Suffield-Granby-Windsor
Locks
2012-13 Record: 8-11-1
Tournament Result: 18
seed- lost in qualifying round to (15) Trinity Catholic 3-0
 |
| Suffield-Granby-WL sophomore Colin MacDougald skating against Fermi |
The Wildcats of Suffield-Granby-Windsor Locks seemed like a
likely candidate to slot down to D3 but they stayed put, maybe in large part
due to the returning core that they will have this year. This group will be lead in large part
by CTHSHockey D2 Honorable Mention
Honoree junior Jake King (21 G, 15 A). He will be joined by senior Max Marson and sophomore Colin
Macdougald. The coop some
offensive potency this year with the graduation of Drew Ash (CTHSHockey D2 Honorable Mention) and
Casey Buchholz. The two combined
for 46 points last season. In net
the Wildcats will look to returning goalies senior Cam Clark and junior Shane
Kertanis. Both are certainly
capable to dazzle on any given night.
Defensive seniors Marc Adams and Scott McWhirter will bolster a
defensive unit that will have to be better than it was last year when the
Wildcats allowed 4+ goales ten times.
They will be given some help with the addition of transfer Kevin Slyne,
a physical defenseman from the Springfield Pics. Also look for freshman Jake Bourdeau, a NE Jr. Falcons product, to contribute early and often.
With a young, ambitious coaching staff, the Wildcats have the pieces
there and should be better than last season. King could really break out on to the scene, if he hasn’t done
that already. I think, given the
pieces, they made the right move hanging out at D2 for another year.
Trinity Catholic
2012-13 Record: 8-11-1
Tournament Result: 15
seed- defeated (18) Suffield-Granby-Windsor Locks 3-0 in Qualifying Round; lost
to (2) East Catholic 5-2 in First Round
A pair of five game losing streaks last season were too much
for Trinity Catholic to overcome even when they were able to run off wins
against quality opponents like Greenwich, Fairfield Co-op and
Watertown-Pomperaug. This year the
Crusaders come back looking to build on their tourney bid last season. They will do so without the services of
graduated captains Steven Lambrinakos, DJ Davis and Sean Dolan. The losses, when you really look at it,
shouldn’t hurt Trinity Catholic all that bad. They return some senior leadership and a pair of talented
youngsters who were both CTHSHockey D2 Honorable Mention last season.
Of course these two are junior forwards Griffin Northrop and Eryk
Wielgos. They are complemented on
offense by captain Will Egan and assistant captain Carmine Derubeis. On D, the Crusaders should be
competent. They bring back senior
assistant captain Tyler Steinquist and junior assistant captain Colin
Bernard. One of the strongest
areas on paper for the Crusaders will be in net where junior Kyle Odierno
returns for his third season manning the pipes for TC. Liam Shanahan and Quinn Thomson will be
relied on early as freshmen newcomers.
Trinity Catholic has a better team than they did last year. How much better? I’m not sure. But they could make a run at anywhere
from a 13-16 seed.
Trumbull
2012-13 Record: 5-15-0
Tournament Result: did
not qualify
Trumbull is only one of two (Wilton) D2 teams to stay at the
D2 level after not qualifying for the D2 state tourney during the 2012-13
season. This may have something to
do with their quality, entertaining D2 title run in 2011-12. Regardless, Greg Maxey’s squad looks to
make last season a distant memory.
They will do so with new faces between the pipes as seniors Matt Paolini
and Matthew Carter have graduated and sophomore Cam Doomany has left. The Eagles return all but four skaters
from last year’s five win squad with the obvious exits being senior A.J. Dimasi
(CTHSHockey D2 Honorable Mention) and
senior Sean Gallagher. The
Eagles will rely on an experienced, defense oriented squad led by senior Alex
Pierne, junior Sam Watson, senior Owen Polzello and junior Jake Crowe. In net, after the overhaul that saw
three goalies gone, the Eagles
will look to three new bodies to vie for playing time. These include senior Grant Vagnone,
junior Francis Fromageot, and Will Guttman. Things are kind of all over the place for the Eagles but
they are only a year removed from greatness. We can’t forget this, but until they show they can show up
every night, I have them toward the bottom of D2.
Watertown-Pomperaug
2012-13 Record: 14-5-1
Tournament Result: 4
seed- lost 3-2 to (13) Fairfield Warde-Ludlowe in First Round
 |
| WP celebrating a Jon Manzer goal last season against BBD. |
Boy, that was a tough way to go
out. Watertown-Pomperaug puts
together a fine regular season.
They started by running off six straight to open the year and when it was
all said and done boasted proud wins over Notre Dame-Fairfield, New Milford
(twice) Cheshire, Hand, Amity and an SWC championship over BBD. They weren’t supposed to go out like
they did. The Indians were one of
the most entertaining teams to watch in the state last year pairing brawn and
talent in a way that softened opponents and led to many wins. This year they will need to find some
replacements for many of the pieces that made them successful. 12 seniors are gone off last year’s
squad. That’s 77% of the Indians
scoring. They’ve lost leading
scorer Garret Young (27 points), Kyle Block (23 points), both CTHSHockey D2 Honorable Mention, add to
them 25 point scorer and CTHSHockey D2 2nd
Teamer Kevin Murphy, Phil Lequellec and Derek Bizier as well as senior
goalie Trevor St. Onge (CTHSHockey D2
Honorable Mention). What could
the Indians possibly have coming back?
Well, in net it would appear that two goalies will return to battle it
out to take ownership of the crease.
Junior Carl LaRosa will have the early edge after seeing extended time
last year while St. Onge was out with injury. Senior Christian Boutot is in the mix as well. The Manzer brothers, senior Jon Manzer
(19 G, 7 A) (CTHSHockey D2 Honorable
Mention) and sophomore Brian Manzer will need to pick up the slack with all
the exits. Look for senior Seamus
Conway and junior Ray Borsari to do their part on the back end. With such a thin roster, WP will have
to keep penalties down and play a gritty style they, luckily, are accustomed to
playing. It’s hard to vote against
this crew, but man, do they have a daunting task in front of them. Last year was probably their year but
that missed opportunity may haunt them.
Wilton
2012-13 Record: 5-15-0
Tournament Result: did
not qualify
Wilton had a difficult go at it last season. After a season opening win they dropped
13 straight games. The Warriors
won four of their final six but it wasn’t enough. Only two D2 schools who failed to make the state tournament
last season stayed at the D2 level entering this year. Trumbull staying makes more sense than
a Wilton team who struggled mightily last year to score goals (they only mustered
15 totals goals during the 13 game losing streak). This year Wilton returns many bodies who’ve seen past
action. In terms of key losses,
the Warriors will have to replace defenseman Henry Lee, goalie Nick Wells and
forward Alex Pagliaro, all graduates.
The Warriors have a solid replacement in net in the form of senior Derek
Prario and are anchored on D by seniors Joe Cullinan and Josh Worley as well as
junior Jameson Hill. If the
Warriors are to compete for a state birth at the end of the season this
defensive unit has to be impenetrable.
On the offensive end, they will be led by a dynamic junior class headed
by the lengthy Ned Zawislak, imposing Christian Hansson, and the gritty pair of
Kyle Jonas and David Craven. Look
for freshman Alec Beigen to make an immediate impact for the Warriors, a team
that should be better than last year.
The only thing standing in their way, and this has been well documented,
is the competition level of D2 this year.
Coming tomorrow... All-CTHSHockey Division 2 Team!
No comments:
Post a Comment