Boys' Hoceky: Rankings (2/13)

I would just like to point out that my rankings held correct for last week's three marquee games (#1 beat #4, #2 beat #4 and #1 beat #3) and Guilford did not make my Top Ten for a very good reason.  For the week ahead, we got some games being played outdoors at the Whalers Hockey Fest (bring em back!) that should be a lot of fun for all involved.  Also, this week is winter break for a lot of schools (some are next week) so that may or may not impact teams' performance...things like that tend to work on an individual basis so coaching will be very important. Here's the new rankings:

#1 Fairfield Prep (13-2) - 1 out of state loss
-Hey New Canaan fans, the Jesuits beat Hamden too.  In fact, that beat Xavier this past week as well, in addition to a win over Notre Dame-Fairfield and Seton Hall Prep from New Jersey.  Prep will finish out their seven-game home stand this week with Ridgefield on Wednesday and Notre Dame-West Haven on Saturday.  Both look to be very good games, in fact the ND-WH game is my GAME OF THE WEEK.

#2 New Canaan (17-0)
-The Rams beat Darien on Wednesday, which looks less impressive after Darien's loss to Westhill, but then went down to Lou Astorino Rink and shout-out Hamden 2-0.  Although everybody says Hamden did not show up for that game, New Canaan was missing their two best forwards and they still found a way to get it done.  I'm not going to say NC would win if the two teams met again but for now, they clearly won that game on February 11th.  New Canaan's remaining schedule isn't even worth talking about as they face DII Wilton this Wednesday who could beat them if the stars align properly but then NC will roll over the DIII team they'll see Saturday and DII team they get next Wednesday.  20-0 is just about in the books.

NOTE: Please read the following descriptions because head-to-head from one ranking to the next looks different but considering them all together, this is what one would get:

#3 Hamden (8-5-1) - 2 out of state losses
-Yes, the Green Dragons had a rough week, losing to Prep, NC, and out-of-state Mount Saint Charles.  However, they beat South Windsor 4-1 on Saturday (qualifying them for the DI tournament) and with the way Xavier is playing right now, Hamden would win should the two face again.  So again, this ranking is less of what Hamden has done recently and more of what Xavier hasn't done recently.  Hamden can show they're back next week against East Haven at home on Wednesday and down at Bennett Rink against West Haven on Saturday.

#4 Xavier (10-5) - 2 out of state losses
-Read the description above and you'll understand.  After what I saw from the Falcons against Prep (1-3 loss) and how they did for parts of their game against ND-WH back on 1/22 (2-3 loss), they look like a different (worse) team than the one that beat Hamden and basically beat New Canaan.  That being said, I think they can still get it together before the play-offs with games against St. John's from MA (big, physical team that they lost to before), Conrad and West Haven all not this week but the one after that.  A good win against WH could even earn them the #3 spot back.  Also, they play ND-Fairfield in the last week of the season on 3/2 so that should be a good way to get ready for the tournament too.  The Falcons may be down but they definitely aren't out.

#5 Notre Dame-West Haven (10-4)
-Yes they beat Xavier but no they did not even come close to beating Hamden like Xavier did in a sure-handed fashion.  Also, most would assume that Xavier will beat WH right now, after WH loss to South Windsor, and WH beat ND-WH so that also hurts ND.  After nothing but a losses to Hamden and WH since their win over X, ND will be in the spotlight again this Saturday when they go to the Wonderland of Ice for the GAME OF THE WEEK against Fairfield Prep.  ND also has another meeting with Hamden on 3/2 at the end of the season to (1) get read for the tournament but (2) make a statement to other teams in the tournament.

#6 Ridgefield (12-3)
-The Tigers did what they had to: a 6-1 win over DIII leader Staples-Weston-Shelton and 6-0 over a top DII team, Trumbull.  This allowed them to take the six seed following WH's loss to South Windsor.  Ridgefield goes to Fairfield Prep on Wednesday and then Terry Connors Rink on Friday to take on the pesky mid-level DII team, Westhill, that beat Darien and East Haven but lost to Lyman Hall and Stamford; not a game to overlook!  The Tigers can make their resume even more impressive the week after with games versus Glastonbury and at St. Joseph.

#7 West Haven (8-4-2)
-West Haven had to take some hit for the South Windsor loss that, although S Windsor is a good team, you would expect WH to win that game.  WH beat ND-WH and tied Hamden so you know they can play very well and they will get another chance in their only game this upcoming week: Saturday vs Hamden.

#8 South Windsor (13-3)
-To some, eight may seem a little low for South Windsor but it is a result of the talented teams above them and the fact that they have not shown they are on the level of even WH, a team they beat.  They lost 0-7 to Prep (I know WH lost 0-8 but for #1-5 it wasn't that bad), 1-3 to Glastonbury (who lost 3-5 to #6 Ridgefield and 2-5 to ND-WH) and then 1-4 to Hamden.  South Windsor will get a little more help if they can beat North Haven at the Northford Ice Pavilion on Wednesday and ND-Fairfield at home on Saturday.

#9 Glastonbury (11-4)
-The thing the Tomahawks are clinging on to is their one win over South Windsor.  However, they did beat ND-Fairfield and then North Haven just this past week.  The 1-2 OT loss to Conard isn't looking good but their own wins over Farmington and 8-1 over Coanrd the first time help mitigate, if not entirely eliminate, that.  Big game this Wednesday when they go down to Bennett and take on Amity!  They also have another opportunity next Monday 2/21 at the Winter Garden Ice Arena against Ridgefield.

#10 St. Joseph (11-3) - 3 out of state WINS
-They did it, the Cadets cracked my Top Ten.  To explain their ranking, I will explain the LAST TEAMS OUT that didn't make it...right here.  Darien (7-8-1) just took a major hit with the loss to Westhill and when you've lost to #1-6, Greenwich and tied ND-Fairfield, that's just too much.  Wilton (10-5-1) really only has a win over Greenwich and a loss to DIII Watertown-Pomperaug and tie with DII Milford Co-op just make them a team with potential but not actual wins.  It was closest with East Haven (10-4), as the Yellow Jackets have a win over Wilton and Amity and chances to do more left in the season (Hamden, Guilford, ND-WH, North Haven) but those wins/ties need to happen before they can move up.  Amity (6-8) maybe would have this if they beat North Haven and then Conard (5-6-3) could maybe have grabbed it after they beat Guilford but then they lost 1-2 in OT to Tri-Town, which, in summation with the rest of their losses and ties, will keep them out.  Finally, on to St. Joseph themselves: they have wins over Amity, Wilton, Staples-Weston-Shelton, Westhill and Trumbull.  Their bad loss is to Guilford 2-5 in the first game of the season but other two losses are 2-6 and 2-5 to New Canaan.  St. Joseph can make some noise if teams don't watch out for them and they have Amity (Mon), Darien (Tues), and Greenwich (Thurs) this week, all away games.  If that wasn't enough, they play Ridgefield in their last game of the season and also Senior Night, Wednesday 2/23.

I may or may not have a post this upcoming week with a projected bracket for the DI tournament.  My friend (Xavier Forward Kurt Johnson) likes to go through and figure out who will get what seed based on a projected final record for each team and then therefore who makes the playoffs too, to award bonus points.  Very complex and lots of work so I wouldn't have the time to do it myself but if he does it again this week I may post it to get everyone in the mood for some playoff puck...just under three weeks left hockey fans!!!!!