11/29/07
Salisbury Sharp at Founders’ League Jamboree
Going into the season, we were thinking about Salisbury and realizing that, while loaded with talent, they might also be a bit on the young side, perhaps too young to really make a big noise. That could indeed turn out to be the case, but yesterday at the Founders’ League Jamboree, the new sophomores looked like most schools' upperclassmen, and the team as a whole looked like they been on the ice for awhile -- they were definitely clicking.
Let's take a look at each of the games. Please note that all were 25-minute stop-time mini-games.
2:00 pm – Hotchkiss 2, Avon 2 (NHL Sheet). The slickest play in this game, which didn’t even result in a goal, came when Cam Atkinson, as dynamic and exciting a player as there is in prep school hockey, raced into the Hotchkiss zone on the forecheck, beat a Hotchkiss defenseman to the puck on the far wall, gained control in a flash and sent a pass from the wall to Chris Wieland streaking down the slot. Wieland fired, Hotchkiss goalie John Yanchek made the save – and Atkinson was right there for the rebound. Yanchek made the follow-up save as well.
As for the rest of the game, let's just say Avon coach John Gardner had a very long bench, with nowhere near enough room for all to sit. If we were plopped onto the Hotchkiss campus from Pluto (I know, not a planet) we probably wouldn't have been knocked out by what we saw of the Winged Beavers, but Gardner's kids weren't out to make any big statement. They'll have chances for that before long, and they are a very good, very deep team. If they get good goaltending they'll be very tough to beat.
At any rate, Hotchkiss broke out to a 1-0 lead on a goal by senior forward Luke Glendening, who fired one past Avon goaltender Max Fenkell from the right faceoff circle. Then Hotchkiss sophomore Derek Deblois, a ’91 we were impressed by, made a nifty pass out of the corner, hitting another promising soph, Mike Borge, right at the edge of the crease for a bang-bang goal to make it 2-0 Hotchkiss. At this point, we left for the Salisbury-Westy game on the big sheet, so missed Avon’s comeback. We can tell you that Atkinson scored (Paul Lee got the assist) and then Patrick Mullane tipped one home, with assists going to Richard Longobardi and Stefan Demopoulos. The latter played at Shattuck last year, and will be a difference maker for Avon this season. The 6’1” Lee, who played at L’ville last year and is a Dartmouth recruit, will also be a major addition.
2:20 pm – Salisbury 3, Westminster 0 (Olympic sheet). Salisbury totally controlled this 25-minute affair. They just did not share the puck with Westminster. So trust us when we say that Danny Donato did not leave the cupboard at Salisbury bare: this team is stronger than last year’s. Junior D Vic Heselton looks to have taken a huge step forward, as has junior D Kyle Quick. Junior defenseman Danny Biega is skilled and poised – a grade A prospect. Then there‘s senior LD Matt Clune, who was excellent as well. And then there is sophomore blueliner Brandon Russo, a ’92 who was feeling his way into things, and will be a major cog on the blueline before long. And those are just the d-men. Up front, junior left shot center Adam Pawlick looks like his game will be ratcheted up a notch -- he's a smooth skater, and aware of the game around him. Junior LC Frank Drolet is not exactly flashy, but he’s smart, and also very aware. Then there are the two ’92 sophomore forwards from California, LC Shane Sooth and LW Matt Nieto. Both were excellent -- right off the bat.
Oh, and we forgot to mention sophomore goaltender Andy Iles, also a ’92. He picked up the shutout, but it was a rocking chair shutout as Westminster had difficulty making plays or getting any quality shots in the Salisbury end.
Salisbury got its first goal when Clune hit PG Paul Jaskot with an excellent pass, and Jaskot buried it.
Minutes later, Clune, with Salisbury on the powerplay, took a rather innocuous wrister from the point -- and it snuck its way though for a 2-0 lead.
Salisbury scored another goal later in the period, from a scrum. We have no idea who actually poked it over the line.
3:00 pm – Kent 1, Loomis 0 (NHL Sheet). We didn’t see much of this one. Kent’s goal, though, was scored by 6’2” junior forward Mike Domsodi, a ’90 who played for Lac St. Louis last season and will be a nice addition for Kent this season, giving the team another high-end forward to go with the Daniels twins.
