Published: Jun 27, 2025 6:55 am

Stephen Mammola took his liking of hockey and familiarity with the Newtown High School-New Fairfield co-op team and applied it to his capstone project by organizing floor hockey games at the high school this past spring as his junior year concluded. Through Mammola’s efforts a group of floor hockey players got to test their skills against opponents from Staples of Westport and Masuk of Monroe for a good cause with money from ticket sales raised for Newtown’s Unified Sports program.

“This began as just a capstone project for school, but it morphed into something a lot bigger. It gave students the opportunity to play hockey at an ultra affordable cost, and brought a new sport to Newtown and other schools across the state. My passion for hockey certainly sparked it originally because it was a huge amount of work. Essentially building a team from the ground up — players, coaches, and staff,” Mammola said. “And creating a league with other schools was a tremendous effort, but the end result was truly incredible.”

Plans are already underway for next year and other schools will join the league, said Mammola, adding that the hop is for playoffs at the end of the season next time around. “This summer, the team will bring in a whole group of Operations Staff to run this expanding team, as it is fully run by students. We will also begin recruiting more players and working diligently to ensure we have an even better season,” Mammola added.

A behind-the-scenes hockey role is nothing new for Mammola. Along with running all of the day-to-day operations for the floor hockey team, he works for the Newtown-New Fairfield ice hockey co-op squad during the winter months as director of player relations, working mainly in team operations, athlete development, and program support, he said.

What’s more, he is also a part of the action. Mammola enjoys the sport, grabbed a stick and one of the custom jerseys he had made for the team members, and played alongside and against mostly high school ice hockey team players with a few other athletes mixed in.

When it comes time for college, Mammola plans to major in Sports Management and have a career working in operations for a pro sports team.

As for the games, Newtown defeated Staples 8-7 in overtime and Masuk 10-6, both at NHS.

Against Staples, Andrew Stango had four goals and an assist, Mammola and Luca Moura both scored twice and had a pair of assists, and Noel McLeod, Mike Risoli, and Frankie Cannizzo also chipped in with an assist each.

After Newtown established a 5-0 lead Staples battled back and eventually seized a 7-6 edge. With 30 seconds left, Mammola called a timeout and gathered the team around. Coming out of the timeout, Newtown pulled its goalie for the extra attacker and Stango lit the lamp with 16 seconds left to tie it (get a hat trick) and send the game to overtime. Just four minutes into overtime, Stango scored again, picking up his fourth of the game to win it.

Against Masuk, Stango netted six goals and two assists, Mammola and Mike Risoli both had a goal and two assists, Ryan Payne scored a goal and had an assist, Carter Bisson had a goal and racked up numerous saves as goaltender, Frankie Cannizzo logged two assists, and Aidan Lourenco also had an assist.

The season featured awards: MVP: Andrew Stango (assistant captain); Most Improved: Noel McLeod (assistant captain); Leadership: Stephen Mammola (captain); Sportsmanship: Frankie Cannizzo; and Coaches Award: Stephen Mammola

Newtown’s lineup also got strong contributions from Jack Meade, Jack Carta, and Aidan Lourenco. Head Coach Jeff Tolson and Assistant Coach Dan Farina helped ensure things ran smoothly during practices and games. Tolson and Farina were impressed with Mammola’s efforts and execution in making the project come to life.

Sports Editor Andy Hutchison can be reached at andyh@thebee.com.

Stephen Mammola controls the ball during a floor hockey game at Newtown High this spring. Mammola’s capstone project included creating a team and setting up games against opposing schools to raise money for Newtown Unified Sports.—Bee Photos, Hutchison

Goaltender Carter Bisson makes a save.

Luca Moura looks for a teammate.

Members of the floor hockey team are, from left: Assistant Coach Dan Farina, Ryan Hislop, Aidan Lourenco, Carter Bisson, Michael Risoli, Captain Stephen Mammola, Assistant Captain Andrew Stango, Ryan Payne, Frankie Cannizzo, and Head Coach Jeff Tolson. Not pictured: Jack Meade, Jack Carta, and Noel McLeod. —photo courtesy Marissa Weidner

Ed Bourget (left) recently took over as BB&N’s director of hockey operations. (Brian Kelly/NEHJ)

Ed Bourget is a lifer at BB&N.

After Bourget (Shrewsbury, Mass.) was a standout at Shrewsbury High, he played prep school hockey at BB&N, graduating in 1996. He played a season of Division 3 hockey at St. Anselm before three years of Division 1 at Sacred Heart.

