third.

Pomfret 2 @ Westminster 2 -- #9 Westminster, which had its five-game win streak halted last night, found themselves tied up by Pomfret today as sophomore D Ryan Kosinski scored with 30 seconds left in regulation and the goalie pulled. Goaltending was key: junior Peyton Durand (45/47) came up big for Pomfret; Westy sophomore Ian Shane kicked out 17 of 19 shots.

@ Tabor 4, Governor's 4 -- Gov's, looking for its first win of the season, held a 3-0 lead early in the second, and a 4-2 lead after two. But they couldn't hold it as the Seawolves tied it up with third period goals from Jake Cady and Peter Lombardi. Tabor outshot Gov's, 42-31. Cady had two goals for Tabor, and Matt Farrell did likewise for Governor's. Gov's is now 0-17-4. Tabor is 9-9-2.

@ St. Sebastian's 5, Hoosac 1 -- Arrows' sophomore goaltender Drew Commesso kicked out 20 of 21 shots and five different scorers found the back of the net. Seb's outshot the Owls, 49-21.

Avon Old Farms 3, Deerfield 0 -- Avon junior G Alex Aslanidis posted a 25-save shutout, and the Winged Beavers struck for a goal in each period. Sophomore G Tyler McDermott stopped 24 of 27 for the Big Green. Nick Wildgoose had 3 assists for Avon, and Matt Kirwan had 2.

@ Trinity-Pawling 0, Kent 0 -- A double shutout, just like soccer. Kent junior Alex Contey (43/43) and T-P junior Evan Ruschil (33/33) carried the freight today.

@ Kimball Union 3, Holderness 2 -- Holderness, on goals from junior Kevin Pitts and senior Alex Gagnon, held a 2-1 lead into the middle of the third period, but Andranik Armstrong tied it up and then, two minutes later on the PP, senior Logan Cash scored the game-winner. Senior Sean Dynan (18/20) got the win for KUA, while sophomore Keenan Alnahas (42/45) was the hard-luck loser for Holderness. #3 KUA is 25-5-1.

@ Cushing 4, Canterbury 0 -- #6 Cushing bounced back from Thursday's 2-1 loss to St. Paul's with a 4-0 blanking of Canterbury. Sophomore G Joey Sharib (29/29) posted the shutout. Cushing's top scorers led the way: Vilho Saariluoma (2g,1a), Patrick Borella (1g,1a), and Matt Guerra (2a) all had mutiple points. Michael Outzen also scored a goal for the Penguins, now 18-7-1.

Fri. 2/9/18

Fontaine, Graiff Lead LA Past Seb's

Groton, Mass. -- Sophomore Gunnar Fontaine notched two unassisted goals -- and also added an assist -- and junior goaltender Ian Graiff kicked out 38 of 40 shots to lead host Lawrence Academy to a 4-2 win in a Keller Division matchup with St. Sebastian's.

This was a good prep game, played with pace, and even territorially. Unfortunately for St. Seb's, two horrendous defensive zone turnovers led directly to the two Fontaine goals. The Rhode Islander is crafty and, tonight, he burned the Arrows. 

Going back to the first period, St. Sebastian's senior Evan Reddick got the Arrows on the board early when, from the slot, he converted a Connor Joyce pass, going high to the blocker side at the 2:36 mark.

With 39 seconds left in the period, Lawrence senior Neil Shea cut to the net and redirected a Sam Colangelo pass to make it a 1-1 game at the first intermission.

In the second period, Lawrence sophomore Tyler Young, off the draw, scored from the left wing circle to put LA up, 2-1, at the 10:10 mark.

Five minutes later, a behind-the-back D-zone pass by St. Sebastian's senior defenseman Blake Colman put the puck right on the stick of Fontaine, who skated in alone on Arrows' sophomore goaltender Drew Commesso, making it 3-1.

In the third period, Fontaine was at it again, picking off a Liam Gorman turnover and firing it past Commeso 3:20 into the frame.

