Suffern and Pelham both picked up some more hardware for Section 1 upstate, while Pawling and North Rockland won local tournaments in a pretty action-packed Tuesday. Now there will be a two-day break before some more big games this weekend.

Andrew Emerson had three goals and two assists to lead Pelham to a the championship of the Niskayuna tournament with a 6-0 win over Saranac Lake, the same team Emerson needed a last-minute goal to beat two weeks ago. Marc Flory had two goals and three assists and Mike Mamone had a goal and three assists. Gavin Lambdin stopped 18 shots to record his first shutout of the season.

Tournament MVP Zac Hiller had a goal and two assists to lead Suffern to the championship of the Oswego Invitational with a 4-2 win over Lancaster in the first ever meeting between the programs. Johnny Hill and Greg McCarron each added a goal and an assist.

Locally, Matt Ng saw Matt Burdick score a hat trick as Pawling defeated Fox Lane 4-1, despite 45 saves from converted defenseman Cody Williams (I’ll provide the link when I get it). Tournament MVP Mike DeLaVergne made 15 saves for Pawling. In the consolation game, John Jay earned its first win of the season, beating Brewster 8-5. Kyle Greenberg had two goals and two assists in the win.

At the Nyack/Tappan Zee tournament, MVP Alex Nestle made 25 saves as North Rockland defeated Newburgh 5-0 in the championship game. Craig Meany’s shot from the point four minutes into the second period was the only goal through 30 minutes, but the Red Raiders depth and conditioning finally paid off, as Sean O’Connor, Steven D’Alisera, Mike Meigh and Nick D’Amelio all scored in the third period to clinch the title.

Pearl River defeated Nyack/Tappan Zee 4-2 in the consolation game, breaking a 2-2 tie early in the third period when Ryan McArdle coverted a 2-on-0 breakaway off a pass from Paul Moreau.

One other score to report — St. Peter’s Prep beat Stepinac 5-2 at the Ice Vault in Wayne, N.J., Rocco Miano had a goal and an assist for the Crusaders and teammate Michael Lanaro stopped 39 shots.

Thanks to Clarkstown North seniors Matt Willows and Chris McIndoe for joining me in the studio tonight for the second broadcast of Varsity Central Live, and of course all of you for watching and contributing. The show will can be accessed at lohud.com/vclive (if it doesn’t come on immediately, or if it starts at a random point, click “on demand” and it’s the one from Dec. 30. From there you can skip to any point in the show). Stay tuned for next week’s schedule, and hopefully some more special guests.

Finally, we’ve set up an email address for coaches, parents, fans, players to send in suggestions about our new Varsity Central site: vcfeedback@lohud.com. Send us your thoughts and we’ll see what we can do.

Like everyone else, I’m off the next two days but I’ll be back soon enough with a special feature that I’m going to start for 2009, and a look ahead at this weekend’s action.

I hope everyone has a chance to tune into Varsity Central Live tonight at 7:30 (www.lohud.com/vclive), where our special guests will be Clarkstown North seniors Matt Willows and Chris McIndoe. Willows is currently on pace to set the state record for points in a season, while McIndoe is the only goalie in Section 1 with state playoff wins on his resume. It should be an interesting show, and of course everyone will get a chance to ask Chris, Matt and me whatever they want (although I can’t promise it will get through the moderator). Hopefully a big response tonight will ensure a weekly broadcast going forward — there’s certainly a ton of guests I’m hoping to have in the studio over the next two months.

The hockey gets going early today, with Suffern playing defending state semifinalist Lancaster at 11 a.m. The Mounties beat Oswego 3-0 yesterday, dropping the Bucs to 1-7 (five losses were by one goal). Despite both programs’ success through the years, this is the first time Suffern and Lancaster will meet. At noon, Pearl River plays Nyack/TZ in the Nyack tournament consolation, while Pelham takes the ice at 1 p.m. against Saranac Lake (3-4-1) in the championship of the Niskayuna tournament.

Two more champions will be crowned at 6 in the Nyack and Fox Lane tournaments. I know the Nyack matchup is North Rockland-Newburgh at Palisades but I’m not sure about Fox Lane (anyone?) and Fox Lane is playing at Pawling up at Brewster. We will have a reporter at Brewster tonight to cover the action. Congrats to Fox Lane, by the way, who may be winless in League 3 but just had a nice win against League 2 Brewster. Meanwhile, Pawling picks up a good win against League 1 John Jay.

