The brackets have been set; Neutral Zone staff weigh in on each matchup with a breakdown of each game, players to watch and even some predictions from the staff.
#1 Lawrence School vs. #8 Berkshire School
The Matchup: This is not a typical 1v8 matchup as both of these teams can win here; Lawrence comes into this game off a 12-game unbeaten streak (10-0-2) and Berkshire comes into off a 9-game win streak including wins over 4 playoff teams. Lawrence has the better record and are 3-2-0 against Elite 8 opponents while Berkshire is 2-3-1. Lawrence has more size and skill than Berkshire and they play with a real edge which makes them tough to play against. Berkshire however has 10 seniors and 7 underclassmen and will not be intimidated by Lawrence the way other teams are. They are more disciplined and more defensively sound and played a tougher strength of schedule. Overall, Lawrence has one of the best offenses in the league averaging over 4 goals per game so if they can stay out of the box and utilize their size and skill they have a good chance. With that being said Berkshire is not an easy matchup with their experience and disciplined approach which earned them wins this season over #2 Avon and #3 Salisbury.
Players to Watch: Riley Duran (Lawrence) – Providence Commit, Blake Humphrey (Lawrence) – Providence Commit, Kyle Furey (Lawrence), Damien Carfagna (Lawrence) – UNH Commit, Cole Teleki (Lawrence) – Providence Commit, Conor Lovett (Lawrence) – Merrimack Commit, Anthony Cafarelli (Lawrence), Aidan Thompson (Berkshire) – Denver Commit, Briggs Gammill (Berkshire) – Yale Commit, Abdoul Diouf (Berkshire), Jack Whitney (Berkshire), Jed Baliotti (Berkshire)
Predictions: (3 – 1 Lawrence)
Winner: Lawrence
“LA will win here because of their defensive core. Cole Teleki and Kyle Furey are underrated and their D transition well both ways. Riley Duran has been a beast and they’ll be too much for Berkshire to handle.” – Ian
Winner: Lawrence
“This is a tough road game for the Berkshire Bears going on the road and playing in a rucus environment. This is old school prep hockey; Charlie Corey will be yelling from the rafters. Ultimately the Spartans have too much size, strength and skill for Berkshire.” – Murph
Winner: Lawrence
“Lawrence is the deeper team and star forward Riley Duran is hitting his stride. Haven’t lost a game since January 24th and that streak won’t end here.” – Ed
Winner: Berkshire
“Lawrence is the more talented team, no question, and has the ability to blow the doors off Berkshire; but they lost their starting goalie in Millberg (Sacred Heart commit) half way through the season and they’ve had a fairly weak strength of schedule since then. Berkshire is older, more disciplined and have a 6’3 netminder who is tough to score against. They beat both Salisbury and Avon this year so there is nothing Lawrence will throw at them that they haven’t seen and conquered already.” – Brendan
#2 Avon Old Farms vs. #7 Nobles & Greenough
The Matchup: Avon Old Farms has been arguably the most dominate team in prep this season with the best record against Elite 8 competition (3-1-0) and the most wins of any team in the league with 23. The Winged Beavers always have talent but this years squad has a great balance of speed, skill and grit. They are on a 10-game winning streak and have scored 3 or more goals against every team they’ve played this season except for Berkshire. Nobles & Greenough is a diffrent story; they started the year 3-3-0 and looked like a bubble playoff team but then turned it around and have gone 10-0-2 in their last 12 games. They are a bit top heavy with their first line scoring 70% of the teams goals but they are talented at all three positions with a goalie in Marc Smith who can steal games, a balanced blue line with puck movers and hard to play against defenders and skill up front. With Avon’s depth and team speed they’ll be a difficult matchup for Nobles but can’t count them out seeing how they have wins over both #8 Berkshire and #1 Lawrence.
