Week #2 NZ Prep Poll Top 15

This past week 8 of the top 15 teams lost games including all of the teams in the top 3. After Sunday’s games the NZ team came together to formulate a new Top 15 Rankings. Hotchkiss, Nobles and Tilton went from bottom 5 teams in the poll to top 5 teams and Deerfield went from unranked to #3 spot. Salisbury and Kimball Union fell quite a bit and Thayer and Cushing went from top 15 to outside of the poll.

Worth noting there are some major playoff and poll implications upcoming this week at the Holiday Tournaments. We have made a few notes on which teams are heading where.

Flood Marr:  #1 Hotchkiss, #2 Nobles & Greenough, #3 Deerfield, #7 KUA, #11 Andover, #15 Salisbury

Lawrence/Groton Holiday Tournament:  #4 Lawrence Academy,  #9 Dexter

St. Sebastian’s Holiday Tournament: #10 Rivers, #15 St. Sebastian’s

Avon Old Farms Holiday Tournament:  #8 Loomis Chaffee, #13 Gunnery

Pingree Holiday Tournament: #5 Tilton

Lawrenceville Holiday Tournament: #12 Northfield Mount Hermon

 

  1. Hotchkiss (4-0-0)  Previous (#14)      This Week: Wins over Salisbury and Lawrenceville

NZ’s Take: Hottest team in Prep right now; tied for the best record and quality wins over Gunnery, Salisbury and Lawrenceville. Averaging under 1 goal against and 4 goals for is a healthy recipe for success. They have good size, balanced scoring and excellent goaltending with Henry Wilder leading all goalies with a .988 SV% allowing just 1 goal against in 83 shots. Hard group to play against. Head to Flood Marr this week and will face Milton, Westminster and Andover. A trip to the championship game would prove this team is for real and not just off to a strong start.

  1. Nobles & Greenough (4-0-0)  Previous (#12)    This Week: Wins over Tabor and Dexter

NZ’s Take: Nobles, like Deerfield, has an undefeated record heading into Flood Marr and will faceoff against eachother on Friday morning at 9:00am. Nobles has had a big week knocking off two good teams on the road in Tabot and then #3 Dexter. They have two strong lines up front, a talented defensive group and getting quality goaltending out of Marc Smith who has stopped 93 of 97 shots this season for a .958 SV%.

  1. Deerfield (4-0-0)   Previous (NR)    This Week: Wins over NMH, Choate and Avon

NZ’s Take: Deerfield had only played one game before last week’s poll and were unranked but in a weeks’ time they have gone on to beat two ranked opponents in NMH and Avon and school rival Choate. The Big Green are lead by goaltender Thomas Gale who has over 96% save percentage and a big defensive core. They have a balanced scoring attack and a nice combination of veteran talent and young newcomers making an impact. They’ll have three very challenging games coming up against Nobles, Salisbury and Kimball Union at Flood Marr and how they fare in those games will tell a lot about where this team is.

  1. Lawrence Academy (3-0-0)    Previous (#4)     This Week: Wins over Belmont Hill and Milton

NZ’s Take: Lawrence could make a strong argument that they are the best team in the land; they have a 3-0-0 record and won two games this week over Milton and Belmont Hill before they host rival Cushing at their home holiday tournament. Lawrence stays at #4 however given their resume so far lacks a win over a ranked opponent and has one less win then the teams above them. With that being said, comparing rosters, Lawrence has the best chance of the teams above them to be in the poll next week.

  1. Tilton (5-0-0)    Previous (#15)       This Week: Wins over New Hampton and Kimball Union

NZ’s Take: Tilton finally earned some respect around the league when they knocked off Kimball Union, the reigning prep champions and #1 ranked team in prep. What is important to note here is that they not only beat two Lakes Region rivals in KUA and New Hampton, but they outshot both of them. They can roll three lines up front, they are gritty and hard to play against and they are getting scoring from 9 different players in 5 games. If they can win the Pingree Holiday Tournament that would go a long way to moving them up the poll as most teams in this poll will play each other this week.

  1. Exeter (5-1-1)    Previous (#5)     This Week: Win over St. Sebastian’s, Tie to Dexter

NZ’s Take: Exeter sits on an impressive 5 wins over the season with their tie coming against previously #3 ranked Dexter and their sole loss against affiliate team Stanstead College. Exeter not only is finding ways to win games but they have an impressive 3-0-1 record against ranked opponents. This past week they played  two teams in the top 10 and got a nice win and a tie. They don’t play in a Holiday tournament but will face New Hampton, Governors and Hoosac.

