A lot of familiar names found themselves honored again on the All-CAL First Team list this year, while for a handful of others, it’ll most likely be their first of many appearances on the team.
Our area has the high-end hockey talent both right now, and moving forward.
Out of the 23 athletes named All-CAL this year from both the Kinney and Baker divisions, a total of 11 of them came from just our four local schools. And of those 11, five are now multi-time honorees, while six are underclassmen who should be back in the fold come next winter.
Going alphabetically, Amesbury/Whittier had three athletes be named All-CAL. Of course, senior captain Bodie Marcotte found himself honored again after scoring an area-high 28 goals with 18 assists in leading the Redhawks (10-11-2) to the Division 2 quarterfinals. He now leaves high school hockey as a four-time All-CAL selection (1x MVP), and very likely a four-time Daily News All-Star who piled up 73 career goals with 64 assists. But now looking ahead to the future, sophomore defenseman Lincoln Kime (5g, 8a) was named All-CAL for the second straight year, while fellow sophomore blue line mate Evan Murphy (5g, 10a) earned his first spot on the list.
So Amesbury should have quite the top D-Line pairing next season.
Moving on, Newburyport also had three skaters earn All-CAL honors. Senior captain Will Forrest stepped up in a big way for the Clippers (12-10-2) this year, playing heavy minutes on the blue line while also scoring 8 goals with 11 assists. But for the majority of the season, the team’s sophomore-sophomore-freshman top forward line stole the headlines, and the two sophomores were honored by the league. Henry Waddell led the Clippers in scoring with 14 goals and 22 assists, while Luke MacIsaac was right behind him with 16 tallies and 18 helpers.
Those two, along with freshman Jack Sullivan, were unstoppable at times.
Up next, there were certainly quite the highs this season for Pentucket that warranted the trio of Aaron Wirwicz, Chase Pelletier and Mac Cole making the All-CAL team. Not only did the Panthers (9-13-0) beat Newburyport for the first time in over 20 years, but they also qualified for the Division 4 tournament and earned an upset victory over Lunenburg. Wirwicz went out strong as a senior scoring 13 goals with 17 assists, while the junior defenseman Cole (7g, 17a) did everything for the team on the blue line. Then for the junior Pelletier, who finished second in the area in scoring with 29 goals and 10 assists, it was his second straight year earning All-CAL.
Finally, Triton was represented by two athletes who both made the All-CAL team a year ago as well. The Vikings (15-6-2) went on a run to the Division 3 quarterfinals, and leading the way offensively once again was senior captain Josh Hersey (24g, 13a). Then starting every game in net was fellow senior Gavin Marengi, who posted an area-best 2.53 goals against average.
Here is the complete CAL boys hockey All-CAL team.
All-CAL
Amesbury: Bodie Marcotte, Sr., center; Lincoln Kime, Soph., defense; Evan Murphy, Soph., defense; Essex Tech: Brady Leonard, Sr., center; Jaydan Vargas, Sr., forward; Anthony Bisenti, Sr., forward; Cameron Casey, Jr., defense; Lynnfield: Owen Considine, Sr., forward; Jay Carpenter, Sr., defense; Newburyport: William Forrest, Sr., defense; Henry Waddell, Soph., forward; Luke MacIsaac, Soph., forward; North Reading: Max Forristall, Sr., defense; Duncan Gulino, Sr., forward; Thomas Gazda, Sr., forward; Christian Lava, Soph., forward; Pentucket: Aaron Wirwicz, Sr., center; Chase Pelletier, Jr., center; Mac Cole, Jr., defense; Rockport: Ryan Meaney, Sr., center; Luke Holmes, Sr., goalie; Triton: Josh Hersey, Sr., forward; Gavin Marengi, Sr., goalie
Miscellaneous Awards
MVP (Kinney): Brady Leonard, Essex Tech.
MVP (Baker): Max Forristall, North Reading.
Coach of the Year (Kinney): Mark Leonard, Essex Tech.
Coach of the Year (Baker): Brian McAuliffe, North Reading.
Sportsmanship (Kinney): Lynnfield.
Sportsmanship (Baker): Rockport.
League Champion (Kinney): Essex Tech.
League Champion (Baker): North Reading.