Games to watch this week
-
- February
- 12
Instead of looking back at four-day-old games, I’m going to look ahead to the rest of the regular season. I’ve split this up into the games that are big for seeding, and the games that are big for other reasons.
PLAYOFF ELIGIBILITY
Mount Pleasant-Lakeland/Panas, Friday: After a 4-1 start, who would have imagined the Ice Cats would need to tie their final game to make the playoffs? But that’s what injuries and suspensions have done to this team, which has gone 2-10-1 since Dec. 22, including a loss to League 4 Sleepy Hollow/Irvington—a game that is so far keeping Mount Pleasant out of the playoffs. Still, the Ice Cats will host a first-round game if they tie the Rebels. Speaking of SH/I…
Sleepy Hollow/Irvington-Pearl River, Friday: After 19 games, the Legends season comes down to this—they need a win to make the playoffs (and have a golden opportunity to upset a one-win team in the first round). The Legends lost 6-2 to Pearl River on Feb. 4.
PLAYOFF SEEDINGS (and league championship)
Pearl River-New Rochelle, Thursday: After winning seven in a row, the Pirates now have a chance at the No. 9 seed, but they must beat SH/I (see above) and New Rochelle. The previous meeting was tied 1-1 after two before the Huguenots scored twice in the third period. The No. 9 seed means playing Kennedy/PV in the first round, a team the Pirates beat on Saturday. For New Rochelle, it will win the league title with a win or tie.
Clarkstown North-Pelham, Thursday: Way back on Nov. 23, Pelham opened the season by beating the Rams 3-1. North is now 1-20, but they can still get the No. 4 seed, guarantee a first-round bye and host a quarterfinal if they somehow pull an upset here (and Mahopac loses or ties Rye).
OTHERS TO WATCH
Suffern-Rye, Wednesday: Did you know that Rye was the only Section 1 team to tie Suffern this season? Can it possibly happen again?
Scarsdale-Rye Town/Harrison, Wednesday: Two teams trying to generate positive momentum after slipping in their second-to-last game. The Raiders just had a five-game win streak snapped against Brewster, while RT/H lost 4-1 to Yorktown yesterday.
East/Tuck/Bronx-White Plains, Thursday: The Eagles already have wins against League 2 teams Brewster and Fox Lane. I’m very interested to see how they hang in with the league champion. The Tigers go for win No. 21.
Monroe-Woodbury-Suffern, Friday: The undefeated regular season hangs in the balance. Also could be a potential state semifinal preview.
New Rochelle-Ossining, Saturday: Before the Huguenots play White Plains in the first round, they get a strong League 3 team that has won 7 of 8.
I’ll continue to update the playoff times as I get them. Also, someone asked about the criteria for the Journal News Player of the Year  I’m leaving this intentionally vague, but it’s the player who has had the best season. And players from any league are eligible. And while I don’t want to stop the discussion because people are making some interesting points, selecting someone before the playoffs seems very premature.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, February 12th, 2008 at 6:04 pm by Harold Gutmann. 
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Pearl River will beat new ro on Thursday. Look for New Ro kids to get DQ’s when they lose. It is a new ro staple for the last 30 years.
White Plains will score 12 off of ETB. ETB defense got roasted again by Pawling. I think Pawling (who has no offense compared to WP) has about 20 goals in 2 games vs. ETB. Which is great because the ETB people have really calmed down.
Suffern will beat Monroe Woodbury or at least tie them. Monroe Woodbury is so talented and so laid back at the same time. When people say the team usually takes on theh personality of the coach… it is true with these teams. Suffern is very intense, and play most games like it is the championship of the world. MW could win the Stanley Cup and they would skate off and go to McDonalds later like it was no big deal. The MW coach never screams, he just opens the bench doors for the kids and calls out the next line. It is kinda amazing to watch.
Suffern will want to put Rye to bed early in this one. If Mamaroneck could handle Rye easily, you would think that suffern could too. However, Suffern DOES have a tough time putting away teams early in the game.
Is pretty much meaningless except for Monroe. Monroe is always chirping about how great they. This is tuneup for Suffern. Monroe has no competition again in Sect 9 so they will again cruise to regionals. Suffern needs to play with the bye.
First game of the CHSHL final is set for Feb. 16 – 7:25pm at Mt. Vernon
How could you; say it is a tune up game? It sounds like an excuse to me.