After some professional stops, including time in France, Bourget returned to BB&N to embark on his coaching career.

He was an assistant coach with the boys program from 2005-06 to 2012-13. In 2013-14, he took over as head coach of the girls program, leading the Knights to a 184-118-22 record, two Large School titles and three Elite 8 appearances in 11 seasons.

After the 2024-25 season, Bourget, who also coaches mites with the Bay State Breakers, took on a new role as director of hockey operations at BB&N.

Bourget joined New England Hockey Journal editor Evan Marinofsky and writer Patrick Donnelly to discuss an array of topics, including his thoughts on player development and college recruiting.

RinkWise podcast: BB&N’s Ed Bourget on development and recruiting

How do you balance development with winning during the prep season?

Bourget: “When you look at the prep schedule, it reads as three months long, but what happens in those three months is you try to play at that elevated, peak game every single game. It grinds on you, and it wears on you. My first five years, I was pedal to the metal. … I would be focused on having the best game, performance-wise. Really, what you need to do is kind of read the room a little bit. If you’re kids are tired, maybe give them a day off. Send them to the training room or the strength trainer instead of the ice. Hockey-wise, it’s tough in that small stretch. … Take care of your body. If you have a nagging injury, go to the trainer. If our game is on a Friday, and we’re on Monday, we’re gonna do our best to get them playing Friday. If that recovery means they’re on the bike or something until Wednesday, then we do a light skate Thursday, that’s what we do.”

What are some tips for the college recruiting process?

Bourget: “I told the freshmen, it’s more about development this summer. You don’t need to go chase those camps yet. What you really need to chase is development. We’d come up with a plan of what to work on from my point of view. Then when you kind of switch gears to sophomore or junior year, I would say go to college visits without the hockey coach first to see what college you like and kind of pinpoint what you want to do. So, then if you get invited to a camp at say Dartmouth, Brown or Middlebury, if you know you don’t want to do to one of those schools, there’s no need to go to that camp. That automatically will take that off your plate. I think doing a lot of prep work before the recruiting process hits for these kids goes a long way, and I think that gets missed.”

UNIVERSITY PARK – Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics concluded the 2024-25 season with a 16th place finish in the Learfield Directors’ Cup Division I standings, announced on Thursday.

The 2024-25 year was highlighted by wrestling’s 12th national title in the past 14 tournaments and women’s volleyball’s eighth national championship. In the Fall, football reached the College Football Playoff semifinals and finished No. 5 in the AP poll. The Winter season included men’s hockey’s first appearance in the Frozen Four. The Spring season was highlighted by men’s lacrosse’s appearance in the NCAA semifinals.

The Nittany Lions tallied 335 points in the Fall, led by women’s volleyball’s 100 points and football’s 75 points. Women’s soccer collected 73 points after advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals. Women’s cross country notched 60 points, while men’s cross country picked up 27 points.

Penn State collected 415 points in the Winter championship season, paced by wrestling’s 100 points and men’s hockey’s 83 points. Men’s gymnastics finished fifth at the 2025 NC Men’s Gymnastics Championships to earn 73. Fencing placed seventh at the 2025 National Championships, notching 72 points. Women’s gymnastics hosted an NCAA regional and contributed 45.5 points. Women’s hockey won its third-straight AHA title and earned 25 points. Men’s indoor track & field contributed 16.5 points.

The Blue and White picked up 143 points in the Spring championship season, led by men’s lacrosse’s 83 points. Men’s volleyball earned 60 points by advancing to the national quarterfinals.

Penn State (893 points) placed fifth among Big Ten schools behind USC (1,253.75; 2nd), UCLA (1,149; 5th), Ohio State (1,032.25; 8th) and Michigan (928.5; 13th). Oregon (879.75; 18th) and Nebraska (849.75; 21st) are also ranked among the Top 25. Texas led the country with 1,255.25 points, followed by USC, Stanford (1,251), North Carolina (1,195.25) and UCLA.

Led by Cael Sanderson, Penn State wrestling topped its record-setting performance from 2024, won a fourth-straight NCAA Championship and its 12th in the last 14 tournaments. Mitchell Mesenbrink and Carter Starocci were crowned National Champions and Starocci became the NCAA’s first ever five-time Division I champion. PSU became the second team in NCAA history to have 10 All-Americans in the same tournament (joining Minnesota in 2001). PSU ran away with the team title, posting a record 177 points.

