North Andover/South Hamilton, MA – In what is an annual tradition, now back followed a pandemic truncated prep season last year, the Brooks/Pingree Tournament returned to the rinks of Brooks School in North Andover and Pingree School in South Hamilton. This tournament, which ran from Friday, December 17 – Sunday, December 19 featured eight teams split across the two rinks. Those eight teams were Brooks School, North Yarmouth Academy, New Hampton School, Hebron Academy, Millbrook School, Pingree School, Tilton School and Berwick Academy. The teams played round robin games on Friday and Saturday to determine who would move on to the Championship at Pingree on Sunday morning (one from each bracket). Those two top seeds ended up being New Hampton School and Tilton School while Pingree School and Hebron Academy played for third place earlier in the morning. In the end, New Hampton School won the Championship Game 3-1 and Hebron Academy won the third place game 5-1.
What follows below are recaps and Three Stars from every single game played in the tournament:
Day 1
4:15pm: Brooks vs NYA (from Brooks)
The first game of the Brooks-Pingree tournament from Brooks Arena was a tilt between Brooks and North Yarmouth Academy. Brooks and NYA traded zone time back and forth in the first period. Both teams also got a chance to use their power play as they each got one in the first. The second period Brooks started to pick up their game and sustained more zone time. NYA fought back with chances in transition and some chances in zone. The second period would end with a 0-0 tie. Brooks came out hot in the third period and controlled play in the NYA end. Credit to NYA’s defensive zone coverage and goaltender Aidan Farion for silencing the Brooks attack. Momentum shifted towards NYA as they gained a power play with 2 minutes left. Brooks goaltender Jake Inzirillo made some big saves in the final minutes of the third to keep his team in it. Three periods would not be enough for this one as they went to a 5 minute overtime. Both teams traded chances in the overtime but neither team could capitalize as the game would end in a 0-0 tie.
Three Stars:
1. G Aidan Farion, NYA
2. G Jake Inzirillo, Brooks
3. F Jamey Beaufils, NYA
4:15pm: Pingree vs Berwick (from Pingree)
Sloppy start at the Alden Johnson Rink but as soon as Pingree got comfortable, the dominance started. The 1st period was spent mostly inside Berwick’s zone and ended with a 1-0 lead for the Highlanders after a pretty power play tuck by Michael Lynch who would later bury another one later in the game. Ryan Kavanagh really showed out and put in a strong effort all game long which earned him a total of four assists tonight. As the game went on, Pingree was rewarded on the scoresheet as they had four straight goals in the third period. Cody Plaza walked away with three points on the night with one being a goal from a great feed by Kavanagh. The final tonight would be a 7-1 win for the Pingree Highlanders.
Three Stars:
1. F Ryan Kavanagh, Pingree
2. D Cody Plaza, Pingree
3. F Quinn Moses, Pingree
6:15pm: New Hampton vs Hebron (from Brooks)
The second game from Brooks Arena was a tilt between New Hampton and Hebron. New Hampton came out hot and controlled most of the play on the first period. They had multiple chances but could not capitalize. The first period would end with 0-0. Hebron came out in the second with a pushback in the beginning of the period, but New Hampton got back to their game and was first to capitalize. New Hampton Trevor Castino found a loose puck on the doorstep and put in the back of the net. Later on in the period New Hampton would strike again with a rebound goal from Evan Moore. The second period would end 2-0 in favor of New Hampton. New Hampton wasted no time in adding to their lead in the third with a goal from Matthew Sullivan off a beautiful feed from Trevor Castino thirty seconds into the period. Hebron had a pushback after the New Hampton goal to get on the board. New Hampton silenced their attack. Later on in the period New Hampton defenseman David Helledy started a beautiful give and go play where he got rewarded on the back door off a feed from Matthew Sullivan. New Hampton would ride this lead out until the end. 4-0 final in favor of the Huskies.
