#10 East Haven @ #8 West Haven @ 1pm
-This will be a very interesting game since East Haven beat #7 North Haven 3-4 in OT on Wednesday and N Haven beat West Haven 5-4 the Wednesday before that. One goal wins and losses leave room for doubt though so this is far from decided. Can West Haven pick a big win and make up for that North Haven loss or will East Haven continue their rise through the ranks this year?
#2 Notre Dame-West Haven @ #1 Fairfield Prep @ 1pm
-I don't I need to hype this game much more than the fact that is #1 vs #2. It is also a big SCC rivalry and ND-WH would actually be the first team in the state (in any division) to qualify for the state tournament with a win. The Green Knights are currently 7-0 so an undefeated season is on the line for them as well. Both of these teams played at the TD Bank Sports Center on Wednesday but I think the ND-WH coaches were a little harder in practice on Thursday and Friday since ND only beat Cheshire 2-1 whereas Prep beat #3 Hamden 3-1. My key to the game will be Prep's goalie, Riley Wikman. He stood on his head against Hamden and will need to come out and have another really good game against ND for his team to win. On the other hand, I think the way ND will win is if their defense can be physical with Prep but also keep up with their speed and if their goalie, Paul Sliwinski, can have a breakout game. I'm not going to pick against my rankings but anything can happen, especially this early in the season.
Daniel Hand @ Fermi/Enfield @ 240
-A lesser game but still one worth watching for sure. Hand is really trying to make the case that they are a top DII team whereas Fermi/Enfield needs to show good they actually are this year. Fermi/Enfield started off looking good but suffered a major loss on Wednesday to previously-winless Simsbury. This is a game worth watching in the northern part of the state on Saturday afternoon.
Windsor/Farmington/Avon @ Tri-Town @ 5
-The new Avon co-op is 3-1 with their loss only coming to defending DIII champ Watertown/Pomperaug in OT and they avenged that loss two games later. This will be their first DI game and Tri-Town only lost 2-3 to #8 South Windsor and 3-4 in OT to East Haven while also beating Greenwich 5-2. An interesting game I will be keeping an eye on.
St. Joseph @ #8 South Windsor @ 6
-Both teams are looking to rebound from losses and South Windsor really needs this quality win more because they were upset by Conard whereas St. Joseph only lost to a good New Canaan squad.
Notre Dame-Fairfield @ Darien @ 7
-This is the game where Darien will prove to me whether or not they are a top DI team this year. They have a tough schedule but beating the always talented Lancers is the sign that you are a good DI team and the big challenge here is that Darien just beat ND-F 3-0 on Wednesday. We saw what happened when #8 South Windsor and Conard played each other back-to-back, should be an interesting second game between these two as well.
Amity @ Cheahire @ 730
-Cheshire is looking to rebound from their 1-2 loss to #2 ND-WH and Amity has only lost to top ten teams this year.
#6 Xavier @ #4 Ridgefield @ 850
-This is a huge game that should be getting more attention, even though it is overshadowed by the 1 vs 2 match up earlier in the day. Die hard hockey fans will make the trek out to Winter Garden Ice Arena to see the young Falcons in their first really big in-state game where they will get a chance to prove just how good they are this year. Ridgefield is looking for some revenge from their loss last year in Middletown to Xavier and also for another big win to couple with their one over Glastonbury so they can vie for the top spot in the state. The winner of this game has a chance to make big moves and use this result as evidence of their talent for the rest of the season. I would certainly recommend this game to everyone!
DII game to watch:
Fairfield Warde/Ludlowe @ Branford @ 315
-This is the game that will add even more chaos to the DII discussion as Fairfield Warde/Ludlowe beat Hand 4-3 in OT and Suffield/Granby/Windsor Locks 3-2 but lost 1-5 to Branford in the first game of the season (also 1-3 to St. Bernard/Bacon Academy/NFA, a solid DIII team). Branford lost 2-7 to Hand in their opening game but Stamford 10-4 and Milford co-op 5-4 in OT. However, they lost 6-7 in OT to Trumbull so DII is very crazy at the top.
DIII game to watch:
St. Bernard/Bacon Academy/NFA @ Northwest Catholic @ 530
-NWC is 4-2 and they beat Hall/Southington, East Catholic and Stamford (and DI Simsbury). Their only losses are Wethersfield and 0-1 to Suffield/Granby/Windsor Locks, both of which are good DII teams. On the other hand, St. Bernard/Bacon Academy/NFA is a solid DIII team with a 3-3 record that only lost 2-4 to #5 Glastonbury and has beat the only DIII team they've played thus far, Newington/Berlin, 2-1.
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