Six Catholic Conference boys hockey players to watch this winter

Last year the Catholic Conference sent five teams to boys hockey state quarterfinals and took home the MIAA Division I trophy.

The squads were loaded all throughout the conference with stellar underclassmen goaltenders and college-bound forces on the offensive end.

This year, much of the same is expected in the premier hockey conference in Massachusetts.

For specific players to keep on eye on this year, here are six to watch.

J.R. Goldstein, St. John’s Prep

The senior defenseman posted a team-high 21 assists last year. Goldstein also led the charge on one of the best defenses in the state, surrendering just 33 goals on the season.

Now as a senior, the defenseman will once again hold things together for a squad with true championship aspirations.

“They’re both big, and strong, a little bit different styles,” Prep coach Kristian Hanson said of Goldstein and fellow defenseman Kevin Correa. “Kevin’s more of a stay at home, physical defender. J.R. has more of an offensive side to his game, but they both complement each other pretty well and they’ve been around now for three, four years, so they understand what it takes.

“It’s a nice luxury for a coaching staff to have when you have guys in the program that can keep everybody in line and they can set the expectations themselves.”

Brandon Ward, St. John’s Prep

Last year, at times, it was the senior forward on the other end of Goldstein’s assists. As a junior, Ward tallied 18 goals and 15 assists for the Eagles, earning a conference All-Star selection.

With both Goldstein and Ward returning, Prep looks to win the Catholic Conference for the third year in a row.

“He’s a very crafty, skilled forward, I expect more of the same,” Hanson said of Ward. “He was focused on by a lot of our opponents last year, I expect that again this year. So we try to match him up with some good wings that complement him and can get him the puck.

“He’s just one of those guys that has kind of a natural scoring ability that coaches can’t teach.”

Brady Chenevert, Saint John’s Shrewsbury

Though he’s going to UMass to play baseball, Chenevert is one of the most dangerous skaters in the conference. Last season, as a junior, he earned All-Star recognition after scoring 16 goals for the Pioneers who fell in the Div. I state championship game.

“Brady was one of our leading goal scorers last year behind (Daniel) Menyalkin,” Pioneers coach Mike Mead said. “He’ll have a lot of pressure on himself without playing with Daniel. Daniel’s off to a good start at Bowdoin and we expect the same from Brady.”

Michael Doe, Malden Catholic

Last year, the senior forward was the lone All-Star selection for the Lancers and he surely earned it. The Charlestown native scored nine goals and added 13 assists for Malden Catholic who battled a brutal conference schedule before winning two playoff games in the Division II tournament.

This year, as the Lancers move back up to Div. I, coach Brendan Collier has high hopes for Doe and fellow senior captains Brody MacMaster, and Zach Woods.

“They’ve been around for the last two years, so they understand and expect how hard I want to practice so it translates seamlessly into the game,” Collier said of his captains. “I put our top six, our top four, and our goalies up against any team in the league.

“I’m expecting a lot from Mike Doe and Brody MacMaster specifically. I’m expecting them to hopefully be anywhere in the 30 to 50 point range.”

Jaxson Fleming, Catholic Memorial

Last year, the freshman goaltender jumped onto the scene as one of the top netminders in the conference, earning an All-Star selection as an eighth grader. He helped his team limit opponents in the playoffs, including a shutout against Pope Francis in the semifinals, before lifting the Division I title.

This year, with a season of high school hockey under his belt, Fleming has a chance to star again but it won’t come easily.

“He looks solid, he looks very good,” Knights coach Larry Rooney said of Fleming. “But he’s going to be challenged in net. We have two other good goalies in Colin McDougall and Eamon Kelleher and they look good as well. In my opinion they’d be starting goalies on 80 percent of the other MIAA Division I schools.

“I have a really good problem but it’s a problem. I an only put one guy in the net and I know Jaxson had a really good year last year but I’m very confident in my other goalies as well.”

Joe Von Handorf, Xaverian

After tallying 20 points as a junior forward for the Hawks last year, playing alongside Jackson Morse and Devin Gosciak, Von Handorf will once again be relied upon to set up his teammates.

“I think he’ll be a great distributor, I don’t know that he’s a goal scorer,” Xaverian coach Dave Spinale said. “But I think he’ll continue to be kind of the heartbeat of the team, which is what he has kind of been the last couple of years.

“The way he kills penalties, he’ll play power play, he’ll play five on five, but I look at him as more of an energy guy. If he can put up 18, 20 points, awesome. If that’s seven or eight goals and another 15 assists, that would be awesome.”