Mamaroneck broke Monroe-Woodbury’s four-year reign in the Tiger holiday tournament, defeating the Crusaders 6-1 last night at Hommocks. This avenged Mamaroneck’s worst loss last year, a 5-0 defeat to M-W in this tournament. 

Just like at Pelham, it was balanced offense (six players scored), tight defense and timely goaltending from Luke Glaser. M-W lost most of its scoring and a great goalie from last year, but the Tigers are still outplaying and outhustling teams right now. 

In the consolation, Stepinac’s Steven Yankowski (four goals) had a natural hat trick in less than four minutes of the third period as the Crusaders came back to defeat Rye Town/Harrison 6-4. Rocco Miano (one goal, five assists) had a hand in all six goals. Nice showing by Stepinac, who were missing two more players this weekend from an already small bench, and a tough break for the Titans, who can’t seem to get any positive momentum going right now.

Elsewhere, Brewster scored five unanswered goals in the first period and went on to a 9-3 win over Mount Pleasant. Iona Prep took care of John Jay 6-1, and Nicky Belger had three goals and three assists as Lakeland/Panas defeated the Albany-area school Mohonasen 8-6. 

Monday is usually a slow day, but not this week. Two more holiday tournaments get underway — Nyack/TZ-Newburgh and North Rockland-Pearl River at Palisades, and John Jay-Pawling and Fox Lane-Brewster at Brewster.

Greeley beat Newburgh already this season, so I fully expect North Rockland to win the Nyack tournament, but the Fox Lane tournament appears wide open. Brewster is obviously playing well right now, Pawling is 6-1-1,  John Jay is winless but against tough competition, and Fox Lane is struggling but I’m sure they want this to be the time they turn their season around. Elsewhere Suffern is playing in the Oswego tournament (it opens against the host) and Pelham is at Niskayuna. 

Finally, exciting news — the ratings are in, and the Varsity Central Live hockey show has been picked up! Tuesday night at 7:30 at lohud.com/vclive. This time the special guests will be Matt Willows and Chris McIndoe of Clarkstown North, so start thinking of some good questions to ask.

For the second time in a week, Queensbury defeated Rye again, this time by a much lower score of 3-1 last night. At least if they meet again in the state quarterfinals, the Garnets will know what they need to improve. \

Rye and Mahopac are finishing up in the Albany area this afternoon, while the Mamaroneck tournament gets underway in about an hour, with Monroe-Woodbury vs. Rye Town/Harrison, followed by Stepinac-Mamaroneck. There’s also some League 3 games between Pawling-Clarkstown South and Ossining-Fox Lane, while Lakeland/Panas continues a three-games-in-three-nights weekend against Newburgh. 

Tomorrow is the conclusion of the Mamaroneck tournament, along with an intriguing Catholic-public game of Iona Prep-John Jay, a good League 2 game with Mount Pleasant-Brewster, and Yorktown plays O’Neil.

I’m off today but I’ll be at Hommocks tomorrow. In the meantime, please post your updates and thoughts on this weekend’s action here.

For everyone complaining about Clarkstown North in League 2 — how does this league look: Suffern, Clarkstown North, North Rockland, Clarkstown South, Pearl River and Nyack/TZ.

It’s more possible than you think. Schools received ballots earlier this week, and athletic directors (along with principals and superintendents) will soon be voting on aligning leagues, in every sport but football, solely by geography. Gone would be leagues based on school size, or ability to compete. Instead there would be four conferences: Roclkand, Southern Westchester, Central/Northern Westchester, and Northern Westchester/Putnam/Dutchess. The benifit is obvious: it saves money for Mahopac to play all its league games at Brewster Ice Arena instead of going to Sport-O and the Ice Hutch.

Some of the leagues might not look so bad. How about this one: White Plains, Mamaroneck, Pelham, E/T/B, Scarsdale, New Rochelle. But in other cases you’ll have Mahopac and Brewster with Carmel and Kennedy/Putnam Valley.

In any case, the votes will be counted next month and, considering that the superintendents asked for the change and now they will be voting on it, I’m thinking it will pass. Remember that baseball and softball just went from 24 regular-season games to 20 (I would expect the same for hockey, by the way).

Some of my best friends have lost their jobs recently, so in these economic times it might be inappropriate to sit here and complain about potential mismatches in high school hockey. But it would be unfortunate for Suffern to have to play Nyack/Tappan Zee, Pearl River and Clarkstown South twice a year instead of Mamaroneck, Rye and Pelham. Of course, there will still be opportunities for non-league games, and maybe some new rivalries will emerge, but it will obviously be a huge change.

