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.