League 1
John Jay
Mahopac
Mamaroneck
Pelham
Rye
Rye Town/Harrison
Suffern
White Plains

League 2
Brewster
Clarkstown North
ETB
Mt.Pleasant
North Rockland
Scarsdale
Yorktown

League 3
Byram Hills
Clarkstown South
Fox Lane
New Rochelle
Ossining
Pawling
Somers/No Salem

League 4
Carmel
Greeley
JFK/PV
Lakeland/Panas
Pearl River
Sleepy/Irv
TZ/Nyack

Moving up: White Plains to League 1, North Rockland and E/T/B to League 2, New Rochelle and Somers/North Salem to League 3
Moving down: Clarkstown North to League 2, Fox Lane to League 3, Lakeland/Panas to League 4

League 1 and League 2 will be decided solely by record within the league. League 3 teams will play a home-and-home with everyone in its league, and crossover to play one game against each team from League 4. All 19 games will count in the league standings, and for playoff eligibility.

There might be a merged Nyack/Tappan Zee team this year (update: this won’t be approved until May 13), but it won’t affect the playoffs. Nyack/TZ moved up to Division I, and every other team stays in the same division.
Division 1
16 teams
Carmel, Clarkstown North, Clarkstown South, ETB, Lakeland/Panas, Mahopac, Mamaroneck, Mt. Pleasant, New Rochelle, North Rockland, Rye Town/Harrison, Scarsdale, Sleepy/Irv, Suffern, TZ/Nyack, White Plains.

Division II
13 teams
Brewster, Byram Hills, Fox Lane, Greeley, JFK/PV, John Jay, Ossining, Pawling, Pearl River, Pelham, Rye, Somers/No Salem, Yorktown.

So, what does everyone think?

Mamaroneck is now officially the favorite to win League 1 next year, receiving 31 votes in our first poll to finish ahead of Suffern (23), Pelham (12) and everyone else (12).

Why not, with two returning Journal News All-Stars in defenseman Sean Hagan and goalie Luke Glaser, five of the top six forwards (first-liners Christian Glaser and Robert Fine and the entire second line of Matt Marr, Joe Naclerio and Brett Jackson), and four of the five defensemen who received significant time against Massena (Hagan, Adam Zweig, Sam Christiansen and Robbie Gardiner).

It always seems easier to play from the role of the underdog, which made Suffern’s streak so incredible, so now we’ll see how the Tigers do as the top dog.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the first poll. There’s a new one up on the right. I’ll be back next week with the 2008-09 league alignments.

Great to see how many people are still on board. As a reward, you get to participate in the first high school sticking poll (see bottom right). Hopefully this is the first of many I’ll have throughout the year.

Don’t forget the league alignments come out in a few weeks, followed by next year’s schedules, so stay with me. Also I’ll be tracking down more out-of-area schedules and keeping up to date with any rumors … like this one.

Chris McIndoe did indeed tear his ACL playing lacrosse, when his foot got caught in the turf. He will miss the travel hockey season, but expects to be back for the high school season. Basically, he is having surgery in mid-May, and the recovery time is about six months, which would put him back in mid-November.

I just got off the phone with him and he seemed in good spirits, although obviously this is a tough blow. He would be one of the top returning players in Section 1, and I’m sure everyone joins me in wishing him a speedy recovery.

At long last, The Journal News Westchester/Putnam all-star and Rockland all-county teams are here. There were a ton of great candidates to choose from, which is a good problem to have but still led to some very tough decisions. In Rockland, I polled every coach. For Westchester/Putnam, I talked to every League 1 coach and a selection from Leagues 2-4 and the CHSHL, and together this is what we came up with.

A few things to keep in mind: the all-star/all-county awards go to the players who had the best high school season. So club/travel teams and career accomplishments are two things that had no bearing on the selections. It is not necessarily a list of the most talented players who happen to live in our coverage area. It is a list of the players who had the best season. Also, statistics played a role, but mostly in cases where players had similar schedules (for instance, stats weren’t as important when judging Suffern and North Rockland players, since they came in completely different circumstances). Next, I really wish I had a seventh forward spot and a fifth defenseman spot for Westchester/Putnam. And finally, though every player was judged on his own merit, I guess there was a theme on both teams—to the winners goes the spoils.

Here is the feature story on Tom Natoli, the Rockland player of the year, and the article on Brian Conner, the Westchester/Putnam player of the year. Congratulations to them both.

