As the Connecticut boys’ high school hockey season nears its midway point, we’re still waiting for a true third contender to emerge in both Division I and Division II. Both classes have been dominated by the pair of teams that met in last year’s respective title game — FCIAC rivals New Canaan and Darien in...
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As the Connecticut boys’ high school hockey season nears its midway point, we’re still waiting for a true third contender to emerge in both Division I and Division II.
Both classes have been dominated by the pair of teams that met in last year’s respective title game — FCIAC rivals New Canaan and Darien in DI and the East Haven Co-op and Cheshire in DII.
NC defeated Darien and East Haven took down Cheshire before the New Year, but other than that, all four teams are undefeated against CIAC opponents.
So can someone else beat them? There will be opportunities. DI power Fairfield Prep travels to New Canaan Wednesday after barely losing to Darien last week. Amity, similarly competitive against East Haven a week ago, hosts Cheshire on Wednesday as well.
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If the Jesuits or Spartans can pull an upset, they’d have arguments as legit contenders.
Let’s dive into our latest rankings.
1. New Canaan (8-1-0)
Previous rank: 1 Division: I Conference: FCIAC Coach: Clark Jones Next: vs. Fairfield Prep, Jan. 21, 5 p.m.
New Canaan got a scare from Greenwich last Tuesday but escaped with a 2-1 victory, then immediately responded with a 12-2 demolition of Notre Dame Prep on Monday. The Rams’ resume is nearly perfect — the only blemish a 4-1 loss to Bishop Hendricken (R.I.) in the season’s second game. They’ve won seven in a row since and are perfect against CIAC opponents. Star senior forward Rogan Lowe leads Jones’ team in goals (eight) and assists (eight). Fairfield Prep on Wednesday is a big test, but NC is the clear No. 1 right now.
2. Darien (9-3-0)
Previous rank: 2 Division: I Conference: FCIAC Coach: Mac Budd Next: at Pilgrim (R.I.), Jan. 24, 5:45 p.m.
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As long as New Canaan keeps winning, it’ll be hard to put Darien back in our top spot, given its pre-Christmas loss to NC (the Wave won’t get a rematch until their final regular-season game on Feb. 21). But, man, Budd’s group is rolling right now. It’s won seven in a row, including a 2-1 statement victory over Fairfield Prep, a 5-2 win versus Notre Dame-West Haven and a 4-1 triumph against Xavier on Monday. Senior top-liner James Troy has been immense, with two goals and an assist against both ND-WH and Bishop Hendricken (R.I.), plus a goal versus Xavier.
Previous rank: 3 Division: I Conference: SCC Coach: Vin O’Hara Next: at New Canaan, Jan. 21, 5 p.m.
Prep is still below .500, but in its three games since our last rankings, O’Hara’s team has looked pretty good. The Jesuits took care of Simsbury and Notre Dame Prep (both Division I), 5-1 and 5-0, respectively — star forward Connor Driscoll bagged a hat trick against Simsbury, then fellow senior Liam Pulie scored twice on ND Prep. That was after Prep gave Darien a real run in a 2-1 loss — the Jesuits couldn’t generate enough high-danger chances to win, but they were right there with one of Connecticut’s top teams, which should give them belief headed into a battle with New Canaan on Wednesday.
4. East Haven Co-op (11-0-0)
Previous rank: 4 Division: II Conference: SCC Coach: Lou Pane Next: at Daniel Hand, Jan. 21, 3:45 p.m.
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Aside from narrow wins over Cheshire and Amity, the Yellowjackets have steamrolled their schedule. Pane’s team is scoring 5.1 goals a game and allowing only 1.5, its penalty kill is sitting at 96 percent and it’s got six players over a point per game. The leader of those is Enzo Plano (seven goals, 17 assists), who’s been as advertised and more, but watch out for fellow junior forward Dante Garea, who was added for EH’s fifth game and already has 13 goals. Sophomore Brian McGovern is splitting the net and owns a .959 save percentage. There’s talent everywhere here, and no one in the CIAC has conquered it so far.
5. Cheshire (9-1-0)
Previous rank: 5 Division: II Conference: SCC Coach: Anthony Giusto Next: at Amity, Jan. 21, 5 p.m.
