Eight Elite Predictions (2/13-2/19)

By: Luke Devoe

With the Blizzard of 2013 wreaking havoc on the high school hockey slate not to mention the entire state, my predictions were interrupted last week as all of Saturday's games were postponed.  Three of my predicted games (NWC @ Glast/NDF @ Prep/Amity @ Branford) were postponed and my fourth is scheduled to be played tomorrow (North Branford @ East Haven).  I will post those four and an additional eight for the coming week (2/13-2/19), but bear with me, the schedule has been fluid and not set at all.  These dates and times are up to date but with any major occurrence they are subject to change.  

Season: 42-21-5, Last Week: 2-1-1

LAST WEEK (2/6-2/12)

BCR @ St. Bernard-Bacon-NFA (Predicted 3-1 BCR, Actual 2-0 BCR)

Iona Prep @ NDWH (Predicted 5-0 NDWH, Actual 11-2 NDWH)

St. Joseph @ Darien (Predicted 4-3 St. Josep, Actual 4-4 TIE)

FWA @ E Catholic (Predicted 5-1 EC, Actual 2-1 OT FWA)

BELOW ARE MY CAPSULES FOR THE REMAINING FOUR GAMES OF LAST WEEK'S PREDICTIONS.  TIMES AND DATES HAVE BEEN UPDATED BUT REASONINGS AND SCORE PROJECTIONS REMAIN IN THEIR ORIGINAL FORM.

TBD Northwest Catholic @ Glastonbury TBD @ Trinity College
A nice 10:30 Saturday morning start welcomes to very evenly matched squads.  Glastonbury was high up in the rankings earlier this year, was looking similar to the team they were last year but have been a little erratic of late.  The Tomahawks are young but very unpredictable. NW Catholic is coming in after dropping their third game of the year badly to Farmington-Windsor-Avon.  The once very enticing Indians have lost 3 of 4 and will have their hands full with all-state talent Avery Clair.  With Pat Melansen, Demitri Yao and Jeff Greenwood, the Indians have plenty of star power to match.  But I like the D1 squad in this one, Glastonbury 4, NW Catholic 2

2/18 Notre Dame- Fairfield @ Fairfield Prep Noon @ Wonderland of Ice
Prep beat up NDF earlier in the year 7-2.  NDF is a completely different team than the team they faced back then but Prep is not.  Prep has been utterly dominant this year and has humbled some impressive foes.  I think NDF's six game win streak and season revival has been great and they are certainly the darling's of CTHSHockey right now, but Prep is too talented, too loaded and too dangerous for ND to hang with.  ND will put up a fight however.  Prep 5, NDF 3

TBD Amity @ Branford TBD @ Northford Ice Pavilion
Amity has been towards the top of the D2 ranks all season with quality wins over North Haven, Milford, ND Fairfield, Glastonbury and West Haven.  Branford is just starting to get it going just like they do every season and shocked the state with a 7-1 drubbing of North Branford last week.  They followed that up with a win over East Haven.  I think the hot streak continues for Branford.  Branford 3, Amity 2

2/12 North Branford @ Guilford 7:30 @ East Haven Ice Rink
North Branford would love to get it going again after a bad loss to Branford and a tough 1-1 tie with Newington-Berlin.  Guilford, after a less than stellar start to their season has finally started to get it going with only 1 loss in their last 7.  They have North Haven earlier in the week so that will definitely be a challenge before this one.  If Guilford could ever win both of those, they'd be in prime shape going forward, I just think North Branford wins this one.  North Branford 4, Guilford 2

(2/13-2/19) THIS WEEK'S ELITE 8 PREDICTIONS

2/13 Fairfield Prep @ Darien 6:00 @ Darien Ice Rink

If Prep is going down to an instate team it's happening this week when they take on Darien and NDWH.  The Wave finally got back into the swing of playing quality opponents when they took on St. Joe's last week but were only able to pull out a tie against the Cadets.  Prep has been running ripshod through their competition and should be able to top the Wave.  But beware of the trap game.  Prep can not be caught looking ahead to ND on Saturday.  I'll take Prep until someone proves otherwise. Prep 5, Darien 2

