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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Boys' Hockey: Saturday's Top Games (1/28)

#8 South Windsor vs Simsbury @ 1pm
-The Spartans have won four of their last five games and can certainly upset the Bobcats who are on an injury-induced slide right now.  SW beat Simsbury 4-1 in the first game of the season and it would be good for them to show that they are still better them, even without two players.

West Haven @ Amity @ 1
-The Westies can pick a quality win here as Amity beat N Haven 4-3 in OT and one of the Blue Devils three losses this season is N Haven.  Amity, on the other hand, are winners of two straight and making a push to reach the win threshold by the end of the season to make it to the DI state tournament.

Windsor/Farmington/Avon @ #7 East Haven @ 1
-The Yellow Jackets are coming off an 0-5 loss to #4 ND-WH on Wednesday and tied Daniel Hand 5-5 in their game before that.  Windsor/Farmington/Avon is on a five-game win streak and has already qualified for the DI state tournament.  A win for E Haven would be huge, especially since Windsor/Farmington/Avon beat N Haven 4-1 on Monday and E Haven only beat N Haven 4-3 in OT.

#1 Fairfield Prep @ St. Peter's Prep (NJ) @ Prudential Center (Newark, NJ)
-This is the CHAMPIONSHIP game in the Jesuit shootout and a win for Prep would be huge for all of high school hockey in CT.  Saint Peter's Prep is in NJ's catholic school league but they are not one of the top teams in it, like BC High was in the Super 8 in MA.  In fact, St. Peter's Prep is under .500 but they are the host team and this is their home ice.  Fan support could help them as well but honestly it looks like the Jesuits should win this cool tournament!

Notre Dame-Fairfield @ Conard @ 2
-ND has a shot to pick up a big win here and prove how talented they are against the highly inconsistent Chieftains that did beat #8 South Windsor.

#4 Notre Dame-West Haven @ #2 Hamden @ 230
-This highly anticipated match up should be a really good game but I have my doubts.  Hamden hasn't played in over a week (since last Thursday 1/19) and if they don't come out ready to play we may see a skewed result in a big-time game like New Canaan's win at Hamden last year.  ND-WH is coming off a really good 5-0 win over #7 East Haven on Wednesday so  expect them to be ready to go here in the big-time hockey environment that is Lou Astorino Rink.  Everyone should try to go to this game if they can, it has the potential to be one of the best games of the year and I'm going to say it beforehand, let's hope the refs don't skew the result either!  The other huge thing here is that a win for the Green Dragons make their trip to the DI state tournament official, giving them another motivation to play their best Saturday afternoon.

Newtown @ Brookfield/Bethel/Danbury
-This one gets the feature because a win gets B-B-D in the DIII state tournament.  Newtown is on a three game losing streak but only lost 3-4 at Joel Barlow in their one.  Its not a shoe-in for B-B-D but I still expect them to win.

#3 Ridgefield @ Fairfield Warde/Ludlowe @ 730
-Here is a solid game for the number three team in the state.  FWL is not THE top team in DII but they are good and have a lot of good wins in the division so I think they can give Ridgefield a good game.  Also, this is a FCIAC showdown that puts both team's current undefeated records in conference play on the line!

Immaculate/New Fairfield @ Watertown/Pomperaug @ 730
-Immaculate/New Fairfield hasn't won a game all year and once W-P wins this SWC game, they will extend their win streak to five, improve to 6-1 in their last seven games and officially make the DII state tournament in their first year in the division.

#5 Xavier @ #9 North Haven @ 730
-Again, here is another top ten match that will be a really good game and is probably being more overshadowed than it should be.  Xavier and N Haven battled in the first game of the season and X came out on top 1-0 with a goal in the final two minuets of the game.  Now, we have both teams searching for big wins for different reasons.  X needs to prove their #5 ranking as the teams around them keep picking up big wins and they are coming off a 1-1 tie with New Canaan in their last game.  In fact, the Falcons are 0-2-1 in their last three games, three of their last five games went to OT and they haven't played a game in almost two weeks (since Monday 1/16).  They will really need to focus on the game at end, playing their best, and capturing that one win they need to officially qualify for the DI state tournament.  North Haven has the talent to upset X, especially if X doesn't play their best, and a win would get them to .500, 6-6.  Despite coming off a 1-4 loss to Windsor/Farmington/Avon, you never know when N Haven will be on their A game.

New Canaan @ Greenwich @ 745
-Featuring this FCIAC game is more for NC than Greenwich as Greenwich is 2-10 and NC is 5-0-1 in their past six games.  A win gets the Rams into the DI state tournament, despite a 0-2 then 2-3 start, but what I am more interested in is the actual score because N only won 5-4 the last time these two teams played each other.

Bolton/Coventry/Lyman Memorial @ Rockville/Manchester/Stafford @ 750
-BCL gets themselves in the DIII state tournament with a win and the Rockville/Manchester/Stafford Rams are 3-7 this year but only lost to BCL 1-2 on Friday 1/13 so lets see who has improved more since then.

#10 Darien @ Norwalk/Brien McMahon @ 810
-Norwalk/Brien McMahon has only won two games all year so Darien should have no problem winning this FCIAC game and qualifying for the DI state tournament.  The Blue Wave started the season 0-2 then 1-3 losing to top teams in the state  but it must have helped get them ready for the season because they are on a six-game win streak since then.

Hall/Southington @ Newington/Berlin @ 830
-DIII game to watch here as Hall/Southingotn is 3-4-1 but has the talent to upset the only team in the DIII state tournament right now, 8-2 Newington/Berlin.

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