Halfway through the third, Seb's junior D James Davenport, from Joyce (his second assist of the game), scored on a shot from the point to cut LA's lead to 4-2. But that was as close as his team would come. Although the Arrows pressured LA hard and had chances over the last half of the period, Graiff was up for all of them. Seb's also hit some posts (and, back in the first period, Riley Hughes rang one off the crossbar).

"We moved the puck well," LA head coach Robbie Barker said, "starting with our D, who I thought did a great job, moving it well in neutral zone transitions and getting it up to the forwards, who did a good job in the offensive zone, creating chances around the high slot. I also thought our guys did well on the forecheck, and played a good physical game. We are starting to play as a team and really jell."

"Gunnar (Fontaine) was buzzing," Barker added, "and Ian (Graiff) made some key saves, especially in the last couple of minutes."

St. Sebastian's head coach Sean McCann said, "I thought we did a lot of good things and had some grade A opportunities, but we didn't finish. The two turnovers that they scored on, and numerous opportunities that we didn't score on, hurt. Plus their goalie was the difference, especially in the first half of the game. They are a good team, with a group of D that sees the ice well."

"If you get opportunities your time will come. They just didn't come for us tonight."

Thurs. 2/8/18

Thursday's Makeup Games

All of these games were snowed out yesterday, but will be made up today, Thurs. Feb. 8.

Bridgton Academy @ Kents Hill, 4:00 pm
Cushing @ St. Paul's, 4:30 pm      
Taft @ Salisbury, 5:00 pm
Kent @ Berkshire, 5:30 pm           
Noble & Greenough @ Governor's, 5:30 pm         
Loomis-Chaffee @ Deerfield, 5:30 pm -- at Eaglebrook School               
Brooks @ St. Mark's, 6:00 pm        
Central Catholic @ Waltham High, 7:00 pm          

Wed. 2/7/18 --

Please send any weather-related cancellations or postponements to cwarner@ushr.com Thank you! 

Game On? Game Off? Check Here

For the safety of all who are heading out on the highways this afternoon, please let us know if any of the following games have been postponed or cancelled. Info can be sent to the email address above. Please let us know whether it's a boys' game or girls' game being reported on. Thank you in advance.

Wed. Feb. 7
Gunnery @ Avon Old Farms, 2:30 pm --  ppd. to Tues. 2/13 @ 5:30 pm
Tabor @ Milton, 3:00 pm
Bridgton Academy @ Kents Hill, 3:00 pm -- ppd. to tomorrow (Thurs.) @ 4:00 pm
Hotchkiss @ Westminster, 3:00 pm -- postponed; makeup date TBA
Choate @ Pomfret, 3:15 pm -- ppd. to Mon. 2/12 @ 6:00 pm
Millbrook @ Albany Academy, 4:00 pm -- postponed; makeup date TBA
Kent @ Berkshire, 4:00 pm -- ppd. to tomorrow (Thurs.) @ 5:30 pm
Cushing @ St. Paul's, 4:00 pm -- ppd. to tomorrow (Thurs.) @ 4:30 pm
Brunswick @ Lawrenceville, 4:00 pm
Tilton @ Holderness, 4:00 pm -- ppd. to Fri. 2/9 at 4:45 pm
Portsmouth Abbey @ Worcester Academy, 4:00 pm -- postponed; makeup date TBA
Lawrence Academy @ Thayer, 4:00 pm -- ppd. to Sat. 2/10 at 7:00 pm
Morristown Beard @ Princeton Day School, 4:00 pm 
Taft @ Salisbury, 4:15 pm -- pppd. to tomorrow (Thurs.) at 5:00 pm
NMH @ Williston-Northampton, 4:15 pm -- postponed; makeup date TBA
Trinity-Pawling @ Canterbury, 4:15 pm -- game on, but moved up to 2:30 pm
Nichols @ Appleby College, 4:15 pm -- postponed; makeup date TBA
Andover @ Kimball Union, 4:30 pm -- ppd. to Monday 2/12 @ 6:00 pm -- Cancelled
Brewster Academy @ Winchendon, 4:30 pm -- cancelled
Wyoming Seminary @ Hill School, 4:30 pm -- postponed; makeup date TBA
Belmont Hill @ St. Sebastian's, 4:30 pm -- postponed; makeup date TBA
Brooks @ St. Mark's, 4:30 pm -- ppd. to tomorrow @ 6:00 pm
Proctor @ Exeter, 4:30 pm -- postponed; makeup date TBA
Stanstead College @ Vermont Academy, 4:30 pm
Rivers @ St. George's, 4:45 pm -- postponed; makeup date TBA
Kingswood-Oxford @ North Yarmouth Academy, 4:45 pm -- ppd.; makeup date TBA
BB&N @ Groton, 5:00 pm -- moved back to Tues. Feb. 6 at 5:20 pm
Berwick @ Hebron, 5:00 pm -- moved back to Tues. Feb. 6 at 5:45 pm
Noble & Greenough @ Governor's, 5:15 pm -- ppd. to tomorrow @ 5:30 pm
Roxbury Latin @ Middlesex, 5:15 pm -- postponed; makeup date TBA
New Hampton @ Dexter, 5:30 pm -- postponed; makeup date TBA
Loomis-Chaffee @ Deerfield, 5:30 pm -- ppd. to tomorrow; 5:30 pm @ Eaglebrook
Central Catholic @ Waltham High, 7:00 pm -- ppd. to tomorrow @ 7:00 pm
La Salle College @ Holy Ghost, 7:15 pm
Austin Prep @ St. John's Prep, 7:30 pm

