February 13, 2012
By: Luke DevoeThe mighty Ridgefield Tigers were finally taken down while the Jesuits from Fairfield Prep asserted themselves as the most dominant force in the state. Hamden and Notre Dame-West Haven both notched quality wins while Darien tallied the biggest victory of them all. Glastonbury won a pair while some of the SCC's powerhouses struggled. Check back later for a complete recap of the week's action.
1.
Fairfield Prep (14-2-0)- Prep got quite a scare out of a feisty North Haven squad. It took a late David White goal to propel the Jesuits to their 10th straight win and move their in state record to 11-0-0. Prep proved that sneaking by North Haven wasn't indicative of their talent as they blasted fellow townies Notre Dame-Fairfield 8-1 on Saturday. David White now has 37 points (22 G, 15 A) through 16 games this year.LW: 1 PAST WEEK: North Haven W 2-1, Notre Dame-Fairfield W 8-1 THIS WEEK: Notre Dame-West Haven 2/18
2.
Ridgefield (14-2-0)- Kind of hard to drop the Tigers after running off 14 straight and losing a tough 4-2 match to the "better for the night" Darien Blue Wave. The Tigers shouldn't be challenged until their season finale against Glastonbury and as they proved against Notre Dame-West Have, they can play with anyone including the top SCC squads.LW: 2 PAST WEEK: Wilton W 7-0, Darien L 4-2 THIS WEEK: Trumbull 2/15, Staples/Weston/Shelton 2/18
3.
Notre Dame-West Haven (12-3-1)- The Green Knights have quite the layoff here with only four games to play. They added another quality win last week eeking by Xavier on Monday afternoon bouncing back nicely from the West Haven loss. They return in style on Saturday in the week's biggest game against those Jesuits.LW: 3 PAST WEEK: Xavier W 1-0 THIS WEEK: Fairfield Prep 2/18
4.
Darien (12-3-0)- The Blue Wave notched the state's biggest win last week knocking off #2 Ridgefield at the DIR Saturday night. That win boosted their winning streak to 11 games. They have a tough tilt Tuesday night against New Canaan and can't afford a let down against a good Rams squad. The Wave have gotten 15 goals in 15 games out of junior Brendan Hathaway.LW: 5 PAST WEEK: Trumbull W 8-0, Ridgefield W 4-2 THIS WEEK: New Canaan 2/14, Westhill 2/18
5. 
Hamden (8-3-2)- Being able to see Hamden as much as I do may end up dooming them in my rankings. Off the scheduled games docket was a Mount St. Charles 3-1 exhibition loss this week as well as the SW victory. Hamden dazzles at times with depth, grit and exceptional goaltending. Then they go extended periods of mediocre play and lack of a killer offensive instinct. We'll see with them. Monster week this week with the Westies twice and the Yellow Jackets. A young team, Hamden boasts freshman Tyler Carangelo and Sophomore Jeremy Germain giving the Green Dragons some staying power.
Hamden (8-3-2)- Being able to see Hamden as much as I do may end up dooming them in my rankings. Off the scheduled games docket was a Mount St. Charles 3-1 exhibition loss this week as well as the SW victory. Hamden dazzles at times with depth, grit and exceptional goaltending. Then they go extended periods of mediocre play and lack of a killer offensive instinct. We'll see with them. Monster week this week with the Westies twice and the Yellow Jackets. A young team, Hamden boasts freshman Tyler Carangelo and Sophomore Jeremy Germain giving the Green Dragons some staying power.LW: 4 PAST WEEK: South Windsor W 4-2 THIS WEEK: West Haven 2/14, East Haven 2/16, West Haven 2/18
6. 
Glastonbury (12-3-0)- A 3-0-0 week helped the Tomahawks get some swag back. Their 12-3-0 mark is pretty impressive considering the losses have come to #2 Ridgefield, #3 NDWH and North Haven in a crazy 6-5 OT game. Five tough tilts await the Tomahawks as they finish up their season.
LW: 8 PAST WEEK: South Windsor W 2-1, East Catholic W 5-0, Branford W 7-2 THIS WEEK: Fermi/Enfield 2/15, Notre Dame-Fairfield 2/18
Glastonbury (12-3-0)- A 3-0-0 week helped the Tomahawks get some swag back. Their 12-3-0 mark is pretty impressive considering the losses have come to #2 Ridgefield, #3 NDWH and North Haven in a crazy 6-5 OT game. Five tough tilts await the Tomahawks as they finish up their season.LW: 8 PAST WEEK: South Windsor W 2-1, East Catholic W 5-0, Branford W 7-2 THIS WEEK: Fermi/Enfield 2/15, Notre Dame-Fairfield 2/18
7. 
West Haven (9-5-0)- The Westies are all over the place. Goalie Justin Shepard stands on his head and single handedly beats the Green Knights 4-1 and then a week later allows seven goals to a much less offensively talented South Windsor Bobcats club. The saving grace for the Westies may end up being a group of skaters that appear to have All Area written all over them including Mike Troiano, Austin Hansen and Kyle Leyerzapf. A home and home with Hamden this week could be very interesting and heated.