Led by Katie Schumacher-Cawley, the first female head coach to win a Division I women’s volleyball championship, Penn State women’s volleyball knocked off Louisville, 3-1, in the national championship match. The Nittany Lions closed the season at 35-2, claiming Big Ten and national titles. The run to the national title included wins over Delaware State, North Carolina, Marquette, Creighton and Nebraska. Jess Mruzik was named Most Outstanding Player after tallying 29 kills, 14 digs, five blocks and one ace in the title match.

Penn State football, led by James Franklin, won a program-record 13 games while advancing to the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl. The Nittany Lions earned a 38-10 win over 11th-seed SMU in the CFP First Round and followed with a 31-14 victory over 3rd-seed Boise State in the CFP Quarterfinal at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl. The Nittany Lions finished No. 5 in the AP poll. Junior defensive end Abdul Carter became Penn State’s 15th Unanimous Consensus All-American, while senior tight end Tyler Warren was named a first-team All-American by two NCAA-recognized outlets.

Penn State men’s hockey, led by Guy Gadowsky, advanced to the program’s first ever Frozen Four after hosting and advancing out of the Allentown Regional with wins over top-seed Maine (5-1) and UConn (3-2). PSU was ranked No. 5 in the final USCHO.com poll, its highest finish in program history. Sophomore Aiden Fink became Penn State’s first Hobey Baker Top-10 finalist and its third All-American after setting program season records for points (53) and assists (30) and tying the season record for goals (23).

Led by head coach Jeff Tambroni, Penn State men’s lacrosse reached the NCAA semifinals for the third time in program history and the second time in the last three years. The Nittany Lions knocked off No. 15 seed Colgate (13-11) and No. 10 seed Notre Dame (14-12) to reach the semifinals, where they met top-seed Cornell. The win over Notre Dame featured an 8-0 run over the last two quarters to rally from a six-goal deficit. Senior Matt Traynor, freshman Hunter Aquino and junior Alex Ross collected USILA All-America honors.

In the Spring, head coach Mark Pavlik led Penn State men’s volleyball to its 37th EIVA Tournament title to punch its ticket into the National Collegiate Championships. The Nittany Lions took down Daemen in the opening round to earn a quarterfinals match against No. 2 Hawaii. Redshirt junior Ryan Merk was named an AVCA honorable mention All-American.

Under the leadership of Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Patrick Kraft, Penn State has one of the nation’s most comprehensive and successful athletic programs, featuring 800 student-athletes across 31 varsity programs (16 men’s, 15 women’s). The Nittany Lions’ 31 programs are tied for the fourth-highest number of sports sponsored by a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) institution.

Penn State student-athletes have led the athletic department to 48 Big Ten championships and 16 NCAA National Championships since 2012. The Nittany Lions have finished in the top 15 of the LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup 20 times in the last 31 years (the Directors’ Cup was not awarded in 2019-20).

The Flyers made some social media news on the eve of the NHL Draft by getting chatty with a couple of the top forward prospects late in the interview process.

OK, maybe it’s not so much newsworthy as encouraging to Flyers fans who know youthful skill that may soon project to the NHL ranks is something this organization still desperately needs.

Boston College’s James Hagens and forward Porter Martone from Brampton of the OHL are two teens who have had meetings with Flyers officials shortly before the bulk of top prospects landed in Los Angeles ahead of Friday night’s first round of the draft.

Of course, other teams have had late prospect chats, too. It just seems a touch more important for a Flyers team trying to build from the center position on out.

“It’s pretty well talked about early in the draft in the top 10, there are a number of centerman, which isn’t always the case,” Flyers assistant general manager Brent Flahr said recently. “There are a few defensemen, a couple high-end wingers. There’s obviously a lot of different options there. We are well aware of our own needs, but at the same time, there’s some players, especially at number six, where we’re going to go with the best player on our board.”

For luck’s sake, then, focus on Martone, 18, who clocks in nicely at 6-foot-3, 207 pounds. He represents something in the Flyers’ latest iteration of a rebuild that’s somewhat rare – a guy with skill and size.

Budding star Matvei Michkov? Last year’s top pick Jett Luchanko? New acquisition Trevor Zegras? All central standouts on the cusp; exciting and capable players developing their games. And all need to be standing in skates to get past the six-foot mark.

Hagens is thought to have the potential to become a very effective scoring center. He had 11 goals and averaged a point per game in 37 games for the Eagles last season in the stingy ranks of Hockey East. But at an alleged 5-11, he’s another guy that trends smaller in stature.

“It’s something to consider,” Flyers GM Danny Briere said of the perceived need for size in his current central ranks. “Just like the skating, the hockey sense, (and) competitive edge, it’s part of it. It probably doesn’t play into it as much as how competitive (a prospect) is and the hockey sense. I think those things are probably more important.”

