New England Hockey Journal - December 2015 - 48

2015-16 HIGH SCHOOL SEASON PREVIEw
CONNECTICUT
defending champions

Darien (Division 1), Suffield-Granby-Windsor Locks (Division
2), E.O. Smith-Tolland (Division 3), Simsbury and East CatholicGlastonbury-South Windsor (girls co-champions)

The skinny

BOYS / After finally getting over the hump and ending
a 45-year championship drought, the boys of Darien will try to
make sure the march to quench their title thirst is not nearly as
long as the last time. It might be a tall order this year, though,
with the likes of top scorer Jack Pardue and goalie Will Massie
graduating. Add to that the usual list of Division 1 contenders in
last season's runner-up Greenwich and a Fairfield Prep side looking
to erase the memory of an uncommon down year. Also expect
the likes of Notre Dame-Fairfield, Xavier and Glastonbury to be in
the scrum at season's end. ... The trend in Division 2 over the past
five years has been to have two newcomers in the championship
game. Bad news for defending champion Suffield-GranbyWindsor Locks and runner-up North Branford, plus the other
teams to get that far in the past half-decade. A positive trend for
the 11 other Division 2 schools. ... After suffering a heartbreaking
overtime loss to Newtown in the title game two years ago, E.O.
Tolland-Smith bounced right back and captured the program's first
ever state title last season. It will be without championship hero
Peter Meyer, who graduated, but the name will remain in the
form of younger brother Nick, who will try to make it back-toback titles in his junior year.
GIRLS / Simsbury and the East Catholic-Glastonbury-South
Windsor co-op have some unfinished business to attend to this
year. Last year the two teams battled it out in the state final, and
after two overtimes could not determine a winner, the game was
unexpectedly called at that point, tied 2-2, giving both programs
a piece of the crown. Both sides would like to make the title their
own this season but have graduated many key components from
last year's clubs, so time will tell if both can get back to the mountaintop. ... Last year's title game also marked the second straight
season that New Canaan was not a part of the championship
finale. That must seem like a lifetime for a program that captured
the first six girls titles in the state. Expect Catherine Granito
and company to do what they can to end that trend.

Players to watch

BOYS / Ryan Sherba, Tri-Town, jr., F; Jordan
Fongemie, Conard, sr., F; Willem Rooney, Simsbury, sr.,
D; Nick Meyer, E.O. Tolland-Smith, jr., F; Alec Andreucci, Notre
Dame-West Haven, jr., F;
GIRLS / Georgia Cassidy, Darien, sr., F; Catherine
Granito, New Canaan, sr., F; Mia Carroll, New Canaan, sr.,
D; Emily Rowland, Notre Dame-Fairfield, jr., D; Morgan
Peters, East Catholic, jr., G - CRAIG FORDE, @CRAIG_FORDE
Continued from Page 47

sure the kids were prepared and didn't
want them to experience that."
In sticking with the script, the underdog
Prep overcame once more, playing a calm,
disciplined game to capture their first state
hockey title in a 2-1 victory, completing an
improbable stretch of victories from a team
not many expected could pull it off.
"It was really an incredible stretch of
games and we knew that you could never
take a shift off because against any one
of those teams, if you had a bad period,

MAINE
defending champions

Scarborough (Class A), Messalonskee (Class B), Lewiston
(Girls)

The skinny

BOYS / St. Dominic's dominance brought it to the
Class A state championship, but it wasn't able to top
Scarborough as the Red Storm went on to capture their
seventh state title under Norm Gagne in a double-overtime
thriller. Steve Ouellette, head coach for St. Dom's, stepped
down after the season, replaced by Bob Parker. While things
are changing behind the bench for the Saints, the Lewiston
Blue Devils from across the river are gearing up for a lengthy
run with experience. Forwards Jeromey Rancourt and
Kyle Morin are looking to return to the state championship for
the first time since losing to Falmouth in 2013. Auburn's Edward
Little could be considered a dark-horse contender with plenty of
skill in its forwards. Perennial contenders who are expected to
make a run again this year can be found in Falmouth, Biddeford,
Bangor and Cheverus. ... The Eagles of Messalonskee glided
past Gorham in the Class B state championship after
opening the floodgates in the third period. Two of the three
top-line forwards, Jared Cunningham and Brandon
Nale, will be returning for the upcoming season as the
Eagles look for their third straight title. Hoping to knock
Messalonskee off of the top spot will be Kennebunk, Waterville
and Camden Hills, all teams that contended last season but
couldn't solve the Eagles.
GIRLS / The Lewiston Blue Devils won their second state
title, as they cruised past the Falmouth Yachtsmen 5-2. Allison
Frechette, who has since moved on to play prep hockey, scored
four goals for the Blue Devils in the contest. Lewiston also loses
experience on the blue line in Erica Lemieux and in goal with
Paige Fontaine. Scarborough is looking to make another run
at the championship with Sami Shoebottom and Elizabeth
Gross leading the way. Also vying for the championship is the
Leavitt/Edward Little Red Hornets out of Auburn. The
powerhouse team fell just short last season against the
eventual state champion Blue Devils.

