DIVISION I
Fairfield Prep (21-3)
-It is only fitting to start off with the defending champions and, as expected, they are favorites to win it all again this year. In fact, I would say that they are THE favorites to win Division I this year. 12-year head coach Matt Sather returns 16 varsity players from last year squad captained by senior forward AJ Unker, a 2nd team all-state selection from last year. Junior David White and senior Matt Brophy also highlight the typical fast-paced and fundamentally sound Fairfield Prep offense. Look for seniors Conor Peteronson and Patrick Hayes to step up and become major contributors as well this year. Senior Tom Worsfold is the leader of Prep's defense and will look to have them as physical but also quick as they were last year. The graduation of goalie John Galiani opens up a possible weakness in the Jesuits but senior Riley Wikman and sophomores Matt Beck and Chris Gutierrez are all vying for the staring job and competition maximizes performance.
Notre Dame-West Haven (12-8)
-Another team I expect big things from this season are the Green Knights from ND-WH. They were a top ten team in the state last year with a young team that will just be deeper and more experienced this year. Colby Cretella, Greg Zullo, transfer Billy Vizzo (ND-Fairfield), Eric Austin, Ed Sherman and Jeff Bausch make up a solid offense while Darren Capobianco, Colin Conte and Anthony Astorino are the physical defensemen we have grown accustom to seeing from ND-WH every year. Similar to Prep, the Green Knights have a big hole between the pipes with the departure of Greg Harney to Trinity-Pawling. If they can find a solid goalie, this team is poised to make run deep into the Division I tournament this year.
Hamden (13-7-1)
-The two-time defending champs before Prep won its 14th title last year were the Hamden Green Dragons. They will be relying on the age-old saying in sports: "offense scores points but defense wins games/championships." They return seniors Brandon Daddio and Connor Walsh along with sophomore Mike Lee on defense and senior Andy Varga is ready to fill in goal after the departure of Matt Hoff. Varga is pretty good himself and should have no problem keeping his team in games. The big Q for coach Bill Verneris is offense. His senior forwards are Paul Amarone, Nick Amarone, Connor Walsh, Tim Lee but really only both Amarones were major contributors last year and they will be without Nick Amarone and Mike Lee for at least 10 and 2 games respectively. Forward Jeremy Germaine transferred in from Hamden Hall and knows how to score.
West Haven (12-7-2)
-West Haven is looking to big things this year and could surprise a lot of people. They graduated star goalie J.P. Withington but that spot will be filled by either Justin Shepard or Forest Schell. Also, they have some of the best forwards in the state with Mike Troiano and Adam Mink both back from last year and then three senior defensemen in Kyle Leyerzapf, Mark Berretta and Josh Robichaud. Watch out for the Blue Devils in not only the SCC but also all of Division I.
Xavier (14-8)
-Xavier's strength this year will be their defense headed up by Dan Dupont and Nick Turner but also three other guys that played last year. Even with the transfer of goalie Austin Essery to Canterbury, Steve Romanelli and Shane Baldwin are both talented so whoever emerges as the starter will be a solid tender for the Falcons. Similar to Hamden, their big question will be on offense. They return some lettermen from last year like Will Stanton, Dakota Caron and Dave Brennan but somebody will need to step up and put the puck in the back of the net since 75 percent of their scoring from last year graduated. They did transfer in forward Ryan Mclellan (Hamden Hall) to perhaps be the solution. Coach Scott Gainey has his work cut out for him but still has a shot at making the playoffs, even with playing in the SCC.
Cheshire (16-6-2)
-I'm not going to come out and make the bold prediction that Cheshire will be this year's St. Joseph (move up from DII and make the DI title game in your first year) and put that burden on the Rams. However, they are talented enough to be featured on my teams to watch in DI this year. Since former head coach Jim Riccitelli retired, Cheshire brought in the experienced former coach from Avon, Karl Sundquist. I think the move and timing will actually help this team since the Rams need a DI one coach to get them up to the pace, tempo and skill level that is DI, as soon as possible if they want to contend in the division. Cheshire also lost Owen Powers, Mike Muzyka and Jack Cunningham to prep schools (Choate, Salisbury and Pomfret respectively) but still return 23 of 30 players from last year's DII Championship squad (they also won DII in 2009). In front of the net, senior Tyler Carbone can have a really special season after how he finished out last year. Will Devine and Spencer Hackett still make up Cheshire's defense and Alex Vendetto, Tyler Violano and Joe D'Errico will be the go-to guys on offense this season. Note, Cheshire has changed their home ice back from Northford Ice Pavilion to Spurrier-Snyder Rink at Wesleyan University in Middletown.