New week, same story in Division II: East Haven and Cheshire are in a class of their own. The Rams have won seven in a row since falling to EH, the latest a 5-2 win at Ridgefield (Division I) on Monday. The story of that run? Cheshire’s defense, which has only given up seven goals over the stretch, with goalie Ryan Miller, a senior captain, recording three shutouts. The Rams haven’t conceded a power-play goal all season, partly because they never go to the box (only 14 minors in 10 games). The offense is pretty good too — star top-liner Zachary Hooper was lost for the year with a knee injury, but senior Luca Ocone-Krause (five goals, 11 assists) has filled in without a hitch.
Previous rank: 6 Division: I Conference: SCC Coach: Larry Viera Next: at Simsbury, Jan. 24, 7 p.m.
Viera’s team finally began CIAC play this past week, and it finally started winning. The Green Knights peppered Xavier’s goal with shots last Wednesday before senior Ethan Kelly secured a 3-2 win with an overtime power-play goal, then the Knights thumped Greenwich 8-1 on Monday — senior Dom DiCioccio, who leads ND-WH with 12 points, scored and assisted. DiCioccio scored twice against Darien in the first period on Saturday before the Wave pulled away in the second (Darien won 5-2), but after suffering through a brutal out-of-state schedule, the Knights at last have some momentum.
7. Xavier (5-6-0)
Previous rank: 7 Division: I Conference: SCC Coach: Karl Sundquist Next: at Bishop Hendricken (R.I.), Jan. 24, 7:45 p.m.
The story of Xavier’s season? Taking care of the lesser teams on its schedule and failing to conquer the tougher ones. That continued this past week, with the Falcons falling to Notre Dame-West Haven, 3-2 in overtime, after a costly penalty in the extra frame deemed goalie Anderson Claffey’s 49 save performance for naught, and losing 4-1 to Darien on Monday in which Sundquist’s team committed eight penalties. Senior Tyson Jarvis tied the Wave at 1 in the first, but the Falcons ran out of gas killing penalties. Xavier’s been competitive, but it’s yet to beat Division I’s best.
8. Amity (5-3-0)
Previous rank: 9 Division: II Conference: SCC Coach: Andy Townsend Next: vs. Cheshire, Jan. 21, 5 p.m.
The reigning state semifinalists defeated both Cheshire and East Haven on their way to an SCC Division II title last year, so the hope was that the Spartans could contend again in DII this year. The first test of that theory, in a matchup at East Haven last Wednesday, went pretty well — Townsend felt it was Amity’s most complete performance of the season, even in a 3-2 loss. The Spartans followed it with tight wins over Daniel Hand and Joel Barlow before they host Cheshire on Wednesday.
9. Simsbury (6-4-0)
Previous rank: 8 Division: I Conference: CCC Coach: Dave Olechna Next: vs. South Windsor, Jan. 21, 7:10 p.m.
Much like Xavier (which Simsbury lost to in the season opener), Olechna’s team has beaten all of its weaker opponents (many of them in Division II) and lost to all of its stronger ones. After getting handled by Fairfield Prep on Jan. 9, Simsbury has won three in a row against DII teams, the latest a 3-2 victory over Farmington. Senior captain Ryan Goodwin potted the third-period game-winner, his sixth goal of the year, to go along with eight assists. After South Windsor on Wednesday, Simsbury hosts Notre Dame-West Haven on Saturday.
Previous rank: NR Division: I Conference: FCIAC Coach: Matthew Boyhen Next: at Ridgefield, Jan. 21, 8:30 p.m.
St. Joseph has lost three in a row, but the Cadets sneak into our rankings on the strength of a 5-3 win at Xavier right after the Christmas break and a quality 1-0 loss to Cheshire last Wednesday. It’s simply a bizarre resume for Boyhen’s team — the Cadets only lost to our No. 5 team after conceding with less than two minutes left in regulation (they were only outshot 27-24, too), but that was after getting blown out by Darien, our No. 2 team, 8-0 and before losing 1-0 to Greenwich, which is 3-9-0. Still, opposing coaches feel St. Joe’s is much improved this year, so it gets the nod.
Dropped out:Â Greenwich (10)
In the hunt: Greenwich (3-9-0), Ridgefield (2-5-0)
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1. New Canaan (8-1-0)
7. Xavier (5-6-0)