3:20 pm – Salisbury 2, Avon 0 (Olympic sheet). Anthony Borelli was in goal for this one and, like Iles before him, picked up the shutout, though he had to work harder for it than Iles did.
Avon skated some kids in this game who we didn’t see in the first game, like 5’8” sophomore Quinn Smith, who can play.
Salisbury had it going again in this tilt, forechecking particularly well, and also showing a strong transition game.
Sooth put Salisbury up 1-0, scoring from in tight. Sooth is not the prettiest skater, but neither was Nick Bonino, formerly of Avon, and look what he did last season. Sooth will be every bit as good before too much time passes.
Salisbury went up 2-0 when sophomore forward Kyle Hughes – another good prospect we haven’t mentioned yet -- was given room by the Avon D and, from the top of the right face off circle blasted one past Avon goaltender Joshua Dionne, blocker side.
4:00 pm – Westminster 2, Trinity-Pawling 1 (NHL Sheet). Westminster looked better in this game, breaking out to a 1-0 lead when senior Julien Boutet set up somebody – we didn’t catch the number – with an excellent pass. Senior forward Jordan So then made it 2-0 Westy off a nice pass by 6’1” junior forward Joey Campanelli, a player who really jumped out at us, and is worth a good look.
Trinity-Pawling made it a one-goal game when Mathieu Limoges scored from in front, beating Westminster goaltender Zach Visco who, somewhere in this game, took over from Mike Reed. (Charles Corsi started the first game for Westy.)
For T-P, sophomore Brandon Moore, who has wheels, is the standout. Senior Clark DeGeer looked good, as did senior goaltender Colin Bessey.
4:20 pm – Taft 2, Loomis 1 (Olympic sheet). Taft broke out to a 1-0 lead on a Zach Williams goal, with Matt Herskovitz assisting. Loomis tied it up when junior forward Joseph Tebano scored a power play goal. Taft won it on a goal by Sean Curran, with an assist from Tommy Cantwell. .
5:00 pm -- Trinity-Pawling 3, Deerfield 2 (NHL Sheet). Deerfield, like Avon, was working a lot of guys into the lineup and doing a whole lot of fiddling, trying out different things. So we’re not going to pay much attention to the score, not that we normally do at jamborees.
At any rate, Brandon Moore connected to give T-P a 1-0 lead, then T-P’s Robbie Sorrenti, who played a strong game, buried a nice pass from Moore to make it 2-0. T-P made it 3-0 when Clark DeGeer bounced a flukey one -- kind of an onsides kick -- past Deerfield goalie Michael Dizgun.
Deerfield then took over, with Malcolm Lyles going end to end, getting the puck to junior forward Antoine Laganiere, who made an excellent pass to junior forward Cody Skinner, who buried it. Laganiere, who played for the Chateauguay Patriotes Midget AAA squad last season, is a 6’4”, 185 lb. ’90 birthdate and a player you'll want to keep an eye on.
Deerfield has size this season. Dave Mackasey, whose brother Blair played for Deerfield a few years back and is now at Princeton, is a 6’4”, 205 lb. sophomore (’91 birthdate) who could turn out to be a very good player. Up front, we thought senior Merrick Friedman looks much improved, and we liked 6’0” junior Andrew Ammon, who plays with verve and energy. 6’5” Stephen Kelley, formerly of Roxbury Latin, is interesting. A sophomore – and late ‘90 birthdate – he could be OK if he is given the time to grow into that big frame.
5:20 pm – Hotchkiss 1, Choate 1 (Olympic sheet). This was a good game -- physical, competitive, and with both goals coming late.
Peter Massar scored for Hotchkiss, and defenseman Connor Goggin answered with a blast from above the left faceoff circle.
Both goalies, Yanchek and, for Choate, sophomore Nick Bondurant, played well.
6:00 pm – Kent 1, Deerfield 0 (NHL Sheet). Justin Daniels scored the game’s lone goal. Didn’t see a lot of this one, to be honest.
6:20 pm Taft 3, Choate 1 (Olympic sheet). The Rhinos broke out to a 1-0 lead on a great shot by senior defenseman George Hughes. The Wild Boars came back, with junior Joel Goodsell tying up the game at 1-1 from in front. It looked like things would end 1-1 – both Choate goaltender Kevin Donovan and Taft goaltender Steve Racine were playing well. However, defenseman Kevin Reich made a great pass to Andrew Balysky, who has a knack for coming up with key goals and, with 14 seconds left, buried it. Taft forward Jesse Root scored an empty-netter with two seconds left on the clock.