Three Stars:
1. F Trevor Castino, New Hampton
2. F Matthew Sullivan, New Hampton
3. D David Helledy, New Hampton
6:15pm: Millbrook vs Tilton (from Pingree)
Millbrook 10 minutes into the game gave themselves a 2-0 lead. Later they would add a third from a heavy wrist shot from the point by defenseman Matt Ursini. Tilton bounced back with a much needed goal from a 5-on-3 power play to make the score 3-1 after 1. It was a very even second period until we saw a late Millbrook goal by Sam Tsao to add to their lead and make the game 4-1. Millbrook continued to play a physical game into the third period and it looked like the score would remain untouched until Tilton had a late push with under a minute to go. A shot from the point by Derek Greer found the back of the net and Kyle LoNigro potted one with just under 5 seconds to go. One last effort by Tilton with four seconds to go came up short and Millbrook held on to win 4-3.
Three Stars:
1. G Jake Hugessen, Millbrook.
2. D Fabrizio Mazzarelli, Millbrook
3. F Nick Brennan, Tilton
Day 2
9am: Pingree vs Millbrook (from Pingree)
The first period featured a ton of pressure by the Highlanders and Millbrook took a couple of penalties that hemmed them in their defensive zone. The end result was two goals for the home team: F Ryan Kavanagh continued his hot hand and added another tally to his total for the tournament.
In the second frame Millbrook pushed back, hard. They amped up their physicality and pressured the puck harder and as a result 26 seconds in forward Mike Lucey stole a puck at the top of the circle and converted on his breakaway. That cut the lead to 2-1 Pingree. That would be our score after two, despite chances at both ends.
On the third period both teams came out looking to grab the momentum but Pingree netminder Luke Marinelli shut the door for all 15 minutes making some terrific stops, including two clutch one in a rare 6-on-3 situation. Pingree salted this one away with a tally by Trey Hanson 6 minutes in and one more with four minutes to go. Big victory for the Highlanders: 4-1 W.
Three Stars:
- G Luke Marinelli, Pingree
- F Ryan Kavanagh, Pingree
- F Trey Hanson, Pingree
9am: Brooks vs Hebron (from Brooks)
The first period between Brooks and Hebron started with the teams feeling each other out. Hebron quickly picked up the pace and was the first to strike with a break in transition. Shaun Gouveia opened the scoring with a tap in on the back door on a feed from Spyro Hamzeh. Hebron didn’t take their foot off the gas as they netted another goal from Anthony Lombardo who won a loose puck battle and found the back of the net. Things continued to go Hebron’s way as they scored a power play goal from Dan Kral off a net front feed from Jack Madden. Jake Mastrangelo planted himself in front and found the rebound off a point shot from Nick Theodos. The first period would end 4-0 in favor of Hebron. The second period started off with back and forth action for both teams. They each traded power plays. Brooks got a power play mid way through the period and did not capitalize. Later on Hebron got a power play and capitalized in the last few seconds with a nice net drive from Jack Madden. He tapped home a feed from Nick Theodos. Brooks answered quickly after with a goal from Jack McDermott. He found a soft area and found the twine. Brooks would continue their pressure until the end of the period but the second would end in favor of Hebron 5-1. Brooks carried the momentum into the third and came out on a mission to tie this one. Danny Valienti found a loose puck on a broken entry and found the back of the net early in the third. Shortly after Jeremy Emch found the back of the net on the power play with a rip from the top of the circles. Grant Kaplan found a lose puck in chaos in the slot. His linemates Owen Christopher and Jack McDermott went to work below the goal line to get the puck in the slot to inch closer to tying the game. Brooks would continue their attack until the end of the period but credit to Hebron’s defense and goalie Dylan Brand for silencing the attack. 5-4 final Hebron over Brooks.
Three Stars:
1. D Nick Theodos, Hebron
2. F Jack McDermott, Brooks
3. F Jake Mastrangelo, Hebron
11am: Tilton vs Berwick (from Pingree)
The first period of this one was back and forth in the early minutes with both teams trying to gain the upper hand. Things started to open up at the six minute mark when Conor Kelly created a turnover and flipped a puck over the Berwick goalie. Four minutes later Tilton added another as forward Aidan Dres made a slick finish at the net. Three minutes later, another Tilton goal, a screen by Matt Beraldi meant Noah Leithman had a clean shooting lane, 3-0. Finally with 30 seconds left, defender Aidan Rufa fired a shot from the half wall that the goalie didn’t see cleanly, 4-0 was the score after 1.
