January 24, 2022

New England Prep Hockey Rankings

Rank Record The Skinny
1
Belmont Hill		 10-0-2
(1) Team GAA/GPG: 3.54/1.20 -- Sophomore G Sam Scopa has allowed three or more goals in a game twice: vs. Seb's (3) and St. Mark's (3). #2 G Aaron Matthews (0.82/.950) has also been excellent. What more to say? Great defense all around -- and they're undefeated. LAST WEEK: Beat Milton, 5-2; beat St. Mark's, 4-3; beat Tabor, 1-0. THIS WEEK: @ Brooks (Wed.), @ St. Paul's (Sat.)
2
Avon Old Farms		 13-1-0
(3) Team GAA/GPG: 4.07/1.01 -- Conor Callaghan (1.02/.954 with 6 shutouts) is putting up numbers that bring to mind Jonathan Quick's senior season. In '04-'05, Quick finished 1.15/.955. and had 11 shutouts as Avon won the prep crown, blanking Cushing, 3-0, in the final. (A side note: another future NHLer, Richard Bachman, was in net for Cushing, and their top point-getter was senior D -- and Ironman -- Keith Yandle.) LAST WEEK: Beat NMH, 3-0; beat Berkshire, 5-2, beat Westminster, 5-0. THIS WEEK: @ Loomis (Wed.), vs. Choate (Sat.)
3
Kimball Union		 16-1-1
(2) Team GAA/GPG: 5.84/2.14 -- The Wildcats feast on the carrion of weak opponents: OWP (opponents' win %) is .3610. That's the softest OWP of all 60 or so teams in prep hockey. Outside of the seven-game stretch from the Flood-Marr through the True Prep Cup, in which KUA went 4-2-1 against stiff competition, the Wildcats are 12-0-0. LAST WEEK: Beat Deerfield, 7-3; beat Brewster, 12-1, beat Winchendon, 4-2. THIS WEEK: @ Exeter (Wed.), vs. Tilton (Sat.)
4
St. Sebastian's		 10-2-1
(4) Team GAA/GPG: 4.54/2.32 -- The Arrows are 4-0-1 in January, with the tie coming against#1 Belmont Hill. Senior winger Jayden Grier was the big gun last week with 7 goals and one assist over three games. Junior D Nolan Joyce was serving up the helpers with a 1-5-6 line vs. Nobles, and 4 assists a couple days later at Andover. And, like a metronome, Brendan Gorman just keeps making plays. LAST WEEK: Beat Nobles, 7-5; beat Andover, 8-4; beat Gov's, 2-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Nobles (Wed.), vs. @ Thayer (Fri.)
5
Cushing		 9-1-2
(6) Team GAA/GPG: 3.33/1.81 -- After a 19-day hiatus due to Covid, Cushing got back into the swing of things with wins over Thayer and Loomis. Senior G Jackson Irving (1.37/.944 with 4 shutouts) is having an excellent season. Senior C Billy Norcross has five assists over the last two games. Underclassmen Linas Dedinas, Landon Resendes, and D Zach Rizzo have been big offensive contributors since the break, taking up some of the slack with senior F Mason Kesselring out. (He should be back in action this week.) LAST WEEK: Beat Thayer, 7-4; beat Loomis, 4-0. THIS WEEK: vs. NMH (Wed.), @ Exeter (Sat.)
6
Brunswick		 10-3-0
(8) Team GAA/GPG: 4.80/2.36 -- The Bruins are 6-0-0 in January, but the schedule hasn't been as challenging as it was in December. (That'll change.) Junior C Eli Friedman, 'Wicks leading scorer, has a 3-9-12 line over the last six games. This entire team, except for d-men John Burdett and Maxime Sauve, is made up of underclassmen. LAST WEEK: Beat Delbarton, 4-1; beat Hoosac, 8-1. THIS WEEK: vs. South Kent (Wed.), vs. Williston (Sat.), vs. Salisbury (Mon.)
7
Dexter		 11-3-2
(7) Team GAA/GPG: 3.71/2.32 -- Dexter, with less offense than usual, has had to tighten up, and scratch and claw this season. Three of their last four games have been one-goal affairs. On the season, they're had nine such games. LAST WEEK: Beat Thayer, 4-2; beat Brooks, 4-3. THIS WEEK: vs. LA (Sat.)
8
Salisbury		 10-4-0
(N/R) Team GAA/GPG: 4.71/2.08 -- Have won five straight since the Flood-Marr, and seem poised to make a move. With 4 losses, the wiggle room is diminished, but they are #10 in RPI. Will they reclaim their usual spot in the Elite 8 or will they be playing in the Large School Tournament? LAST WEEK: Beat Choate, 4-0; beat T-P, 4-0; beat Berkshire, 3-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Gunn (Wed.)
9
Holderness		 12-1-1
(10) Team GAA/GPG: 5.50/1.76 -- Like KUA, the Bulls have a super-low OPW of .3820. Regardless, they win, and usually by comfortable margins. In the first couple of weeks of February, Holderness will face Exeter once and KUA twice. There's a chance they get a third matchup with KUA in the Lakes Region Tournament. LAST WEEK: Beat Tilton, 8-2; beat NYA, 6-3; beat Gov's, 4-1. THIS WEEK: @ Brewster (Wed.), vs. New Hampton (Fri.), vs. Kent Hill (Sat.)
10
Kent		 9-5-0
(N/R) Team GAA/GPG: 3.50/2.19 -- Kent is the opposite of KUA and Holderness. That is, their OPW is among the highest in prep hockey at .6429. (Westminster has a similar OWP, and the two teams will meet on Saturday at Westy, weather permitting.) The Lions have battled through Omicron and nine games of the one-goal/overtime variety. They are 4-3-0 against teams in the Top 16 in RPI, with wins over Salisbury and Brunswick, a split with both Avon and Gunnery, and a loss to KUA. Bottom line: With 5 losses, the Elite 8 is a stretch, but not impossible. LAST WEEK: Beat Hotchkiss, 4-0. THIS WEEK: @ Taft (Wed.), vs. Loomis (Fri.), @ Westminster (Sat.)
* Note: Only games between NEPSIHA Div. I schools -- the principal factor in determining seedings for the playoffs -- are included in the won-lost records above.