After Mamaroneck lost to White Plains I was prepared to drop them way down, but they looked really good on Tuesday. Did they just get a bump from having everyone back, or is this how the Tigers will look from now on? We’ll find out at their tournament this weekend. The big addition is North Rockland, who beat RT/H and crushed E/T/B (I know the Eagles were missing seven players, but I can’t punish NR for that). The big departure was Fordham Prep, who recently lost to Scarsdale (who lost 6-0 to Mahopac, so the Indians get the 10th spot).

1. Suffern (6-1): Other than a loss at West Genesee, the state’s top-ranked Division I team, the Mounties have outscored opponents 27-3. Suffern’s trademark defense, led by Kevin Norwin and Greg McCarron, has been outstanding, and first-year starter Paul Gabriel has a save percentage of 94.4.
2. Clarkstown North (8-0): The Rams won the high-caliber White Plains tournament to start the season — and the 7-3 win over Stepinac in the final is the closest margin of victory so far. Matt Willows (50 points) and Jake Shuman (45), the area’s top two scorers, lead an offense that has put up at least seven goals in each game, while all-state goalie Chris McIndoe and the defense have allowed a total of 14.
3. Mamaroneck (5-2): Afterearly-season losses to Rye and White Plains, the Tigers had renewed energy and focus in a 5-2 win over Pelham Tuesday night. Are its troubles finally behind them?
4. Pelham (6-3): The Pelicans won six in a row before falling to Mamaroneck and Queensbury (Section 2), the state’s top-ranked Division II team. The team’s starting five can match up with anyone.
5. White Plains (5-3-1): The Tigers have acclimated themselves well in their first season in League 1, and are currently tied for second with Mamaroneck, who White Plains already beat this season.
6. Iona Prep (5-2): The Gaels have already beaten St. Anthony’s three times  (correction: twice. They play a third time next week). Against locals, Iona Prep lost to Fordham Prep 6-5 but defeated Stepinac 5-2.
7. Stepinac (5-4): The small team is capable of beating anyone if it doesn’t get worn out. The Crusaders defeated White Plains en route to the Tiger tournament final.
8. Rye (3-4): The Garnets have played a murderous schedule so far, but it should make them better in the long run.
9. North Rockland (5-1): The Red Raiders defeated League 1 Rye Town/Harrison as part of its current four-game win streak.
10. Mahopac (3-5): Win over Rye shows that young Indians can be dangerous.

Last year was the Brian Conner show at times, but this year’s Mamaroneck team gets it done with balance — three forward lines and six defensemen who are all solid players. That was certainly the case tonight, as the Tigers’ three lines all scored and everyone contributed in a 5-2 win over Pelham.

Yes, everyone was back from suspensions for the Tigers, and it looked like the team got a much-needed boost. They were beating Pelham to the puck, especially in the second period, when the Tigers forced turnovers in the Pelicans zone and created tons of great scoring chances.

Pelham goalie Gavin Lambdin did his best to keep Pelham in it (it was 1-1 late in the second period), but Brett Jackson finally broke through with 3:16 left, and VC Live star Matt Marr deflected in a slap shot less than two minutes later to put Mamaroneck up 3-1 after two. When it was over, five Tigers had scored, while Pelham’s two goals were by Michael Mamone on the power play.

It’s been a great turnaround for Mamaroneck, who Marr said had hit rock bottom just five days ago in the loss to White Plains. 

Meanwhile Suffern continues to roll along and is already two games clear of the field. Another stellar defensive effort (made easier by the fact that White Plains was missing two top forwards after the altercation with Mamaroneck) led to a 3-1 win. Now Suffern is 5-0 in League 1, while the next five teams are separated by just one game — Mamaroneck and White Plains are at 3-2, Pelham is 2-2, Mahopac is 1-1 and Rye is 2-3.

I saw JFK/PV was giving New Ro a good game when I left the Ice Hutch, so I’d be interested to see the final in that one. Other than that there’s no hockey until Friday because of the holiday, but there will still be some new content up in the next few days. I’ll have the rankings up either Wednesday or early Thursday, followed by a look at next week’s big games. Also, I’m currently finishing up a story that should run late this week about a potential change in Section 1 that, if its agreed on, would affect every single team in every single sport (hockey included, obviously). As my holiday present to you, I will break it here first, so definitely stay tuned for that.

Sean O’Connor (above) scored the first of his three goals 22 seconds into the game as North Rockland defeated Rye Town/Harrison 3-2. “He’s a difference-maker,” Dworkowitz said of the senior, an ESG vet. “He’ll make a guy a smart coach.”