The second period was seemingly a carbon copy of the first period as Tilton continued to keep their foot on the gas. Goals in the frame were scored by Matt Beraldi one minute in shorthanded, Kyle LoNigro six minutes later, Matthew Hale 30 seconds after that, which led to a goalie pull for Berwick with the score 7-0. Berwick fought back shortly thereafter and added a goal a minute later by Robbie Bracca in the slot but Tilton would tack on one more by Kai Tsoar just before the period ended: 8-1 Tilton after 2.
In the third period, they weren’t putting most of the goals on the scoreboard, but we kept counting anyway. Berwick opened the scoring as forward Eli Chilicki put one home two minutes in to make it 8-2. From there on out, it was all Tilton. Goals were poured in from Nick Brennan (2), Kai Tsoar, Aidan Dryjowicz and Matthew Hale. Final score: Tilton 13, Berwick 2.
Three Stars:
- F Kai Tsoar, Tilton
- F Matthew Hale, Tilton
- F Nick Brennan, Tilton
11am: New Hampton vs NYA (from Brooks)
New Hampton and NYA started off the first period feeling each other out. They each had zone time in each other’s end. New Hampton was the first to get on the board with a great entry from from Christian Day who drove the net and created a rebound. Jackson Gates followed up the play and put the rebound home. NYA would answer later on the in period with a great self effort from Nathanel Peretz who beat the defender wide and cut in to the cage sliding it past the spread out pad. New Hampton got into some penalty trouble at the end of the first. The period would end 1-1 with NYA starting on the power play in the second. New Hampton killed off the penalty. Both teams traded penalties as period continued. New Hampton took over momentum after killing the penalties. Gavin Brandon gave the Huskies the lead with finding the puck in traffic and throwing home the rebound. The Huskies struck again with Evan Moore sneaking behind the NYA defense and getting fed with a beautiful stretch pass from Jackson Weglarz. Moore went in on a breakaway and scored. New Hampton got another goal later in the period from Jake Terra finding a rebound and jamming it home. The score at the end of two would be 4-1 New Hampton. New Hampton came out and picked up where they left off. They capitalized in the third period. Evan Moore scored another goal but this time it was a rebound in the doorstep from a Jordan Cox shot. New Hampton built off their momentum. David Helledy made a nice play finding a lane and getting the shot through. Matt Babineau found the rebound and fired it in the back of the net. Jake Terra brought the puck to the cage and it slid out Josh Sacco in the slot and he found the back of the net. New Hampton later capitalized on a loose puck on the offensive blue line. Scott Lagos saw the loose puck and turned on the jets going in alone on the goaltender. He found the back of the net on a nice move to his back hand. New Hampton would ride this lead out until the end. 8-1 final in favor New Hampton.
Three Stars:
1. F Evan Moore, New Hampton
2. F Jake Terra, New Hampton
3. F Scott Lagos, New Hampton
5pm: Millbrook vs Berwick (from Pingree)
Berwick really struggled to find shots on net in the first period. A lot of the opening frame was played in their end but fortunately they only walked away with a 2-0 deficit. Those Millbrook goals came from Cullen Hennessy and a power play marker by Dale Campbell. Millbrook was able to add four more in the second with an impressive short handed goal by defenseman Fabrizio Mazzarelli. It was a very uneventful third period with Millbrook adding one more goal to make the final score 7-0 Mustangs.