Tues. 2/6/17

No Surprise: Salisbury #1 in USHR Prep Poll

We had hoped to get this week's poll done last night, but the Beanpot got in the way. Which reminds us: Congrats to Rivers' head coach and former BU Terrier Shawn McEachern on his induction into the Beanpot Hall of Fame.

Before doing the poll, we went back through all of the season's polls, and can report a few findings.

First off, there is a block of six teams -- Salisbury, Rivers, KUA, Milton, Exeter and Dexter -- that have been in every poll this season. A seventh team, NMH, made the second poll -- and has not been dislodged since.

Williston, Westminster, Winchendon and Gunnery have been in and out of the poll, and a few other teams made single appearances earlier in the season, such as Trinity-Pawling, St. Sebastian's, and Vermont Academy (which started the season with a five-game win streak that included a win over defending prep champs KUA).

USHR Prep Poll, Week of Jan. 5, 2018

Sun. 2/4/18 --

Please send any weather-related cancellations or postponements to cwarner@ushr.com Thank you! 

Prep Composite Schedule, Week of Feb. 5, 2018

Mon. Feb. 5
Columbia Prep @ Harvey, 3:45 pm
La Salle College @ St. Joe's Prep, 4:00 pm
Rumson Fairhaven HS @ CBA, 4:30 pm
Chatham @ Princeton Day School, 5:00 pm
Worcester Academy @ Pomfret, 5:30 pm
Portledge @ Seton Hall Prep, 6:15 pm

Tues. Feb. 6
Pope John @ CBA, 3:30 pm
Hill School @ Delbarton, 4:45 pm
Bergen Catholic @ Lawrenceville, 5:00 pm
BB&N @ Groton, 5:20 pm -- -- moved up from Wed. 2/7 due to expected snow 
Berwick @ Hebron, 5:45 pm -- moved up from Wed. 2/7 due to expected snow
Hoosac @ Pingree, 5:30 pm