O’Connor had plenty of help, including some excellent defense from the three-man rotation of Craig Meany (who laid out some great hits), James Eberhardt and Nick D’Amelio. Alex Nestle made 26 saves in the win, while freshman Tyler Ketchabaw, making his first varsity start, made 26 saves for the Titans.

O’Connor first goal was assisted by Michael Meigh and Alex Muir, while the next two came on some beautiful individual moves after Titans senior Adam Urban tied the game at 1-1.

Rye Town/Harrison got within 3-2 with five minutes left when the puck went in off a North Rockland defenseman’s skate, but that’s as close as they got. So North Rockland has a nice win against a League 1 team, while RTH fell to 0-7-1. 

There’s two huge games coming up tomorrow, Suffern-White Plains 4:15 at Sport-O and Pelham-Mamaroneck 6:30 at the Ice Hutch. Keep the predictions coming.

There’s been a lot of focus on a few negative incidents recently on the blog, but there’s mostly a lot of good coming out of the local hockey scene, especially around this time. For instance, Yorktown recently helped unload and organize 200 boxes so that 40 families who attend the Mount Kisco Child Care Center will receive food, clothing and toys for Christmas. Ossining makes frequent visits and is the official team of a local veterans home where coach Kevin Connolly is an RN. I’m sure many teams do similar things without public recognition.

Here’s another great example of how sports can benefit the community in a positive way, courtesy of a Brewster parent:

On Sunday, December 28th at 2:50 PM Brewster High School Alumni will be gathering to play in their annual alumni game. What is unique about this year’s event is that the players and parents are dedicating the game, and all proceeds from it, to the Christopher C. Caiazzo Memorial Foundation and The Brewster High School Safe Driving Program.

Chris was a classmate of the Brewster High School Class of 2008 who was tragically killed in an automobile accident during his junior year.  The accident was attributed to driver inexperience.  His parents have worked hard to spread the word and increase awareness for better driving education for teens.  They are sending, for the second year in a row, over 50 Brewster High School students to the Skip Barber Driving Program, and are working with others to bring additional driver education programs into the high school.  This has become a community effort to do what we can to prevent the same tragedy from happening again.

The Brewster Hockey Alumni are recognizing the Caiazzos for their efforts, and are doing their part to give back to the younger people in the community by donating all proceeds from the game to the Foundation. For more information about the Christopher C. Caiazzo Memorial Foundation visit http://www.christophersfund.com/home

I’ll see Rye Town/Harrison go for its first win against North Rockland tonight at Playland, and I’ll back later with a full report. In tonight’s other Section 1 game, Brewster continues the League 4 part of its schedule with a game against Lakeland/Panas. And Stepinac plays Don Bosco (N.J.), which according to this site, has five Rockland residents on its varsity roster.

Big day tomorrow obviously with two games involving the top four League 1 teams (in the standings), Suffern-White Plains and Pelham-Mamaroneck.

Mamaroneck, minus six suspended players, responded to some adversity and showed some serious depth on Saturday with a 7-2 win over Mahopac. Scott Hagan and Joe Naclario each had two goals and one assist and Dean Chiapparelli had four assists. Both teams are now .500 in League 1, with Mamaroneck 2-2 and Mahopac 1-1. 

Speaking of the Tigers, for those who missed it yesterday Mamaroneck defenseman Sean Hagen was named the Con Ed Scholar-Athlete Award winner. Here is the story.

E/T/B was also depleted yesterday (star Alex Hagen had a travel commitment?), but it didn’t turn out so well for them. North Rockland had 13 players record points in an 11-3 win that puts it solidly into the No. 2 spot in League 2. In the only other score reported to us yesterday, League 4 Pearl River scored in the third period to clinch an impressive tie against League 3 Clarkstown South. And some trustworthy sources on the blog reported that Queensbury defeated Rye 6-5. There were so many penalties that it’s hard to project what would happen in a state tournament game, but I’m sure both teams have reason to be confident in a rematch. 

It doesn’t sound like the weather will cooperate, but there are seven games scheduled for today, starting with Pelham-Queensbury. We should be at Mahopac-White Plains. The Indians have a tough turnaround after playing Mamaroneck last night, while the Tigers could be a surprising 5-1 in the league with a win.

Is it too early to worry about postseason eligibility? Probably, but Fox Lane (1-5) could definitely use a win when it plays Clarkstown South. There’s some interesting non-league matchups as Pawling goes up to face Brewster, and Lakeland/Panas moves up to meet Byram Hills. Also, Mount Pleasant and Scarsdale should have a competitive League 2 game, and Kennedy/PV can turn its season around with a win over League 4 favorite Sleepy Hollow/Irvington.