Three Stars:
- D Fabrizio Mazzarelli, Millbrook
- F Zach Keschner, Millbrook
- D Cam Lowe, Millbrook
5pm: Hebron vs NYA (from Brooks)
In the first period this was about as evenly matched as play could be for all 15 minutes. Both teams created chances, both teams played hard and both teams played with pace. In the end, the team to break the seal on the scoring was Hebron: two minutes in Anthony Rosa dished a puck from behind the net to Anthony Lombardo who deposited it for a 1-0 Hebron lead, which is how it would stay until we reached…
The second period was a seesaw affair with lots of twists and turns of momentum. Hebron started the period strong by doubling their lead off a 180 turn and shot bar down rip by Dan Kral. NYA would stem the tide seven minutes later to cut the lead in half. Senior Nathanel Peretz blew past a D, cut inside and flipped one past the goalie to make it 2-1. Shortly thereafter, NYA had a golden chance that rung the crossbar but was whistled dead prior to the shot due to a delayed penalty. On the ensuing power play the pendulum swung again as junior Ryan Teehan fired one from the far corner and it found the back of the net: 3-1 Hebron was our score after 2.
In the third period, things really heated up. Seven minutes in, Hebron added another with a power play goal by defenseman Nick Theodos. Fifty seconds later, NYA came right back with a nice backhand tuck by Jamey Beaufils. Thirty seconds after that Hebron punched back with a 2-on-1 finish by Patrick Cousin. NYA made this one interesting down the stretch cutting the lead to 5-3 with a PP goal by senior forward Jack Tuite. After nearly scoring again Hebron ended it with an empty netter by Kral, his 2nd of the night. 6-3 Hebron wins over NYA.
Three Stars:
- F Dan Kral, Hebron
- D Nick Theodos, Hebron
- F Jack Tuite, NYA
7pm: Pingree vs Tilton (from Pingree)
Tilton started the game by burying one early with a goal by forward Aidan Dres. Pingree struggled to generate good zone time and found themselves down 4-0 with the fourth being a beautiful tip by Tilton forward Nick Fontaine. Nothing much developed in the first half of the second period, but in the back half of the period the physicality ramped up a bit. The third period gave us two more goals. It was another nice tip from Fontaine and LoNigro was able to get on the scoresheet with a good shot right off the faceoff. In addition to the goals, Matthew Hale put together a good game and Cody Plaza for Pingree logged a ton of minutes and played well. Final score: 6-0 Tilton.
Three Stars:
1. F Nick Fontaine, Tilton
2. D Cody Plaza, Pingree
3. F Matthew Hale, Tilton
7pm: New Hampton vs Brooks (from Brooks)
This game is of particular intrigue as New Hampton, with a win, would secure a spot on tomorrow’s title game. In the first period there was a lot of territorial battling, lots of tight defense and good goaltending at both ends. Neither team was able to grab the upper hand: it remained scoreless after 1.
In the second period, it was yet again a tight checking and strong defensive affair. There were a few notable chances but Jake Inzirillo of Brooks and Colin Androlewicz of New Hampton were locking it down. Things stayed that way until the last minute of play when a third shot opportunity following two great saves was banged home by Evan Moore far side: 1-0 New Hampton. Brooks countered 30 seconds later with a screened low shot by Kyle Pelletier that snuck past the netminder. It was 1-1 after two, and what a game this one has been.
In the third period, we saw yet more of the same: both teams buttoned down the hatches and the defenses were excellent on both sides. The goaltenders were also making clutch saves as well – both netminders were on point as well – limiting chances and covering post to post with speed. This game was too good to only play three periods, it required OT.
In the overtime, once again both teams battled hard with active sticks and physicality but there was no walk away winner here: it ended in a 1-1 tie and New Hampton will be the top seed headed into tomorrow’s Championship game against Tilton.
Three Stars:
- G Jake Inzirillo, Brooks
- G Colin Androlewicz, New Hampton
- F Evan Moore, New Hampton
Day 3
9am: Berwick vs NYA (Consolation Game from Brooks)
It was a pretty even first period to start and in the second half of the frame NYA scored two goals. The second one being a nice feed from #9 Nathanel Peretz to Daxton St. Hilaire to end the first period 2-0 in favor of NYA. Their goalie Aidan Farion was tested a little bit in the first half of the second period and made some timely saves. Forward Jamey Beaufils for NYA was able to bury his second of the game and Nathanel Peretz added another tally by finding the back of the net to widen the gap to the tune of 5-0. The third period was complete dominance for NYA, Berwick registered very little offensive zone time. Peretz added another one to his stat line thanks to his pass to Michael Belleau which resulted in a power play marker. It was a shutout for Farion with a final score of 7-0 in favor of North Yarmouth Academy.
