Boys' Hockey: Saturday's Score (2/19)

Make sure you're sitting down, we got a lot of big news to go over...

East Haven 2 @ Guilford 3
-I mentioned that East Haven was at home for this one...funny thing is that that is Guilford's home ice too.  A win for Guilford against East Haven, even if it is just by one goal, is enough for them to say they are legit.  Conard did beat Guilford and almost everyone would agree that East Haven would beat Conard but you never really know now.  As the saying goes, "anyone can beat anyone on any given day..." and this is just the first example from Saturday.

#3 Hamden 7 @ #7 West Haven 0
-Was anyone really surprised by this score with the way these two teams have been playing lately (WH sliding and Hamden re-vitalized)?  The fact that it is a rivalry game probably should have made the score a little closer but I went to the Yale-Quinnipiac game on Friday night that drew about 4,000 people because it is a rivalry too...Yale, number three in the nation, won that 6-1.  The whole concept of a rivalry game and "throw the records away" only goes so far.  There was no denying that Hamden is firing on all cylinders right now hungry for that three-peat come next month and West Haven still hasn't found consistent play from their offense or defense.  WH is still good and they have notable games against #4 Xavier and North Haven left (Milford Co-op, Tri-Town and Simsbury should all be easy wins).  Hamden will now finish out the season at home with Winchester (MA) coming in next Wed, ND-Fairfield Saturday and ND-WH on Wed 3/2 (circle that game on your calenders!).

#5 Notre Dame-West Haven 3 @ #1 Fairfield Prep 2
-I'm sorry, did someone say ND-WH isn't a contender this year?  This is exactly what happens when you're playing with a chip on your shoulder and back in the limelight (see my post about Sat's Top Games).  Prep, on the other hand, can blame this on their extremly hard schedule but everyone knows they could have pulled through and won.  Mostly, I think, this game had to do with my pick for the All-State goalie, Greg Harney of ND-WH.  John Galani on Prep is good and holding ND-WH to 3 is respectable but even Austin Essery did that and you could say at least one of those goals was really scored by the refs.  Harney simply faced the best offense and held them to 2 goals in 45 minutes...again!  This was some sweet revenge for the Green Knights having lost 2-3 in OT to Prep back on 1/5.  Another key to the game, in my opinion, was ND's size.  Even if you look at the Xavier game, playing a physical but smart game is the way to beat Prep; it will wear them down, allow you to control the puck/game, and when you get a lot of shots on goal, good things are going to happen.  Finally, the biggest thing to take from this game and why this was more than just one L on the schedule for Prep is that...the Jesuits can be beat.  You can say that everyone knew that before this game but the simple fact that it has been done (again, scrum goals and a line shift mistake in OT don't really count) gives team added confidence going to a game against Prep now and oh yeah, the state tournament starts in under two weeks.  [NOTE: the same thing works in reverse that a team does go into a game against NC thinking they can win but a little part of them in the back of their mind is saying that NC is undefeated...no one, not one of 20 teams, has beat them this year.]

North Haven 1 @ Conard 2
-I apologize for the score mishap before.  North Haven needed this game pretty badly but Conard pulled out a good win and will look to build on it moving forward.  This changes things a lot in that North Haven's shot at making the playoffs (and earning bonus points for the teams that beat them) aren't looking very good now; they sit at 6-10 with four games left.  Of those four (Prep, Branford, E Haven, W Haven), Branford is looking like the only sure win but they need two to get a spot in the state tournament so maybe East Haven (who just lost to Guilford) or even the off and on West Haven Blue Devils but neither will be close to easy.  It is do-able but it will take some of their best hockey of the season.  Conard, on the other hand, has now officially made states at 6-6-4 because every two ties counts as a win in terms of making states. To bolster their record some more they have DIII Hall-Southington on Sat 2/26, ND-Fairfield next Mon, Xavier Wed, and Tri-Town the Tues after.

Notre Dame-Fairfield 1 @ #8 South Windsor 4
-Again, not just a good win but a great win since it was by 3 goals.  Is anyone thinking that just because SW beat ND-Fairfield they will easily eat ND-WH? I don't think so.  Does the fact that they beat ND-Fairfield show us that they are pretty much just as good as #1-7 and clearly count in the "anyone can beat anyone" maxim? Yes, I think it does.  S Windsor finishes up their regular season next week with Enflied on Monday and Tri-Town on Saturday, both home games.  ND-Fairfield has Conard, Fermi and @ Hamden next week then Xavier comes in for their season finale the following Wednesday.
Wilton 3 @ Darien 5
-Good showing from both teams but the DI team prevailed and Darien will get a couple bonus points from this DII team too.  Wilton is a serious contender in DII this year and that just shows you that DI, as a whole, is head and shoulders above DII (which only makes St. Joseph and Amity all more remarkable this year).  Darien's season finale will be this coming Monday vs Trnity Catholic, the only DI team will absolutely no mathematical shot at making the tournament as of today.  Wilton plays again tomorrow at Lyman Hall and then next Wednesday they welcome in Westhill for the last game of the season for both.

#6 Ridgefield 8 @ Westhill 1
-There is not much to say except that what was supposed to happen happened and in a day that has been filled with the exact opposite of that, it is nice to end with some stability.  Ridgefield is looking very good and their last two games will be very good ones: Mon vs #9 G-bury and Wed @ #10 St. Joseph.