Another coaching change, and Suffern/Pelham schedules
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- October
- 2
The coaching carousel isn’t done moving yet. After one year at Byram Hills, Bob Fritche will coach Yorktown this season. I just got off the phone with him, and he was excited to go to a League 2 team that returns 16 juniors and senior goalie Will Parra.
Fritche coached in the Ossining program for eight years befoe going to Bryam Hills, which finished 4-19 last year. He played hockey at Ossining — in 1978, his senior year, the team went 14-3-1 and tied Rye for the WRPDIIHL league title — and then played DIII at Norwich.
The Byram Hills position is still open, but should be filled in the next two weeks. One name I heard mentioned was former White Plains coach Jeff Dempsey.
Now, I would hate to disappoint the majority of my audience and write a full post that doesn’t involve League 1, so this is for the people:
Suffern’s non-league opponents are the same as last year (Monroe-Woodbury, Iona Prep and North Rockland) with one exception — instead of White Plains, which is now a part of the league schedule, the Mounties picked up a game with Dom Bosco. Suffern will also play in the West Genesee, Oswego and Liverpool tournaments.
Pelham also has some tournaments lined up. It will host Queensbury, a potential state quarterfinal opponent, and will travel to the Niskayuna tournament and up to Saranac Lake and Malone in December (they won’t face Salmon River this year). Both Pelham and Mamaroneck will be going to defending state champion Massena, where they will also play Saratoga. Finally, the Pelham booster club tournament will feature Mahopac, Scarsdale and Fox Lane.
The Pelicans lost just three players from last year’s team (two graduated seniors and Mac Clay, who went back to Kent) and gained goalie transfer Gavin Lambdin from Canterbury along with some quality modified players,
I’ll have more on Mamaroneck and Rye later. Are there any other teams traveling upstate this year?
Finally, clearing up some confusion from the comments section: junior Alex Klein and his freshman brother transfered from RCDS to Scarsdale. No one else.
This entry was posted
on Thursday, October 2nd, 2008 at 2:45 pm by Harold Gutmann. 
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Wow I can see Suffern playing those upstate teams and actualy beating some of them but Pelham. Suffern will do good in the tournaments maybe even win one but Massena is too strong and beats Suffern 4-2 or 5-3 however Pelham will get bashed by Massena and Queensbury with Massena and Queensbury winning by at least 3 in both games
I have heard that Rye will also be playing Queensbury when they come down to play Pelham. Also heading upstate over XMas break to the Rome Free Academy tourney. Last year that tourney was attended by RFA, Queensbury, Rye and Sweet Home (all ranked in the DII state top 10 for each of the last 2 years). I think most of the games were either OT,shootouts or 1 goal games last year. Possibly a few other upstate opponents (both home and away). Nice to see the Section 1 teams beefing up their schedules.
I like the fact that the smaller Division 2 teams step up to it and go play the best teams in the state. Good for Pelham and Rye. Shows they want to play the best. Rye and Pelham both have histories of playing great upstateagainst great teams. Neither Pelham nor Rye has lost to Salmon in thelast four seasons.
Pelham lost to Queensbury 5-0 last seaosn. That was the first time Queensbury beat Pelham, I believe Pelham had beaten them 3 or 4 times before. Rye always plays tough and I applaud these teams for going out taking on all comers without ducking anyone. Hope they both do well except of course when they play our team
does scarsdale play mamaroneck this year?
I like your style “get your facts straight”. Last season then #2 NYS DII Whitesboro came down to play Rye and Mamo on consecutive days at the Jungle. Rye won 3-2 while Mamo tied them 3-3 in the famous “finger” game. Section One’s top DII teams do just fine vs. upstate competition.
Went upstate and:
Suffern defeated CBA Albany 5-1
Suffern defeated Aquinas 4-2
Suffern regulation tie with Canton 1-1
Suffern defeated Oswego 6-4
Suffern defeated Liverpool 5-1
Suffern defeated Greece Thunder 4-0
Rye vs upstate last season (4-1-1):
Sweet Home (NYS Frozen 4)- 4-4 tie
Rome Free Academy (ranked 6 at time) 4-3 OT Rye win
Whitesboro (#4 NYS final rankings) 3-2 Rye win
Cortland 3-2 Rye win
Glenns Falls 6-1 Rye win
Thousand Islands (NYS Finalist) 4-2 loss in state quarterfinals
Thanks fanotgame,
I just get riled up when people come on this blog and because maybe they do nt like a team like Pelham for whatever reason they make stuff up. I am not a Pelham fan I follow their rival but I m not stupid. I see what they have done for quite sometime. They are consistent winners and advancers in the Sectionals every year. This year they may get beat upstate but at least they put it on the line with a challenging schedule every season. Like Rye they do not hide from anyone big or small school and they go after it. Suffern Rye Pelham and Mamaroneck should be applauded for not hiding with weak schedules
Is it any wonder that these 4 teams are the top 4 teams?
Mamo vs. Upstate last season (5-2-1):
Shaker 3-2 win
Guilderland 6-0 win
MW 0-5 loss
Shaker 2-1 win
Auburn 4-1 win
Cortland 4-0 win
Whitesboro 3-3 tie
Massena- 2-3 loss in state quarterfinals
Pelham vs Upstate last season (4-2-1):
Salmon River 1-0 win
Lake Placid 10-2 win
Berthlehem 4-4 tie
Queensbury 0-5 loss
Niskayuna 2-3 loss
Saranac Lake 4-3 win
Bethlehem Central 3-2 win
So Mamo, Suffern, Rye and Pelham (the 4 Sectional finalists) combined to go 18-5-4 against some of the top teams in the state.
Nice research but the trend is winning close and low scoring games. Pelham has been supposedly inexperienced last few years between the pipes? You would never know it by looking at goals agianst, they will be real dangerous if they get better goaltending. Pelham always has a way of winning close games.
Mamaroneck blasted holes through some of those upstate teams. I expect the same for them this year. Have not lost much from that team that won the section last season.
Suffern is the king as they have always played well upstate and will do the smae this season I think
I’m a little embarrassed to mention that I didn’t know something about my ACHA. I see Canton has a team featuring Rich Willows. Anybody know anything about them? Are they the same team that used to be in the JuCo league. We should find out how good they are tonight as they face a weak Scranton team that have it not being for former Briarcliff player Joe Cuozzo in net, would be blown out everygame. Cuozzo caught fire midway through last season, and hasn’t cooled down yet.
Canton is now in the ACHA Div. 1 after being in the NJCAA for many years. Rich Willows is in his first year on the team and his old CNorth teammate, Kevin Moro, is in his second year on the team. They beat Scranton today 7-2 in their first game in the ACHA.
Wow, instant update, thanks, good for them, hopefully the North boys do well, and can be a good advertisement for Sec. 1. Checked out the schedule, looks very weak, but I will definitely be book marking Oct. 24th to see how they do up against the big boys in Delaware.
ACHA
I don’t understand. Many times before you have been on here saying how great D1 club is. How it is on par with NCAA D3. Now you find out that a former JuCo team has entered D1 club. Of course, according to you, their first D1 opponent is weak and would be blown out every game if not for the goalie.
Then the former JuCo team does blow them out and your comment is that they have a weak schedule. They have a D1 Club schedule period. D1 club hockey is an accomplishment for everyone who plays at that level regardless of the program. They don’t need you to validate their level of play based on your assessment of how they play against the “big boys”.
I guess only some of the teams are true D1 club. Of course those are the teams that are on par with the better NCAA D3 teams and some of the less competitive NCAA D1’s(WOW). The rest must just be Club teams. Sounds like most of your comments are “self serving”.
Hey, the top 10 D.1 Club teams can play in any NCAA D. 3 league and do fine. After the top tier, the next 35 D.1 club teams would get crushed by even the weakest NCAA D. 3 teams.
When I say I am looking foward to Canton vs. Delaware, I will be rooting for Canton. If they prove they can hang, then my ACHA will have another legitimate team.
I like NCAA D. 3 too, I just think the ACHA has more to offer. I also think it is better for “our” kids. Geographically its tough for sec 1 players to go to a lot of your typical D. 3 programs, most of the rosters are in state (all the mass schools, all the minnesota, and all the other midwest schools) with the exceptions being the real high and low end d. 3 schools like Frahmingham, and Middlebury.
Because Geographically ACHA teams typically aren’t settled in hockey hot beds. They don’t get from the local high schools, that’s why someone like Monroe star Nick Belloise who ironically went to Canton, can go down to a place like West Virginia and be a nice player for them.
Also in the ACHA the schedule is longer, you travel all over the country, you have the chance to make USA and Allstar teams, where as in most of the D. 3 leagues, you rarely leave the state.
Finally I didn’t mean to demean the “weak” D. 1 teams. I actually love Scranton and the Coach Bill Fitzgerald former Boston College player. I called him up a few years ago and asked him about the chances of a certain player to make the team, noticing he had 2 players from Avon on the roster, I asked about them, and his reply was that he didn’t care where the player came from, once they step on the ice they are all in the same boat.