Wed. Feb. 7
Gunnery @ Avon Old Farms, 2:30 pm --  ppd. to Tues. 2/13 @ 5:30 pm
Tabor @ Milton, 3:00 pm
Bridgton Academy @ Kents Hill, 3:00 pm -- ppd. to tomorrow (Thurs.) @ 4:30 pm
Hotchkiss @ Westminster, 3:00 pm -- postponed; makeup date TBA
Choate @ Pomfret, 3:15 pm -- ppd. to Mon. 2/12 @ 6:00 pm
Millbrook @ Albany Academy, 4:00 pm -- postponed; makeup date TBA
Kent @ Berkshire, 4:00 pm -- ppd. to tomorrow (Thurs.) @ 5:30 pm
Cushing @ St. Paul's, 4:00 pm -- ppd. to tomorrow (Thurs.) @ 4:30 pm
Brunswick @ Lawrenceville, 4:00 pm
Tilton @ Holderness, 4:00 pm -- postponed; makeup date TBA
Portsmouth Abbey @ Worcester Academy, 4:00 pm -- postponed; makeup date TBA 
Lawrence Academy @ Thayer, 4:00 pm -- ppd. to Sat. 2/10 at 7:00 pm
Morristown Beard @ Princeton Day School, 4:00 pm
Taft @ Salisbury, 4:15 pm -- pppd. to tomorrow (Thurs.) at 5:00 pm
NMH @ Williston-Northampton, 4:15 pm -- postponed; makeup date TBA
Trinity-Pawling @ Canterbury, 4:15 pm -- game on, but moved up to 2:30 pm 
Nichols @ Appleby College, 4:15 pm -- postponed; makeup date TBA
Andover @ Kimball Union, 4:30 pm -- ppd. to Monday 2/12 @ 6:00 pm -- Cancelled
Brewster Academy @ Winchendon, 4:30 pm -- cancelled
Wyoming Seminary @ Hill School, 4:30 pm -- postponed; makeup date TBA
Belmont Hill @ St. Sebastian's, 4:30 pm -- ppd. to Mon. 2/19 at 2:00 pm
Brooks @ St. Mark's, 4:30 pm -- ppd., possibly to tomorrow
Proctor @ Exeter, 4:30 pm -- postponed; makeup date TBA
Stanstead College @ Vermont Academy, 4:30 pm
Rivers @ St. George's, 4:45 pm -- postponed; makeup date TBA
Kingswood-Oxford @ North Yarmouth Academy, 4:45 pm -- ppd.; makeup date TBA
BB&N @ Groton, 5:00 pm -- moved back to Tues. Feb. 6 at 5:20 pm
Berwick @ Hebron, 5:00 pm -- moved back to Tues. Feb. 6 at 5:45 pm
Noble & Greenough @ Governor's, 5:15 pm -- ppd. to tomorrow @ 5:30 pm
Roxbury Latin @ Middlesex, 5:15 pm -- postponed; makeup date TBA
New Hampton @ Dexter, 5:30 pm -- postponed; makeup date TBA
Loomis-Chaffee @ Deerfield, 5:30 pm -- ppd. to Thurs. 2/8, 5:30 pm @ Eaglebrook
Central Catholic @ Waltham High, 7:00 pm -- ppd. to tomorrow @ 7:00 pm
La Salle College @ Holy Ghost, 7:15 pm
Austin Prep @ St. John's Prep, 7:30 pm

Thurs. Feb. 8
Portledge @ Morristown Beard, 3:15 pm
Cushing @ St. Paul's, 4:30 pm -- rescheduled from Wed. Feb. 7th
Bridgton Academy @ Kents Hill, 4:30 pm -- rescheduled from Wed. Feb. 7th   
Taft @ Salisbury, 5:00 pm -- rescheduled from Wed. Feb. 7th
Hoosac @ Trinity-Pawling, 5:00 pm
Kent @ Berkshire, 5:30 pm -- rescheduled from Wed. Feb. 7th          
Noble & Greenough @ Governor's, 5:30 pm  -- rescheduled from Wed. Feb. 7th      
Loomis-Chaffee @ Deerfield, 5:30 pm -- rescheduled from Wed. Feb. 7th               
Brooks @ St. Mark's, 6:00 pm -- rescheduled from Wed. Feb. 7th    
Central Catholic @ Waltham High, 7:00 pm -- rescheduled from Wed. Feb. 7th         