Hey all, this is Jake Thomases. Harold is still on vacation but he gave me his password so I could post on today’s White Plains-Mamaroneck game. He’ll be back to start next week.

Unfortunately for him he missed one of the most compelling games of the early season. White Plains beat Mamaroneck 4-3 at Ebersole in a game first marked by resilience, then marred by a fight.

White Plains scored twice in the last minute of the first period. Steve McCarrick had a stuff and Dan Broderick a 2-on-1 break. But Mamaroneck climbed back in the second period on goals by Adam Zweig and Joe Naclerio. Naclerio was actually sliding headfirst into the net on his stomach when he jabbed the puck in for a 2-2 tie.

It looked like the defending champ had taken the challenger’s best punches and lived, and was about to take the game. But White Plains again struck with two quick ones. Jeremy Lindh scored with 9:55 left, and Broderick got one with 8:28 left. That insurance goal allowed White Plains to survive Robby Fine’s goal that made it 4-3 with 6:55 to go.

As the final seconds ticked off and some White Plains players started congratulating each other, a few started shoving. The refs stepped in but it only got worse. Scuffles broke out in several spots. Soon punches were being thrown. One Mamaroneck player was repeatedly throwing his fist at someone. Somehow he ended up not getting penalized.

The fight was disjointed enough that it never became an all-out brawl. Eventually the refs put out all the fires and spent several minutes sorting out what had happened. They still made everyone line up for handshakes.

Once the players were in their respective locker rooms the final ruling came down. Four players—two from each side—were given game misconduct penalties. That comes with an automatic one-game suspension. McCarrick and Matt Altieri will sit for White Plains. Sean Hagan and Christian Glaser will sit for Mamaroneck. All four are important players.

As most of you know, Mamaroneck is already short-handed because of the two incidents upstate that resulted in four suspensions of undetermined length.

A goal by Dan Broderick with less than 10 minutes remaining proved to be the winner as White Plains edged Mamaroneck 4-3 tonight at Ebersole.

Jake Thomases was on hand for the action and filed “this update.”:http://www.lohud.com/article/20081218/SPORTS02/812180486/-1/SPORTS

You can check out a complete report tomorrow in The Journal News and on LoHud.com.

Hey everyone this is Josh Thomson. I’m checking in briefly with the score update from late last night you’ve been pining for.

Mahopac did, indeed, top Rye 2-1 at Playland Ice Casino on the strength of two third-period goals. In fact, the game was tied 0-0 entering the third but it was the Garnets that struck first. Paul Mundinger scored with 6:53 left to put Rye ahead 1-0 off an assist from Taka Katsuta.

It didn’t take long for the Indians to tie it. They scored 43 seconds later when Chris Mastrocola (right) hit Joe Gripsin for the equalizer. Mastracola wasn’t done. He netted the winner about four-and-a-half minutes later just after Rye had killed off a Mahopac power play.

I talked to Rye coach Jason Friesen, who provided some details. He said the goal came just as the Garnets tried to get back to even strength. Mastrocola beat a defenseman and unleashed a shot on net. Rye’s Matt Benincasa stopped the first shot, but Mastrocola stuffed in his own rebound to put his club ahead 2-1 with 1:44 to play. The cushion turned out to be enough.

Hi all -

There are some big games coming up the next few days, and we will of course be following all the action.

Two of those games involve White Plains. The Tigers host Mamaroneck tomorrow at Ebersole before facing Suffern at Sport-O-Rama on Friday.

Tomorrow’s Mamaroneck game will be the Tigers’ first in the area after returning from a trip to Saratoga that has resulted in four players facing disciplinary action as a result of two separate incidents. We have more information on this development today in The Journal and LoHud.com. “You can read about it here.”:http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812170364

Most people (non-hockey people anyway) take their vacation between Christmas and New Year’s. But I’ve done it a bit differently — I’m leaving tomorrow and I will be back next weekend (hint: everything is half price). 

Just like last year, I feel bad leaving at a time like this. But then again it’s been 35 and raining all day, and so I feel a bit better about it. But I really do feel bad leaving this forum. Again, not bad enough that I’m not going. But worse than I normally would.

In the meantime, I leave you with three thoughts which have proven to be 90 percent accurate.

