Suffern takes on Greece Athena/Odyssey, the No. 1 team in the state; Mamaroneck and White Plains meet with second place in League 1 on the line; and Iona Prep is likely in a must-win situation against Stepinac — just some of the highlights from a huge 12-game schedule Saturday.

First, let’s review what happened on Friday. This weekend got off to an incredible start. Robert Caffrey (two goals and two assists) tied the game with a tenth of a second left in regulation, and Nick Belger (two goals, one assist) scored the winner with 1:29 left in overtime as Lakeland/Panas defeated Kennedy/PV 5-4. Sean Sullivan had a hat trick and Luke Martin made 40 saves for K/PV, which came in with a 2-11 record (L/P was 12-4).

Later Friday, Ossining took control of League 3 with a 4-1 win over New Rochelle. Jake Towers had two goals and an assist and Joe Riley made 21 saves. New Rochelle eighth grader Mark Umbro scored less than 24 hours after receiving oxygen because of the carbon monoxide leak. Here’s the full story.

We got three other scores —  Zac Hiller had two goals and one assist and scored in the shootout (along with Jake Jaeger) as Suffern defeated Lancaster 2-1 in a shootout after the game ended in a 3-3 tie. Chris Mastocola had two goals and four assists and Tyler Perrelle had a hat trick as Mahopac defeated John Jay 8-5 to get to .500 in League 1. And Matt Willows had five goals and an assist, Jake Shuman had three goals and four assists, and Chris McIndoe made 20 saves as Clarkstown North shut out Brewster 8-0.

I’ll update this post if more information comes in, but moving on to Saturday:

Suffern will play at 3 p.m., the same time a Sport-O quadrupleheader of Sleepy Hollow/Irvington-Nyack/TZ, Pearl River-Greeley, Clarkstown South-Fox Lane and North Rockland-John Jay starts up. At 6:30, E/T/B plays a rematch with Brewster at the Ice Hutch (the Eagles won 10-5 to start the season), and at WSA there’s a good doubleheader of Ossining-Pawling and Scarsdale-Mount Pleasant. 

At 8:15, I’ll be at Hommocks for Mamaroneck-White Plains, at 8:30 is the big CHSHL game between Iona Prep and Stepinac, (UPDATE: and at 8:50 there’s a League 1 game up at Brewster between Mahopac and Pelham).

Here are some quick predictions: I know nothing about Greece Athena/Odyssey (or Greece Athena Arcadia or Olympia), but I’ll take my chances picking the undefeated No. 1 team in the state. I also like a revenge-minded Mamaroneck to beat White Plains, and Iona Prep, which dearly needs the game, to beat Stepinac. 

Over at Sport-O, I think North Rockland will bounce back against John Jay, Pearl River will beat Greeley again, SH/I dominates Nyack/TZ and Clarkstown South squeeks by Fox Lane. Back in Westchester, Brewster keeps it close but falls again to E/T/B and Ossining keeps the momentum going against Pawling. I realize there hasn’t been an upset yet, so here it goes — a resurgent Mount Pleasant takes out Scarsdale.

Please post your updates here today, along with your thoughts from last night’s games. Feel free to make predictions, but if it’s getting late (after 3 p.m.) make sure you say PREDICTION so no one thinks it’s a real score.

A lot going on in the past 24 hours, from state executive meetings to Section 1 realignment to power rankings to poisonous gas, so if you haven’t checked out the blog lately don’t forget to scroll down. There’s also a lot of teams in action today. 

The doubleheader at the Ice Hutch should be interesting — Ossining-New Rochelle in a battle of one-loss teams in League 3, and ETB-Mount Pleasant, with the Ice Cats coming off their biggest win of the season. The quadruple-header at Brewster is Lakeland/Panas-Kennedy/PV, Brewster-Clarkstown North, Mahopac-John Jay and Carmel-Byram Hills. Yorktown visits Newburgh, a team is beat 3-2 earlier this season, and Suffern is up at Lancaster, a team it beat 4-2 earlier this season. And Fordham Prep (12 points) visits Chaminade (11 points), with the winner putting itself in really good playoff position.