South Windsor (19-5)
-Moving up to the north, South Windsor was a final four team in DI last year. The Bobcats return a solid group of forwards led by Joe Bonazelli and David Oullette and experienced defensemen like Dylan Engle. They also have a strong tandem of goalies, Chris Marchi and Ryan Serksnas, although it looks like Marchi will get the start. Look for them to contend in DI again this year and be right at the top of the CCC-North alongside Glastonbury. I give a lot of credit to coach Neil Rodman for really building up this program in the past nine years.
Glastonbury (16-5-2)
-Speaking of the Tomahawks, they are the defending CCC-North Champions. Like the opposite of Xavier, Glastonbury will be leaning heavily on their offense led by one of the only returning All-State players from last year, forward Ethan Holdaway. They also have three very talented skaters in Drew Mozzer, Aaron Mandell and Acery Clair. On defense, they have seniors John Drury and Michael Pizzo but also a very experienced role players from the top to the bottom of their roster like forward ANthony Aspromonti. They have a huge hole to fill in goal left by Chris Hemauser and their options are junior Chase Gabor, sophomore Alex Ment or freshman Kyle Thibodeaux.
New Canaan (25-1)
-The Rams lost 18 players from last year's team but they are still the defending FCIAC Champions with a stellar terrific in Bo Hickey and some returning talent like captains Dylan Hart and Jake Granito. They also have Tyler Manchuck, Ryan Christie and Puck Richardson on offense while Chip Glover and Ritchie Shane head up the defense. In goal, Chris Konnecke and Theo Christian will start out rotating to try and fill the shoes of Tim Nowaki. New Canaan's season could go either way but I still expect them to be a good team and make some noise, at least in the FCIAC tournament.
Ridgefield (17-6-1)
-The Ridgefield Tigers are slight favorites (over Darien and NC) to win the FCIAC this year with St. Joseph losing so many pieces they are not even on my teams to watch, New Canaan being downgraded by graduation and Ridgefield becoming clearly older and better than the young but still talented Greenwich Cardinals.
Darien (11-11)
-The new guys to my watch list (for hockey), Darien, should be able to make a real run his year. They were a lot better than their record indicated last year, as they proved in both the FCIAC (0-1 loss to NC) and Division I (1-2 loss in OT to Prep) tournaments last year. This year they bring in a new head coach, Chris Gerwig, fresh off a 14-year tenure at Trinity Catholic to become their third head coach in four seasons. Gerwig has nine seniors, five juniors and seven sophomores. The three captains highlight their respective positions, forwards Nick Bruno, defenseman Hank Glick and goalie Max Rothston. I still give Ridgefield the nod for best in the FCIAC based on a slightly stronger lineup and more experience being at the top, but Darien has the potential to go very deep this year.
Others not to sleep on: East Haven (13-8; look to be one of the best offenses in the state with Steve Marsico, Rich Decarlo and Matt Barcomb; defense will be led by Frank Latella; good coach in Lou Pane), North Haven (7-13, missed playoffs by one game last year; new head coach this year: Tom Roche, who also brought in quality assistant coaches; talented line of forwards: Mike Andreucci, Ken Broccoli and Tyler DeMartin), Tri-Town (13-10; senior defensemen Nick Binkowski and Mitch Cobb spearhead the campaign to defend Tri-Town's NHC Championship; senior Billy Chevalier is the top forward and senior Mitch DiResta brings a lot of experience in goal), Amity (9-11-1; the Spartans look strong on offense with Joe Bianchi, Riley Hine, Luke Sacramone and even sophomore Adam Shea; Sparty also has a deep defense with Joe DeGoursey, Alex Viera, Nyg Walker and Nick Santini, all seniors; junior Nick Nuzzolo trying to fill in for Alec Mansfield (graduation) between the pipes rounds out this team that is due for at least one major upset like last year but still has the curse and blessing that is playing in the SCC), Notre Dame-Fairfield (6-13-1; another team that cannot be overlooked year after year and they look to have one of their best teams this year; veteran coach Marty Roos has a strong defense with Frank Sullivan, Frank Zumbo and Greg Ferris protecting goalie Scott Kline [2.66 goals-against average and .910 save % in limited role last year]; biggest obstacle will be scoring but sophomore Christian LaCroix is pretty good and junior Dave Canfarotta transferred in from Salisbury to play forward for the Lancers), Fermi/Enfield (6-13-1; I had to highlight this new co-op of two pretty good hockey schools coming together due to lack of numbers [11 kids at each school] but this alliance puts double the amount of star players on one team, giving Fermi/Enfield a chance to do well in Division I, especially the CCC, this year; Evan Boissy is the star on defense while the big-time forwards are Brendan Lemire and Nick Varner), Windsor/Avon/Farmington (17-5/9-10-2; Avon and Windsor did alright in DIII last year with East Granby as the third member of their co-op but now they add Farmington, a okay team from DII...why this means they will play in DI this year, I do not know; however, they some very talented players like senior forwards Dominic Bazzano, Nick Berns (26 goals, 21 assists last season) and Maz Leopold (19 goals last season) along with senior Tyler Stoll on defense; they have potential led by coach Scott Percival, especially with a schedule of mixed DI, DII and DIII games sure to get them in the post-season but DI is very good so how well they will do in March is a big question).
