New England Hockey Journal - December 2015 - 49

NEW HAMPSHIRE

RHOdE ISLANd

defending champions

Bishop Guertin (Division 1), Dover (Division 2), BelmontGilford (Division 3), Hanover (girls)

The skinny

BOYS / Bishop Guertin was far from a shoo-in to win
last year's Division 1 title. The Cardinals were the No. 8 seed in
the tournament and were 9-9 at the end of the regular season
before catching fire. This year, expect the defending champs to
be a bit more north of .500 once the playoffs begin. They return
forward Justin Pearson, who had a hat trick in the team's 4-1
win over Concord in the title game and a team-high 31 points in
the regular season. The Crimson Tide should be back in the mix
after finishing runner-up in 2014. Concord returns Ben Nelson,
who made 44 saves in the team's double-OT semifinal win over
Pinkerton, and senior forward Bradley Murphy, a Div.1 All-State
honorable mention. ... In Div. 2, Dover and Spaulding will have
a hard time reaching the championship for a second straight
year. The Red Raiders graduated four All-State selections and
Dover lost three of its four, including goalie Luc Ravenelle.
Windham, Merrimack and Lebanon will look to capitalize. ...
First-time defending Div. 3 champ Belmont-Gilford should be
in the mix again alongside Souhegan, John Stark-Hopkinton
and Berlin-Gorham. The Mountaineers were the runner-up last
season and Souhegan won it all in 2014 when it defeated John
Stark-Hopkinton, 5-4, in the state final.
GIRLS / Simply put, it's still Hanover and then everyone
else in the girls division. The Marauders won their fifth straight
state championship last season when they doubled-up Bishop
Brady/Trinity, 6-3, at Verizon Wireless Arena. John Dodds' team
returns last year's division Player of the Year in forward Matti
Hartman, who is committed to Northeastern University, and
fellow captain Eliza Laycock. Hartman notched 60 points last
season on 37 goals and 23 assists. Laycock was one of six different
Marauders to score in last year's title game. Hanover will be the
heavy favorite again this season, but expect Bishop Brady/Trinity and Exeter to take steps forward. The Blue Hawks return the
sophomore duo of Bridget Babcock and Ashley Keaveney
that helped the team reach the postseason for the first time last
year. The Giant Pioneers reached their first championship game
last season and return goaltender Sarah Plourde.

Players to watch

BOYS / Tyler Poole, Pinkerton, sr., F; Justin Pearson,
Bishop Guertin, sr., F; Ben Nelson, Concord, sr., G; Chris
Lemay, Salem, sr., F; Caleb Drouin, Belmont/Gilford, sr., F
GIRLS / Matti Hartman, Hanover, sr., F; Meagan
Accardi, Berlin/Gorham, sr., D; Chelsey Caron, Berlin/
Gorham, sr., G; Eliza Laycock, Hanover, sr., F; Jenna Arguin,
Berlin/Gorham, sr., F
- ALEX HALL, @ALEXKHALL
of what this team had accomplished in
earning its first win over a juggernaut.
"I was getting text messages from
guys all over the country," said Jackson,
who said that one alum even told him
that he cried when he found out that
Smithfield had beat Mount St. Charles.
"That's the kind of stuff that sticks with
us. I read that text to my team."
That's the yearly grind for Smithfield though at Division 1, and the team
wouldn't have it any other way. In getting
to face the likes of LaSalle, Bishop Hendricken and Mount St. Charles numer-

La Salle Academy (Division 1 Cimini), Burrillville (Division
1 Eccleston), Johnston/North Providence (Division 3), La Salle
(Emma Division girls). Warwick (DeCosta Division girls)

The skinny

BOYS / La Salle Academy is turning to one of its own
to lead a program that will be looking to defend its first state
championship in 38 years. James Mello, the former
La Salle Academy and Dartmouth College goaltender,
was named the new boys head coach in October. Mello succeeds
Mike Gaffney, who retired as head coach last spring after
directing the Rams to the 2014-15 championship. Mello served
as an assistant on Gaffney's coaching staff this past season. ...
Steve King takes over as the new head coach of the Moses
Brown program. According to a press release issued by the
school, "King brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that
promises to make MB ice hockey strongly competitive in the
New England Prep School Athletic Council (NEPSAC)." A Rhode
Island native, King played at both Bishop Hendricken and Brown
University before embarking on a professional career in the
AHL and the NHL, including stints with the Providence Bruins,
New York Rangers and Anaheim.
GIRLS / History will be made in R.I. interscholastic
girls hockey this winter as a Catholic high school partners
up with not one, but two public high schools. The
cooperative arrangement between Mount St. Charles,
Lincoln and Cumberland - they will be referred to as the
Mounties with the Cumberland and Lincoln girls wearing MSC
jerseys with patches that designate where they're from -
speaks volumes to the willingness and understanding on the
part of the leaders at all three schools to not to let the sport
disappear from their respective athletic landscapes. The number
of participants at each school has been so low in recent seasons
that it would be borderline dangerous to field teams independent of one another. This unique union should take care of the
concerns in reference to a shortage of bodies, especially when
you take into account the Rhode Island Interscholastic League's
no-cut policy with regards to co-op teams.