You have to take “weak” in the relative sense, of course they are great players there
Nice to see the club scene is really coming on. Maybe because we in the metro area do not have a lot of college club hockey teams its hot everywhere else in the country. The competition is getting stronger the hockey is really getting stronger and its a good thing especially for the kids in our area. Most clubs are run just like a D 3 program or a D 1 program. There are a bunch of kids from our area thriving on these teams. I think its awesome
ALSO heard that Salt (Suffern) is playing for the University of Michigan, McKenzie (Fordham) is playing for Holy Cross and King (Iona Prep) is playing for Boston College. Great teams and great competition!
Did Natoli quit the NY Bobcats? and it looks like Regan is now the second goalie now on the Bobcats. Looks like our top two goalies from last year aren’t doing that well this year in Juniors? I guess the level of competiton is night and day versus High School…
Natoli got traded to the Jr. Flyers
Traded to Little Flyers not Junior Flyers
Does anyone know why he was traded? Did he ask for a trade because he wasn’t playing?
I cannot see how someone would say anything about high school being different etc regarding the two goalies.
The people screaming and yelling here about how the former Stepinac goalie was NHL por material or Division 1 material. He missed high school games last year because he was “on the track” and had to play his Royals games over high school in order to stay on the Division 1 track. Now its reported here that he is a backup? Wow!
Seems like somebody over rated something
HIGH SCHOOL?,
If Regan and Natoli are now considered backup goalies in JUNIOR R, can you imagine how this years crop of goalies must feel (i.e Gluck, Benecasa, McIndoe, Feliu, etc…)? Because this years goalies can not even come close to last years seniors who graduated!
Classify the Stepinac goalie as a Travel player that was his first priority. He was supposed to be the top Travel goalie. Now look. I wish him luck, hes a local player but all those who think its so easy to get into the NHL or D1 you are being sold a bill of goods.
He would have been better saving the money for the travel team, saving the gas, and enjoying high school hockey with his friends
The Pelham queensbury game was a blow out because Pelham was down 2 defenders, Dzenis and Harms, if both were playing I’m not sure who would have one, but it wouldnt have been 5-0
Ouch, tough on our goalies. Natoli had one bad game, and Reagen is doing ok. But these 2 shouldn’t have an impact on how this years crop will do. At the next level, the shots go about 10 MPH faster, and you never know who can handle it and who can’t. Joe Cuozzo is a perfect example, he was an average goaltender in League 2 for Pleasantville, yet he is now starting and playing well for an ACHA d. 1 team, because the same shots he could stop at 60 mph, he could stop at 75 mph, some guys can’t. I can name 5 goalies who graduated in the past 2 years who tried out for ACHA d. 1 teams and either got cut, or are 3rd and 4th stringers, BUT, I won’t because, I don’t want to embarras anyone. However, these 5 were much better high school goalies than Cuozzo.
schools not out on either Goalie.
First off, moving to the JrA level for many players requires a transition period. Some players adjust immediately and some may take a year. Look at the Goalie who is the #1 at the Bobcats(for now I have to add). I believe he is a 1988 birth year and is therefore in his last year of eligibility. Both former Sec1 Goalies are 1990’s. They have 2 more years to work with.
HEY easy on the goalies,
Who are you kidding!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cuozzo gave up 5 goals a game last year and this year he’s averaging 5 goals a game again. And when he was a Senior in High School, he gave up 4.6 goals a game. SO I guess things haven’t changed that much?
sec1fan,
WE’re not talking abouit Junior “A”, the Bob cats are Junior “B”. The level of play between A and B is hugh. There’s no comparison.
Get Real
Don’t the Bobcats play in the atlantic junior hockey league (AJHL)? Isn’t the AJHL listed as a Jr A tier III league?
I guess your point is that the playing for the Bobcats or anyother AJHL team is the “Real Deal”.
http://www.achahockey.org/game_details.php?game_id=270734&schedule_id=19484
First of all Cuozzo has been facing over 40 shots a game. Also nice to see Rich Parra previously of Stepinac and Irvington netting the game tieing goal here, he has struggled to get into the lineup the past 3 seasons.
For those of you who follow the Sec.1 kids,Just heard Chris Wynne from Suffern Transfered from Castleton ST.(NCAA D3) to Wagner College ACHA D2.
Tough move,since he also played Lacrosse at Castleton.I am sure he thinks its worth it.
info not new
Easy on the goalies knows exactly what he is talking about. There is a big difference between competitive hockey and high school hockey. Some goalies need the extra motivation to feel challenged and play better.
As for the people who are ripping Reagan saying he was over-hyped, he didn’t get half the credit or attention Natoli got. And I like how you assumed he’s only got friends in high school and not travel. He was there for the CHSHL finals were he could have (but didn’t) win a championship over 5 teams. But instead he won a junior B national championship. Nobody ever called him an NHL goalie, but he was taking the route that gave him the best chance to play college and while i personally like Natoli better, Reagan is better prepared and so far has done better.
Keep in mind Gluck is only a junior
Natoli recieved more attention because he played for 1 of the premier public HS teams in NY state and was also 1st team all state 2yrs in a row.
Can we please start new blogs for ACHA and “Junior” Hockey. Half of the posts on here no longer have to do with high school hockey. The posts are from people that are trying to promote their agenda that:
A) Local Junior Hockey is Junior Hockey. Its not. Its really good travel hockey. You dont get Junior Hockey until you play in a real junior league like the USHL.
B) ACHA is equal to D3 hockey and that D1 Club is better than even real D3. Its not. D1 club maybe up there as you have a lot of good players that go walk on and dont make it. But if you were a really good player who didnt have a D1 ride, you went to a D3 school. ACHA is a fine league and provides another great opportunity for players to continue to play and enjoy hockey. But it is not D3 hockey.
C) That its okay trash to trash players. Can we stop trashing players on this blog for their “Junior” performances and stop trashing players all together.
D) That its okay for kids to skip games for their other travel team. Its a joke. I cant stomach to reach one more, “Well, if __ team, had all their players they would have won”.
There is a new season on the horizon, can we celebrate that we are in for what maybe one of the most exciting seasons with the most questions marks than we have had in a long time. Other than Suffern and Mamk, Pelham that all the teams have HUGE turn over. New league alignments, new coaches (it seems from the blog above) and the realization by most that Sec 1, League 1 is pretty good hockey.
One thing to add. I have no idea why this is but maybe someone can explain it to me. Why is it only in hockey where its individual over team? Its the only mainstream sport I can think of in which a player is playing on a high school team, and playing means they are committed, then miss high school games and its ok? Why is that? Is it the furtherence of the players “career”? I cannot believe parents are fine with allowing that. Kids face tough choices growing up but you need to draw the line somewhere. I can see one or two conflicts but last year I recall some travel kids missing quite a bit and key games. How do their teammates on the high school team feel about that? Its really a weird thing to me.
High School hockey is the only major team sport (football, basketball, baseball) that has in season competition from club or “junior” teams. For the few kids who want to play at a higher level, and granted it is a very small percentage who can, it is necessary to play on these higher level club teams. The competition is usually better, the shifts are shorter, the goalies are a cut-above what you nornally see in high school.
Sometimes it is unfair for the high school team, but for the kid who realistically has a shot at even D3 or a good prrep school, how much should we ask him to sacrifice his personal ambitions?
Don’t blame the high school coaches for allowing this to occur. Most programs (not named Suffern or Mamaroneck) do not have the quantity and/or quality of players to pass on a very high level talent, even it’s only for 90% of their games.
2009 League 1 Projections
1. Suffern
2. Mamaroneck
3. Pelham
4. Mahopac
5. White Plains
6. Rye
Suffern vs. Mamaroneck Line Matchup
Fine (16g,27a,43p), Glaser (13g,22a,35p), Jackson (6g,6a,12p) Line Total (35g,55a,90p)
Hiller (21g,44a,65p), Hill (9g,17a,26p), Jaeger (4g,6a,10p) Line Total (34g,67a,101p)
Really looking forward to it
To add to the Travel v. HS dilemma—HS athletic budgets being what they are, Im guessing that kids are practicing 2x week max? (I dont know. I dont have a HS player yet). If you have higher ambitions for hockey, you need to be on the ice a great deal more than that. I dont think Kevin Clare would have ended up at NTDP U17 if he played 2 yrs at Fordham…. Every other HS sport practices almost everyday. That doesnt happen in Public school HS hockey. It does in Prep. You need the travel to supplement HS ice time.
CNorth and CSouth practiced 4 or 5 times a week all during the season-I don’t know if that is what will happen this year.
To projections- My thoughts are:
Mamo
Suffern
WP
Pelham
Rye
Pac
Jay
RTH
No one will go undefeated. No one will lose all games. Mamo’s depth will prevail over a 14 game season. Suffern should be able to finish above the rest of the pack, but no guarantees. Rye and Pelham could flip/flop depending on whether Duffy/Dzenis play in the regular season and the status of the new Pelham goalie. Pelham could finish as high as 2 if those 2 play regular season games and the new goalie is for real. Under the right circumstances (goalie has a hot game-stands on head-capable of it), WP could give Suffern trouble. Pac will be a tough out by the end of season. Jay and RTH will probably surprise a few teams.
