First off, I apologize for not publishing these rankings actually on the first. I have been moving down in beautiful Florida and if any of you have ever moved an entire house you know how time-consuming and back-breaking it is! However, here they are in the same popular format that I have seen other writers change over to for their hockey rankings. Lastly, I would like to thank you for your continued support of reading this site; I recently passed 20,000 hits all-time and continued to be humbled by the success of this website that I love running!
NOTE: In-state records follow overall record to show how each team is doing against the teams that matter most.
#1 Fairfield Prep (4-2) (3-0)
-The Jesuits are the defending DI champions and playing like it. So far this year they beat #4 Ridgefield 3-0, #8 South Windsor 6-2 and the always tough Notre Dame-Fairfield by a combined score of 7-2. Besides those convincing in-state wins they beat Springfield Cathedral from MA 5-0, kept it close in a 1-3 loss to RI's #2 team Bishop Hendricken and just narrowly dropped a 2-3 game to St. Joseph from Buffalo, NY; all three games were played at the elite Mount Saint Charles Tournament in Rhode Island (Mt. St. Charles is RI's #1 team...and has been for six years now). However, in what looks to be one of if not the best week in high school hockey's regular season this year, the Jesuits will play #3 Hamden on Wednesday at the TD Bank Sports Center in Hamden and #2 Notre Dame-West Haven at home (the Wonderland of Ice in Bridgeport) on Saturday. Get excited because I know I am!
#2 Notre Dame-West Haven (6-0) (6-0)
-One of six undefeated teams in the state (one of five to be perfect), the Green Knights are certainly the most impressive. They have the same three wins as #3 Hamden - Darien, Amity and New Canaan - but with a combined margin of victory of 11 instead of 9. Also, they wins over Greenwich, Simsbury and #7 North Haven, all Division I opponents. They are outscoring opponents 31-6 in those six games with an average margin of victory of almost 4.2 goals per game; their closest games were 3-0 against New Canaan in their season opener and 4-1 at Darien. Against #7 North Haven, a top ten team, they won 7-2 to capture the West Haven Christmas Tournament Championship.
#3 Hamden (3-0) (3-0)
-Another perennial hockey powerhouse in DI, Hamden is off a perfect 3-0 start this season. They have a quality teams like Darien 2-0 and two decent DI opponents Amity and New Canaan 7-2 and 5-3 respectively. I have my doubts about the Green Dragons and how they will do against #1 Fairfield Prep at the TD Bank Sport Center in Hamden on Wednesday and at #7 North Haven on Friday of this week. However, when Nick Amarone returns from suspension for Hamden's 11th game (tentatively vs #2 ND-WH on 1/28) this offense should become more explosive and set up a much better match-up for the fans at home on 2/25 against Prep. Don't get me wrong, Hamden is still talented and I think their games on Friday against #7 N Haven and next Wednesday vs the young surprise #6 Xavier will be good measures of whether or not they deserve the #3 ranking.
#4 Ridgefield (3-1) (1-1)
-The first team from the FCIAC in my top ten, Ridgefield has started off the year better than Dairen, my other favorite to be in the FCIAC championship game. The Tigers lost 0-3 to Prep to start off the season but rebounded with a 5-2 big-time win over #5 Glastonbury three days later. 1-1 doesn't say much but, as I indicated in my "Teams to Watch" post to start the season, Ridgefield is a very talented team and they showcased that at the Maine Invitational with a 11-0 win over Biddeford and 9-0 win over Bangor. I put Hamden ahead of them in the rankings mainly because Hamden still hasn't lost to Prep yet but if they do, you could see a tie between these two teams in the rankings. The only game Ridgefield plays before my next rankings come out in a week is Saturday at home versus #6 Xavier, a team they lost to last year in Middletown.
#5 Glastonbury (3-1) (3-1)
-G-bury is the top CCC team in my opinion right now after collecting wins over Conard 11-4 and a good Fermi/Enfield squad 4-0 to start the season. They also did what they needed to by beating St. Joseph, last year's DI runner-up, 6-2 on opening night. Their only loss is 2-5 to #4 Ridgefield but they actually face Ridgefield again at home on 2/21 along with some good SCC teams and #8 South Windsor twice to bolster their stock in my rankings this season. This upcoming week they travel to Norwich Rink to play St. Bernard/Bacon/NFA, a DIII team, and then return home for a Saturday night game against another CCC-North and DI acquaintance, Trinity Catholic.