I’ll be at Ossining-New Ro (I have to go back to the office so I can’t stay for ETB-MP, unfortunately). Please post all the scoring updates you have.

Matt Willows had all four goals and Jake Shuman had three assists as Clarkstown North defeated White Plains 4-1, but Tigers coach Howie Rubenstein gave the No. 1 star to someone else after yesterday’s game. You can read about it here. Also, today’s notebook has a note on Ossining, which has a big weekend ahead — New Rochelle tonight and Pawling tomorrow. 

Speaking of the Ossining-New Rochelle game, it should be on as scheduled, 6 p.m. at the Ice Hutch, after the rink was evacuated last night for a carbon monoxide leak that sent one New Rochelle hockey player to the hospital.

Workers were completing repairs this morning on a heater that malfunctioned and sent carbon monoxide into rink as practice was winding down. Michael Jellen, 15, from New Rochelle had a headache on the ice and took some oxygen from firefighters who arrived about 8:20 p.m. after people reported a noxious odor.

His father took him to Lawrence Hospital Center in Bronxville for a blood test. The youth was feeling better this morning and plans to play tonight. His father, also Michael, wants assurances that the rink will be safe. The city’s Building Department and Fire Department will monitor the repairs and test the air to be sure it’s clean, Deputy Fire Chief Michael Corrado said.

The youth’s father also wanted an apology from a rink official who told the kid as he was inhaling oxygen that the official didn’t know what the problem was because the rink was well ventilated. Rink manager Ed Witz this morning said he didn’t know who made the comment but apologized for it, saying it was “uncalled for.”

In addition to shutting off all the heaters last night and allowing the outside air to ventilate the bubble, fire officials asked the Ice Hutch management to contact people who had used the rink earlier in the day to make sure they had not fallen ill from the carbon monoxide exposure.

The top five didn’t change, but the next five did

1. Mamaroneck (13-2-1): Goalie Luke Glaser has given up just 11 goals in his last 10 games, including back-to-back shutouts over Cortland and Pelham. 

2. Suffern (13-2-1): The Mounties bounced back from their first league loss in a big way, defeated Rye Town/Harrison 10-0 and Monroe-Woodbury 3-1. 

3. Clarkstown North (16-0-1): The Rams have one game left against a League 1 team — they face Suffern on Feb. 13. 

4. Pelham (11-6): The top line of Marc Flory, Andrew Emerson and Mike Mamone have scored 51 of the Pelicans’ 58 goals.

5. Stepinac (10-8-1): Stepinac is in the best position of any team in the CHSHL — it has the most games left (three) and the most points (15). The Crusaders (7-4-1) are two points ahead of Iona Prep (6-7-1) and three ahead of Fordham Prep (6-7).

6. Eastchester/Tuckahoe/Bronxville (5-2): At full strength, they’re a real sleeper pick in Division I.

7. White Plains (9-6-2): Next five games all against top 10 teams: Mamaroneck, Pelham, Suffern, Rye and Scarsdale.

8. Scarsdale (10-4-1): I wish they didn’t lose to John Jay, but still have to give them credit for recent winning streak.

9. North Rockland (9-4-1): Loss to Mount Pleasant was a shocker, and now two straight league losses have them in a three-way tie for third in League 2.

t10. Rye (7-8): Could get above .500 in League 1 with a win over RTH Monday.

Here are the new geography-based conferences for Section 1 next year. It’s for all sports but football (which will continue to be based on school size). I took out all the non-hockey schools. Interestingly, Somers is in Conference III and North Salem is in Conference I, but I put them in III since Somers is the host school and it evens out the conferences.

Conference I (8 teams): Yorktown, Lakeland/Panas, Carmel, Mahopac, Kennedy/Putnam Valley, Pawling/Dover, Brewster, Ossining

Conference II (7 teams): White Plains, Scarsdale, Mamaroneck, New Rochelle, Sleepy Hollow/Irvington, Pelham, E/T/B

Conference III (8 teams): Greeley, Fox Lane, John Jay, Somers/North Salem, Byram Hills, Rye Town/Harrison, Rye, Mount Pleasant

Conference IV (6 teams): Clarkstown North, Clarkstown South, Nyack/Tappan Zee, North Rockland, Pearl River, Suffern

I spoke to Section 1 chairman John Orlando about this. First of all, he was as concerned as everyone else. He’s seen the section grow from 13 to 29 teams, and thought a big reason is that new teams could join a developmental league and not be afraid of getting blown out all the time.