Fri. Feb. 9
Winchendon @ Vermont Academy, 4:00 pm
The Hun School @ St. Augustine, 4:45 pm
Brewster Academy @ North Yarmouth Academy, 4:45 pm
Tilton @ Holderness, 4:45 pm -- rescheduled from Wed. 2/7
Middlesex @ BB&N, 5:00 pm
Choate @ Westminster, 5:00 pm
Hebron @ Exeter, 5:00 pm
Moses Brown @ Portsmouth Abbey, 5:00 pm
Thayer @ Belmont Hill, 5:00 pm
Pope John @ Princeton Day School, 5:00 pm
Berwick @ Proctor, 5:30 pm
Pingree @ Roxbury Latin, 5:30 pm
Kingswood-Oxford @ Hoosac, 5:30 pm
St. Sebastian's @ Lawrence Academy, 5:45 pm
New Hampton @ Kimball Union, 6:00 pm
Gunnery @ Brunswick, 6:30 pm
Shady Side Academy @ Hill School, 7:00 pm
Andover @ Governor's, 7:00 pm
Nichols @ Ridley College, 7:00 pm

Sat. Feb. 10
Portsmouth Abbey @ Harvey, 11:30 am
Buffalo Jr. Sabres @ Northwood Junior, 12:00 pm
Belmont Hill @ BB&N, 2:00 pm
Hoosac @ St. Sebastian's, 2:00 pm
Albany Academy vs. Hebron, 2:30 pm -- at Phillips Exeter
Roxbury Latin @ Rivers, 2:30 pm
Shady Side Academy @ Wyoming Seminary, 2:45 pm
St. Paul's @ Lawrence Academy, 3:00 pm -- ppd. makeup date TBA
Middlesex @ St. Mark's, 3:00 pm
Newburyport HS @ St. John's Prep, 3:30 pm
Millbrook @ Williston-Northampton, 4:00 pm
Salisbury @ Loomis-Chaffee, 4:00 pm
Milton @ Noble & Greenough, 4:00 pm -- Note: new starting time is 3:00 pm
Worcester Academy @ Northfield - Mt. Hermon, 4:00 pm
Kents Hill @ Proctor, 4:15 pm
Bishop's College School @ Vermont Academy, 4:30 pm
Brooks @ St. George's, 4:30 pm
Hotchkiss @ Taft, 4:30 pm
Brunswick @ Berkshire, 4:45 pm
North Yarmouth Academy @ Brewster Academy, 5:00 pm
Exeter @ Choate, 5:00 pm
Canterbury @ Cushing, 5:00 pm
Pingree @ Berwick, 5:15 pm
Lawrenceville @ Gunnery, 5:30 pm
Governor's @ Tabor, 5:45 pm
Holderness @ Kimball Union, 6:00 pm
Avon Old Farms @ Deerfield, 6:00 pm
Bridgton Academy @ Rice Memorial, 6:00 pm
Andover High School @ Central Catholic, 6:15 pm
Pomfret @ Westminster, 7:00 pm
Kent @ Trinity-Pawling, 7:00 pm
Lawrence Academy @ Thayer, 7:00 pm -- rescheduled from Wed. 2/7

Sun. Feb. 11
Buffalo Jr. Sabres @ Northwood Junior, 10:00 am
Bridgton Academy @ Rice Memorial, 12:30 pm
New Hampton vs. Kents Hill, 1:20 pm -- at University of Southern Maine
Winchendon @ Northfield - Mt. Hermon, 2:00 pm

Mon. Feb. 12
Westford Academy @ Central Catholic, 2:30 pm
Portledge @ Wyoming Seminary, 3:00 pm
Groton @ Worcester Academy, 4:00 pm
Albany Academy @ Berkshire, 4:30 pm
Portsmouth Abbey @ St. George's, 4:45 pm
St. Luke's School @ Kingswood-Oxford, 4:45 pm
Gunnery @ Canterbury, 5:00 pm
Middlesex @ Pingree, 5:15 pm
Holy Ghost @ Princeton Day School, 5:15 pm
Kent @ Salisbury, 5:30 pm 
Choate @ Pomfret, 6:00 pm -- rescheduled from Wed. Feb. 7
Andover @ Kimball Union, 4:30 pm -- rescheduled from Wed. Feb. 7; but now cancelled