Players to watch

BOYS / Patrick Creamer, Bishop Hendricken,
jr., F; Matt Manown, La Salle, sr., F; Tim Casilli,
Mount St. Charles, jr., D; Jack Boisvert, Mount St.
Charles, jr., D; Riley Miller, Bishop Hendricken, sr., F
GIRLS / Alexis Marciniak, South Country, sr., G;
Arianna Boscia, La Salle, sr., F; Madison Balutowski,
Warwick, sr., F; Alison Kelsey, East Bay, jr., D; Abby Bassett,
Burrillville/Ponaganset, sr. G
- BRENDAN MCGAIR, @BWMCGAIR03

ous times throughout the regular season, Jackson knows his players will be
ready. Regardless of the outcome, they
will come out on the other end stronger
than when they entered.
"Do you want to play up with the big
boys and have a very difficult time of
ever winning a state championship?"
Jackson asked his team. "Or do you want
to play down with the lesser teams that
maybe have more parity because it's a
more level playing field? It's a catch 22.
In the town we live in, my philosophy
was that if we move up a division, we will

VERMONT
defending champions

Essex (Division 1), Stowe (Division 2), Essex (Division 1 girls),
North Country (Division 2 girls)

The skinny

BOYS / It took six years and a few extra periods of play for
Essex to capture its 14th state title, but after a three-overtime
classic final win over South Burlington last season, Essex starts
a season in defense of a championship for the first time since
2009. The Hornets graduated eight, but return key pieces,
including goalie Erik Short, who stopped a record 48 shots in
that final game last season. South Burlington, which last won
it all in 2013, took a decent hit in graduating 11, but the return
of Brendan Lahue will spark the offense. ... After making the
finals in two straight seasons and six of the prior seven, Champlain Valley was bounced in the quarterfinals last year after a
double-overtime loss to BFA-St. Albans. CVU lost only six players
to graduation and is primed for a bounceback season as it hunts
for another state title. ... Stowe went a long way - three
postseason overtime games - to secure its second straight
championship last year. Now Stowe sets out to become the
first Division 2 program to win three in a row, and returning 16
players with heavy championship experience is a great way to
go about it. Chad Haggerty, who has registered goals in each
of the championship wins, returns to lead the Raiders toward
history. Of course U-32, Stowe's finals opponent a year ago and
a team that has made it to three of the past four championship
games (winning in '12 and '13), will do its best to stand in the
way. Junior Lucas Eldred is an explosive forward who can light
the lamp at a moment's notice.
GIRLS / The Essex girls helped solidify the Division 1
hockey monopoly in the state with their second straight and
fifth overall title. Over the past four seasons, the Hornets have
gone 11-1 in the postseason, and in their back-to-back title
runs they outscored their opponents 24-4. While they will have
to replace the offensive firepower of Melanie Theriault and
Kathleen Young, they do return 15 players, including five
blueliners. ... Last season North Country became the fifth different Division 2 champion in as many years. The defending
champions return eight players, including goalie
Mikaella Doran.

Players to watch

BOYS / Chad Haggerty, Stowe, sr., F; Erik Short,
Essex, sr., G; Brendan Lahue, South Burlington, sr., F;
Ethan Bartlett, Essex, sr., D; Lucas Eldred, U-32, jr., F
GIRLS / Emma Best, Middlebury, sr., F; Mikaella
Doran, North Country, sr., G; Aggie Biselle, Burr and Burton,
sr., F; Jessica Scott, Spaulding, jr., F; Anna Burke, Mount
Mansfield, jr., D
- CRAIG FORDE

keep our kids, and we have done that."
In the process, those players who have
stuck around, instead of bolting for the
big three programs, have created major
moments in Smithfield hockey history,
even in the absence of championships.
The underdog can never be underestimated, and though the results might not
always weigh in their favor, they gladly accept the role because of how it affects the
team, each of them different in their own
right, yet at the heart of it all, the same.
"We've always had that chip on our
shoulder of being an underdog," Kavana-

ugh said. "I appreciate it and I think the
kids in our community do as well"
"I really think any coach would prefer that underdog role," said Hanson. "It
kind of motivates the kids to play their
best, to pay attention to the small details
of the game, pay attention to systems, remain disciplined. When you're a favorite
and you're expected to win, sometimes
your focus isn't there quite as sharp as it
is when you know you can't make a mistake or you'll lose."

December 2015

feedback@hockeyjournal.com

www.hockeyjournal.com 49

New England Hockey Journal - December 2015

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