1) If someone says there are a fan of one team, and then says something contradictory, they are most likely not who they say they were. Example: Suffernfan01: I am a Suffern fan, but even I must admit that Mamaroneck is better at every position.

2) If someone says something, and the next two posts immediately after it are in complete agreement, it’s usually the same person. Example: Hockeyfan1, 9 p.m.: I think Suffern ran it up last night. Hockeyfan2, 9:05 p.m.: I completely agree. Hockeyfan3, 9:10 p.m.: Hockeyfan1 is a genius and completely correct. 

3) If someone praises a player anonymously, it is most likely not their parent. And the nicer the message is, the more likely it is that it’s not the parent. In fact, most of the time it is another parent, or a teammate, or even someone from another team.

We’ll still be covering a lot of hockey while I’m gone (right now we’re planning on staffing six games, starting with RCDS-North Friday, and continuing with Suffern-White Plains, White PLains-Mahopac, Iona Prep-RCDS and two others). Hopefully those reporters will file some updates, and I’ve asked local sports editor Joe Lombardi to manage the blog while I’m not around. If anything comes up, he can be reached directly at jlombard@lohud.com.

Aabout 95 percent of the questions asked during Tuesday night’s broadcast started with either “Who will win … ” or “Who is better … ”

So I’m sure you will all be excited to hear that for the first time in 20 years, there will be an all-section hockey team this season. There are 14 spots in Section 1 (the number is determined by a formula that takes into account number of teams and players), it will be decided at a coaches meeting after the season, and it’s my understanding that there is no limit on positions (for instance, there could be any number of goalies, defenseman and forwards — it’s not an actual team). 

Certainly this will be a fun way to pass the time as we near the end of the season, and it should make for some interesting debate. I just hope, unlike in previous discussions, you can find ways to pump up your favorites without denigrating the teenage competition. 

Now, on to the power rankings. 

How’s this: Suffern beats Pelham, who beats White Plains, who beats Rye, who beat Mamaronack, So Suffern-Pelham-White Plains-Rye-Mamaroneck? Not exactly. White Plains also lost to Stepinac, who lost to Iona Prep, who lost to Fordham Prep… who lost to Rye. 

As you can see, I’m not going to go strictly on head-to-head, or like the Big 12 in football, you just go in circles. So yes, there are teams ranked below teams they beat. There’s nothing I can do about it.

1. Suffern (3-1): Maybe it’s just because I saw them crush Rye (when’s the last time Rye lost 8-0? Ever?), but the Mounties have to be No. 1. I’m not faulting them for losing on the road to state finalist West Gen. The fact is Suffern shut out Pelham and Rye. The Mounties pride themselves on their defense and that is still strong, and now if the offense is coming around, watch out.

2. Clarkstown North (5-0): I know it hasn’t played the big four (last year’s sectional finalists). But it’s not the players fault that the Rams are playing a League 2 schedule, so I’m not going to punish them because of what happened last year. Besides, North won the White Plains tournament convincingly and has outscored opponents 43-10, including a Section 9 power, the CHSHL runner-up and two League 1 teams.

3. Pelham (4-1): After a close loss to Suffern (1-0 before an empty-netter made it 2-0), the Pelicans have won four in a row, including games against League 1 teams John Jay, White Plains (in OT) and Mahopac (in the final of its tournament). A dynamite first line, two great defensemen, a solid goalie and depth everywhere make the Pelicans the favorite in DII.

4. Mamaroneck (1-1): There’s a reason Suffern was the only team in the state to go undefeated in the regular season last year — everyone has a game where it runs into a hot goalie, or comes out flat, or the other team plays its best. I wasn’t there Saturday night against Rye, so I can’t say for sure what happened, but I’m not going to punish the Tigers too much for one game. Obviously it takes on added meaning because it was so early on the season, while last year’s clunker (5-0 against Monroe-Woodbury) was in late December. But I think we’ll look back on it as an anomaly, not a sign of major weakness.

Now it gets tricky. Go with Rye, who clearly has the most impressive wins (over Mamaroneck and Fordham Prep, who beat Iona Prep, who beat Stepinac). Or White Plains, who beat Rye? Or Iona Prep, who I think has the best talent? Here’s what I came up with.

5. White Plains (3-2-1): Nice win over Rye and as close as it gets against Pelham (gave up the winner with five seconds left in OT). They clearly belong in League 1. Hard to believe the Tigers are already 1/4 of the way done with their season.

6. Fordham Prep (3-1): The Rams opened with a 3-0 loss to Rye, but then beat Iona Prep 6-5 and have followed with two more decisive wins over Harvey and St. Anthony’s. A lot of young but experienced talent.