Suffern has the streak on the line and is playing one of the best teams in the state. So it is a pretty big game for them as far as the streak is concerned. They certainly don’t want to lose this game, and then play pretty much nobody until they get a tough Mamaroneck team again. It seems taht teams are starting to nip at Sufferns toes (2-2 vs. Rye and 2-1 win over Mamk). Suffern would love to beat MW by a couple of goals and get a little mojo back in their step.
cause completing the last 41 games without a loss has left a huge confidence vacancy in suffern?
I noticed the same thing about MW, they are so lackluster, even in the heat of a game. At the WP tournament in November, I noticed that some of the players from MW just walking outside their locker room during intermission and even a few at the snack bar and acting like they were just hanging out
Suffern better not overlook Rye. Remember they tied them!
but it doesnt matter
even if its snowed out, it wont be replayed because it doesnt effect ANYONE in the sections seedings
if pearl river won its final two games, and took the NO. 9 seed, wouldn’t they play kennedy, and somers play ossining?
Good catch. It’s been fixed.
As bad as Mahopac and Clarkstown North are, neither one will lose that opening round game if they have to play one. They would smoke Sleepy by 5 goals.
Nah I will say CN will beat Sleepy like 2-0 in the 1st round game. They don’t have that great an offense, even against League 3 teams. But I can’t imagine McIndoe giving up a goal to a mediocre League 4 team (knock on wood). Either way, it should be the most winnable game CN has had all year.
should at least win that 1st round game to show that they’re not a League 4 team. Yes, they lost to North Rockland and South (League 3 teams), barely, but if they lose to a League 4 team then that will be a new low point for the program
Is this player of the year chosen by Journal News staff, rather than coaches? If so, then they may be less encumbered by character issues, unless, of course, they choose to embrace the high school athletic code. If anyone is eligible, then, speaking of McIndoe, you can make a case for him given all those saves he made despite not having a strong team in front of him. And no, I’m not McIndoe’s mother or father, just someone who respects what he’s accomplished.
Player of the Year
Agree that McIndoe should def be in the running for MVP
In the running yes, but he wont win. Its Natoli in Rockland, Connor in West/Put. Anything else would be a major upset. They are the 2 best players this year. You could make a case for some others but being in League 1 has its advantages. The coaches will vote the right way and I really dont think they log on to these blogs and form opinions of kids. (yeah, like that had to be said).
But McIndoe is in league 1 and he is blocking league 1 caliber shots and a lot of them. The boy’s got to get tired and lose focus occasionally just from the sheer number of peltings he gets. Natoli gets help from his defensemen who prevent a lot of shots from coming his way. He doesn’t have to be “on” constantly, so it’s easier to be “on” when something comes your way. For me, that puts a thumb on the scale for McIndoe.
Player of the Year
I don’t know any of these guys and hardly ever see them (league 1 and 2 players), but Natoli has like a 1.4 GAA and plays in the top league against the hardest schedule?
Would be tough to argue against him.
Is that right that Ossining is playing at Ice Hutch for the playoff game? I thought their home rink was WSA? What happened? Did WSA not give them ice for the playoff game? Anybody know?
Natoli is 20-0-2 1.26 GAA, .947 sv% in 968min
There are two different MVP awards. The one the Journal News gives out comes along with the all county selections, and for this one, one goes to Rockland & one to Westchester/Putnam/Duchess.
Then there are the league awards that are given out at the Section 1 dinner after the season. That is when you have the all-league teams and the league MVP’s. For those awards, the coaches are involved in the selection process and there is an MVP in each of the four leagues, plus players from each team that win all-league honors.
The ones from the journal news are set up like teams (first team, second team, third team, honorable mention and each of the three teams is 3 forwards, 2 defensemen and a goalie).
The ones from the section (The all league teams) are a pre-determined number of players from each team depending on where you finish, regardless of position played. I believe it is 4 players from the 1st place finisher, 3 from the second place, 2 for third (and maybe fourth) and 1 from each of the others. They also do an honorable mention which is probably 1 or 2 guys from each team. The league also gives out a Player of the year award (one for each of the four leagues, but last year, Natoli & Matt Willows were co-league 1 players of the year), and other awards like a sportsmanship award, hustle award, and things like that.
It’s going to Natoli because Natoli is on the team that is undefeated and currently the #1 team in NY.
After Natoli, you have any of the 3 on Suffern’s 1st line, McIndoe, O’Conner and probably Meany as all the legit candidates.
As far as McIndoe goes, I, and I think everyone who knows him, respects him to the utmost degree. He is a great goalie that has proven himself without much help in front of him. However, Natoli has proven himself also, has a better GAA, and usually the MVP comes with the team that wins the Section. If CN would of won the Section last year over Suffern, Matt Willows would of been Rockland MVP last year.