He did recommend a few options to the ADs who will approve next year’s leagues. His initial suggestion was splitting up Conference III and creating a Northern league (with Greeley, Fox Lane, John Jay, Somers/NS and other schools who play out of Brewster), a Southern league (with schools like Rye and RTH moving down) and a Rockland league. That way, within the Northern and Southern leagues at least you could have an A league (like Mahopac, John Jay, Brewster, etc.) and a B league (Carmel, Kennedy/PV, Greeley, etc.). But he was told that scheduling “cross-conference” like that was not an option, so if I had to guess, I would say that the new conferences will act as the new leagues next season.

I think all the traditional matchups can still take place. If each team only had to play their league opponents once, then a team like Suffern will have five league games (yes, including Pearl River and Nyack/TZ) and then 15 non-league games, where it can schedule Mamaroneck, Pelham, Rye, go upstate, etc. But that would probably be up to each school district on how they can schedule non-league games. 

In any case, if anyone is concerned I would start by talking to your athletic directors. They voted to approve the new alignments 59-16, and they will ultimately be responsible for creating the leagues for next year.

We’re going to be trying out our new technology today at the Clarkstown North-White Plains game, which is scheduled to start at 5:15. You can watch it live by clicking here.

We’ve never done this at Ebersole, and honestly I have no idea how it will look if we have to shoot through the glass. But we’re going to give it a shot. Feel free to leave your honest feedback in the comments section. If the sound is working, I will give a scoring summary after each period.

Later tonight I’ll post the new conference alignments for Section 1 (which hockey will have to use to craft leagues for next year), and after that I’ll have the updated power rankings.

The NYSPHSAA executive committee is discussing 13 cost-cutting measures at a meeting today-Saturday up in Binghamton.

The biggest one in my opinion, reducing the number of regular-season games from 24 to 20, has already been adopted by Section 1 on its own. But there are some others — supporting a moratorium on the expansion of the state tournament (which means not going to three divisions), using host officials for regionals (state quarterfinals), using centralized sites for the state tournament (which means it stays in Utica), and establishing a maximum of two scrimmages for varsity team and one for modified teams.

You can all 13 proposals by reading my story. The article also points out that new geography-based league alignments passed by a vote of 59-16 (in other words: don’t worry about if Clarkstown North is scheduled to move up to League 1. There will be no more League 1. There will be a Rockland league, a Southern Westchester league, a Northern Westchester/Putnam league, etc. Maybe there will be mini-leagues within those conferences, but there will no longer be a power league with the top eight teams).

I hope to get the new alignments later today. We’re still a long way away from figuring out what the leagues will look like next year, or how teams will qualify for playoffs or be seeded, but I’ll stay on top of it and let you know as soon as I do.

Both the Rye-Rye Town/Harrison game and the North Rockland-Yorktown game have been cancelled because of snow. No word yet on a makeup date. Looks like I’ll be watching Duke-Wake instead.

Hopefully the roads will be cleared tonight and I’ll be at White Plains-Clarkstown North tomorrow at Ebersole — which is looking like a sectional quarterfinal preview. White Plains has been doing just enough to win recently, and they’re still chugging along in second place in League 1. Meanwhile Clarkstown North is looking a little vulnerable. I like the Rams to win 6-3, but nothing would shock me at this point.

I spent time on tonight’s show talking about how unpredictable this season has been, but even I didn’t anticipate Mount Pleasant beating North Rockland 1-0, as apparently happened Tuesday night. Just to recap: Mount Pleasant’s only win since November was against Greeley (and it was by 1, and it was outshot). The Ice Cats have lost to teams from all four leagues. They are the only team from League 2 who probably won’t make the playoffs. Meanwhile, North Rockland tied Clarkstown North, beat E/T/B and lost to Scarsdale in overtime. All I can say is Wow, and congratulations to Mount Pleasant. It’s a little late for me to call the coach, so can anyone provide more details?