7. Iona Prep (4-2): Bounced back from losses to Fordham Prep and Chaminade with an important win over Stepinac. That game against Farrell coming up could be a final preview.

8. Rye (2-2): I know they were injured (Kris Talgo didn’t play last night), and they don’t usually hit their stride until later in the season anyway. They have great players at every position, especially goalie. So expect to see the Garnets move up fast. But for now I’m putting them here.

9. Stepinac (3-3): Impressive win over White Plains, but currently on a 3-game losing streak.

Thanks to everyone who tuned it to the broadcast last night, and of course a special thank you to Matt Marr, who might have found a new career if he wants it. The show can still be accessed by going to www.lohud.com/vclive and clicking the “on demand” function. It will take a one-week hiatus but be back the week of Dec. 22 — this will allow me to open an investigation into who hit me with a puck before the sectional final last year. In the meantime I’m open to any suggestions you have for improving the show.

And now, the week ahead. There’s great hockey every day of the week.

Wednesday

Suffern-Rye: The Garnets were the only team to get a point off Suffern in last year’s regular season. They should be riding high after beating Mamaroneck while Suffern hopes to start generating some offense.

Pearl River-Nyack/TZ: Rockland’s three smallest schools in a nice county clash.

Thursday

Rye Town/Harrison-White Plains: WP has had some encouraging results and looks comfortable in League 1. Now it meets last year’s League 1 call-up.

Friday

Clarkstown North-RCDS: Always intriguing when RCDS and a local school meet.

Fox Lane-New Rochelle: These two programs have been going in opposite directions recently. Both have great goaltending.

Stepinac-Fordham Prep: Every point could make a difference as five good teams battle for four playoff spots.

Brewster quadruple-header: Eight teams in seven hours, starting with my League 4 favorite, Sleepy Hollow/Irvington, against Lakeland/Panas and continuing with League 3 showdown between Somers/North Salem and Ossining.

Saturday

Yorktown-Brewster: Epic quarterfinal last year went to double-overtime. The ‘Huskers won all three meetings by 1 goal last year, and I’m sure the Bears are itching to get back at them.

Clarkstown North-Clarkstown South: Always an intense rivalry, although probably won’t be the closest one this year.

Sunday

Rye-John Jay: A sectional semifinal last year, Rye has been getting the better of the Indians lately, but John Jay can put itself in the discussion with a win here.

Iona Prep-Farrell: Farrell is in front in the CHSHL standings right now at 4-1, while Iona Prep (3-2) is right behind them.

Monday

Suffern-Rye Town/Harrison: It seems like Rye and Rye Town/Harrison have Monday to themselves with their home slots at Playland. This one should be good though.

Tuesday

Ossining-Pawling: Two of the favorites in League 3. A lot of depth and scoring options for both sides.

Fordham Prep-Scarsdale: Another exciting Public-Private matchup. Fordham Prep won the Scarsdale tournament last year.

Wednesday

Mahopac-Rye: Mahopac beat Rye Town/Harrison in the White Plains tournament, but its still looking for a League 1 win. 

Iona Prep-RCDS: Rematch from last year, when RCDS won 1-0.

Thursday, Dec. 18

Mamaroneck-White Plains: Another rematch from last year’s sectional semifinal round. Both teams are seeking to replace star forwards.

I’m heading off to Playland now (no wireless means no scoring updates, unfortunately). I’ll be back later with the first edition of the power rankings.

It’s amazing how much talent there is in League 3. But in my opinion, the difference will be depth. Here is how the teams look so far (note: I haven’t been able to reach the Clarkstown South coach, but I didn’t want to hold up the entire preview. I will add them as soon as I can).

Byram Hills (0-3)

With last year’s record (4-19) and this year’s start, the Bobcats are probably picked last in most projections. But the team is missing some big guys — including defenseman Eric Basmajian, who should return this weekend — and the talent is there (I saw the Bobcats beat New Ro last year), so there is light at the end of the tunnel. Co-captains Pat Viernegal and Kevin “Bud” Lernhardt and hard-working, dedicated seniors with strong leadership skills. Lernhardt volunteered to play defense after the team lost three top defensemen from last season. Pat, also a soccer captain, isn’t a flashy player but doesn’t stop working.

