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* * 🏒  HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT GUIDE  🏒 * *

Sat. 3/4/23

*NEPSAC Semifinals Highlights*
Saturday, March 4, 2023

***

Elite 8:

#1 Cushing Edges #5 Brunswick; #2 Avon Trounces #6 Belmont Hill

@ Avon Old Farms 7, Belmont Hill 2

Avon, once again the #2 seed entering the post-season, and once again facing Belmont Hill in the semis, took care of some unfinished business today, avenging last season's semifinal home loss to the Sextants with a decisive 7-2 win, sending the Winged Beavers on to Sunday's championship game matchup with #1 Cushing.

This game started off with a bang, as Belmont Hill's big senior defenseman Matt Biotti, a Harvard commit, scored 30 seconds in, only to be matched by a goal from Avon's junior Ryan Flaherty at the 1:51 mark, just about the time folks were finding their seats. Much later, as in four minutes (!) later, Belmont Hill senior Ryan O'Donnell, off a nifty pass from Dan Markham (his second assist), put the visitors ahead, 2-1, just 5:48 in.

Avon settled down after that, slowing things down, and stopping the bleeding. But the period ended with Belmont Hill holding that 2-1 lead.

Avon came out hard for the second, scored three (two of which came 48 seconds apart), and exploded over the next two periods, adding three in the third and, in sum, scoring six unanswered goals en route to a 7-2 win and a slot in Sunday's championship game matchup.

The third period belonged to senior Joe Odyniec, the big winger on Avon's top line with fellow seniors Charlie Gollub and Joe Connor. Odyniec, a UConn commit, notched a natural hat trick, with the third goal coming on an empty-netter.

Avon's senior goaltender, Stephen Peck, stopped 30 of 32 shots en route to the win.

John Gardner's Winged Beavers' halcyon days ran from 2004-2010, with five prep titles in a seven-year stretch. Gardner, who started coaching at Avon in 1974 and has over 800 wins under his belt, has won eight New New England prep titles. Can he add a ninth?

@ Cushing 2, Brunswick 1

Cushing senior goalie Cooper Rautenstrauch stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced and PG Jack Costanzo's second- period tally stood up as the game-winner as top-seeded Cushing held on to edge red-hot Brunswick and advance to the Elite 8 title game. On the surface, this was a close one, but, after the first period, lacked the high-level playmaking that typically marks a classic playoff bout.

Starting at the beginning, just 34 seconds into the game, Cushing junior Landan Resendes, a BC commit, once again stated his case as New England's best player, slipping across the blue line uncovered and, with a last-second move to his forehand, burying the game's first shot. 1-0, Cushing.

The rest of the opening period was played with pace and energy on both sides, with a few good chances for the Bruins and a few more for the Penguins. Brunswick cashed in with 3:50 left in the first, when senior James Shannon, a Quinnipiac pledge, fed junior Sean Gibbons, who tied the game with his 21st goal of the year.

Brunswick held a slight advantage in shots after the first, but Cushing came out for the second playing stout, physical defense. The game ground to a halt, and Paul Pearl's team proved it can win that way, too. In their own end, they blocked shots, tightened up in front of the net, and relied on Rautenstrauch as the last line of defense. The Penguins took the lead for good on the rush, when senior Ethan Gardula, a UConn commit, ripped a tape-to-tape pass to Costanzo who, crashing the net, deflected it past Brunswick goalie Brendan Holahan at the 10:52 mark for what turned out to be the game-winning goal.

After that, it never really looked like Brunswick had any shot to re-tie the game. Cushing simply took over, outshooting the Bruins, 19-10, across the final two periods, and just clamping down in the offensive end.

The win sets up Sunday's marquee Elite 8 title game matchup between #1 Cushing and #2 Avon -- the meeting that's been awaited by anyone who's followed prep hockey this season. Cushing will be looking for its first prep title since 1998.

***
Large Schools:

#2 Salisbury Tops #3 Dexter; #1 Taft Upends #5 Tabor

@ Salisbury 3, Dexter 1

It's been pretty clear all season that Salisbury doesn't have the level of talent on its roster that the rest of New England has grown to expect from the Crimson Knights, but Andrew Will's team has been tough down the stretch.

In today's semifinal, neither side found the back of the net after a back-and-forth first that featured a handful of quality rushes on each end.

Salisbury got on the board first, 4:25 into the second, on a goal by sophomore standout Liam Kilfoil. Again, Dexter swung back onto the offensive in the middle part of the frame, but the Salisbury defense, anchored by PG goalie Matt Alberti, stood pat. Salisbury led, 1-0, after two. 

Four-and-a-half minutes into the final period, Dexter went on the man advantage -- its third power play in under seven minutes of play. But it wasn't Dexter that cashed in, as Salisbury junior Seamus Latta notched a shorthanded goal that would turn out to be the game-winner. Senior Trey Deere tacked on an empty-netter before the visitors finally got on the board with a Mick Frechette 5x3 goal in the final minute of play. Alberti (20/21) was excellent in picking up the win, but it was Salisbury's blueliners, after turning away Dexter on trip after trip into the offensive zone, who stole the show.