Sat. 2/3/18

Sat. Feb. 3, 2018 Highlights

Rivers' 20th Win Chock Full of Oddities

Weston, Mass. -- In perhaps the strangest game this typist has seen all season, #2 Rivers rebounded from a 1-0 deficit after the first period with three straight short-handed goals to top Belmont Hill, 3-1, and reach the 20-win mark before a full house here today.

Belmont Hill came out strong, scoring just 1:43 into the game when junior Andrew Holland split the Rivers D and, with a dead-on shot from the slot, beat senior goaltender Aidan Porter to give the visitors, who had the edge in the first period, a 1-0 lead at the first intermission.

Rivers came out for the second with a lot of jump but, 4:02 into the period, after a scrum in front of Porter, the Princeton recruit was assessed a 10-minute misconduct for unsportsmanlike conduct, presumably for saying something that displeased the referee. At first, we thought Porter was going for a quick equipment repair, but as Porter approached his team's bench, he slammed his stick on the penalty box door -- and then stepped inside the sin bin and sat down, joining teammate Ryan Bell, who was given a major for interference on the same play.

As spectators quizically asked their neighbors if they had ever seen a goalie in the penalty box, senior Ben Joiner, Rivers' backup goalie, who had only played 25 minutes all season, jumped off the bench and entered the game cold. Despite facing a shorthanded situation, the Rivers kids got a visible lift, pounding their sticks on the boards and cheering every save Joiner made.

A little over one minute into the penalty kill, Rivers D Cade Webber, in one of his team's patented indirect passes out of the zone, caught sophomore Matt Cormier at the far blue line. Cormier cut down the right side and beat Belmont Hill goalie Connor Hopkins high short side to make it 1-1 at the 5:27 mark. 

Seventeen seconds after that goal, Rivers took another penalty, as Billy Shea went off for tripping, giving Belmont Hill a 5x3. But it was Rivers scoring another short-handed goal, as Teddy Wooding, on a 2-on-1, stayed wide right and beat Hopkins -- his future Yale teammate -- low to the far side to make it 2-1 Rivers at 7:14. 

At that point, Porter still had nearly seven minutes to sit in the box. He didn't look like he knew what to do. The 6'2" senior would stand up, move around a little, sit back down, stand up, sit down -- you get the picture. With his goalie equipment he looked like he was taking up an excessive amount of the penalty box's cubic footage. Finally, with a few minutes left in the period, Porter's misconduct expired, and he returned to the net.

Joiner skated back to the bench. He'd come up big, stopping all eight shots he faced in his ten minutes. (Porter would finish with nine saves in 44 minutes) .

The teams went into second intermission with Rivers leading, 2-1.

The third period was difficult for Bel Hill. They had some chances, but Rivers carried the play. Between the fact that Bel Hill is not an offensively gifted team -- and they were facing a top goalie -- the visitors were unable to find the range.

With 13 seconds to go in the third, Rivers' Cormier was called for hooking. With Hopkins on the bench to give Bel Hill a 6x4 advantage -- wouldn't you know it? -- Rivers' Teddy Wooding, with four seconds left, scored the third and final shorty, and his team-leading 18th goal of the season. 

Final shots were 33-17 Rivers. Rivers was without a pair of forwards -- sophomore Phillip Tresca and junior Rory Casey, who were sick.

"Our kids are resilient," Rivers head coach Shawn McEachern said. "We were slow to get going in the first period, but in the second we started out with a great shift -- and a long one. From there, the kids really responded. In the third, we were in their zone a lot and broke the puck out well. That was a total team effort today. Everybody played hard."