This year, the play in League 1 will be more even than in past years. I don’t see many blowouts. Lots of close games. Should be very interesting.
If its ice time the stronger high school programs skate more than many travel teams. I would think Suffern, Pelham, Rye get plenty. I had heard that Mamaroneck may only be a twice a week deal. The Catholic schools usually are once a week. I follow Scarsdale and they skate at the Ice Hutch they go 3 X`s, and Pelham goes at least 3 X` maybe 4 X`s. So I think the ice at certain high school programs is really good
RCDS practices 5 x week unless mid-week game
Rye has 4 on ice practices a week (combo of Playland and RCDS) plus a few dry land workouts until the season starts. Then they use the Wednesday nite Playland slot for home games. So, if you are playing twice a week and practicing 3 times a week on ice, that is more than most travel programs give you and about the same (in terms of ice sheets) as lets say an Apple Core junior program.
Suffern practices everyday unless it has a mid week game,but from what I know they are 1 of the only teams if not the only team that pays for their own Ice time with very little help if any from the district
Just a small tidbit.
Quality over Quantity
Even if the HS practices are 10x a week it will not benefit the travel/junior player as much as the 2x week of travel practice. Bantam/Midget/Junior practices are what develope hockey players. HS hockey practice is for HS hockey games.
All the other HS sports provide a competitive stage that college coaches recruit players from. They do not recruit (except in rare D3 or club instances) hockey players from watching NYS HS hockey games.
Stop giving the travel players grief. You want to make the complete committment to your HS program, go ahead and do so. Stop complaining about another player trying to continue his hockey playing days to the collegiate level. He can’t do it by just playing HS hockey, period. Thats the reality. HS hockey is for fun and for school/community pride.
The experience should not cause anyone to compromise their dreams for the future!!!!!
I am really getting tired of the travel vs. HS argument..if people on here don’t know the pros and cons of each, by now, F’em!!!
Sec1Fan, I dont think you are basing your statement on the reality that college coaches dont scout these junior league. And yes, many players are recruited from NY HS games. I am not giving the players grief for playing travel hockey nor am I saying they should not play. I am simply saying that your HS team should be priority. To say that HS is just for fun and pride and not to move up to the next level is a joke. The good programs in the area develop talent. I have seen my our practices and our coaches develop talent (that has been recruited from a HS game) for D3 and watched the improvement of our players.
titans are projected last in league 1…deja vu anyone?
Which team do you play for? (give me 4 guesses and i think i can get it). Your not speaking for the other 25 teams in section 1.
rth, they did well the last few years cause they had a core of strong players and now they only have one. This year is different then the last one. But i dont have anything against them so if they do well more power to them.
So to Kidding?
You are saying that the other 25 teams in section 1 dont believe that their hockey it supposed to develop talent and help move a player to the next level as well as being fun and playing for pride? So I didnt say I spoke for them; however, what sec 1 team will disagree with that? You dont think of teammates on other teams dont like players leaving for travel? Or that coaches think its okay? I dont have a problem with a player playing travel and understand the conflicts, we all do. I am just saying that… you know what.. you are right.. I wont waste my time with argument. All of you have more time than I do to argue the point. Best of luck to all the teams and players this season.
I dont believe I addressed RTH in my statement but would agree with you that they have a rather bare pantry. If they can hang in then all the power to them as well.
Sometimes, it is fun just to watch the blog get excited…lol.
new to this what school is RTH
RTH is the combined team of blind brook, rye neck, and harrison
*short for rye town/harrison
Kidding? – Please tell us who was recruited from a H.S hockey game and who recruited them? I can’t think of one unless you’re talking about a non local prep school.
Mamaroneck will go undefeated this season, I am not trying to bias here but it is the truth, there are a few points that should be univerally agreed upon to explain this point
1. with the returning goaltender who clearly held his own, he has probably been working through other select teams after the season and has only gotten stronger.
2. The depth that the team had from last year will only be built upon since Mamk has a comprehensive JV team unlike other publics from the area
3. Although Jackson may be a player people do not like on the blog lets get real the kid came back for sectionals and put up the points when needed (i.e. goal to beat suffern) I have heard from others who have been playing with him that he has improved greatly and his skating no longer looks crippled from his past injury.
4. Although the team may have lost Conner it will force the team to work much more smoothly as a whole instead of relying on one player who did everything, with the depth the standouts from last year will play a huge factor such as the kids like Fine, Jackson, Glaser, Hagan.
5. The defense from what i remember looked fairly strong Hagan and his D partner (Zweig??) clearly were a force to be reckoned with, and in the sectionals i saw two young defenseman who i assume were pulled up from jv pull their own weight, one of which gave the disputed crosscheck that led to the pass to jackson for the 2 on 1 that won the championship.
5. I respect Suffern and Pelham and i believe they will potentially beat Mamk but to break it down, Mamk is too strong, The upcoming goaltending for SUffern is obviously not weak, but if mamk could post goals past Natoli, more than other teams in the section, they really cannot be stopped. Suffern is relying on the few kids left that every1 talks about Jaeger, Hill, Hiller, but it seems to go quiet after that. The games will be close, very close if not overtimes but truth be told Mamaroneck is the team driving to achieve more than Suffern, suffern wants to avenge a section title yet Mamk has the fury to win a state championship. As i said Pelham will pose a threat maybe an upset, but it seems it comes back to the goalie issue, they would have done much greater things last year with a better goalie, he was good, but he held that team back thus Mamk will beat them.
6. The upstate teams will most likely not pose any threat to the Mamk squad, they beat all the teams pretty well last year (except MW who apparently lost many players and is in deep from the ice brawl last year) and the only possible challenge will be Massena, but dont quote me I heard the team was devastated by graduation, and Mamk again will have the fire in their belly to beat that team.
7. The only Flaw in my undefeated prediction is the aspect of States, say that the Mamk team makes it to states the rest of it can go anywhere, but i have a feeling that if they almost beat the team that won the whole thing they will stand a very good shot at winning it all
blogmaster,
Better go to the doctor because Mamaroneck is a good team not a great time like you think. DO you really think that Jackson and FIne are going to score…....What have they done the past few years??????? NOTHING!!!!!!
blogmaster- you have used up your useless, self-serving, word limit. Based on the amount of words you used, you cannot blog again until March 17th, 2009. Do I hear a second?
I think his blog was long but a lot of things he said are correct. Mamaroneck has huge numbers of solid players nobody can match that depth.
hold on now,
do your homework before you make across-the-board chshl comments. iona’s on the ice 2-3 times a week just for practice…
Pressure is a key to the season-and who handles it the best. Remember the Jets always have a super bowl team…in August.
Mamaroneck will have to rely on their depth because other then Glaser in goal, they are filled with just average players. The fact that mmk had more goals against natoli was ONLY due to the fact that conner was there. How many goals did the rest of the team score against him? Although I hate saying this, Jackson is the most overrated player I have ever seen. I saw him play several times this past summer as well as this fall for his travel team and he is not even close to being in the top 5 players on suffern. I think that if they win the section and do anything at states it will be a huge overachievement
Suffern and Mamaroneck are both relatively weak compared to the last few years. I don’t see superstars on either team. League one is much more well rounded this year and with the big fire power gone from Suffern and Mamaroneck I don’t think anyone is going undefeated. Since alot of scoring missing from those guys, I think the advantage goes to Pehlam and their defensive style of play. They had trouble shutting down the depth of the big boys last year but with only 3 or 4 guys on a each team to worry about I think they will have a good shot at winning the section.
Don’t worry about Jackson scoring because he’ll be in the sin bin at least 8-10 minutes a game! Definitely not a very player. Can you spell “CHEAP SHOT ARTIST”!
Agree with you Pro Stock that the League One champion will be the team that can consistently win the tight, low scoring games. With many big guns graduated, I expect a lot of 3-2 games in League One this season. Sure, some new goal scorers will emerge, but there are precious few “big scorers” returning from last year’s League One teams. And only Suffern and RTH lost their starting goalie from last season. To paraphrase “Just the facts” from an earlier post, only 12 returning players from League One teams scored more than 10 goals last season-see list below:
Flory (Pelham)- 25
Hiller (Suffern)- 21
Perelle (Pac)-21
Mundinger (Rye)- 19
Urban (RTH)- 18
Emerson (Pelham)- 17
Fine (Mamo)- 16
Mastracola (Pac)- 16
Rofofsky(Jay)- 14
Glaser (Mamo)- 13
Beber (Rye)- 13
Greenburg (Jay)- 12
No single team has more than 2 of these players.
Sure Mamo’s Jackson and Rye’s Katsuta battled injuries and will likey net a bunch more this season, but it may be a much lower scoring season in League One this time around.
-pro stock
Hill and Hiller are cleary stand outs on Suffern.
-Blog master
for what you say to possibly come true, every team in the state will have to have food posioing along with crhonic diarrhea during the section and state playoffs. Mamk has nothing but decent depth and a decent goalie. They will lose the league to Suffern, face North in the playoffs and probably lose then also.
suffern will have nothing this year, which ever goalie starts, has never played, D is going to be horrible, hiller is the only good player. It is all Mamaroneck!!!