@ Taft 4, Tabor 1

As junior goalie Rudy Guimond goes, so goes Taft. That's how it's gone all season, anyway. Luckily for the Rhinos, Guimond brought his A-game Saturday, turning aside all but one of the 47 shots Tabor sent his way. Remarkably, it's the 11th time this season Guimond has made 42 saves or more in a single game. As a result, Taft won this one convincingly over the fifth-seeded Seawolves despite being outshot 47-32 on their home ice. On the attack, it was a three-point day for junior Derek Tremblay, who scored twice and added a helper, and a three-point day for senior Jackson Holl, who tallied a goal and two assists. It was already 4-0 Rhinos by the time Tabor senior Liam Johnson finally got one by Guimond with 12:21 left in the game. The Taft victory sets up an intriguing Large School championship matchup against Salisbury. The Knights are playing their best hockey of the season, but the Rhinos epitomize a tough-to-beat postseason prep hockey team: they're big, they're experienced, and they've got the  goaltending to back it up.

***

Small Schools:

#3 Gunn Defeats #2 Holderness in OT; #4 LA Edges #8 New Hampton

@ Lawrence Academy 4, New Hampton 3

Junior Brendan Hirsch's third goal of the game, with 7:56 left, was enough to lift the host Spartans over New Hampton, which, despite not having held a playoff spot until the last day of the regular season, snuck in as the tournament's final seed and knocked off top-seeded St. Mark's in OT Wednesday.

Saturday's semifinal was a close, back-and-forth tilt, with the two teams taking turns scoring in the opening frame, and LA taking a 3-2 advantage into the first intermission after senior d-man Sam Marchionni broke the deadlock with a minute-and-a-half left in the period.

The only goal of the second, however, belonged to New Hampton, and it came just 31 seconds into the period, when senior Scott Lagos, open between the circles, took a feed from freshman teammate Marco Senerchia and banged a shot past Spartans' goalie Vincent Lamberti. In response, the Spartans increased the pressure, closing in on Huskies' goalie Nate Zerrenner, but couldn't get back on the score sheet before the teams, tied at 3-3, retreated to the locker rooms.

In the third, Hirsch's third goal, the game-winner, came just over 10 minutes into the period, when senior defenseman JS Pack left a drop pass for Josh Erickson, who flung a left-handed wrister on net. Zerrenner made the initial save, but couldn't corral the loose puck before Hirsch whacked it into the open net, propelling his team to the title game.

Frederick Gunn 3 @ Holderness 2 (OT)

Gunn senior Peter Unger's game-winner, 2:24 into the extra frame, completed an improbable comeback in what was, unsurprisingly, a well-defended, low-scoring game highlighted by the play of the two best backstops in this year's Small School field: Gunn senior Ryan Crowshaw and his Holderness counterpart Evan Plunkett.

It took nearly two periods before either surrendered a goal. Finally, Holderness senior Maxime Charbonneau, broke the ice, putting the Bulls up 1-0 in the final minutes of the second.

Early in the third, Holderness sophomore, Jacob Duval doubled the lead, making it 2-0. Suddenly, Holderness, which was a win away from a second consecutive Elite 8 berth, was sitting pretty with a trip to the Small School final on the line. Enter the Gunn offense, which awoke from its slumber and suddenly turned up the heat amid sub-30-degree temperatures at Holderness's semi-outdoor Fiore Rink.

Almost 10 minutes after Duval put the Bulls up 2-0, Christian Wood, Gunnery's big, physical senior defenseman, sliced that lead in half with the fifth goal of his prep career. Still, the Highlanders trailed as the game entered its final stages. With Crowshaw (who finished 28/30) pulled for the extra attacker, senior Frenchman Paul Tollet tied the game with a 6x5 goal and 1:27 left in regulation.

Less than three minutes into OT, Unger's game-winner sent Gunn to its third straight Small School Championship Game.

Sun. 3/5/23 -- final

NEPSAC Girls' Hockey Tournament Championships
Sunday, March 5, 2023
At The Taft School

Chuck Vernon Tournament (Elite 8)
#1 Williston vs. #2 Andover, 4:00 pm --  Williston, 4-1

1st period: No scoring
2nd period: W - Zola Pierkarski (Ava DeCoste, Emily Crovo)
W - Emily Crovo (unassisted)
W - Miranda Calderone (Ava DeCoste, Emily Crovo)
3rd period: W - Monique Lyons (unassisted)
A - Julia Simon (Deanna Buenzow)

Williston goaltender: Liv Ferebee '25
Tournament MVP: Williston forward Emily Crovo '23

A special congratulations to the Williston players and head coach Christa Talbot Syfu for an undefeated season (27-0-1). No small feat!