The other game last night went a little more according to plan. John Felix had three goals and two assists and Matt Oliviero had two goals and two assists to lead Scarsdale to a 5-3 win over Yorktown at the Ice Hutch. Joey Bonitatibus scored two goals for the ‘Huskers. The Raiders are now solidly in second place in League 2 at 4-1, ahead of E/T/B (2-2), Brewster (2-2-1) and North Rockland (2-2-1).

There’s two games scheduled for Wednesday. If they actually get played, I’m really interested to see how North Rockland will bounce back against Yorktown, and Rye Town/Harrison and its reconfigured lines get a chance to knock off rival Rye at Playland.

Also, the new state rankings came out, and it looks like I’m not the only one having trouble separating the big three in Division I. Suffern, Clarkstown North and Mamaroneck are ranked 7-9. By beating Suffern and losing to Mamaroneck, Pelham stays at 4. One other note: it’s too bad our Division I champ has to play Section 10. Undefeated Potsdam is currently third and Massena is sixth, meaning five of the top 10 large-school teams are in the same quarter. Over in Division II, Queensbury is second and Glens Falls is sixth.

Watch Varsity Central Live with Mamaroneck coach Mike Chiapparelli and Pelham coach Ed Witz tonight at 7:30 by clicking here. By my calculations, Chiap (315 wins) and Witz (310) are two of the THREE winningest active hockey coaches in New York, behind only Bill Plante of Salmon River (553) and Bob Rosen of Williamsville North (322). And here’s a connection you might not be aware of — Witz actually coached Mamaroneck’s JV baseball team when Chiap was the varsity coach.

Also, this is far away but I just found out that the next game we will broadcast live will be Suffern-White Plains from Ebersole on Feb. 5. I’ll post a reminder next week.

I’m obviously here in the office tonight, so any updates from Scarsdale-Yorktown or North Rockland-Mount Pleasant would be appreciated.

Rye Town/Harrison almost picked up a huge victory last night, but White Plains scored twice in the third period to come away with a 4-3 win at Playland. Ryan McGee of WP and Adam Urban of RTH each had a goal and two assists. White Plains stays in the League 1 race, but now must face Section 1’s four state-ranked team all in a row — Clarkstown North, Mamaroneck, Pelham, Suffern — in an eight-day span that begins Thursday.

There’s two games tomorrow, both from League 2 — Scarsdale-Yorktown and North Rockland-Mount Pleasant. As you can see from the previous post, if MP is going to make a playoff push, it needs to begin now, while both Scarsdale and North Rockland could both end up seeded anywhere from 6-9.

Inspired by this past weekend, here’s a question for everyone — who would win a LoHud Skills Competition? The events are fastest skater, hardest shot, most accurate shot and best breakaway. I have my answers but I’ll let everyone weigh in first.

Also, Matt Moran of North Rockland is in the running for this week’s Gameface, and tune into Varsity Central Live tonight at 7:30.

Here’s a second look at the projected playoff seedings. Remember, it’s all the teams in League 1 (by league record), followed by teams in Leagues 2, 3 and 4 that meet the qualifying standard. I’m keeping Carmel and Byram Hills in for now, but if the season ended today, there would be 12 teams in Division I (seeds 1-4 get a bye in the first round) and nine teams in Division II (seeds 1-7 get a bye).

Division I

1. Suffern (8-1-1): Remaining league games are @WP, @Mp, @JJ, Mk

2. Mamaroneck (6-2-1) or White Plains (6-2): White Plains won first game head to head. Rematch is Saturday. Both teams would still win league title if they win out.

3. White Plains or Mamaroneck: The spot no one wants to be in, with CN looming in the quarterfinals.

4. Mahopac (3-4): Already beat RTH twice this season (once was in a tournament). 

5. Rye Town/Harrison (1-6-1): Needs to beat Mahopac on Feb. 9 and pull at least one upset against WP, Rye, Mk, or Pelham to have a chance for fourth seed.