Next Year McIndoe will have more of a shot to win Rockland MVP. The field next year will probably be Hiller, Hill, McIndoe, O’Connor and Meany. Being the fact that CN will probably be in a lower league, McIndoe may post a Natoli-like GAA (under 2) next year.
McIndoe will likely be at the top of the running next year. But, you never now who will step. His numbers may suffer if CN has more players on the sidelines opting to play travel and not HS. That would be a disaster for an already suffering program. I think that CN troubles will continue for sometime.
I like Suffern in this one. 4-1
I agree with you TigerVet. Terrific goalie, but he will be in for a long season if he has even less quality players in front of him. Even in L2 next year he will be seeing black coming at him from every direction. You can make the case that CN belongs in L4 next season with CS. Sorry, CS is in L3 right?
CS is in League 3 and I think CN will be a nice fit in League 3 next year as well.
TigerVet, based on comments you’ve made in the past, I have a present for you….where is it?? ... still looking…. OH, here it is! you cant see it but its the Brian Connor specialty
As stated before by many people on this blog, Clarkstown is simply not using its resources wisely. There should be a better rink in Clarkstown than the Mall rink. The Clarkstown Capitals should be a feeder program for North, South and even Nyack and TZ. Representatives from the Capitals should go to those local elementary schools and try and get kids involved in hockey and get these programs better. All they have to do is post a few flyers and/or speak to the community about getting involved and their desire to build strong hockey talent from the area. I know its not the responsibility of Capitals to help out the local Varisty schools, but why not? year in and year out they just assume local kids will show up for tryouts.
Other than Suffern, Rockland hockey is in a pretty dismal state now. The local Varisty coaches should get involved. If not, all Rockland teams other than Suffern will be in League 4 in the coming years. Maybe then Nyack and TZ could get out of the bottom of Legaue 4 where they’ve been for years now, and CN and CS could be in League 1 competing with local arch-rival Suffern. Ed Witz running the Pelham Youth Hockey program is a perfect example of a Varisty coach who cares about the program. That;s why Pelham will always be a competitive League 1 team. There’s no reason Clarkstown can’t be the same.
Next year
It’s interesting the 5 players you mention Hill, Hiller, McIndoe, Meany and O’Connor all play on the same Saints travel team this year that is going to districts in a couple of weeks. All 5 of them get along great together and are all excellent players that justify mvp discussion for next year.
i’m goin with rye 3-2
Suffern 5-1. Late goal while 3 of our freshman are out…maybe.
Ed Witz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wonder why he isn’t coaching college team some place.
Pelham’s youth leadership was alway’s pushing the program with the Varsity in mind, not sure if that’s the case with the leadership they have now or the past few years.
“If anyone is eligible, then, speaking of McIndoe, you can make a case for him given all those saves he made despite not having a strong team in front of him.”
McIndoe has done a great job, however, to be the MVP he really would have had to “steal” a few of those games, or got points for low scoring ties. There is no value(able) in losing. A famous coach once said, “Winning isn’t everything, but losing is nothing.”
I agree the Pelham youth has changed as leadership has changed. The youth program used to work more hand in hand together but new leadership is not at that point yet. Pelhams high school team is not showing any ill effects of it yet. Every year I expect them to fall off like others but it seems they are always there when the dust settles
I used to think that Witz wasn’t accomplishing much putting his team in those goofy HS Fall and Spring leagues. But, there seems to be some value in having the group skate together a lot, even if some of it is not so high level. The Pelicans always seem to get off to a fast start in the HS Hockey season. Some of that may be attributable to the work during the Spring and Fall seasons.
I agree with MVP?. You can’t give the MVP to someone on a team with one win. Although Chris may have saved his team from some ridiculously lopsided scores and kept his team in games that they had no business being in, in my mind, you have to help your team win, to be an MVP. You don’t necessarily have to be on the championship team, but you have to have led your team to some key victories. Is that unlucky for Chris? Yes. If he was on Suffern and Natoli was on North . . .
Good post fanot. It probably gets the kids playing as a unit and that team over the years I have watched them seem as they are big into systems and team play which I am certain takes time to work on. They never have a league leader in scoring or a league leading goalie but the team wins hockey games
I can guarantee you this. If Sleepy does get into the playoffs, the game against North will not be 2-0. I am not saying that North wont win. I am saying the score will be alot higher on both ends. One thing Sleepy can do is score. They scored 3 on the starting WP goalie, 8 on the same Mt. Pleasant goalie who had the 30 save shut-out against Fox Lane, and 17 goals in 2 games against a TZ goalie who after the first two is arguably the best goalie in Rockland.