***
Patsy Odden Tournament (Large Schools)

#1 St. Paul's vs. #6 Taft, 1:15 pm -- St. Paul's, 2-0

1st period: SPS - Tess Mulkerron (Brennan Ricker)
2nd period: No scoring
3rd period: SPS - Brennan Ricker (Maude Niemann, Charlotte Wensley)

St. Paul's goaltender: Ally Martiniello '24
Tournament MVP: Ally Martiniello '24
***
Dorothy Howard Tournament (Small Schools)

#1 Groton vs. #3 New Hampton, 11:00 am -- New Hampton, 3-1

1st period: No scoring
2nd period: NH - Averi Curran (Kayleigh Michaud-Nolan)
3rd period: NH - Julia Pellerin (Jansen Lucas)
G - Christina Scalese (Jaclyn Trudell)
NH -- Jansen Lucas (Lucie Legro)

New Hampton goaltender: Yejin Lee '24
Tournament MVP: Julia Pellerin '23

Fri. 3/3/23 -- Updates Sat. 3/4/23

NEPSAC Girls' Hockey Tournament
* Semifinals Scoreboard *
Friday-Saturday, March 3-4, 2023

Chuck Vernon Tournament (Elite)
#5 Nobles @ #1 Williston, 2:00 pm Saturday -- Williston, 1-0 (OT)
#3 Kent @ #2 Andover, 2:00 pm Saturday -- Andover, 2-0

Sunday's Elite Championship:
#1 Williston vs. #2 Andover, 4:00 pm -- at Taft

Patsy Odden Tournament (Large Schools)
#5 BB&N @ #1 St. Paul's, 6:00 pm Friday -- St. Paul's, 1-0
#6 Taft @ #2 Westminster, 6:00 pm Friday -- Taft, 2-1

Sunday's Large School Championship:
#1 St. Paul's vs. #6 Taft, 1:15 pm -- at Taft

Dorothy Howard Tournament (Small Schools)
#4 Millbrook @ #1 Groton, 2:00 pm Saturday -- Groton, 4-0
#3 New Hampton @ #2 Cushing, 2:00 pm 12:00 pm Saturday -- New Hampton, 2-1

Sunday's Small School Championship:
#1 Groton vs. #3 New Hampton, 11:00 am -- at Taft


                                ***

            How'd They Get Here?
Wednesday's Quarterfinals Results

Elite 8
@ #1 Williston Northampton 3, #8 Loomis 2
@ #2 Andover 3, #7 Milton 1  
@ #3 Kent 4, #6 Southfield 3 (OT)  
#5 Nobles 2 @ #4 Tabor 1     

Large Schools
#1 St. Paul's -- bye
#2 Westminster  -- bye
@ #3 Taft 4, #6 Choate 1  
#5 BB&N 2 @ #4 Austin Prep 1  

Small Schools
#1 Groton -- bye
#2 Cushing -- bye
@ #3 New Hampton 3, #6 Portsmouth Abbey 2  
@ #4 Millbrook 4, #5 Lawrence Academy 1 

Sat. 2/25/23 -- updated

NEPSAC Girls' Hockey Tournament
* Quarterfinals Scoreboard *
Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Chuck Vernon Tournament (Elite)

#8 Loomis @ #1 Williston Northampton, 4:00 pm -- Williston, 3-2
#7 Milton @ #2 Andover, 4:00 pm -- Andover, 3-1
#6 Southfield @ #3 Kent, 3:00 pm -- Kent, 4-3 (OT)
#5 Nobles @ #4 Tabor, 4:30 pm -- Nobles, 2-1

Semifinals Schedule, Saturday 3/4/23:
#5 Nobles @ #1 Williston, 2:00 pm
#3 Kent @ #2 Andover, 2:00 pm

Patsy Odden Tournament (Large School)

#1 St. Paul's -- bye
#2 Westminster  -- bye
#6 Choate @ #3 Taft, 2:30 pm -- Taft, 4-1
#5 BB&N @ #4 Austin Prep, 6:00 pm -- BB&N, 2-1

Semifinals Schedule, Friday 3/3/23:
#5 BB&N @ #1 St. Paul's, 6:00 pm
#6 Taft @ #2 Westminster, 6:00 pm

Dorothy Howard Tournament (Small School)

#1 Groton -- bye
#2 Cushing -- bye
#6 Portsmouth Abbey @ #3 New Hampton, 4:00 pm -- New Hampton, 3-2
#5 Lawrence Academy @ #4 Millbrook -- Millbrook, 4-1

Semifinals Schedule, Saturday 3/4/23:
#4 Millbrook @ #1 Groton, 2:00 pm
#3 New Hampton @ #2 Cushing, 2:00 pm

Championship Sunday, 3/5/23 -- Hosted by Taft
Small School, 11:00 am
Large School, 1:15 pm
Elite 8, 4:00 pm