#6 Xavier (5-1-1) (3-0)
-Xavier has earned this rankings with a 4-2 win over both Notre Dame-Fairfield and Cheshire early on in the season and a 1-0 win over #7 in their first game of the season. To go with those three quality DI wins, the Falcons went up to Maine and beat Lewiston 3-1 and Biddeford 9-1 so we know they're good. Their only blemish is a 3-3 tie with Greely that Greely "won" in a shootout at the Maine Invitational and a 3-5 loss to St. John's from Shrewsbury, MA that X was leading 1-0 after one period, 2-0 after two and 3-1 a few minutes into the third period. The Falcons host Greenwich on Tuesday and then can make a statement down at the Winter Garden Ice Arena against #4 Ridgefield late Saturday night (8:50pm).
#7 North Haven (3-2) (3-2)
-North Haven has been a pleasant surprise this year in CT high school hockey under new head coach Tom Roche. The Indians beat Division I opponent Simsbury 4-1 and a good DIII team Brookfield/Bethel/Danbury 6-1. Their signature win is 5-4 over #8 West Haven at the West Haven Christmas Tournament and their losses were by one goal, 0-1, to #6 Xavier on opening night and 2-7 to ND-WH, which lands at the #7 rankings, nothing more, nothing less. N Haven can add to their record with a game at home against #10 East Haven on Wednesday and a huge game when they host #3 Hamden on Friday night at 6:15pm.
#8 West Haven (4-1)
-The Westies are off to a solid start this year scoring at least 4 goals in every game this year and averaging 5.8 per game. However, as I expected at the beginning of the season, defense is what they are struggling with most. They only allowed more than two goals twice this season and the first time was the highlight of their season, a 6-5 OT comeback against Darien but the second was their only loss of the season, 4-5 to #7 North Haven. Their other three wins are 5-0 over Greenwich, 6-2 against Trinity Catholic and 8-2 against Amity; all five teams are Division I opponents. The Blue Devils travel to Madison on Wednesday to play a top DII team in Daniel Hand and then host #10 East Haven on Saturday afternoon in a game that means a lot for both teams.
#8 South Windsor (5-1) (3-1)
-I have the Bobcats tied with West Haven for two main reasons. SW's 2-6 loss to #1 Prep isn't as bad as W Haven's loss to #7 N Haven but their wins aren't as good, mainly because they have played less in-state games. South Windsor topped Simsbury 4-1, took down Fermi/Enfield 5-1 and slipped past Tri-Town only 3-2. Although those are all DI opponents, they are weaker teams than those WH beat. At the Maine Invatational, SW got a 6-3 win against York and a 7-0 statement over Kennesbunk. They play Conard Monday and Wednesday of this upcoming week and then host 4-1 St. Joseph on Saturday.
#10 East Haven (5-0-1) (5-0-1)
-For the first time ever, all the "haven teams" are in my top 10 (ND-WH, N Haven, W Haven and E Haven...I don't think any team in New Haven even has a hockey team). E Haven has really impressed me with their teamwork on offense. They distribute the puck well and it has payed off as they have scored at least 4 goals in each of their six games this season. I don't know why but they only managed a 5-5 tie against DII Stamford in their opener but from there went on to win 4-2 at Cheshire, 8-4 against Conard, 4-3 in OT against Tri-Town 9-4 at Westhill and then got their first shutout in a 4-0 win at home against Wilton. Wilton and Westhill are DII teams that are 0-4 and 0-3-1 respectively so I don't place much emphasis on those games but what worries me is Stamford is 1-3-1. The Yellow Jackets will get some good DI, SCC, top ten tests this marquee week in hockey at #7 North Haven on Wednesday and at #8 West Haven on Saturday. A win against W Haven would probably get E Haven above SW too but how they do against N Haven matters as well.
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