S/I may not even get in, but if they do, just think about this – S/I 8 vs. Mt. P 5, Mt. P 8 vs. CS 3, CS 1 vs. CN 0,
Who would be the favorite?
“against a TZ goalie who after the first two is arguably the best goalie in Rockland.”
did you forget there are 2 guys named Naloli and McIndoe, who live in rockland? you are one dumb person League 3 and 4. I would bet your IQ would land you in league 3 or 4 also.
mountie, maybe you need to read a little bit better. Maybe you are the one with the iq problem.
Mountie,
Who are you calling dumb, the 1 and 2 I was referring to are Natoli, and McIndoe, I would put the TZ goalie 3rd
mountie idk why your mad….
he said “after the first two” (natoli and mcindoe)
sufferners get very defensive
sorry for the repetition, those other posts went up too fast
McIndoe will not get it, it is not his fault that his team is weak, but in the end that will be his downfall. Unless of course he stops 500 shots in the finals and lets in nothing and beats suffern 1-0 and Mcindoe also get s the game winning goal. Then he will of course get the MVP.
As for Pelham, their modified team was undefeated and beat suffern mod fairly easily. However, rumor has it that their 3 best players (the whole reason they were so good) are all going to private schools. If they stay in Pelham then Pelham has a bright future. If not , it looks like Witz will have to weave more magic to get them to keep winning.
Can’t believe Sufferns modified lost, I was talking to a Suffern Parent. He was complaining about his kid not being on Varsity and how modified is so beneath him he actually was afraid he was going to hurt players on other teams.
Predictor:
Which 3 do you think will leave?
You can just do initials
And Suffern’s modified has lost to Pelham before this, their modified is usually good but not to the level of the varsity.
Suffern should have a JV team like mamaroneck does. Mamaronecks best 8th graders and all of their 9th and some 10th graders play JV. Modified is great for most kids though. but when suffern has 9th graders on modified vs. some teams who play mostly 7th and 8th graders it gets silly. However Sufferns mod was not great this year, Pelham coach said that Mamaroneck tied them 1-1. Combine that with the 3-1 loss to pelham and it looks like Suffern does not have a sniper in the lower ranks. Maybe some of the underclassmen that are sitting on the bench will score for them next year.
Palisades Rink full of holes from drips due to rain. One is steady near the visitor penalty box,. Hope its fixed before next week. Or it doesn’t rain on day of game.
It is so horrible that they built such a crappy rink over there. All of rockland had to share SOR for so many years, then there is a new rink built and it is horrible. Small, sightlines are terrible, run poorly, leaks in the roof, it is on the top floor etc.
How the hell did they get a zamboni up to the top floor. And when this zamboni breaks how will they get a new one up there?
I know a few Pelham people and I know some who had kids there way back. This leaving a solid quality school district is nothingnew for the high school team. The coach just waits until September to see who is still in school and goes withthe hand thats dealt him. Can`t argue with the success its every year. You are surprised when they do not win. Keep in mind when my oldest was playing I think all teams in the section were in division 2 and all were in play offs together and Suffern was alone in division 1 and Pelham was winning big back then too.
Rink Rats-
Down by the movie theater, there is a parking lot on the 4th floor. The zamboni would come in and go out over there.
Hey Pelham Power
Suffern Modified finished 10-1-1 and maybe they didnt blow many teams out but they are still the class of that league,and as far as 9th graders their goalie is( but that would have given the Varsity 4 Goalies)1 other doesn’t get much time and the the 3rd is on the first line,Suffern usually plays against many teams that are older maybe not this yr ,but don’t sound like they have 10 or 12 frosh on the team.
Hey Modified I can probably guess which parent is was but this is a regular occurance with constant complaining about where young (who ever)should play because many parents think their kids will be going pro. LOL
I love the fact that there are people looking 3-4 years down the road as to when they are going to beat suffern. Hey “Pelham Power” you keep hoping and we will see what happens. I also heard the Suffern class of 2019 might be a little weak (no sniper from what i hear), you know the saints aren’t what they used to be.. so get ready Section 1, your time is coming to end this unbeaten streak!!!
Its way too early for that I agree with postman
Besides beating Mamaroneck is no great feat at modified as you know they have a fully loaded JV team above that mod team that you will not beat when all get to varsity
Cannot compete with those types of numbers, they have an army