6. Clarkstown North (6-0-1): Already beat Scarsdale and ETB, tied NRk. Plays them all again between Feb. 7-14.

7. Scarsdale (3-1): Beat North Rockland in OT Friday night. 

8. North Rockland (2-1-1): Beat ETB in December.

9. E/T/B (2-2): Still plenty of time to get to No. 7 seed. Hasn’t even played Scarsdale yet.

(Mount Pleasant 2-10 overall, 1-5 in league is currently out)

10. New Rochelle (8-1-1): Will either be the 9 or 10 seed, depending on whether MP qualifies.

(Clarkstown South 4-12-1, 3-8-1 is currently out)

11. Sleepy Hollow/Irvington (7-1-1): Already beat L/P once this season. Unless MP or CS qualify, its reward for winning League 4 is a first-round game at the League 2 winner (likely Clarkstown North).

12. Lakeland/Panas (9-3): Should like where it stands, with a potential first round match against RTH. Next game is Carmel on Sunday.

13. Carmel (6-7-1, 6-8-1 overall): The Rams have five games left, all league games against Byram, N/TZ, Paw, CS and Oss. With 19 games on its schedule, it needs 18 points. Unless it upsets Paw or Oss, it needs to beat N/TZ and go 2-0 or 1-0-1 against South and Byram. 

(Nyack/TZ 5-10, 3-7 is currently out)

Division II

1. Pelham (5-4): Five remaining league games are @Mp, WP, @Rye, RTH and Mp).

2. Rye (4-4): Beat Pelham on Jan. 13, so it still controls its own destiny. Not sure if the No. 2 seed is better this year.

3. John Jay (0-10-1): Locked into this seed. Will play League 3 winner if Brewster qualifies.

4. Brewster (2-2-1, 5-8-1 overall): The Bears aren’t out of the woods yet. With a current 23-game schedule it needs 17 points, which means just three more wins (or two wins and two ties) in nine games. But check out the remaining schedule: two games each against Clarkstown North and Scarsdale, and then White Plains, E/T/B, Pawling, Mount Pleasant and Newburgh. It could come down to the wire between the fourth seed and being knocked out entirely.

5. Yorktown (1-6-1): Still safe with 7-8-1 overall record. Has a 24-game schedule, so it needs just two more points to make the playoffs (I’m looking at Harvey on Feb. 4).

6. Ossining (9-1-1): Tied Pawling and beat S/NS. Two game lead with eight to play.

7. Somers/North Salem (8-3) or Pawling (8-3-2): S/NS beat Pawling 7-2 earlier this month. Next weekend (New Ro and Ossining) could move them to 6th or drop them to 8th.

8. Pawling (8-3-2) or S/NS: Pawling’s current two game losing streak could mean facing Pelham or Rye in the first round instead of John Jay.

9. Byram Hills (4-8, 5-8 overall): The Bobcats have five games left, so they need 15 points. That means they need to go 2-2-1 with a remaining schedule of Carmel, PR, New Ro, S/NS and L/P. Winning its next two games would be a huge help.

(Fox Lane 3-11, 2-8 is currently out)

10. Pearl River (5-5-1, 6-7-1 overall): Currently in by the slimmest possible margin. With seven league games left, they need 19 points in 21 games, which means 3-4 or 2-3-2 against HG, N/TZ, L/P, Byram, K/PV, SH/I and S/NS. Beat the bottom three teams in League 4 and the Pirates are in.

(Greeley 4-12, 3-11 is currently out)

(Kennedy/PV 2-11, 2-11 currently out)

Here is what teams that are currently out need to do to make the playoffs. (Note: This is based on the teams’ most recent schedule. The math will obviously change if someone schedules O’Neill twice in February).

Mount Pleasant needs an overall winning percentage of 35. RIght now, it has 19 games on the schedule, which means it needs 14 points to qualify. So it needs to go 5-2 or 4-1-2 in its last seven games, which include two games each against North Rockland and Scarsdale).

Clarkstown South needs an overall winning percentage of 40 and has 24 games on the schedule, which means it needs 20 points. So it needs to be 5-1-1 or better in its last seven games, which includes Pawling, New Ro and Lakeland/Panas.

Nyack/TZ needs an overall winning percentage of 45 and has 24 games on the schedule, which means 22 points. It needs 12 points in its last nine games (6-3 or 5-2-2). Remaining games include SH/I, Pawling and Ossining.

