The 2023-24 high school hockey season can be summed up in one word:
Goaltending.
Or let’s make it two words:
Elite goaltending.
There’s a long list of locals who excelled in between the pipes on both the boys and girls sides.
Our 2023-24 Eagle-Tribune boys Player of the Year was Ben Breen of Windham was named to the New Hampshire All-State team. He finished with a 13-2-1 record, a 1.38 GAA and a .947 save percentage – and all of that happened after sitting out last year to concentrate on soccer.
Moving to Massachusetts teams, in the MVC/DCL, Vinny D’Urso (Andover), Troy Takesian (North Andover) and Owen O’Brien (Methuen) were all named to the MVC/DCL All-Conference teams in Divisions 1, 2 and 3, respectively. D’Urso led Andover to the Division 1 state tournament which included four regular season shutouts.
Takesian helped the Scarlet Knights go from 5-11-4 to 11-8-1, including reaching the second round of the Division 2 state tournament. He closed out his career making over 1,500 saves, while posting a .943 save percentage and a 2.44 GAA.
O’Brien has been a huge fixture in two league titles, and state tournament appearances. He made 23 saves in the tournament win over Dracut/Tyngsboro before playing very well in the team’s 3-1 loss to the eventual state champions of Marblehead. On the season, O’Brien finished with a .920 save percentage and a 2.56 GAA.
Right behind them included Salem’s Colby Savageau, Central Catholic’s Jake McLean and Whittier Tech’s Colin Dyer, a freshman, who all led their teams to state tournament appearances.
On the female side, Julianna Taylor was nothing short of sensational all season for HPNA. She too has made over 1,500 career saves, including an incredible 57-save performance in a 1-0 loss to the eventual state finalist Notre Dame of Hingham.
In New Hampshire, freshman Maddie Beyor was named to the All-State Team. She averaged 42 saves a game, finishing with 423 on the season. Her best effort was an 81-save performance (that’s not a typo) in a 5-4 overtime win over Bishop Guertin, a top three ranked NH team all season.
Behind the two of them includes Andover’s Allie Batchelder, Methuen/Tewksbury’s Lydia Barnes and Central Catholic’s Sydney Foster.
One win short
Before the season started, Windham High boys coach Shawn Dunn was excited about his team on paper, saying there was a lot of experience and depth on the team, a year after winning 14 games led by All-State goalie Vito Mancini, who went on to graduate last spring.
The Jaguars took a step back from those aspirations with a season-opening 5-1 loss to Concord, but quickly rebounded by going 15-1-1 over their next 17 games before losing to Londonderry in the state final. The Lancers scored three goals in the third period to overcome a 2-1 deficit.
“We were a period away from being champions,” said Dunn. “If I had told them that at the beginning of the season, I’m sure they would have taken that ten times out of ten.
“Our guys fought all season, and I have seen so much growth in them. This was an amazing season, that just didn’t have the ending we wanted. I can’t say enough about this team, both as hockey players an as people,” said the coach.
Among the highlights on the season included senior forward Nate Crowley, who became the first player in program history to surpass the 100-point total. He will now take out his lacrosse stick for the spring season.
Three-peat for Rangers
Back in 2021-22, Methuen captured its first league title in decades, winning the MVC/DCL Division 3 Championship. The following year they repeated and this year, the Rangers made it three straight. The team has combined for a record of 42-15-6.
This year the Rangers finished 17-3-2 with the three losses coming against Marblehead, the eventual Division 3 state champion and two non-league losses to Shawsheen Tech, who lost to Marblehead in the state semifinals.
Although this year’s team will lose several key seniors including Dominic Romano (31 points), Noah Kneeland (27 points) and Patrick Morris (15 points), the team returns All-Conference selection Quinn Ronan (22 goals), as well as Will Maclaren (20 points), Aiden Cashman (17 points) and Andrew Cox (15 points) as well as All-Conference goalie O’Brien.
Next year looks bright
Methuen should certainly be one of the stronger local teams come next year. Andover, Central Catholic and North Andover are all losing a lot of veteran players to graduation and will all look to regroup, while Haverhill should be much improved, losing just four players and returning Jake Costa, Pat McGowan, Matt Costa and defenseman Nolan Sheehan.
In New Hampshire, Windham is losing a ton, Salem will return a handful of talented players left by Max Condon and Pinkerton returns almost its entire team led by forwards Preston Libby and Ronan Connors, as well as defenseman Zachary Baker.
A year to remember for Pinkerton Girls
The Astros went from 11 wins to 15 this season, including advancing to the state semi-final game. The Astros received big-time performances from Riley Dunn and Emily Gosselin upfront as well as freshman goalie Maddy Beyor. The last two return next season but losing Dunn will certainly be a huge loss for the program.
Several of the Massachusetts teams should be very good once again next year. Methuen/Tewksbury returns goalie Lydia Barnes and four defensemen with a lot of varsity experience including MJ Petisce and Lyla Chapman, and a handful of forwards including Bree Lawrence and Sammy Ryan who will most likely lead the offense.
HPNA will be loaded on paper behind Taylor, defenseman Paige Nottingham and returning forwards Kendall LaRivierre, Quinn Bennett and Talia Armata.
Andover is losing quite a bit but return a strong quartet in Scarlet Glass, Bella DiFiore, Lucy MacLean and Grace Johnson.
Finally, Central Catholic should be much improved bringing back entire team except one player. Goalie Sydney Foster, defensemen Sophia Powers and Maddie Del Vecchio and forwards Lucy Irwin and Molly Boyden are just a handful of players who will return with varsity experience.
Twitter: @JamiePote