I am glad to know I am not the only one whose not afraid to jump off the Suffern band wagon. Hill only had 9 goals last year and I have never seen him do anything. Hiller is a good player but he’s one guy and is not good enough to do it on his own. Without Ojeda and Conklin their defense is beyond week. Can’t even name another defenseman. I know nothing bout the goalie but highly doubt he is as good as Natoli was. On that note I don’t see anything special out of Mamaroneck either but their much more solid all around, more than Suffern can say.
you guys have no idea what you are talking about regarding junior teams in this area not getting kids to d3 or d1 schools. the ejhl sends dozens of kids every year to schools. applecore alone sent 11 schools to play d1 or d3 hockey. players have a much better chance of getting recruited from the ejhl ajhl and even empire B and mjhl B than they ever will by playing high school hockey in southern NY. those are just the facts. go to any teams website in any of these leagues and they all have college commitments. CHECK IT OUT. dont bash a kid for trying to accomplish his life long dreams of playing college hockey because he misses a high school game or practice in order to do what he believes will get him to the next level.
local ncaa note
manhattanville’s “crimon and black” game will be saturday at 2 at playland
following saturday, they have an exhibition game hosting ryerson from canada, 3 at playland
saturday after that one, season opener, suny-morrisville at manhattanville, 7 at playland
all of you will be surprised on how stupid you are going to sound when suffern woops everyone. their D is gonna be very solid. O-fense is going to be amazing with hiller and hill. can you say unstoppable?
I know exactly how many times Iona practices and it can be two but never three except when we do tryout week.
I agree that Hiller is very good player probably 2nd in the section behind Willows, but why is Suffern trying to hype Hill so much? He is a solid player not an impact player. He had 9 GOALS his junior year playing with some of the best players in the section, which should have inflated his points. So basicaly Hill had an inflated 9 goals the whole year. Solid player, extremely overrated.
suffern has had a really good hockey program as far as i can remember. three years ago who heard of Ojeda, Conklin, etc. i am sure their program wont collapse because they lost some good players . They have enough of a pool to pick players to pick up the slack left by others
No ones is saying they won’t be good but they will not to be dominant like last year. I am sure some players will step up, but the negative to having so many good seniors like last year is that the younger guys who will have to step up don’t get that experience and are being thrown right into the fire.
“burn baby burn” best way to learn
College: Probably the best statement anyone has made on this blog about travel and HS hockey. Local juniors definately sends kids to play college hockey. If that is their dream let them go for it. It sounds like most people on this blog are parents who never played or didn’t play well enough to play college hockey. Why hate on some kid who loves the game and wants to continue playing it. Believe me we know we aren’t going to the NHL. If we can maybe play in College it is our life to try that. At least we are attending college and can alway be 50 years old, married or divorced living our lives thru our kids success in another 30 years like most of you.
funny you say Hiller can not do it on his own. Although he most definitely can, he has Hill to work. Y
you are probably just one of mamk’s overrated seniors parents.
I don’t think anyone believes Suffern will finish at middle or bottom of League One. The Mounties will, most likely, battle for the top spot. It just doesn’t look like it will be as easy as it has been the past few years. They will have to work a little harder for their wins. A few of the League One teams have the talent to give the Mounties a good game and even knock them off. Suffern is the gold standard. Has been for quite some time. The rest of the league is rejoicing in the fact that some of them have a legit shot at the Mounties this year. Thats all.
that is not the line matchup between Suffern and Mamo. That will not be Suffern’s first line
the games between suffern and mamo will be very close next year and im not going to predict who will win but everyone is underestimating suffern. first of hiller is easily the best two way hockey player in league 1 as long he doesnt get selfish. and johnny hill is not overrated at all. the only reason he didnt score a lot last year was because that wasnt his job on the team, suffern already had salt hiller and ruthberg doing the bulk of the scoring. what all you people that have no clue about hockey dont realize is that hill did the hard work in the corners and everytime he got the puck on wing in the defensive zone he got the puck out of . these are little things that dont show up on the score sheet but are very important. also im sure ruthberg stole some of hills points by going up to the ref after the whistle. i would say right down the line suff and mam are equal in every spot even though people havent seen gabriel play yet hes right there with glaser. at defense both are very solid.
Suffern-Mamaroneck-Pelham-Rye-WP-Mahopac-RTH-JJ
CN-NorthRockland-ETB-Scarsdale-Yorktown-MP-Brewster
NewRo-Pawling-Ossining-SNS-ByramHills-CS-FoxLane
SHI-LP-PearlRiver-Greeley-JFK-TZN-Carmel
Oh and here’s a rumor that I think now is true DeLavergne the JFK goalie transfered to Pawling, wow Burdick and DeLavergneon the same team could be trouble for opponents
I heard that the JFk goalie transfered to Pawling if this is true Pawling just got a ton better just look what he did with JFK’s no offensive team last year.
thank you. my point is that competitive hockey players in the area are going to have to make the choice between travel/ juniors and playing high school while some kids leave their high school all together to persue their dreams (which i have no problem with at all) the kids that you bash on here play high school while still playing on other teams to try to get to play in college. i understand that coaches and parents get mad when a player skips a high school game for travel but you should be more understanding and realize that while everybody wants to win high school league games and championships, the kids who miss games included, you all should be happy that the player is taking the right to steps to getting to the next level. the main goal for every player and coach from when your 5 until your done with hockey is to prepare and advance to the next level. IS IT NOT?
Since very few if any are going to the NHL teaching commitment is important too. Some players, not all are only concerned with themselves and never really commit fully to a team. They commit to themselves. They play for themselves and like I said any high school sports are there to also teach life experiences it just seems that some are selfish. I think if you make a comitment to a team then thats your word, and your word should mean something. I do not agree with players looking at both of their teams schedule and choosing wihch game is best for their “career”
i agree with you suff v mamo except that suffern will beat Mamk without a doubt. how can you say the most unselfish player in the section might become selfish. I have been to the Saints games and have watched the two play together and although Hiller may shoot more then he use to, it was not too much and was working. Hill definitely does not get the credit he deserves. Hockey is not all about scoring and people that know hockey like myself appreciate the type of player he is.
touche,
im not calling hiller selfish because hes not but in past years suffern forwards have tended to get point hungry and only care about their stats, which have cost the team games. that being said, i dont think this will happen to him because he is a playmaking two way hockey player but it has happen to players like him in the past. im expecting hiller to set up hill all year and hill will show the section that he can score.
travel players playing high school make commitments to 2 teams. some travel teams let high school be the 1st priority but some do not. Those are the teams like applecore and the gulls, which a few sec. 1 players are on. If they make those teams some have a good chance at d3 and the rest d1 club. And i know some of those players play on lower league teams that dont have the fan-fare of those L1 teams. And one player last year that decided to commit only to 1 team was Shuman, whose travel team went to nationals for teir 1, and his decision was certainly respected by the high school people
That wasnt the face i wanted but for the few people who cant tell that was sarcasm
Your picking on to easy of a target..your sarcasm missed..
Why don’t you go after administartors and coaches that let a program fall apart, or never put in any effort to build-upon the good run of players that luckily showed up for tyouts.
Don’t knock kids who put in the effort, work, and commitment to become good hockey players and get the opportunity to play at high level tier I or good junior programs. Would it have been more politically correct to just transfer to a private school, like most kids do when their public high school team are not good enough?
Once you get outside a couple of programs in section 1, their are to many programs that are run worse than a squirt house league team.
saw both this summer. Jackson is going to have a monster year.
OMG,
The only way he’s going to have a monster year is if the Mamaroneck score keeper gives him assists like they did with Hagen last year! Once a HAck!! Always a HAck!
Hey Al.. so you are saying that most of Section 1, League 1 teams are run like squirt teams?
You have some pretty impressive players that have come out of the league and some pretty quality coaching as well. I tend to think that a lot has gone into those programs.
Lets also get to reality. High School players almost any where in any league do not go to play college hockey. Almost every college coach wants a kid that is slightly older and has shown that he has sacrificed for the sport. You need an extra year of Prep PG or other. In this area, local junior does send some kids to schools. However, the highest success rate I know of is usually still through High School teams helping pull some strings. I dont think anybody is knocking a kids commitment to play and grow and move to the next level. Its just the reality that those junior teams are being scouted fall and spring and a big focus on summer showcases. And yes, kids get recruited and looked at in High School Hockey. But most will still need the extra year.
Lefty…
I was trying to deflect criticism from someone who did not play for his high school last year. Did he let down his school or did the program fail? It’s a two-way street.
He committed himself to become a pretty good hockey player.
The program, despite some good players that contributed to succesful seasons, never gained traction. Someone within was not working hard enough to ensure that the program could remain competitive.
Very telling of a program, look at how many kids try-out and look at roster size. If it’s less than 15 your probably not going to do that well.
If he had transferred to a private school, like dozens of kids do quietly each year to getaway from sub-par programs, would that have been more acceptable?
hiller will dangle any defenseman in the state and make them look redicoulous
Jackson to Conner…..Goal!!!!!!and “Mamaroneck defeats Suffern TO WIN THE 2008 Section 1 CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!!!!”