The games were running late, and ended about six hours after they’d started. Most observers at these games will, if Hotchkiss is host again next fall, bring extra layers. These rinks were cold. No matter – Lakeville is in a nice corner of Connecticut, and, as always, a fine place to visit on a late fall day. Nice light. Too bad I can't paint. If I could I would have knocked off an oil painting. But I can't, so I watch hockey -- and that’s OK.
10th Annual Canterbury Holiday Classic
--Hosted by the Canterbury School, New Milford, Conn., Fri.-Sat. Dec. 14-15, 2007. (Some games will be played at the Gunnery’s rink.)
Participating Teams: Kingswood-Oxford, Canterbury, Hill School, Northfield-Mt. Hermon, Rye Country Day, Vermont Academy, Kents Hill, Long Island Waves.
Fri. Dec. 14, 2007:
Game #1 – 1:00 pm – Kingswood-Oxford vs. Vermont (@ Gunnery)
Game #2 – 1:00 pm – Canterbury vs. Hill (@ Canterbury)
Game #3 – 3:00 pm – Northfield-Mt. Hermon vs. LI Waves (@ Gunnery)
Game #4 – 3:00 pm – Kents Hill vs. Rye CD (@ Canterbury)
Game #5 – 5:00 pm -- Consolation from Games 1 & 2 (@ Rink TBD)
Game #6 – 5:00 pm – Winners from Games 1 & 2 (@ Rink TBD)
Game #7 – 7:00 pm -- -- Consolation from Games 3 & 4 (@ Gunnery)
Game #8 – 7:00 pm -- Winners from Games 3 & 4 (@ Canterbury)
Sat. Dec. 15, 2007:
Game #9 – 9:00 am – 5th Place Game: Winners from Games 5 & 7 (@ Canterbury)
Game #10 – 9:00 am -- 7th Place Game: Consolation from Games 5 & 7 (@ Gunnery)
Game #11 – 11:00 am – 3rd Place Game: Consolation from Games 6 & 8 (@ Canterbury)
Game #12 – 1:00 pm – Championship Game: Winners from Games 6 & 8 (@ Canterbury)
Wed. Nov. 28 Recaps
-- Exeter, at home, topped Hebron 5-0. Sophomore forward, Christine Bravi and senior defenseman Madison Gilmore each scored two goals to support sophomore Lisa Marshall’s shutout in her Exeter debut. Freshman Katie Sullivan also scored in her first varsity game.
-- At South Hamilton, Mass., visiting North Yarmouth Academy trounced Pingree, 10-1. Sophomore forward Courtney Dumont (4g,3a) figured in seven of her team’s goals. Other big point producers were sophomore Lianna Hachborn (1g,3a), junior Nicole Fuller (2g,1a), and junior defenseman Madeline Lane (1g,2a).
-- Stanstead College, behind a four-point effort from junior Olivia DeMerchant (2g,2a), beat Bishop’s College School.
Note:
Most of the above information is drawn from box scores uploaded by the schools. It’s a good way to get the word out about your program and players, so, if you enter the box scores, we’ll do the rest. If you wish to write a few sentences on a game, that would be great, too, but please remember to be balanced in your reporting and mention the other team’s successes as well. Thank you. The email address is information@ushr.com
10th Annual NMH Holiday Tournament
-- at Gill, Mass.; Fri-Sat. Dec 7-8, 2007
Fri. Dec. 7:
5:00 pm – NMH vs. Vermont Academy
7:00 pm -- Kingswood-Oxford vs. Connecticut Northern Lights
9:00 pm -- Thayer vs. Troy Ice Cats
Sat. Dec. 8:
8:00 am – NMH vs. Troy Ice Cats
10:00 am -- Kingswood-Oxford vs. Thayer Academy
12:00 pm – Connecticut Northern Lights vs. NMH
2:00 pm – Thayer vs. Vermont Academy
4:00 pm -- Troy Ice Cats vs. Kingswood-Oxford
6:00 pm – Vermont Academy vs. Connecticut Northern Lights
Taft Tournament
The 25th Annual Patsy K. Odden Invitational Hockey Tournament will take place Thurs. and Fri. Dec. 13th-14th at the Taft School, Watertown, Conn.