Players to Watch: Tabor Heaslip (Avon) – UCONN Commit, Drew Tsakounis (Avon) – Penn State Commit, Paul Davey (Avon) – Boston College Commit, JP Turner (Avon) – UNH Commit, Gentry Shamburger (Avon), Charlie Leddy (Avon) – Boston College Commit, Jack Cronin (Nobles) – Princeton Commit, Aidan Lyons (Nobles), David Jacobs (Nobles), Casey Severo (Nobles), Marc Smith (Nobles) – Wesleyan
Predictions: (2-2 Tie)
Winner: Avon Old Farms
“I’ve seen each of the 24 teams in the playoffs and Avon was the best I’ve seen. They can be beat, they aren’t perfect but Nobles just isn’t deep enough to go 3 periods against them. I don’t think it’s even close.” -Brendan
Winner: Avon Old Farms
“Avon is too deep for Nobles. The Winged Beavers can beat teams in multitude of ways and their goaltender has been a proven winner at every level he’s played.” – Murph
Winner: Nobles & Greenough
“Nobles is better than they get credit for; they have defenseman who are tough to play against and can also move pucks up ice and their deeper up front than they look. Top line could give Avon problems and goaltender Marc Smith is a gamer. Upset is coming to Connecticut.” – Ian
Winner: Nobles & Greenough
“Nobles is an underrated team and their top line is as good as any in prep hockey. Goaltender Marc Smith can steal a game and that’s exactly what he is going to do here for the upset. ” – Ed
#3 Salisbury vs. #6 Kimball Union
The Matchup: This is probably the best matchup of all the Elite 8 quarterfinal games given the history between these two teams. KUA and Salisbury have met in the Elite 8 Finals the past two years with the KUA Wildcats winning both. They met earlier this season at the Flood Marr Tournament at Nobles and Salisbury won that game 4-2 before winning the tournament against Hotchkiss the next day. While Kimball Union has the experience and three NE Prep titles behind them; they are not as deep as prior years teams and lost freshman phenom Adam Fantilli to a groin injury. They have arguably the most potent first line in the league led by Player of the Year candidate Sullivan Mack and NHL draft pick Tomas Mazura and a balanced blue line. Their goaltending is consistant and has the playoff experience you’d want for key moments. Salisbury has been a model of consistency this season losing just 3 games and sporting a 4-2-0 record against Elite 8 competition. They have greath depth throughout their lineup from forwards to defense to goaltending and more D1 prospects and commits of any team in the tournament. Both teams are very well coached and use their size, speed and structure to overpower opponents. In this game Salisbury has the edge given they can roll 3-4 lines all game long, they have discipline and structure and won’t hurt thesmelves. What the Crimson Knights do not have is a top line like KUA so if they take penalties or give that group opportunities the Wildcats have the talent to make them pay for it.
Players to Watch: Jarod Crespo (Salisbury) – Penn State Commit, Bayard Hall (Salisbury) – Brown Commit, Bobby Metz (Salisbury) – Colgate Commit, Lucas Mercuri (Salisbury) – UVM Commit, Matthew DeBoer (Salisbury) – Holy Cross Commit, Michael Fairfax (Salisbury), Dean Bauchiero (Salisbury) – Brown Commit, Cole Vallese (Salisbury) – Providence Commit, Sam Deckhut (Salisbury) – St. Lawrence Commit, Jake Quillan (Salisbury) – Quinnipiac Commit, Tomas Mazura (KUA) – Providence Commit, Sullivan Mack (KUA) – Cornell Commit, Luca Fantilli (KUA) – Michigan Commit, Connor Chalmers (KUA), Paul Dore (KUA), Ted Griffin (KUA) – Trinity Commit
Predictions: (2-2)
Winner: Salisbury
“Salisbury is the toughest team to play against in prep hockey. They are big, they are deep and they can roll 4 lines and wear down opponents. KUA hasn’t been beat in the playoffs the past 3 years but the Knights will change that in the opening round.” -Brendan
Winner: Salisbury
“If KUA can’t beat Salisbury at Flood Marr with Fantilli, they aren’t going to beat them in Connecitcut without him. ” – Ed
Winner: KUA