Belmont Hill head coach Jeremiah McCarthy, who was frustrated, said, "That was a great hockey game. Tons of pace. Both teams competed. The ice was tilted their way. They're a very good team."

Note: Neither McEachern nor McCarthy, who've seen a bit of hockey in their lives, had ever seen a goalie in the penalty box. Belmont Hill assistant coach/goaltender coach Robb Wright, however, said he had seen it happen once.

***

New Hampton Upsets #3 KUA
Farinacci Notches Hat Trick -- and Adds Two Assists
Fawcett Notches Four for #9 Winchendon
Shea (2g, 3a) leads LA Attack

@ New Hampton 4, KUA 2 -- A Michael Kesselring goal at 16:03 of the third period, from fellow blueliner James Hatzepetros, broke a 2-2 tie. Michael Kane added an ENG with 30 seconds left to seal the deal. Bradley Shaw and Joe Dunlap -- each with a goal and an assist -- had two points apiece for the Huskies. Andranik Armstrong (1g,1a) figured in both KUA goals.

@ Milton 3, Roxbury Latin 0 -- Ryan Wilson, Tyler Campbell, and Matt Beniers each had a goal and an assist, and Quinton Fox had a pair of assists to lead the #4 Mustangs. Junior Erik Voloshin had a 13-save shutout. RL soph Mikey Jones (43/46) was the hard-luck loser. Milton improves to 13-2-1.

Dexter 7 @ Andover 4 -- Junior John Farinacci notched a hat trick and added two assists to lead #7 Dexter to a 7-4 win over host Andover.  Ian Murphy (1g,2a) had three points for Dexter, while AJ Caprio, Nolan Donato, Jack Rathbone and Bobby Pearl each had two points. Thomas Manty had a pair of goals for Andover, and Christian Powers had two assists.

Berwick 5 @ St. George's 1 -- Berwick got goals from five different scorers and sophomore goaltender Alex Ramsey kicked out 26 of 27 for the win.

St. Mark's 5 @ Groton 2 -- St. Mark's broke open a 2-2 game with three unanswered third period goals -- two from freshman Jackson Coutu -- to top Groton. Senior CJ McKennitt (26/28) got the win. St. Mark's has won five of its last six.

Exeter 6 @ Tilton 2 -- #6 Exeter got goals from six different players. Sophomore Ryan Welch (14/16) got the win. Exeter outshot Tilton, 40-16.

@ St. Sebastian's 3, Proctor 2 (OT) -- St. Seb's held a 2-0 lead early in the third, but Proctor's Cam Joslin and Ronan Walsh struck for goals less than three minutes apart to send the game to OT, whereupon Arrows junior Tommy Lyons, from Liam Devlin and Blake Colman, won it at 1:03. It was Lyons' second goal of the game.

@ Brooks 2, Middlesex 0 -- Owen Borek and Stephen Higgins scored the goals and sophomore goalie Julien Cholette (28/28) posted the shutout. Middlesex junior Joe Stanizzi (25/27) took the loss.

@ NMH 3, Vermont Academy 0 -- #5 NMH got goals from three different scorers and senior Eric Green posted a 13-save shutout, his sixth shutout of the season. VA senior goalie Brandon McDonald (58/61) could not have done more for the Wildcats.

Winchendon 6, Albany Academy 1 -- #9 Winchendon got four goals from Matthew Fawcett, three assists from Ryan Black, and a strong game from PG goaltender James Corcoran (30/31) to improve to 13-3-3.

@ Lawrence 7, BB&N 1 -- Lawrence extended its win streak to seven games with a 7-1 dismantling of BB&N. Neil Shea (2g,3a), Braden Doyle (1g,2a), Sam Colangelo (3a) and Tyler Young (2g) led the way. LA junior goalie Ben Litchman (17/18) earned the win.

Kents Hill 7, Pingree 0 -- Senior Frank Vitucci (3g,2a) and junior Joey O'Leary (1g,4a) led the Kents Hill attack. Kents Hill has won seven of its last eight games.