Group A: Loomis, Hotchkiss, Kuper Academy (Kirkland, Que.), Lawrenceville.
Group B: Taft, Tabor, NAHA Red, Choate.
Thurs. Dec. 13, 2007:
8:00 am – Taft vs. Choate (Odden Arena)
8:30 am – Tabor vs. NAHA Red (Mays Rink)
9:45 am – Loomis vs. Hotchkiss (Odden Arena)
10:15 am – Lawrenceville vs. Kuper (Mays Rink)
2:30 pm – Taft vs. NAHA Red (Odden Arena)
3:00 pm – Loomis vs. Lawrenceville (Mays Rink)
4:15 pm – Tabor vs. Choate (Odden Arena)
4:45 pm – Hotchkiss vs. Kuper (Mays Rink)
Fri. Dec. 14, 2007:
8:00 am – Taft vs. Tabor (Odden Arena)
8:30 am – Choate vs. NAHA Red (Mays Rink)
9:45 am – Loomis vs. Kuper (Odden Arena)
10:15 am – Hotchkiss vs. Lawrenceville (Mays Rink)
2:00 pm – Championship Game (Odden Arena)
2:00 pm – Third Place Game (Mays Rink)
Watkins Tournament Schedule
The Edward G. Watkins Tournament at Cushing Academy will be held from Thurs-Sat. Dec. 13-15 this season.
Fisher Division: Cushing, Culver, Gunnery, Northwood.
Iorio Division: Berkshire, Gilmour, National Sports Academy, North American Hockey Academy (White).
Thurs. Dec. 13, 2007
2:30 pm – Cushing vs. Northwood
4:20 pm – Culver vs. Gunnery
6:10 pm – Berkshire vs. NAHA White
8:00 pm – Gilmour vs. National Sports Academy
Fri. Dec. 14, 2007
8:00 am – Cushing vs. Gunnery
9:50 am – Culver vs. Northwood
11:40 am – Berkshire vs. National Sport Academy
1:30 pm – Gilmour vs. NAHA White
3:20 pm – Cushing vs. Culver
5:10 pm – Northwood vs. Gunnery
7:00 pm – Berkshire vs. Gilmour
8:50 pm – NAHA White vs. National Sports Academy
Sat. Dec. 15, 2007
8:00 am – Fisher 4 vs. Iorio 4
10:00 am – Fisher 3 vs. Iorio 3
12:00 pm – Fisher 2 vs. Iorio 2
2:00 pm – Fisher 1 vs. Iorio 1
Westminster Invitational
-- at Westminster School, Simsbury, Conn.; Sat.-Sun. Dec. 15-16, 2007
Gold Division: Westminster, Kent, Phillips Exeter.
Black Division: Governor’s Academy, Greenwich Academy, Brooks School.
Sat. Dec. 15:
9:00 am – Exeter vs. Westminster
11:00 am – Brooks vs. Governor’s
1:00 pm – Kent vs. Exeter
3:00 pm – Governor’s vs. Greenwich
5:00 pm – Westminster vs. Kent
7:00 pm – Greenwich vs. Brooks
Sun. Dec. 16:
9:00 am – Black 3 vs. Gold 3
11:00 am – Gold 2 vs. Black 2
1:00 pm – Championship Game: Black 1 vs. Gold 1
11/6/07
Wanted: Some Good People
The U.S. Hockey Report is looking for some good people with knowledge of -- and passion for -- the girls prep game.
Our goal is to elevate USHR’s coverage of girls prep hockey, and lift it up to the boys’ level. We have a way to go, though. On the boy’s side, which has been online for over ten years, prep coaches upload their school’s rosters, schedules and, right after every game, complete box score. As a result, we have a huge amount of information on boy’s prep hockey, including weekly Div. I and Div. II polls, game stories, news, and complete standings and scoring/goaltending leaders. For future historians, we have an archive of players and teams. The system works.
Not all prep girls coaches take full advantage of USHR. Some might not even know about it! To those coaches who do upload their team’s information to the site, we thank you. The players, parents, college coaches, alums, etc. who read these pages also thank you.
However, we need a few people to help track down missing information and fill in the gaps. In addition, we’d like to add some of the features we have in the boys’ section – Div. I and II polls, for example. We need to make sure that we have scores for all Div. I and Div. II games that are played. We need to have an up-to-date schedule that takes into accounts weather cancellations, etc. We need to have every roster and schedule from every prep school. We need people to send in news items. We need someone to track college commitments. (And if anyone would like to work on commission, we would like to find someone to sell advertising.)