The rest of the Westchester/Putman first team:
Jordan Eck, Rye: The senior forward led the DIvision II sectional champions with 29 goals and 46 points, but it was his clutch play that was most impressive. He scored the winner in the sectional final against Pelham, had both goals in the state playoff game against Thousand Island, and scored both goals in the team’s 2-2 tie with Suffern.

Luke Glaser, Mamaroneck: The junior goalie posted six shutouts and recorded a 1.74 goals-against average and 93.7 save percentage against the area’s toughest schedule. He was great on breakaways, controls rebounds well, keeps a stable, low-key demeanor and kept his team in every game down the strech, never allowing more than three goals in the last 14 games.

Sean Hagan, Mamaroneck: The 6-foot-5 junior is a good passer and has one of the game’s hardest slap shots. As a result, he tallied 36 assists, fourth in Section 1 and tops among all defensemen. He was also an effective leader with great reach who kept his composure under pressure and had very good postitioning.

Cody King, Iona Prep: The senior forward used his tremendous speed and hockey sense to record team highs of 29 goals and 37 assists, including the overtime winner that gave Iona Prep the CHSHL championship over Stepinac. The White Plains resident, who is also the school president, was fourth in the area in points (66) and finished with 182 points in his three seasons.

K.J. McCabe, Iona Prep: A steady, two-way defenseman, the White Plains resident has led the the CHSHL champions in ice time for three straight seasons, often logging upwards of 30-35 minutes a game. He’s almost impossible to beat one-on-one, he’s very good with his stick and he makes smart decisions. The senior finished his Gaels career with 61 points and two all-league selections.

Coach Mike Chiapparelli, Mamaroneck: In the course of winning the Division I sectional title, Chiapparelli’s team did what no one else could – beat top-ranked Suffern, which entered the final with a 45-game unbeaten streak. The Tigers won all 14 of their games against Westchester/Putnam teams and finished the season ranked No. 4 in the state with a 23-4-1 record.

Second team
F: Brett Novick, Sr., Rye Town/Harrison
F: Phil Sigona, Sr., White Plains
F: Marshall Rogers, Sr., Rye
D: Kevin Gordon, Sr., Rye
D: Michael Mamone, Jr., Pelham
G: Joe Reagan, Sr., Stepinac

Honorable mention
NIck Alfonzetti, Sr., Brewster; Matt Benincasa, Jr., Rye; Mike Cambria, So., Iona Prep; Mac Clay, Jr., Pelham; A.J. Datino, Sr., Stepinac; Mike DeLaVergne, So., Kennedy/Putnam Valley; Frank Dimaggio, Sr., Yorktown; Stefan DiMario, Sr., Iona Prep; Christian Edge, Sr., John Jay; Andrew Emerson, Jr., Pelham; Rui Encarnacao, Sr., White Plains; Rob Fine, Jr., Mamaronack; Marc Flory, Jr., Pelham; Jordan Gluck, So., Rye Country Day; Alex Hagen, So., Eastchester/Tuckahoe/Bronxville; Kyle Kegan, Sr., Rye Town/Harrison; Chris Latino, Sr., John Jay; Charles MacKenzie, Sr., Fordham Prep; Joe Marasco, Sr., Somers/North Salem; Cody McKinney, Sr., Rye Town/Harrison; Sean McKinney, Sr., Rye Town/Harrison; Rob Molinaro, Jr., Iona Prep; Nick Mucci, Sr., Lakeland/Panas; Robbie Oliverio, Sr., Scarsdale; Eric Perlowitz, Sr., Mount Pleasant; Tyler Perrelle, Jr., Mahopac; Brad Pesce, So., Rye Country Day; Dave Rofosky, Jr., John Jay; Jason Sartorius, Sr., Fox Lane; Matt Seid, Sr., Mamaroneck; Jake Turrin, So., Rye Country Day; Adam Urban, Jr., Rye Town/Harrison; Steven Yankowski, Jr., Stepinac.

The rest of the Rockland first team:

Mike Conklin, Suffern: Conklin was a great two-way player. From the point, his hard slap shots and pinpoint passes led to 31 assists, the second most among Section 1 defensemen. On defense the heady senior always seemed to make the right play, and he was instrumental in breakouts with his passing and skating.

Zac Hiller, Suffern: The Mounties’ first-line center was great on draws and saw the ice well, leading to 44 assists, tied for the most in Section 1. He was especially good on power plays and penalty killing. He has gotten bigger and better every year, a scary prospect for next season’s opponents.