DIVISION II
Guilford (20-4-1)
-With last year's champion, Cheshire, forced to move up to DI, I will start with the other half of last year's championship game and the number one seed, almost undefeated team that year. The Guilford Indians lost a lot of talent all around to graduation and the transfer of Luc Amatruda to Notre Dame-West Haven. They will still contend in DII with Billy Ring, Bobby Noonan, Kyle Bejnerowiccz, Jack Fitzgerald, James Mackey on offense, all kids that know how to score, and then two solid defensemen in Derek Nelson and Ryan Moore. If senior goalie Chad Faulkner-Filosa can step up, the Indians should be alright this year but DII is definitely wide open.
Hand (12-11-1)
-The Daniel Hand Tigers are, believe it or not, the defending SCC-DII champions. This year they are stacked with talent like goalie Dan Tagliarini, defensemen Eric Williams and Mike Deane and then forwards Joe Deane, Nico Capone and Jarrett Rennie with Capone being the only junior in the group of seniors. However, the forwards will need to step up and score more goals than they did last year since Tyler Bauer and Mike Berestecky, both of whom graduated, scored 63% of the goals last year.
Wilton (12-10-1)
-Only lost 4-5 to DI runner-up St. Joseph in the FCIAC tournament quarterfinals last year and 1-2 in OT to DII Champion Cheshire in the DII semifinals as well. This team will back and ready to contend in both realms again. Leaders are Matt Kobyra on offense and 6'2" sophomore Jon Meissner on defense.
Watertown-Pomperaug (16-7)
-Next up is the reigning DIII Champions, W-P. Forward Ryan Borsari should have no problem scoring points on one end of the ice while goalie Trevor St. Onge just keeps stopping them on the other. St. Onge was good last year but one year older means one year wiser and that is exactly what they will need to make some serious noise in DII.
Staples-Weston-Shelton (16-7)
-Another team that can make an impact right away in DII is DIII runner-up from last year, S-W-S. Their key to success will be a core group of seniors returning from last year's team, namely Andrew Pfefferle, Michael Lynch, Riley MacDonald, Aaron Liu and Forest Savage.
Newtown (15-6)
-The Newtown Nighthawks have just moved up to DII this year and return a solid senior class. Big-time juniors like forward Christian Blais make this team deep and versatile. Coach Paul Esposito has coached most of these players for almost ten years between high school and youth hockey. Their anchor is goalie Mike Allwein who averaged only 2.87 goals against last year.
Trumbull (11-10-2)
-Trumbull made it to Yale last year losing in the DII semi's and return forward Michale Ahearn who scored 19 goals last year. They will also still have a solid tender but some of the new younger forwards will need to step as most of their scoring form last year, aside from Ahearn, graduated.
Others not to sleep on: Wethersfield (6-13-1; Eagles are looking to make a push in the postseason with senior defensemen Brett Fortin and Matt Lis plus junior forward Pat Dowd), East Catholic (13-10; defense will not be a problem with Garrett Richardello, JT Sabin, Evan Cedron and Matt Urrichio but some underclassmen will have to step on offense for the defending CCC-East Champions).
