By: Luke Devoe
8 Elite Predictions: Mark these on the calendar: (Season 11-6-2, Last Week: 5-1-2)
2/4 #6 West Haven @ #3 Notre Dame-West Haven 1:00 @ Bennett Rink
West Haven has been as erratic as they come. Losing to ND-Fairfield didn't exactly inspire much confidence for the Westies either. They need either senior Forest Schell or senior Justin Shepard to step up and take the reins and put together some quality games in net. NDWH, on the other hand has been playing well and have an unbeaten streak of five since their hard fought loss to #2 Ridgefield. They tied Hamden in a game that the Green Dragons played their best and NDWH didn't exactly play their best. It'll be interesting who's in net for Derosa's squad today as junior Luc Amatruda came on admirably in relief of fellow junior Paul Silwonski and single handedly kept Notre Dame alive against Hamden Saturday. I'll take the Knights in this rivalry tilt. NDWH 5, West Haven 3
2/4 #2 Ridgefield @ South Windsor 6:00 @ South Windsor Arena
The Bobcats have one heck of a week coming up and are featured three times out of eight on this week's E8 Predictions as evidence of that. Their toughest test is today against the #2 Ridgefield Tigers, owners of a 12 game winning streak. I was very high on South Windsor earlier in the year but with recent losses to Fermi/Enfield and Simsbury a win against a top squad like Ridgefield would go a long way. The Tigers have played the last two closer to the belt than previous three, eeking out a win against Fairfield Warde/Ludlowe and scoring three unanswered third period goals to defeat a good New Canaan squad. I'd be a fool to pick against the Tigers this week. Ridgefield 4, South Windsor 2
2/6 #3 Notre Dame-West Haven @ #10 Xavier 4:00 @ Wesleyan University Rink
Call me a cynic for not really believing in the Falcons at this point in the season. They have only won one game in their last five and a pair of North Haven wins are really the only resume wins they have. They will most likely stay in everyone else's top tens because they have some undeserved respect from them and will most likely fall out of mine. Notre Dame is a top team and it seems almost all of their games are big games, a testament to their strength of schedule. An early start on the road could have the Knights prime for the picking and Xavier surely needs the win, I just don't see it happening. NDWH 5, Xavier 2
2/6 South Windsor @ #5 Glastonbury 7:30 @ Trinity College
Glastonbury has had some problems keeping goals out of their net over their last two. Luckily against Conard they had enough fire power to match it. That wasn't the case in an overtime loss to North Haven which put some doubt out there about the caliber of this year's Tomahawk team. South Windsor is begging for a win and have a tough week to accomplish that feat. If they can somehow beat Ridgefield Saturday they will be riding high going into this game on a short layoff. Either way though, I believe the Bobcats prove their mettle against a Glastonbury team that has to be having some doubt right now. South Windsor 3, Glastonbury 2
2/8 Simsbury @ Fermi/Enfield 4:10 @ Enfield Twin Rinks
In the lone matchup on our E8 Predictions not featuring a top ten team, the suddenly hot Simsbury Trojans head to take on the pesky Fermi/Enfield Falcons. The Trojans have won 6 of 7 and will give all they've got to Hamden on Saturday. During that stretch of games they beat Fermi/Enfield in the team's first matchup 2-1. Both teams are coming off wins against the suddenly not-so-mighty South Windsor Bobcats. Simsbury could be getting hot at the right time and I see them taking this one. Simsbury 4, Fermi/Enfield 3
2/8 #6 West Haven @ South Windsor 5:00 @ South Windsor Arena
This was probably the hardest game to predict all week as I don't believe in either of these teams right now. They both still have a ton to prove and this is the week for both of them to do it with some serious matchups. At press time South Windsor is 5-0 at home and West Haven, because of Bennett Rink serving as many local teams home rink, has only played outside of their friendly confines three times this year. The Bobcat students and locals should make the dingy barn that is the South Windsor Arena an inhospitable environment for the Westies and give the Bobcats an edge. South Windsor 5, West Haven 4
2/8 North Haven @ #1 Fairfield Prep 6:00 @ The Wonderland of Ice
Prep has a week long layoff before taking on an upset minded Indians team who are fresh off a top ten upset of their own against the Glastonbury Tomahawks. Prep is not the Glastonbury Tomahawks and I don't see a team who's outscored in state opponent 43-10 losing at home to a North Haven squad. Prep's defense is top notch and unless you can match their offense similarly to how Notre Dame-West Haven did back in January when they almost pulled off the victory you're out of luck against the Jesuits. Prep 4, North Haven 1
2/9 #10 Xavier @ #7 East Haven 7:30 @ DiLungo Rink
In a matchup between two teams who really haven't beaten any one of any significance, they both have a chance to notch a quality win at DiLungo Thursday. The combination of Rich Decarlo and Stephen Marsico have been offensively dangerous for the Yellow Jackets and should be the difference in this one. East Haven 5, Xavier 3
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