Sean O’Connor, North Rockland: The junior forward led League 3 with 63 points as the Red Raiders won the league championship. He had a goal and three assists in a 4-2 playoff win over League 2 Mount Pleasant, scored the winner in the final seconds over Clarkstown North and earned MVP at the Bethlehem tournament, recording hat tricks in both games.

Andrew Ojeda, Suffern: A second-team all-state defenseman, Ojeda was fast and skilled. The physical senior may have been short in stature, but he may have been the hardest hitter in the section, and he was always tough to beat. He was a big reason the Mounties allowed just 38 goals in 27 games.

Zach Salt, Suffern: The senior was a fast skater who could be counted on to produce every night, either with goals or making a play to set up teammates. A second-team all-state selection, the forward scored in 22 games and led the county with 33 goals and 66 points, the fourth most in Section 1.

Coach, Rob Schelling, Suffern: The Mounties put together the only undefeated regular season in the state and rose to No. 1 in the Division I state rankings. Suffern won the League 1 title and finished the year 24-1-2, beating every area it faced, including Mamaroneck (twice), Rye, Pelham, Iona Prep, White Plains and Monroe-Woodbury.

Second team
F: Matt Ruthberg, Sr., Suffern
F: Russell Santiago, Sr., North Rockland
F: Johnny Hill, Jr., Suffern
D: Craig Meany, Jr., North Rockland
D: Eric Holewinski, Sr., Clarkstown South
G: Chris McIndoe, Jr., Clarkstown North

Honorable mention
Dan Cincotta, Sr., Clarkstown North; Chris Fyfe, Sr., Tappan Zee; Pat Heraghty, Jr., Pearl River; Greg McCarron, Jr., Suffern; Brendan Meyers, So., Clarkstown South; Josh Moelis, Sr., Clarkstown South; Alex Nestle, Jr., North Rockland; Kevin Norwin, So., Suffern; Matthew Rau, Sr., North Rockland; Matt Shore, Sr., Suffern; Brennan Slattery, Jr., Nyack; Nick Spar, Sr., Pearl River; Joe Surace, Jr., Pearl RIver; Steve Williams, Sr., Clarkstown North.

There’s a good chance that the number of rinks in Section 1 will shrink by one before next season. Cappelli Enterprises, which owns New Roc City, is trying to lure Target and Kohl’s, and would close the ice rink (and other entertainment venues) to make room for the department stores. I’ll post my story as soon as I can.

This would directly affect New Rochelle and Byram Hills, who play home games at New Roc, and Rye Town/Harrison, who practices there twice a week. I did a story early in the season about how hard it is to secure ice time around here, and it will be interesting to see what happens. My best guess is New Ro goes to the Ice Hutch, Byram Hills goes back to Brewster, and RT/H scrambles.

Nothing has been decided for certain. The affected coaches say they haven’t heard anything from rink management—not for lack of trying—and my calls weren’t returned. New Rochelle parents have circulated a petition and are going to city council meetings to try and stop the developments. But it doesn’t look good.

Ironically enough, if New Rochelle would just build another ice rink to replace New Roc (like at City Park?), this could be better for area hockey. But no one is promising that, and either way a new facility wouldn’t be open in time for next season.

When it first opened, with the NHL-sized rink and the skating rink (where the go carts are now), New Roc was a beautiful facility. But when a different company took over, it became notoriously expensive and horribly mis-managed. There were problems with ice cuts (sometimes they just didn’t occur, and when they did the Zamboni drivers weren’t trained so sometimes the ice would be flooded, or cut to the cement). It was more than $400/hour and schools were charged for ice cuts, which doesn’t happen at some other rinks.

Still, it was one of the few area rinks that stayed open during the summer, and selfishly I’m upset because New Roc had wireless, so I could file stories easily, and then go to Applebee’s for dinner. I will keep you posted when I hear more.

On a completely unrelated note, I was talking to Pelham coach Ed Witz and New Ro coach Jim Tozzo for the story and picked up a nugget on each team. Pelham and Rye will host Queensbury and Glens Falls the weekend before Christmas (remember, Section 1 plays Section 2 in the Division II state quarterfinals next season), and the Pelicans will also travel to Salmon River/Saranac Lake, the Niskayuna tournament and the Massena tournament.

Tozzo said New Rochelle will at least move up to League 3, and League 2 is also a possibility. Of course, the bigger question at the moment is, where will they play?