Watching that kid on Suffern cry like a baby after the game….lol
THE RETURN OF VIZARD: Rob vizard will be returning to sportorama tonight against the 18AA team which features a variety of section 1 players (Hiller, hill, mccarron, norwin, oconner, meany). Should be interesting
is Rob Vizard?
A different year….. Jackson comes down the ice…Just him and the goalie and he wiffs againand again and again!...Reason…..No Conner! But don’t worry, even when he misses, the Mamaroneck scorekeeper will still give him an assist….......LOL
I heard from a pretty good source that Hagan(ETB) was going to make more of a commitment to HS this year and he was going to miss gulls game for HS. However, now that he made the BobCATs that may have gone out the window, and it should, no need to play HS anymore if he is playing at that level. But I don’t think the Gulls have any rules that say there team comes first. These travel teams are funny, I went on the gulls website, and they list the past players. I remember E.J. Bradely(Flyers draft pick), I remember him playing for the Oysterbay Eagles, the Ramapo Saints, and then on to Canterbury, I can’t remember him playing for the Gulls. Any body know if he did? I think these travel teams are getting desperate and they threaten kids to not play HS, but all it takes is for 3 or 4 kids to not play and I don’t think anyone will get benched. One thing I noticed is that the great travel coaches let their kids play HS. Do you think the Daniels kids got benched for missing Midfairfield games this year to play for KENT?
Al,
I have no problem with a kid bettering himself or going to a better program.I just dont think its fair to either program to be part time and not fair to those teammates. If your HS program isnt up to par or good enough and a player wants to make a go at it… then he makes a decision. I have no problem with that nor do i have a problem with a kid switching private schools every year or junior teams. If a player is willing to make the sacrifice to become a better player, wherever and for whatever team, then great. Just dont ask a team to sacrifice for them. Thats not fair.
For the record, I think there are some excellent coaches throughout the section and certainly in League 1 where programs have been built. There may be an off year every once in a while but for the most part you have good talent, good development and good coaching.
Heres what I think bothers people. You get a player who gives the impression that he and his interests are more important than the team or the rest of the group. It goes both ways when a travel players misses a game for a high school game or visa versa. For high school age kids to see a player miss high school games for travel and then come back and play high school games without penalty is frustrating. It gives the travel player an elitist attitude impression. I realize over the long haul a superior player needs high level travel in order to reach his goals. I question weather the four travel games they play missing high school games makes a big difference in all that. The travel coaches need to be fair too. Apple Core or any high level junior teams are one thing, but missing high school games for the rest of the travel world is another. Maybe players need to understand that they cannot have everything they want. If they need to play travel but want to play high school maybe they should pick one if the conflicts are that many
This problem will never go away. High school hockey is the only team sport that competes for players in season with club teams.
Basesball, soccer, lacrosse, basketball clubs all play out of season.
I’m sure part of the problem is that high school hockey teams are still a rarity in many areas. For example, there is no ‘sanctioned” high school hockey in the Long Island public schools. Orange County has few public school teams. Contrarily, almost all schools have basketball and baseball teams
The good junior and travel programs have plenty of customers and probably do not see a reason to change their business model.
I agree with you Bad impressions, but let me specify your point..Applecores Junior “A” team, it they can make that than great, I have no problem with Hagan not playing HS if he is playing the Bobcats junior “A”. But we have people missing HS games that are on Brewsters low level teams, Colonials low level teams, Applecores 2nd and 3rd junior teams. I would like to know what scouts are going to applecores third team…....And for those who say they can move up the next year because of loyalty, I bring you Greg Cicala, remember him from Stepinac, he never played for applecore, yet as a 20 year old he came to applecores junior A team and took someones spot who had been there for years…...Also you are right that missing the 4 travel games wont make a difference because some travel teams will play 30 games already before HS even starts…....Also in the locker room travel players are much more understanding when they don’t see their teammates because they know a school activity should take priority. Yet there is usually more resentment the other way around
exactly, If a player does miss a hs game for travel can it at least be a high level quality program? Last season right on this very blog, we heard of travel kids missing hs games for low level and even bantam games, which is truly a joke. I would just like all players, high school and travel to get the part of education that comes with being on a team. rule 1 is commitment. thats all I am saying
Missing from bantam games? Sounds bad, huh..but AAA bantam U14 is the highest level for that age group.
Also, those kids are freshmen. Should the commitment be to the program that these freshmen have honed and acquired their skills from, or for their first-time varsity coach, who had little to do with developing the player.
Mu advice to freshmen playing AAA Bantam, don’t play high school, avoid the conflict, wait until sophomore year, than play short season midgets if you can. It’s asking alot of a kid that young to try to please his high school and club obligations.
Lets also take a look at some of the top teams in the area…. I will bet you that you they do not allow their players to miss anything game or practice for travel of any level. The exception being Pelham which does allow it (However, someone comes on the blog and excuses any of the few losses they have to the fact that a player was missing)
A very good point that was made above. Players and parents, its part of life, you have to make choices.
Way off on that one lefty. Way off. We practice and played in the same rink as Pelham. They only had one game where they missed travel kids and lost a game. That was the Queensbury game. Its was the Bethelhelm tournament we were there too and they lost 5-0 and they were missing the two top defense. Those guys did nor miss much else. Those kids sat out the next game and Pelham beat Rye town Harrison in OT so they do get penalized if they miss. ETB, White Plains, Iona are teams that come to mind right away of teams that had travel kids and allowed them to miss. I do not even think Pelham has more than two or three that play travel anyway.
Pelham had maybe two travel players last year. I hear they only have two again this year. They are not a team that ever has those types of issues
Most of these travel players are the better players on their high school team. They have leverage on the high school coach cause he knows he is better off with them playing then without. The best player on most high school teams are usually average on there travel teams. They know they will be punished more for missing travel then missing high school
I was only making a point that I had read several times that Pelham had players missing during last season and “that was why they ‘lost’ or didnt kills a team”
If you look at their record and their success they clearly did not have “problem” Ed Witz is a great coach and I know he would never let it be a true problem.
“Another reason”, the travel players maybe some of the better players since they have clearly made a greater commitment to be on the ice more and to try and take their game further. Yes, many high school coaches know that they are a better team with those players…but to use that as leverage? They will be punished by their travel team? The travel coaches should know that every HS team coach has these rules… if they dont then they are not being fair to the players.
If you accept a spot on your high school team you should be committed to it. It is a short season and there are not many games that are played, unlike travel hockey where you play 30 to 40 games and the season starts at the end of August. Especially that the team counts on the better players.
Agree on that lefty.
Scarsdale has had a few travel players over the years and it is a tough decision for them. Wish it worked out where everyone could do both without conflicts. I just think that playing for your school and those in your town is important especially when you leave high school and move on in your life. You always remember your high school days, team mates etc If you play on a quality program the memories last a lifetime
We always discuss the trael vs. high school context in terms of the better schools, (Suffern, Pelham, Rye or Mamaroneck). What of the schools that have less than great programs?
Should a skilled player on a bad team be given some leeway? What about a great hockey player in a perennial league 4 program. If he desires to play in college (D3 or high level club) will playing for a Nyack or Carmel help him. I’d think he’d be better in a respectable junior program. I’d think the coaches of those high school programs be happy to have that type of player, if eevn only for 90% of games.
Just wondering, As far as Pelham goes, the 2 D that they had, does anyone know if they were punished by their travel team for missing games when they played for Pelham instead of travel (I know it happened), I think a lot of these guys are bluffing.
high school hockey cannot be predicted. Every team has players that can get the job done. From Mamo (Fine) to Mahopac (Perelle) to Jay (Rofofsky)...every team has a chance to be a contender this year.
“We always discuss the travel vs. high school context in terms of the better schools, (Suffern, Pelham, Rye or Mamaroneck). What of the schools that have less than great programs?”
I would argue that RTH and White Plains are two of the better teams these days. RTH having swept Rye in the two games last year and having finished a head of them in league standings and White Plains making the jump to league 1 and having had an excellent season.
White Plains allows players to miss for travel.
RTH has never let a player miss and has sat their best player and leading scorer a few years ago for two games.
Pelham I believe had kids miss and they got sat after wards
Suffern, Rye, Mam, also dont let kids miss.
Maybe if kids showed the commitment and the coaches didn’t allow it the programs would be better.
I am now done with this topic for good as all of the fun of getting the blog going is gone and this point will always be argued.
Yes,
this is tired now. Teams should be getting ready to start up. Who do the big teams open up with? Suffern? Mamaroneck? Pelham? Rye? White Plains?
I believe Pelham plays Suffern at Sporto on the Saturday nite of Thanksgiving weekend.
mamaroneck vs john jay
Rye opens away vs. RTH on the Monday after Thanksgiving at Playland. They have a scrimmage in mid November vs. Scarsdale, but last year they mostly ran the new kids and back up goalies in that scrimmage and used the time as the final phase of tryouts.
fanotgame,
What time is that game. I know that Iona vs Fordham has their kick-off game that same day around 5:15PM.
fanotgame,
Sorry, but I miss read your blog message. No conflict, because Iona/Fordham game is Friday after Thanksgiving.