As for Martone, he’s big and competitive, but he doesn’t project to the middle. Rather, he’s a power forward. That would be fine, as the Flyers need as many of them in the feeder system as they can get, too.

Despite his age, Martone has been listed as a prospect who could be NHL ready in a short time. That makes him an attractive get to teams in need of offensive help. But the problem for the Flyers might be one of place … as in, they dropped two spots in the NHL draft lottery and are choosing sixth.

The draft’s top two prospects, defenseman Matthew Shaefer and forward Michael Misa, likely will follow form and go to either the No. 1 New York Islanders or second-selector San Jose. Beyond those two, the Flyers stand to wait for No. 3 Chicago, No. 4 Utah and No. 5 Nashville before getting a shot. So don’t be surprised if Briere makes a real effort to trade up for one of those aforementioned top talents, or even hold his spot and fish for other intriguing prospects.

Believed by many to be ranked just behind that top four are Swedish center Anton Frondell, a solidly built six-foot center who has the flexibility to score off the wing, Roger McQueen, a 6-5 center from Brandon of the WHL, center prospect Jake O’Brien of Brantford and Caleb Desnoyers, a center prospect who happens to be the brother of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms’ Elliott Desnoyers.

No matter what happens, the Flyers stand to get a very good offensive prospect by picking from that group. And if it requires a packaging of another pick or two for Briere to move up, so be it … beyond that sixth overall selection, the Flyers have two more first-round picks, three in the second round and more to burn.

“Traditionally, if you just have one pick in the second round, you’re getting really focused in on just a small group of players that you think are going to be there,” Flahr said. “This year for our group, because of what we have, we’ve spent a lot of time on a lot of different ranges. … We will gauge it, and if there’s players still available that we have in a higher layer, we’ll move up. If not, and we think we can get value and move back a couple of spots and still get the same caliber player, we’ll try to do that.”

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When the final horn sounded and the celebration began, CJ Hapward, MBA ’25, stood proudly on the ice at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton, New York. His professional minor league ice hockey team, the Binghamton Black Bears, had just won the 2025 Commissioner’s Cup Championship, and he was scanning the crowd of 5,000 screaming fans, looking for his parents.

“It was a night with a lot of emotions, and I was just standing there feeling lucky to be sharing it with my family,” says Hapward, a first-year back-up goalie for the Binghamton squad, which defeated the Carolina (NC) Thunderbirds, 5-2, in the Federal Prospects Hockey League title game in early May. “I’ve been playing hockey all my life and they have always been there to support me.”

Hapward is not the only Suffolk student-athlete has taken his playing career to the next level. Evan Cook, MBA ’25, a star point guard for the Rams men’s basketball team, crossed an ocean to find his new professional home, playing for the Dublin Lions of the Irish National Basketball League.

While competing at the pro level comes with adjustments, both say their time at Suffolk, where each earned an MBA degree, made the transition relatively smooth.

‘A real game-changer’

Hapward—who joined the Suffolk men’s ice hockey team in January 2024 after graduating early from Colby College—helped lead the squad to its most successful season (13-11-3) in ten years during the 2024-25 campaign. He started all 27 games between the pipes and posted a 1.99 goals against average and a .931 save percentage, good for 15th and 16th, respectively, in the NCAA Division III this past season. He was also named an All-Conference of New England second-team selection.

“CJ was one of the best goalies in college hockey, and a real game-changer for us,” says Suffolk Head Coach Shawn McEachern. “He was aggressive, competitive, and very professional. He’s a great person who has a bright future.”

Hapward’s impressive stats caught the attention of Binghamton coaches, who reached out to McEachern in February to recruit Hapward. As soon as his college hockey season ended, Hapward’s pro season began—with no pause in play. For the next two months, he lived a double life, driving back and forth from New York to Boston to train and compete with the Black Bears while finishing up his classes.

The move to Binghamton meant playing in bigger arenas before bigger crowds, alongside a team of experienced, talented hockey players who had already clinched their league title the previous season. “While it was an adjustment,” Hapward says, “my teammates are a great group of guys who made the transition super easy for me.”

Hapward started four games for the Black Bears and won them all. His best performance was a 4-1 road victory against the Athens (GA) Rock Lobsters, when he made 37 saves on 38 shots. In his first start at home, he made 22 saves in a 4-3 win over the Danbury (CT) Hat Tricks.

“The team gave me the game puck for my first win,” he says.