Fox Lane (1-3)

The Foxes are young, with only three seniors in the rotation, and have a lot of guys playing new positions, but they could be dangerous later on as they gain confidence in their roles. Goalie Cody Williams played defense the past two seasons but moved into net this season, where he played in pee-wees. He has adapted well so far, earning all-tournament honors at Pelham last weekend. Defenseman Byron Vereschagin, who also hadn’t played the past few seasons, just scored twice against Scarsdale. The skaters aren’t big but they have good speed, exemplified by the first forward line of Kyle Colseanti, Joe Corsi and Matt Swanko, who move the puck well and put together some exciting plays. Seniors Daniel Stewart and Chase Beitzel anchor an otherwise young defense, which has four first-year players.

New Rochelle (3-0)

The Huguenots have beaten Scarsdale, Clarkstown South and Carmel so far — one from each league. The reigning League 4 champs have a lot of returning talent mixed with some intriguing young players. Danny Feliu is one of the best goalies in the area, not just the league. Returning defenseman Ryan Miller is joined by senior Pat Staropoli, who moved from forward, freshman Mark Humbra and two eighth graders. The Huguenots have a very explosive first line, with Richie Prunesti, who had 31 goals last year as a freshman, four-year varsity player Freddie Martignetti, a senior center with excellent leadership ability, and winger Malcolm Mfoula, a strong, fast junior who can play any position and also has four years of experience.

Ossining (3-1)

The O (time for a nickname, right?) has shown great depth so far, rolling 3-4 lines in wins over Lakeland/Panas, Byram Hills and Clarkstown South. Last year’s leading scorer Robert Dorgan had travel conflicts and top defenseman Aidan McHugh transfered, but other kids have stepped up. Senior defenseman Scott Miele has good speed, a quick shot and the ability to take the puck coast-to-coast. A quality first line features Matt Annibale, who always seems to be two steps ahead of the play, Joe Giardano (spelling?), who drives to the net hard, and six-footer Scott Kress. 

Pawling/Dover (3-0)

The Tigers opened with wins over Kennedy/PV, Fox Lane and Byram Hills. They should be tested soon against some League 2 teams and John Jay, who it opens with in the Fox Lane tournament. The biggest problem last year was goaltending, but Mike Delavergne, who was second in Section 1 with a 1.58 GAA at K/PV, has transfered back and is joined by junior Dennis Reynolds, who is 2-0 so far. Matt Burdick was second in Section 1 with 45 goals last season (including 7 against E/T/B) — he has quick feet, nice hands, sees the ice well and skates hard. Behind him is great depth in the three front lines, including first-line center Danny Johnson and winger Joe Leonaggeo. The defense is improving, with seniors Chris Delavergne and juniors Corey Vitro and Nico Mussella leading the way.

Somers/North Salem (1-3)

The program asked to move up after graduating just two kids from last year’s team, which went 16-9-1 and finished second in League 4. It started with an impressive win against Mahopac in the White Plains tournament but lost the next two games against Clarkstown North and White Plains, and then fell to Harvey.  Joe Marasco, who led his league in goals (39) and points (64), has phenomenal hands, quickness and a great shot. Other top forwards include Taylor Creazzo, a good skater and shooter who stands 6-foot-3, and 5-8 Jesse Rome who is tenacious and gritty and doesn’t back down from anyone. The team’s second-leading scorer, Steve Aruilio, hasn’t played yet after injuring his shoulder in the first scrimmage, but he could be back next week. The top five defenseman are all solid, with junior Geoffrey Semmens the most consistent so far. James Gorman and Evan Tabachnik are on equal footing in net.

Senior Marc Flory (above, and right) recorded his 100th point last night as Pelham topped Mahopac 5-1 at the Ice Hutch to win its tournament in convincing fashion. Flory had three goals and two assists and finished the tournament with seven goals and three assists, contributing to all 10 of Pelham’s goals. 

Elsewhere, I think we learned that St. Anthony’s will not be the juggernaut everyone expected in the CHSHL. Fordham Prep dropped the school to 0-5 with a 6-1 win yesterday. Brendon Masullo had a hat trick in that one.

Finally, Clarkstown North continued its rampage, defeating Yorktown 7-1. It has now oustcored opponents Monroe-Woodbury, Somers/North Salem, Stepinac, Rye Town/Harrison and Yorktown by a combined 45-10. So here’s the new poll question — will the Rams go undefeated in the regular season? They don’t face Suffern, Mamaroneck, Pelham, Rye or Iona Prep. They do face White Plains, Rye Country Day, E/T/B (twice), North Rockland (twice), Monroe-Woodbury again, and they travel upstate for two games in late January. Add your vote on the right.

And don’t forget to check out the new GameFace poll here to support E/T/B’s Brian McNamara.