2/13 Newington-Berlin @ Farmington-Windsor-Avon 8:05 @ ISCC

Since losing an ugly one to South Windsor 7-0, the Farmington Valley coop has run off two straight topping both Northwest and East Catholics, two of D2 best squads.  They will try to continue that trend when they take on D3 power Newington-Berlin.  Newington-Berlin, while they aren't the same squad as last year, has played well of late going unbeaten in their last five (3-0-2).  I keep picking against Farmington and they keep burning me, but I'm doing it again.  Newington-Berlin 4, Farmington-Windsor-Avon 3

2/15 Glastonbury @ ND-Fairfield 6:00 @ Milford Ice Pavilion

The Lancers shot against Prep was postponed a week but they get a solid challenge this Friday as Glastonbury heads to Milford.  At press time the Lancers have run off 7 straight but will have played both New Canaan and South Windsor before this one, both games that they could potentially lose.  The Tomahawks, last year's D1 runner up have beaten some teams you'd expect them to beat recently and are relying heavily on senior forward Avery Clair.  NDF's production is a little more evenly distributed, I'll take the Lancers. NDF 4, Glastonbury 2

GAME OF THE WEEK 2/16 ND-West Haven @ Fairfield Prep 1:00 @ Wonderland of Ice

Prep hosts NDWH in a rematch of the state's best two teams.  Prep took the first matchup 3-1 at Bennett earlier this year in a game that wasn't as close as the final would indicate.  NDWH followed up with a loss to ND Fairfield and looked as if they were going to fall apart.  They've won five straight since and have been absolutely dominant.  If ND can score first and avoid falling down 2+ goals they have a legit shot.  But starting hasn't been the Knights' strong suit which was no more evident than when they got down 2-0 to Xavier last month.  NDWH was able to climb out of that hole and destroy the Falcons, but they wouldn't be able to do that against Prep.  I'm taking the Jesuits, even though I'd love to pick an upset in this one. Prep 5, NDWH 3

2/16 Hamden @ West Haven 1:00 @ Bennett Rink

In an age old rivalry game that will surely be overshadowed by what's going on at the Wonderland, Hamden and West Haven face off.  The first time these two met fans at the Lou were in for a treat as the two battled in a 3-2 Hamden victory which wasn't for the faint of heart. The Westies lone win since the beginning of January was a 4-2 W over D2 Milford Coop.  Hamden certainly has more quality wins on their record.  Both teams will have played games before this one, but Hamden is the better team right now.  Both are in rebuilding years and the Westies will revive this thing, but not on Saturday.  Hamden 4, West Haven 3

2/16 East Catholic @ NW Catholic 5:45 @ International Skating Center

At press time both D2 Catholic rivals have identical (10-3-0) marks.  East was able to take the first matchup 4-3 in overtime a few weeks back.  Both teams have fizzled of late winning only one of their respective last four.  But they still stand in prime position for a run at a D2 state title.  This one is truly a toss up and I'll go with NWC getting some redemption.  NW Catholic 4, East Catholic 2

2/16 Amity @ Watertown-Pomperaug 7:30 @ Taft-Mays Rink

Right now these are the two teams atop the D2 rankings.  Amity has won five of six and is ranked #1 in this week's Mid-Major rankings.  WP is coming off an uncharacteristic loss to Trinity Catholic but has been solid and viable all season long.  Watertown can play with an edge and be very physical.  Amity is a smaller team who thrives on getting Brett McNeil and Adam Shea some open space to work.  Amity has more firepower and I think that pushes them past WP in what should be a great game. Amity 4, WP 3

2/16 Darien @ Ridgefield 8:50 @ Winter Ice Garden

In the FCIAC Game of the Week, these two teams finally get a chance to battle each other.  This will be Ridgefield's second to last game and their final chance to prove what kind of team they are.  Both teams have very FCIAC bloated records and will need to show they can win against the very best in order to be believable when the state's start.  Regardless, these are the two top teams in the FCIAC and it should be a dandy at the Garden.  I think Ridgefield takes this one.  Ridgefield 3, Darien 2

- CTHSHockey will be in the building!