Players to watch

BOYS / Gavin Bates, St. Dominic, so., D.;
Brandon Nale, Messalonskee, jr., F.; Jared
Cunningham, Messalonskee, sr., F;. Max Giard,
Edward Little, jr., F.; Kyle Morin, Lewiston, sr, F.; Jeromey
Rancourt, Lewiston, jr., F.
GIRLS / Sami Shoebottom, Scarborough, jr., F,;
Elizabeth Gross, Scarborough, jr., F.; Danita Storey, Greeley,
sr., G.; Mariah Vaillancourt, Leavitt/Edward Little, jr., G.
- ANDREW GAUMONT, @ANDREW_GAUMONT

or half period, they can take the game
over and steal it from you right there,"
said Hanson, who knows now that the
shoe will be on the other foot this year.
"Having won it last year we know going
in that we're going to be picked somewhere near the top. If we learned one
thing, we learned how hard it is. It is not
easy to win the whole thing."

Taking a big bite

The Smithfield boys won just three
games last season.
This is a program with a very rich tra-

48 NEw ENGLAND HOCKEY JOURNAL December 2015

MASSACHUSETTS
defending champions

St. John's Prep (Super 8), Hingham (Division 1), Westwood
(Division 2), Watertown (Division 3), Nashoba (Division 3A),
Reading (Division 1 girls), Falmouth (Division 2 girls)

The skinny

BOYS / St. John's Prep will get its first shot at defending a
Super 8 title and could have a good shot with goalie Kyle Martin
and 11 other seniors back. No one had their program playing
better all-around team hockey than Kristian Hanson did down
the stretch last year, and that added championship experience will
make this a more formidable Eagles team this season. Of course
they have the usual Catholic Conference juggernauts to deal with,
but with Malden Catholic losing would-be seniors Jack Adams
and Matt Filipe, and BC High losing Ryan Shea, things could
tilt in favor of the defending champions. Or could we be due for
another public school to take the mantle? It's been five years since
Hingham became only the second team to complete the feat, but
after taking the Division 1 title last year, it will be looking to get
the publics back on the map in the elite tourney. Woburn emerged
from the Middlesex League fray as the top team and nearly cut
down top-seeded Springfield Cathedral during the Super 8.
Returning the likes of Evan MacDonald up front, Tim Concannon
on the blue line and Sam Best in net will have Woburn lined up for
a return trip. But will it be the only Middlesex team in the mix, or
will the likes of Burlington and Reading exert their force to return
the Super 8? ... In August, Catholic Memorial announced that Mark
Cornforth would become the program's new head coach, ending
the 38-year reign of Bill Hanson, widely regarded as one of the
best high school coaches in the country. Hanson and the Knights
captured 17 state titles, including 13 Super 8 championships.
GIRLS / The Reading Rockets soared in last year's postseason, shutting out all four of their opponents en route to their first
state title. Repeating might not be so easy as they return just 10
from last year, losing would-be senior and three-time Middlesex
Player of the Year Ali O'Leary. Their finals opponent last year,
Acton-Boxboro, could be the team to beat, having returned 16
players, including Cali Loblundo, who has been the team's starting
goalie since she was in seventh grade.

Players to watch

BOYS / Keith Petruzelli, Springfield Cathedral, jr., G; Kyle Martin,
St. John's Prep, sr., G; Evan McDonald,
Woburn, sr., F; Eoin Hurley, Catholic
Memorial, sr., F;
Nick Howard, Burlington, sr., G
GIRLS / Caroline Seibold, Reading, jr., D; Adrieana
Rossini, Arlington Catholic, sr. F; Caty Flagg, Austin Prep, jr., G;
Cali Loblundo, Acton-Boxboro, sr., G; Megan Barrett,
Acton-Boxboro, sr., F
- CRAIG FORDE

dition, having taken three Rhode Island
Division 2 titles since 2006, including
an undefeated campaign in the 2008-09
season that paved the way for their move
to Division 1, giving them the chance to
challenge themselves against the state's
top programs.
Championships aside, the Sentinels
managed to make one of their three victories last season one of the most historic in program history.
In their first five years at Division 1,
they had not been able to solve mighty
Mount St. Charles, and it looked as if it

might be six straight years without a win
over the powerhouse program until an
early March tilt changed everything.
A back-and-forth affair was tied in
the final period of play, but strikes from
David Goolgasian and Charles Walsh
just seconds apart put Smithfield in the
driver's seat.
A late Mount goal made it 6-5, but
goalie Evan Carlton's 34 saves kept them
in check and gave the Sentinels their
first-ever win over the Mounties.
For days, coach Robert Jackson was
receiving messages from alumni, proud

Free digital subscription at hockeyjournal.com/free

New England Hockey Journal - December 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of New England Hockey Journal - December 2015