The U.S. Hockey Report, which is based in Cambridge, Mass., is a pay subscription site for the boys’ side. For the girls, however, it’s still totally free of charge, as we’re taking some of the subscription revenue from the boys and using it to build up the girls’ side. In other words, this typist is paying for it out of pocket! It’s worth the time and money, though.
USHR volunteers/interns can come from the ranks of parents, players, student managers, school sports reporters – or anywhere. We are looking for reliability, accuracy, and honesty. That’s all. The work is not complex.
Students replying to this help wanted request should know that they will be considered full-fledged US Hockey Report interns. They can put their USHR work on their resume. If they do their work well, they can also count on letters of recommendation to prospective employers. We have had interns who have gone on to be student managers for college hockey programs. Others have used their work with USHR to help get work with daily papers. Others have gone to work as interns at college sports information offices. Some have used working for USHR as a way to keep their hands in the game, and have gone on to (or returned to) coaching positions.
We find it enjoyable to cover the prep hockey scene, and we’d find it very heartening to successfully build the USHR Girls Prep section into something special. We think it can be done, but we need everyone’s help.
If you’re smart and have passion for the game, please email or call.
Chris Warner
Editor/Publisher
U.S. Hockey Report
1770 Massachusetts Ave., #195
Cambridge, Mass. 02140
Tel. (617) 480-1755
Fax: 617-714-3023
Email: information@ushr.com
Boys site: www.ushr.com
Girls site: girls.ushr.com
Howard Invitational Tournament
Participating Schools: St. George’s School, Hebron Academy, Holderness School, and Millbrook School.
Fri. Dec. 14, 2007:
3:15 pm – St. George’s vs. Holderness (Howard Rink)
4:00 pm – Millbrook vs. Hebron (Cutler Rink)
8:30 pm -- Holderness vs. Millbrook (Cutler Rink)
9:00 pm – St. George’s vs. Hebron (Howard Rink)
Sat. Dec. 15, 2007:
9:00 am – Holderness vs. Hebron (Cutler Rink)
9:15 am – St. George’s vs. Millbrook (Howard Rink)
Deerfield Holiday Invitational
-- at Deerfield Academy, Deerfield, Mass.; Thurs.-Sat. Dec. 13-15, 2007
Participating Schools: Deerfield Academy, Milton Academy, Trinity College School (Port Hope, Ont.), Nichols School, Brewster Academy, Lake Forest Academy.
Thurs. Dec. 13:
7:00 pm -- Deerfield vs. Milton
Fri. Dec. 14:
9:00 am -- Deerfield vs. Trinity
10:45 am -- Milton vs. Nichols
12:30 pm -- Brewster vs. Lake Forest
2:15 pm -- Trinity vs. Milton
4:00 pm -- Brewster vs. Deerfield
5:45 pm -- Lake Forest vs. Nichols
Sat. Dec. 15:
8:00 am -- Lake Forest vs. Trinity
9:45 am -- Nichols vs. Brewster
11:30 am -- Milton vs. Lake Forest
1:15 pm -- Trinity vs. Brewster
3:00 pm -- Nichols vs. Deerfield
2007 Harrington Holiday Tournament
-- at Noble & Greenough (Dec. 14), and BB&N (Dec. 15).
Participating Schools: Nobles, BB&N, Lawrence Academy, Middlesex, Pomfret, Rivers, St. Mark’s, and Williston-Northampton.
Fri. Dec. 14 (at Noble & Greenough; Dedham, Mass.):
10:00 am – Game 1: Pomfret vs. Nobles
11:45 am – Game 2: BB&N vs. Williston
1:30 pm – Game 3: St. Mark’s vs. Rivers
3:15 pm – Game 4: Lawrence vs. Middlesex
5:00 pm – Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
6:45 pm – Game 6: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4
Sat. Dec. 15 (at BB&N; Cambridge, Mass.):
8:30 am – Game 7: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
10:15 am – Game 8: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4
12:00 pm – Game 9: Loser Game 5 vs. Loser Game 6
1:45 pm – Game 10: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6
Consolation Game:
3:30 pm -- Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8
Championship Game:
5:30 pm -- Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8