Three Stars:
- F Nathanel Peretz, NYA
- F Jamey Beaufils, NYA
- G Aidan Farion, NYA
9am: Pingree vs Hebron (Third Place Game from Pingree)
In this consolation game from Pingree, both teams created pressure in the offensive end but there were a few missed passes, shots wide and overskated pucks. The seal was broken by Hebron just under two minutes in as Anthony Rosa tipped home a shot from the half-wall by Anthony Lombardo to make it 1-0 Lumberjacks. The game would trade chances back and forth for the remainder of the period, entering the room at the same 1-0 score.
In the second period, it was a near carbon copy of the first. Both teams were able to create chances but there were still a fair number of missed connections. The only goal to speak of came from Hebron to double their lead. Once again it was Anthony Rosa who spun around in the slot and fired one up high that went in. Onto the third…
In the third period, the scoring picked up in a big way. Things started two minutes in with Hebron picking up a power play goal off a bank shot from behind the net. Five minutes later, Pingree would respond with a third chance put back by Michael Lynch to make it 3-1. Pingree nearly made it 3-2 a minute later but the play was whistled dead which led to much consternation on the Pingree bench. Three minutes later Hebron would put it out of reach with a goal by Jake Mastrangelo and add another one minute by Rosa for the hat trick. Final score: 5-1 Hebron, who were awarded Third Place.
Three Stars:
- F Anthony Rosa, Hebron
- G Dylan Brand, Hebron
- D Nick Theodos, Hebron
11:30am: Brooks vs Millbrook (Consolation Game from Brooks)
This was good up and down hockey here at Brooks School for the first period. It was a very even period but Brooks walked away with the 1-0 lead thanks a goal from junior forward Owen Christopher. Millbrook came to play in the second period and carried the majority of the play. They tied the game with a goal from Connor Koropatnicki and with under 20 seconds left in the period, DJ Walsh found Daniel Urban for the go-ahead goal to walk into the locker room up 2-1 at the end of two. Millbrook continued to play hard in the third period. The score looked like it was going to remain the same, that is until DJ Walsh tucked in an empty netter with under a minute to play to make the final score 3-1 Millbrook.
Three Stars:
- F DJ Walsh, Millbrook
- G Jake Inzirillo, Brooks
- G Jake Hugessen, Millbrook
11:30am: New Hampton vs Tilton (Championship Game from Pingree)
This one was for all the marbles: and both teams came out looking to play their style: New Hampton a more physical style and Tilton utilizing their quickness and tenacity. In the first period both teams looked to minimize their mistakes and there were chances at both ends but neither team gained the upper hand. The best chance came from an 2-on-0 Tilton rush stopped by New Hampton goalie Colin Androlewicz. After 1, this one is as still knotted at 0.
The second period began with some pressure put on by Tilton but Androlewicz stood tall again, keeping every shot out and covering up the loose pucks. As the period wore on New Hampton began to take control and put a bevy of quality shots on net. Tilton’s starter Ryan Melia made a number of quality saves but there was one that eluded him. With four minutes to go in the frame Matt Babineau broke in and deposited one up top past Melia for the 1-0 lead. This was great action at both ends of the sheet and the third period promises to be a doozy.
In the final frame, New Hampton applied more pressure but Tilton fought back and put some quality shots on net. That led to the tying goal from the Rams just under three minutes in as Nick Fontaine put a shot on net deflected by Quinn Booth. New Hampton would have an answer four minutes later as Alex Lobdell crashed the net and shoveled one home. The final tally was an empty netter with a few seconds left by Alex Moeller: 3-1 win for New Hampton and the Championship.
Three Stars:
- F Alex Lobdell, New Hampton
- G Colin Androlewicz, New Hampton
- F Leo Piandes, Tilton