“KUA may be a bit inconsistent but Sully Mack is the best combo skill and grit forward in the league and they are acustom to winning during playoff time. They are not afraid of Salisbury and have experience and playoff succes on their side.” – Murph
Winner: KUA
“KUA all day. They are winners when it matters and they return a lot of players from last years championship squad. Don’t sleep on Veeti in net; he was a big reason for last years championship.” – Ian
#4 Dexter vs. #5 Hotchkiss
The Matchup: Dexter was the hottest team in prep hockey through the first half of the season but fell a few pegs in the closing months after losses to Thayer, Lawrence and New Hampton over a two week period. Dexter is a high flying, fast and talented team led by Prep Player of the Year candidate John Fusco. They are excellent on the breakout, they beat teams in transition with their speed and have several high end prospects who can change the game. Dexter hasn’t shown many holes this season if any but their losses have come against bigger, heavier teams and they rely on ’04 netminder Dylan Silverstein. Silverstein is one of the top ’04 goalies in the country and been lights out for them this season but that’s a lot to ask for a player that age. Hotchkiss, on the other hand, is almost the opposite. They aren’t as fast or as flashy but they are built from the goal out and are big, physical and tough to play against. They are playing their best hockey of the year going 12-1-2 in their last 15 games heading into playoffs. Hotchkiss has beaten other speedy teams like Berkshire, Nobles and Loomis througout the season so they won’t be intimidated by Dexters firepower up front. Henry Wilder, Hotchkiss’ netminder, is the best in the league and while he is more than capable of stealing a game, it’ll be a tough task given the weapons Dexter has. Arguably the best power play in prep hockey.
Players to Watch: Jack Dempsey (Dexter), John Fusco (Dexter) – Harvard Commit, Matt Fusco (Dexter), Matt Copponi (Dexter), Patrick Morrissey (Dexter), Doug Grimes (Dexter) – Boston University Commit, Ben Raymond (Dexter), Aidan Connolly (Dexter) – Sacred Heart Commit, John McElaney (Dexter) – Colby Commit, Culin Wilson (Dexter), Dylan Silverstein (Dexter), Henry Wilder (Hotchkiss) – Boston College Commit, Brian Haywood (Hotchkiss), Nick Traggio (Hotchkiss) – Brown Commit, Gavin Puskar (Hotchkiss), Karsen Dorwart (Hotchkiss), Jon Horn (Hotchkiss)
Predictions: (3-1 Dexter)
Winner: Dexter
“Dexter is faster, they are deeper and they are at home; Hotchkiss will compete but they won’t have enough to overcome Dexter’s talent.” – Ed
Winner: Dexter
“I think this is going to be a great matchup because Wilder can steal it and Hotchkiss plays hard but ultimately the Dexter defense led by the Fusco brothers will be too much for Hotchkiss to penetrate. Dexter’s special teams play will take over and be the difference maker in this one. ” – Ian
Winner: Dexter
“Dexter is the best skating team in the league. The difference between this team and year’s past is they have the versatility to play in open ice and below the dots. Players like Grimes, Connolly and Dempster can win puck battles and get the puck to the net while guys like Raymond, Wilson and Copponi can push the pace and create on the rush. Every game I have seen them play a different guy has been their best player which speaks to their depth. Dexter is lethal when all cylinders are going and because of that they’ll win in this one.” – Murph
Winner: Hotchkiss
“Dexter is a dangerous team given their speed and skill up front but I don’t like this matchup for them. They have played two games in 2020 against Elite 8 competition and lost both. Hotchkiss is really disciplined, they play a strong defensive game and Wilder is a game changer in net. Again, no question that Dexter is a better hockey team but I think this matchup doesn’t play to their strengths and they’ll lose a tight one.” -Brendan
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images