DIVISION III
Northwest Catholic (11-10-2)
-Upset number one seed Brookfield-Bethel-Danbury last year and made it to the DIII semifinals for the third straight year and for the third straight year also lost to the eventual champion, who moved up to the next division each year (St. Joseph in '09, Guilford in '10, Watertown-Pomperaug in '11). They return all but one starter from last year and this could very well be their year. Their first line is one of the best in the division with A.J. Massaro, Jeff Greenwood and Patrick Melanson. Senior Tyler Vaughn is the name to know on defense. Also, goalie Matt Greenwood was a second-team all-state selection last year.
Rocky Hill/RHAM/Middletown (10-11)
-Experienced team that made the playoffs last year and has only gotten better since. Key returning player is junior Kyle Whalen who tallied 43 points in sophomore season.
Newington-Berlin (15-7-1)
-Defending CCC-North Champs, can never count them out.
Joel Barlow (8-11)
-Led by senior forward Mike Mattson, a second-tem all-state pick last year.
Masuk (5-14-1)
-Very young team last year that came up a little short of states; I expect them to make it and do well this year.
Hand (12-11-1)
-The Daniel Hand Tigers are, believe it or not, the defending SCC-DII champions. This year they are stacked with talent like goalie Dan Tagliarini, defensemen Eric Williams and Mike Deane and then forwards Joe Deane, Nico Capone and Jarrett Rennie with Capone being the only junior in the group of seniors. However, the forwards will need to step up and score more goals than they did last year since Tyler Bauer and Mike Berestecky, both of whom graduated, scored 63% of the goals last year.
Wilton (12-10-1)
-Only lost 4-5 to DI runner-up St. Joseph in the FCIAC tournament quarterfinals last year and 1-2 in OT to DII Champion Cheshire in the DII semifinals as well. This team will back and ready to contend in both realms again. Leaders are Matt Kobyra on offense and 6'2" sophomore Jon Meissner on defense.
Watertown-Pomperaug (16-7)
-Next up is the reigning DIII Champions, W-P. Forward Ryan Borsari should have no problem scoring points on one end of the ice while goalie Trevor St. Onge just keeps stopping them on the other. St. Onge was good last year but one year older means one year wiser and that is exactly what they will need to make some serious noise in DII.
Staples-Weston-Shelton (16-7)
-Another team that can make an impact right away in DII is DIII runner-up from last year, S-W-S. Their key to success will be a core group of seniors returning from last year's team, namely Andrew Pfefferle, Michael Lynch, Riley MacDonald, Aaron Liu and Forest Savage.
Newtown (15-6)
-The Newtown Nighthawks have just moved up to DII this year and return a solid senior class. Big-time juniors like forward Christian Blais make this team deep and versatile. Coach Paul Esposito has coached most of these players for almost ten years between high school and youth hockey. Their anchor is goalie Mike Allwein who averaged only 2.87 goals against last year.
Trumbull (11-10-2)
-Trumbull made it to Yale last year losing in the DII semi's and return forward Michale Ahearn who scored 19 goals last year. They will also still have a solid tender but some of the new younger forwards will need to step as most of their scoring form last year, aside from Ahearn, graduated.
Others not to sleep on: Wethersfield (6-13-1; Eagles are looking to make a push in the postseason with senior defensemen Brett Fortin and Matt Lis plus junior forward Pat Dowd), East Catholic (13-10; defense will not be a problem with Garrett Richardello, JT Sabin, Evan Cedron and Matt Urrichio but some underclassmen will have to step on offense for the defending CCC-East Champions).
DIVISION III
Northwest Catholic (11-10-2)
-Upset number one seed Brookfield-Bethel-Danbury last year and made it to the DIII semifinals for the third straight year and for the third straight year also lost to the eventual champion, who moved up to the next division each year (St. Joseph in '09, Guilford in '10, Watertown-Pomperaug in '11). They return all but one starter from last year and this could very well be their year. Their first line is one of the best in the division with A.J. Massaro, Jeff Greenwood and Patrick Melanson. Senior Tyler Vaughn is the name to know on defense. Also, goalie Matt Greenwood was a second-team all-state selection last year.
Rocky Hill/RHAM/Middletown (10-11)
-Experienced team that made the playoffs last year and has only gotten better since. Key returning player is junior Kyle Whalen who tallied 43 points in sophomore season.
Newington-Berlin (15-7-1)
-Defending CCC-North Champs, can never count them out.
Joel Barlow (8-11)
-Led by senior forward Mike Mattson, a second-tem all-state pick last year.
Masuk (5-14-1)
-Very young team last year that came up a little short of states; I expect them to make it and do well this year.
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