LW: 6 PAST WEEK: South Windsor L 7-3 THIS WEEK: Hamden 2/14, Hamden 2/18
West Haven (9-5-0)- The Westies are all over the place. Goalie Justin Shepard stands on his head and single handedly beats the Green Knights 4-1 and then a week later allows seven goals to a much less offensively talented South Windsor Bobcats club. The saving grace for the Westies may end up being a group of skaters that appear to have All Area written all over them including Mike Troiano, Austin Hansen and Kyle Leyerzapf. A home and home with Hamden this week could be very interesting and heated.LW: 6 PAST WEEK: South Windsor L 7-3 THIS WEEK: Hamden 2/14, Hamden 2/18
8. 
Xavier (8-6-1)- Xavier finally notched a quality win, beating East Haven at DiLungo 3-1 last week. The Falcons are fortunate that there is so much parity in the state this year in terms of still being ranked this high. A win against a St. John's, Shrewsbury team who's already beaten them and Hamden would go a long way in terms of confidence heading into the tourney.
LW: 10 PAST WEEK: Notre Dame-West Haven L 1-0, East Haven W 3-1 THIS WEEK: St. John's Shrewsbury 2/13, Amity 2/18
Xavier (8-6-1)- Xavier finally notched a quality win, beating East Haven at DiLungo 3-1 last week. The Falcons are fortunate that there is so much parity in the state this year in terms of still being ranked this high. A win against a St. John's, Shrewsbury team who's already beaten them and Hamden would go a long way in terms of confidence heading into the tourney.LW: 10 PAST WEEK: Notre Dame-West Haven L 1-0, East Haven W 3-1 THIS WEEK: St. John's Shrewsbury 2/13, Amity 2/18
9. 
Simsbury (7-7-1)- Simsbury remains in the top ten even after the loss to WFA because they are still one of the hottest teams in the state going 4-1-1 in their last six. Yet to clinch, they are in good shape to get that elusive eighth win or second tie with some lackluster opponents remaining on the schedule.
Simsbury (7-7-1)- Simsbury remains in the top ten even after the loss to WFA because they are still one of the hottest teams in the state going 4-1-1 in their last six. Yet to clinch, they are in good shape to get that elusive eighth win or second tie with some lackluster opponents remaining on the schedule.LW: 9 PAST WEEK: Fermi/Enfield W 4-2, Windsor/Farmington/Avon L 3-2 THIS WEEK: Conard 2/15
10. 
East Haven (11-4-2)- The Yellow Jackets have to be having some confidence issues after becoming only the third Division 1 team to lose to a Division 3 opponent last week against SB/B/NFA. They couldn't rebound against a much more difficult opponent and lost to Xavier. Two monster games remain with Hamden and Prep with an underrated matchup with Guilford sandwiched between. Easties better fix some key issues or they could finish the regular season with a five game losing streak. In their 17 games, senior Rich DeCarlo has tallied multi point affairs 11 times.
LW: 7 PAST WEEK: St. Bernard/Bacon/NFA L 3-1, Xavier L 3-1 THIS WEEK: Hamden 2/16
East Haven (11-4-2)- The Yellow Jackets have to be having some confidence issues after becoming only the third Division 1 team to lose to a Division 3 opponent last week against SB/B/NFA. They couldn't rebound against a much more difficult opponent and lost to Xavier. Two monster games remain with Hamden and Prep with an underrated matchup with Guilford sandwiched between. Easties better fix some key issues or they could finish the regular season with a five game losing streak. In their 17 games, senior Rich DeCarlo has tallied multi point affairs 11 times.LW: 7 PAST WEEK: St. Bernard/Bacon/NFA L 3-1, Xavier L 3-1 THIS WEEK: Hamden 2/16
Dropped Out: None
On the Bubble: New Canaan (10-6-1), North Haven (7-8-0), St. Joseph (11-6-0)
Hamden needs to be higher. 1 in state loss! Plus they beat Darien and play better teams than everyone in the state other than the jesuits.
ReplyDeleteHow can you actually sit there and post that comment? yes they have a tough schedule and they do have some good wins, but any team worth giving them a good game has beaten them (FP, St. Johns Shrews., Hingam) besides NDWH(tie) who by the way just shut out Prep, as well as losing to a team they already beat, WH. The rest of there schedule reads D1 teams but is deceptive because they are low caliber ones at that. If you wanna be ranked 1-3 you must have less than 3 losses. They are right where they should be in the rankings, and besides with all these odd losses where there should be wins it makes everything a toss up and more exciting for the state. sit back and enjoy the show.
ReplyDeletefrom 3 losses, im pretty sure it then goes to schedule strength and not just strength, but the wins you go from playing a tough sched.
ReplyDeleteHamden is where they should be at right now i can agree with that. FCIAC Fan no offense but the FCIAC league is much weaker than the SCC. You cannot count mass teams in our rankings because they are not in state oppenents. We will have to see how the rest of the season plays out for the rankings but Hamden at #4 right now is fair.
ReplyDelete