  1. Kimball Union (5-1-0)   Previous (#1)     This Week: Wins over Proctor and Brewster, Loss to Tilton

NZ’s Take: Kimball Union fell 6 spots in the poll after losing to undefeated Tilton at home. While Tilton is a top #5 ranked team, Kimball Union falls because they don’t have a win over a ranked team yet this season. They will face a very challenging Flood Marr lineup going against #2 and #3 ranked Nobles and Deerfield as well as Salisbury for a rematch of last year’s prep championship game. Those next 3 games will tell a lot about the makeup of this KUA team and if they are a title contender again.

  1. Loomis Chaffee  (2-0-1)  Previous (#8)      This Week: Win over Pomfret and Canterbury

NZ’s Take: Loomis could be a bit high here given that they have only played 3 games thus far and don’t have the signature win of teams ranked above them; however, they are on just one of six teams remaining without a loss. They’ll head to Avon for the Holiday Tournament this week and will face three solid teams in Trinity Pawling, Gunnery and Kent. Wins in those games will move them right up the poll, but losses will do the opposite. Too early to tell what this team is capable of.

  1. Dexter (1-1-1)   Previous (#3)     This Week: Tie to Exeter, Loss to Nobles

NZ’s Take: A tough week for Dexter playing two ranked opponents and walking out with a loss and a tie and an injury to their best player John Farinacci. The team has good speed, talent at every position and a goaltender who can steal games. They’ll have their work cut out for them this upcoming week at the LA/Groton Tournament, but a win in that tournament will propel them right up the rankings and put them in a good position heading into the new year.

  1. Rivers (3-1-0)   Previous (#9)     This Week:  Wins over St. George’s and Groton

NZ’s Take: Rivers picked up two wins before heading into the St. Sebastian’s Holiday Tournament over Groton and St. Georges. They’ll face off against a talented St. Andrew’s squad on Friday night and we’ll learn a lot about this teams potential after their performance at the tournament.

  1. Andover(4-1-0)   Previous (#12)     This Week:  Wins over Thayer and Brewster, Loss to New Hampton

NZ’s Take: Andover climbs the poll this week despite losing to New Hampton 5-4 because of their wins over Brewster and Thayer. They have a nice group of older players, some depth at all positions and quality goaltending. They’ll play 5 games this upcoming week so how they get through the Flood Marr will be telling.

  1. Northfield Mount Hermon (3-1-0)    Previous (#11)   This Week: Win over Academie St. Louis and Loss to Deerfield.

NZ’s Take: This is a tough team to judge, they have only played against one ranked opponent and that was #3 Deerfield on the road which they lost by a goal. They’ll head to the Lawrenceville Tournament this week and then the Cushing Tournament after Christmas Break so we’ll learn a great deal about NMH over the next few weeks.

  1. Gunnery (4-2-0)   Previous (#17)       This Week: Wins over Berkshire, Kent, Williston-Northampton

NZ’s Take: What looked like an early season stumble against Hotchkiss and Exeter isn’t looking so bad now; they have two losses but both against top 6 teams and they are coming off a week with three quality wins. They’ll have a tough schedule for the Avon Holiday Classic but if they keep up their momentum from this past week they could surprise some teams.

  1. Salisbury (3-2-0)    Previous (#2)     This Week: Win over Kent, Losses to Millbrook and Hotchkiss

NZ’s Take: The question heading into this season was going to be Salisbury’s blue line and goaltending; both of those appear to have been exploited this week as the team gave up 18 goals over 3 games. With that being said they are still 3-2 and one of their losses came against #1 ranked Hotchkiss. They rebounded well against a good Kent team and will have plenty of opportunity to turn the tables at the Flood Marr where they’ll face three ranked teams in KUA, Deerfield and Nobles & Greenough. How they come out of that gauntlet will tell a lot about what the Knights are capable of.

  1. St. Sebastian’s  (2-2-0)     Previous (#10)      This Week: Win over St. Marks, Loss to Exeter

NZ’s Take: St. Sebastian’s is a team that has beaten the teams they need to beat but has two losses against their only ranked opponents; Exeter and Rivers. The team has plenty of talent to make a run in their home holiday tournament and if they can do that it will go a long way for this potential Elite 8 contender.

Next Best:  #16 Cushing, #17 Avon Old Farms, #18 Brooks, #19 Belmont Hill,  #20 New Hampton

 

Photo Credit: Dan Hickling / Hickling Images