But that would of been a very interesting double header. Oh well, maybe next year!
Reading alot about the top League 1 teams so far. How competitive will Stepinac, Fordham and Iona be this year?
CHSHL depends if St. Anthony’s, newcomer to the league, plays their A team or their B team in the CHSHL. If its the A, look for St. Ant’s, Iona and Farrell to contend. (St. Ant’s premier team beat St. Mary’s for the New York State NYSAHA, or club, title.) Fordham and Stepinac are not deep, and Chaminade is hit-or-miss as no one ever knows which kids decide to play for the school or not (Chaminade unwritten rule = Connecticut rule = only play for either club team or high school team…9 times out of 10, Chaminade kids wind up choosing to play for club, ie, Suffolk PAL…hence, why Chaminade JV runs up scores 10-0 on everyone and the varsity can barely play…)
Pelham v Suffern is the Saturday after thanksgiving, I can’t wait….
CHSHL is like league 2 or 3 competition
observer,
bottom half, maybe
top half, could beat any league 1 on any given day, and vice versa
Mimi- I agree the top teams in CHSL can play with the top teams in Sec 1 League 1. The problem is that there are only a few of those solid CHSHL teams. I think Fordham is deeper than you say, especially if all their kids who play jrs or Midget AAA decide to skate (Rausch, Policastro, Murphy,Carmomna). They also have some solid Midget AA talent including (McGuinnes, Brown, Rivera, Direnzo, Masullo, Spillane), Add the solid soph goalies, a few other experienced travel players and you have a pretty deep HS roster.
Mimi- can anyone in the CHSHL compete with St. Anthony’s A team? I see Iona as the top returning CHSHL team. Didn’t Iona (with no goalie issue) lose by a wide margin to St Mary’s (who lost to St Anthony’s)last season? It would seem like all those good Iona fowards would need to fill the net to keep it close vs. St Anthony’s A team this year.
fanotgame,
solid points. i knew fordham was deeper than stepinac…speaking of the slowly-becoming-more-popular-chaminade route (ie, your fordham point with the juniors/AAA over high school), rumors going around that molinaro might only want to play jr.
anyway, bottom line, if st. ant’s A plays CHSHL, there is a solid chance they can run the table…yes, iona lost to st. mary’s 9-2 last year, but stayed in it down 1 after 2 periods basically double-shifting 2 lines with 3 D…very noticable that iona is deeper up-front (call easily roll 3, possibly 4 lines) and on the blueline (rotation of 5 is very, very strong), but the goalie question is not good (sophomore gizzo is nothing special, yet at least…)
if St. Ant’s B plays, CHSHL will be the typical iona-fordham-farrell fight…
fanotgame
You are right about forwards filling the net. Scoring lots of goals on offense and standing in the net on defense.
fordham will definitely be able to skate with iona this year. iona may be more talented with skaters, but fordham has superior goaltending and a very underrated veteran club, led by massulo spillane and mcguinness
I think the Mcguinness kid is a freshman so he will br on JV
The McGuinness kid I am talking about skates on the Brewster Bulldog U18 AA team. Not a freshman. Senior, I think. Masullo not really a veteran. Like the goaltenders, a sophomore, I think. Spillane a senior coming off ACL surgery. Are all those other AAA/Jr upperclassmen (Rausch, Murphy, Policastro) playing for the school team? They are the ones who can bring the Rams to the next level.
Iona may be a little weak in goal tending but they have at least 4 forward lines and 5 strong defensemen. They also have approximately 20 skaters who are also playing travel.
I also heard that they have a freshman class of another 16 skaters. Looks like they will have 50-60 players trying out for the hockey program. If their goal tending picks up, then they might be a dangerous team to play.
They are a dangerous team even with the question mark in goal. Loads of skating depth. Considerably more than even Mamo. And Iona’s top 3 forwards (Cambria and Molinaro at Apple Core Empire Junior B and Lopez at Avalanche Metro Junior B) all play at the Hiller or above level. Hiller played with Molinaro at Empires this year. Molinaro was the leading forward scorer at Empires the year before (Himelson scored a bunch from the blue line at that tourney). I think Hiller had that honor this past Empire tourney. Cambria is a leading scorer on the Apple Core team. Explosive skater with a super shot- like Mamo’s now departed Connor- only stronger. Lopez is a big, fast physical hockey player. Similar to Suffern’s now departed Ruthburg. If all those guys show up and skate on a first line for the Gaels, they will be a handfull for anyone playing in Sec 1 League 1, including Mamo and Suffern.
Iona should be strong but. Last year they had strong goalie, a real horse defender and King. Those kids you are pumping up were there last year too and they are good players but the team lost some bad games last season. I think saying they are better than Mamaroneck or Suffern may be bit a much.
To fanotgame,
Don’t know who you are but I have to say that you know your hockey. You’re fair and definitely treat all teams (Public and CHSHL) with respect. And your comments about the Hockey commmunity throughout Westchester and Rockland counties is very much appreciated.
I also follow alot of the teams around because my sons play against many of the kids when they travel. Last year, I actually attended the championships with Mamaroneck/Suffern and the Iona/Stepinac. What great hockey and what talent played in these games. Actually, look at the seniors who played in those two championship games. Talking about talent, you had Connor, Salt, Ruthberg, Conklin, Ojeda, McCabe, King, DiMario, Datino, Reagan and Natoli. WOW they’ll all be missed and hopefully the new “YOUNG GUNS” will step up and follow in these players footsteps. Only time will tell.
Concerning your analysis about Iona Prep,I definitely agree with you. They have quietly put together another very strong team. They might of lost their team leaders with McCabe and King (Both First Team ALL County), but with Cambria, Lopez, Molinaro, Nolan (Watch this kid), McCardle, Kirinic, Murphy,Traficante, Baum, Pellow, McCrory, Lynett plus another 6-7 travel players,they definitely have the fire power to be competitive in every game. This year they will surprise alot of teams and most likely will be one of the favorites to win the CHSHL (St. Anthony’s is the true favorite)but watch out in 2009 because they will be untouchable.
What are the score predictions for the Suffern Vs Pelham?
It seems all the local teams give Mamo and Suffern a handful… of course that’s until the season actually starts.
To easy now and Doug Funny- I think Mamo and Suffern have a slight edge over Iona b/c the Tigers and Suffern are experienced in goal. Just wanted to point out that Iona has skaters who can play with the elite Section One teams.
To section1blogger- I think Suffern takes the early season match with Pelham. The Pelican players, for the most part, do not play travel. They start to get themselves in game shape thru a loose fall league (with Rye and Scarsdale this season)and then thru November practices. The Suffern boys have been skating since late August for the Saints (jrs or U18AA). So, the Mountiers will be raring to go in late November, while Pelham will still be building their game. The Pelicans will keep it close, like they always do. Lets say 3-2 Suffern. Look for a better Pelican effort vs. Suffern later in the season.
fanotgame
If they have a better effort later in season, you are projecting a Pelham win over Suffern later in year?
To Section 1-I think Pelham has the horses to knock off Suffern at home late in the season. Not predicting they will. Just that it would not surprise me if it happened. Suffern could go 14-0 in League One. They could also go 10-4. My view is that the top 5 League One teams are similar enough so that there will be some surprising individual game results this season. I think over a long season, the cream (read Mamo, Suffern) will rise to the top of the standings.
fanotgame, you said “Tigers and Suffern are experienced in goal” I didn’t know suffern had a goalie who has ever played anywhere for anyone… without Natoli Suffern will finish 3rd or 4th in league 1. We all know anything can happen in the playoffs but I don’t see them doing anything in the regular season without a goalie.
I saw Gabriel play U18AA Silver Sticks in Philly in early September. He looked lke a solid HS golaie. Maybe not a top 5 kind of guy, but solid.
and who was Natoli before he stepped in
fanotgame you usually know what your talking about but saying that Suffern could lose to Pelham is wrong. Suffern is so overrated and i have talked to most of their top players and they say they love hearing how teams think they can beat them. All of you are just fueling the fire as Suffern finishes what they couldnt last year
To hey there bucko- All my posts have indicated that Suffern will be there at the end battling for the League One championship. It will just be harder this year than last because the Mounties lost more than most other teams to graduation. The Suffern guys who last season were in the shadows of the now departed big Mountie players will get their chance to step up this season. Looks like from your report (and other posts) that they are ready for the challenge. Good for them. Since my beloved Garnets thankfully do not need to go thru Suffern in the Sectional playoffs, the better a team you are against us, the better prepared Rye will be when our playoffs come around. This coming season, the League One championship is likely something for Mamo and Suffern to tussle over. The other big schools (WP, Pac and RHT) don’t quite have the firepower to challenge those 2. The little schools (Pelham, Rye and Jay) benefit from the tough competition in league games as they prepare for playoffs. A complete Pelham team (read inclusive of Duffy, Dzenis and a top performance from Lamden) could be enough to give Suffern a scare or a loss.
great post fanotgame and I agree.
Pelham has had a history of playing tough against better clubs. Maybe its the history of the program or its tradition that gets them to play well against strong teams. Still think Suffern has quite a bit of that too so I give the edge to the Mounties
well everyone, can’t believe its one month till the hockey season starts (seems like yesterday we were recapping the suffern-mamaroneck section title game). i’m guessing tryouts should be getting under way by the first week of november. i think this is going to be an exciting year, given the fact that there is no real clear cut favorite. there were alot of great seniors last year and this year is a year that we will be seeing a lot of new players get their chance. should be lots of close games!
One Month,
I think it’s going to be very difficult for this years players to make us forget about last years unbelieveable senior class of Eck, Rogers, Wenzel, Keagan, Both McKinneys, Novick, Datino, Odardi, Reagan, Connnor, Ruthberg, Natoli, King, Fusco, McCabe, DiMario, Salt,Sigona, Rui,Alfonzetti, Denis,DiMaggio and a few others that I’m sure I missed. They made hockey real exciting to watch and they were able to Talk the Talk! Not only for their High School teams but All the travel teams that they played on. Not only were these seniors sucessful in their senior year, but they have been a force in Hockey since their sophmore years! Hopefully the new YOUNG GUNS will make us forget about last years senior class.
This has been a great senior group, but every year we have a good group. Speaks well for Section 1 hockey. Lest we forget last years group..Bloom, Willows, Rodeschini (maybe not a senior), Malone, Schuman, Clark, Wynne, Ferguson, Donohue, Holvig, Perlowitz, Guilmette..and I’m sure I’ve forgotten some.
I expect to have another excellent group again this year.
when does north play suffern?
THEY DON’T
Iona in a blow out at playland opening night .Iona 10- Fordham 3.Fordham has 2-3 players.Iona has 3 lines. Who needs goalies to many scorer
North wont get to play Suffern in any games! Seems Suffern doesn’t want to play them. Wonder Why?
yo-yo, why wont Suffern play North? Is there a reason?
North dropped down to League 2 and I am sure Suffern has too many outside games to fit them. If North wanted to play Suffern they should have stayed in League 1
North will play Suffern in the playoffs and willows and shuman along with macindoe will take care of suffern they are on the comback trail and will be the surprise team of section 1 this year
Natoli Update
Jr A’s Go 2-1 at The Columbus Day Showcase In New Hampshire
2008-10-13
The Jr A’s traveled to the AJHL Columbus Day Showcase in Hudson New Hampshire and come home with a 2-1 record for the weekend.
The Jr A’s traveled to the AJHL Columbus Day Showcase in Hudson New Hampshire and come home with a 2-1 record for the weekend.
On Friday they shutout the Laconia Leafs 6-0. Goals were scored by Tim Larkin (2), Rich Young, Harrison Welch, Phil Trombetta and Joe Houk. Tom Natoli recorded the shutout and upped his record to 2-0 since joining the Little Flyers.
On Saturday the Little Flyers took it on the chin with a 8-3 loss to the Hartford Wolfpack. Little Flyers goals were scored by Joe Houck, Rich Yound and John Sorka. SJ Broadt stopped 25 of 33 shots in the loss.
On Sunday the Little Flyers rebounded with a 4-1 win over the Portland Jr Pirates. John Sorka led the way with a goal and two assists, Tim Larkin, Chris Lowney and Mike Koelzer also scored. Tom Natoli raised his record to 3-0 stopping 29 of 30 shots.
Next weekend the Jr A’s travel to Long Island to take on the NY Bobcats in a three game series.
Looks like Natoli is back on track since the trade!!!
To what end? Where is he on track too?
I watched him play his whole career and I think he is terrific but where is he going from the Little Flyers? Same with the other kid from Stepinac where is the next step if everything goes well? What if it does not go well? where are they headed? Is it worth it?
Maybe they are both trying to continue to play in college. Maybe use hockey to help get them into a school. Is that so awful to you?
To,on track to what?... why do people always put kids down for trying to play a game they love at the highest level possible. Just because you are a loser doesn’t mean you should just sit and do nothing. you should go ahead and try your best at whatever you enjoy, or do you just lay in bed knowing you are never going to be the CEO of a major company, be a pro athlete or really be the best at anything??? because by your thinking anyone who isn’t going to be one of the best should just not do it…
you are correct “why”, why does it have to lead to something? What did you do (on track to what?) that lead to anything? Lets assume you went to college, what did that lead to, your crappy job making 25k a year??
It could lead to a higher junior level, NCAA hockey or ACHA hockey, or nothing. Whats the difference. Some kids travel after high school in Europe, join the military, whatever. Enrolling as a full-time student at a 4 year college is not the only avenue to a fulfilling life.
Thats true.
Look at Al Bundy, he married Peg, got a job as a shoe salesman (which he loved) and had 2 wonderful kids!
...and I have my high school football memories!
North not playing Suffern this year means 1200 less bull @#!$ blogs we don’t have to read this year. All that matters is the playoffs anyway.
Pelham will come out harder than ever. Fanotgame, Pelham had their best stretch at the beginning of the season last year, going 7-1….so Pelham kids not playing travel didn’t affect them last year.
Interesting call by Sect1 fan,
yup Pelham always gets off to a fast start, and has their slump in January, then get back in gear for Feb sectionals. Rye got off to a slow start last season. Its true Pelham only has one or two guys playing outside travel but they come out strong every year. I think they struggle late in the year due to the depth and roster makeup. The Tigers for instance always have a solid club heavy on upper class man. Pelham lines up against the Tigers with lots of young plsyers some ninth and tenth graders playing regularly. This is a depth problem that forces them to use young players. I like the fact that the Tigers have 3 real huge teams at varsity JV and mod levels and am looking forward to another superb season
Fight
Anyone know what happened on Thursday night between Pelham and Scarsale? Heard there was a big fight at the game. Sounds pretty dumb for preseason hockey.
There was a fight between Pelham and Scarsdale. Matt Oliverio chipped a kids tooth, Alex Klein got his nose broken
Fight? nah not really. Skirmish. I was there and here is how I witnessed it. One player on Scarsdale got tripped and the referee called a delayed penalty on the pelham kid. While scarsdale player who was tripped carried the puck into Pelhams end he got crushed with a legal but hard check by the same kid who got called for the trip. The Scarsdale kid threw a punch and they got into it. Then two kids from each team who were near it got involved. On s scale of 1-10 it was a 4
were suspensions given
That is a before the season league and the refs said everyone in it has to sit the next game
thanks
That last post is a disgrace and totally uncalled for. I do not know the Connor kid but that post was totally uncalled for. I hope it gets taken off.
Remove the post promptly and lets not comment further on it
That post was very needed and so true, just incase you ppl from suffern and other teams didn’t know that was the most blunt but true facts about conner, im not trying to put down other kids in the section, but seriously like Mamo forever said imagine if Conner was a well rounded player and tried and didnt get himself in trouble with refs etc he would have made kids like Salt (who i credit with putting in a lot of effort to his team and as well as other kids who actually worked hard) look like Mites, he easily would have had 250+ points, what a waste…..
Hey Harold when are you going to give us a nice run-down on all the teams and key players in the section, and some pre-season power rankings??
I’ll have something on the blog tomorrow. Also, I deleted the comment about Conner — I’m not sure where the line is exactly, but accusing someone of criminal acts certainly crosses it.
along with calling two minors about criminal acts they’re unrelated to and using them for a story
I am looking for information on the fall pre-season league that some of the high school teams play in. This is for next year.
Can some one please tell me what Westchester rinks these leagues are hosted in, what HS teams enter teams, how many games, how is the officiating and control of the games (discipline) and what is the general level of play, say does it compare to midgets A or B?
With the cost and commitment of travel club hockey, I’d like to explore another option for next year to get ready for the high school season. My son will than be a senior and with some fall college visits planned (not for hockey) and other activities the 2-3 games per weekend and the 2 night per week practices from Sep to Dec can become burdensome.
Thanks.
Pre Season Leagues,
STAY AWAY FROM FALL HOCKEY. It’s not hockey….it’s GOON hockey. It’s one fight after another. Kids look for fights and the coaches don’t care. You’re better off putting you son in the in-house league up in Brewster or WSA.
House league? Oh yeah, they never have problems, yeah right. There is a league in Mt Vernon it used to be a six or 5 team league. This year it was less and I gather it was because many high school teams have kids playing travel.
Its pretty good most times. Regarding the goon remark if your child is not going to play with the high level travel teams, and decides to play “midgets” well thats worse as every midget game in this area usually ends up in a fight or some sort of altercation. Just come over to Westchester and catch a midget game and you`ll see
My son is in midgets this year U16, A level, and it is leaving a lot to be desired. I agree that every game seems to lead to a fight or altercation. It’s not cheap and the 35 game season and practice nights become very tiresome, especially once high school hockey begins.
I’ll check into the Mt. Vernon fall league, the Ice Hutch I’ll presume. I think a team from his high school and a neigboring high school can be assembled.
What midget teams are you guys watching?
jj vs. mamo? predictions…
The midget teams from HVHL and LIAHL I’ve seen over the last two years have been very uneven. Ranging from very strong like the Mariners to struggling (more teams than I care to mention). Certainly a drop off from the overall quality experienced up through the bantam level.
Hockey friends who play over in New Jersey seem more satisfied with the NJ midget short season schedules and the consistency of the competition. This league would be a little to distant for my family to consider.
I think quality could improve for the local midget teams if they limited the season to 20 games which ended prior to high school hockey.
Hey when do the preseason NHL 09 rankings come out!!??!?
Hard to limit the midget season to 20 games if you want to field a “state tourney” eligible team. Agree the NJ AA league (not the Atlantic AAA with its extended travel) is a better alternative than LIAHL and cetainly HVHL. But, if you are a NY team (like the Mariners, Vipers or Brewster) and want to play in the NY state tourney, it might be hard to do so playing in the NJ league. The Saints (out of SOR in NY) play in the NJ league and I never see them at the NY state tourney.
The midget u16AA team thats ranked 12 in the nation has some suffren players on it like guetz and jager from RTH strozza and from North cohen it looks like these young players are looking good for their respective team this year
NY State Tournament bound teams are only required to play 20 games as a team with each player participating in at least 10 of these games. Certainly a short season is attainable under those guidelines. Of course you would have to come back in March to play in the tournament.
I would like to see a midget short season league put together of the Mariners, Vipers, Brewster, Polar Bears, Bear Mountain, and Capitals. A Pelham or Mamaroneck midget team could also be assembled since these clubs already have viable youth teams.
The key is this league would limit play to the Hudson Valley area and the required 20 games could be played, if not before high school season, than mostly before high school season. Best of all…no more December and January trips to Long Island.
Good suggestions about midgets. The teams you mentioned plus a couple others should get together and make a super league of AA teams. They could start after Silver Sticks and play each other twice. The season could then be done by Thanksgiving. If teams wanted to play non league after that once a week around HS it would be up to them. If not they could get together in late February for playoffs and then see who goes to states. It is no fun to have to play league travel games during HS with 8 skaters to complete your schedule. Problem is some of the teams you mentioned have different adgendas, aren’t Tier II chartered or skirt the issue by playing independent schedules and just qualifiying in a playdown.
If the tier II teams had to play the Long Island teams to via for a state tournament berth, this could be solved by the top “Hudson League” tier II finisher challenging the second place team from Long Island in a playdown for the right to be the second east region representative. The next year the top Long Island team could challenge the second Hudson team finisher for representation rights.
It’s not perfect but it beats having to travel to Long Island most weekends, especially during the high school season.
That Saints 16AA team should play the Mariners 16AA team that is a top 25 team nationally and has lost once at Silver Sticks and not at all since then. SOR and Playland are within 40 minutes of each other.
the saints U18AA are scheduled to play the vipers on Nov. 9th. As many know there are several good players from suffern and North Rockland on the saints team; Hill, Hiller, O’Conner, Meany, Noriwn, McCarron, Gabriel. What top names from section 1 do the Vipers have??
OH, they are also scheduled to play the HV Polar Bears on both the 1st and 2nd of November.
Saints 16AA beat the Mariners 16AA at Silversticks in what I understand was a very good game.
Saints midget short season and NJYHL league obligations limit the number of non-league games they can play. If another game hasn’t been scheduled already, unlikely it can be done now.
Please do not take these “national” rankings seriously, although both are very good teams. Mariners should win a not so strong LIAHL this year and the Saints should be a top 4 New Jersey team.
The New York rangers are scheduled to play Columbus Blue Jackets october 25, 2008…
Any predictions??
Section 1 has Scott Gomez reppin them
Section 9 has rick nash…should be a good battle
About half of the good viper team from last year left for AAA or juniors (Halpin, Dorgan, Lopez, Mastrocola, Pesce, McGee, and Lawrence). They still have Sherding, Oliverio, Abramo, Miele, Grispin, Feliu, and Glaviano. They also have Sganga, Blatt, and Benincasa from last years 18u team and Curtiss and McManus from last years A team. They have a few new guys i don’t know to.
Nobody from last years 16u team is still on the 16u team.
Vipers went 0-3 at Silversticks so I guess they lost most of their guys from last year. Saints went 2-0-2 losing in a shootout in the quarterfinals. We’ll see if both teams have all of their players. With high school starting and at least the saints regular season will be over by then, I doubt all of the kids will show.
The Mariner 16AA and 18AA teams play in both Hudson Valley and Long Island leagues. Mariners 18AA team probably a bit stronger than Vipers this season. Saints 18AA vs Mariners would be a pretty good game. Mariners were mising about 8 players and brought up subs from their #3 midget team when they went to Silver Sticks and lost a bunch of games. Have not lost since then. Tied Polar Bears 2-2 up at Ice Time (both Polar Bear goals were on 5-3 advantages. Mariners 18AA team has local college kids and Long Island players in addition to local HS players. The locals include Gluck(RCDS) and Gibbs (Rye) in goal. Defense includes Kaufman (Stepinac), Gillespie (Iona), McAndliss (WP). Forwards include Altieri, McCarrick (WP) Datino- (now Iona college, last season Stepinac), Burdick (Pawling), Spillane (Fordham), Mundinger (Rye), Pellow and McElroy (Iona)
fanotgame what is your name. im a rye player and i was just wondering who this is cause you talk so much about our team
2007-2008 viper team was a phenomenal team! i wish i could repeat that year over again.that loss in nationals was a heart breaker and i miss every single one of you guys !
which ever 1 of u guys this is i love you too. unless its Brad, we all hate Brad
Iona will be alot better then fordham prep this year. FANOTGAME Spillane play for the mariners . where do the other 3 play [ Rausch , murphy ,policastro ] and do you think they can play with IONA top line.
Rausch plays Gulls Midget 16AAA National, Murphy plays Brewster Empire Jr B, Policasrto plays Apple Core Jr B Continental. Not quite Cambria, Molinaro, Lopez, but not that different, really.
Is it definite that there all playing? Ive heard murphy and policastro are but I have not heard anything about Rausch
Rausch is not welcome back to the Rams. He missed a game for travel game last year. The coach has strict rules all must abide by. He is way over rated.
The others mentioned said they would follow the coaches rules.
the gulls 16uAAA team is ranked #1 in the country right now. I wish high school coaches could put up with this stuff, but i don’t feel like having another travel vs. high school argument, they never get anywhere.
What is your point it is okay if your a 3rd line player on the #1 team to miss HS games when you feel like?
Rausch is a big lose for fordham. I hear murphy playing Travel too.( not sure). But still will be o.k. (spillane and policastro)
We are not talking about missing hs stuff because you feel like it, we are talking about being on a very good travel team taking priority over an average hs team. Its a choice and i would make the same one Rausch did. His chances are probably better at winning a national championship with them then winning the CHSHL championship with Fordham
If you know you have another committment you should not join your High School team. If you are on a team like he Long Island Gulls, you won;t even have time to play for another team so just play for your travel and skip High School.
Committment
Thats for the player and the coach to decide. Its funny how the blog posters won’t let anyone off the hook. Last yr, there was a league 1 player who did just that, he didn’t play HS hockey. He opted to commit to just playing travel. Boy did he get crucified. Now the complaint was that he felt he was to good for his HS program. Where was his sense of responsibility to his classmates? The whole thing is ridiculous.
If the player and his coach can create a workable scenario, thats all that matters. If they can’t, the player has to make a choice that suits his objectives best. It is not for the rest of us to judge one way or the other.
Club Hockey:Noticed that Salt is playing for Univesity of Michigan and King is playing for Boston College. I thought Connor was playing for Miami (Ohio), but I didn’t see his name on the roster. Does anyone know if he’s playing for another college?
Fordham Prep cut 2 seniors . What is the coach thinking. For 2 young playings that wouldn’t get off the bench.
Who got cut?
Sad the seniors got cut but it wouldn’t matter anyway. Neither skater would make a difference. The coach picked kids who would just be happy to make the team. None of hem would get icetime this season so the coach probably took the kids whose parents wouldn’t complain.
Sec1fan…thanks for bringing some sense to the travel-hs-committment issue.
HS hockey is the only major team sport with in-season competition from club programs. It’s pretty much accepted that you have to play for a good club program to advance to the next level of hockey, either a higher junior program or even a real good ACHA program. And, their are alot more sub-par high school hockey teams than their are good programs (i.e, Mamaroneck or Suffern). It comes a point where the individual needs to put his goals (advancement in the sport) ahead of team goals (winning a league 3 or 4 title).
Most reasonable high school coaches, not coaching one of the elite league 1 programs, should work with kids to allow them to play both club and high school.
Unfortunately, that is how this sport is structured. Other team sports like basketball, lacrosse, soccer, etc. have the showcase club teams all playing out-of-season, hoceky does not.
Al
Seems like you’re one of the few that has a clearer picture on how this sport works for section 1 players. Its not like any of the other sports. For local hockey players, collegiate advancement requires a different track then those available to athletes involved in other sports.
I appreciate your respect for the “elite section 1 programs” but must caution you that these programs are limited in their ability to provide an avenue for collegiate advancement.
Who from one of the “elite programs” has advanced directly into the varsity collegiate level. There are a few D2 club players but I’m not aware of to many D3 players, if any. If club hockey is what works for you, HS hockey is fine.