Fox Lane needs an overall winning percentage of 40 and has 20 games on the schedule, which means 16 points. So it needs to go 5-1 or 4-0-2. Toughest remaining opponents are SH/I and Ossining.

Greeley needs an overall winning percentage of 45 and has 23 games on the schedule, which means 21 points. So it needs to finish 6-0-1. If it adds a 24th game, it would need 22 points (7-1).

Kennedy/PV is mathematically eliminated. It needed 18 points in 19 games, which is now impossible.

Entering last night, Fordham Prep was in last place and Iona Prep just needed to win to clinch a playoff spot (and climb into a tie for first). After the Rams’ 6-2 win, its Fordham Prep that’s in good playoff positioning while Iona Prep may not even have a chance to defend its title.

It’s been that kind of year in the CHSHL, where the standings change after each game, and last night was no different. Fordham Prep moved from sixth to fourth with 12 points and two games left against Chaminade (11 points), while Iona (13 points) is still in third but has just one game left. Here’s the article from the game.

It was a great performance from Fordham Prep, who was coming off a 4-0 loss on Saturday night to St. Anthony’s. Michael Spillane scored on a breakaway five minutes in and a 2-on-1 four minutes later to make it 2-0. Alex Lopez scored and then set up the second goal to tie it early in the second period, but Anthony McGuinness scored twice in the final four minutes of the second period to regain the lead. 

Fordham Prep scored again on the power play early in the third, and in the process of spending 9 of the last 10 minutes shorthanded (thanks to a five-minute major for highsticking, a minor for high sticking and a double minor for roughing), the Spillane completed his hat trick with an empty-netter. 

It was a huge team effort for the Rams and sophomore R.J. Fusco (27 saves), who may have gotten Iona Prep back for its playoff sweep last year by knocking them out this year. The Gaels need to beat Stepinac in the finale next weekend, and even then they’ll need some help to grab one of the four playoff spots.

There were some other noteworthy performances last night. Joe Marasco (one goal, three assists) recorded his 200th varsity point in Somers/North Salem’s 6-1 win over Fox Lane. I’m guessing he’s only the second active player to reach that mark (Matt Willows would be the first) — can anyone verify that? That was also S/NS’s seventh straight win, a streak matched by Ossining, who beat Clarkstown South 4-0. Matt Annibale (2-2) had a hand in all four goals and the O posted its second shutout in two days. 

We had one other score reported to us — Eric (four) and Ryan Basmajian combined for six goals as Byram Hills beat Kennedy/PV 7-4. Someone also posted that John Jay beat Scarsdale 4-1, snapping the Raiders eight-game unbeaten streak. If true, this is the best win of the season for the Indians, so congrats to them. Maybe projections of a quarterfinal upset to a League 3 team are premature? Or was that game just a fluke?

There’s only one game in Section 1 tomorrow, Rye Town/Harrison-White Plains. I’ll post some updated seeding projections around noon, and then Tuesday we’ll have Ed WItz and Mike Chiapparelli on Varsity Central Live. A reminder that any players interested in writing a player blog should e-mail me at hgutmann@lohud.com. Thanks for the almost 300 comments this weekend, please keep them coming.

Everyone expects solid, defensive hockey from teams like Suffern and Rye. But Mamaroneck’s defense shouldn’t be ignored either. Taking out the RTH game (starter Luke Glaser didn’t play), the Tigers have given up just 11 goals during its 11 game unbeaten streak, and are starting to look more and more like a defensive-minded team, keeping a man high during last night’s game against Pelham and limiting odd-man rushes ( my article has a quote from Chap that I’m sure Suffern fans will be interested to read). Glaser is incredibly focused and doesn’t give up bad rebounds, and of course he has some stellar defenseman in front of him (and Robbie Gardiner is set to return next week, giving the Tigers three solid D lines).

Of course, the Tigers also showed some things we’ve come to expect — depth (goals produced by all three lines and the power play unit) and a spirited student section, which borrowed the “white-out” theme for last night’s game. The Tigers scored in the first three minutes of all three periods and won 4-0. Final shots were 41-23. Incidentally I have no idea why there was no audio on the live broadcast (I wish someone told me while I was talking between periods) or why it was choppier than last time. I will try and find out though.

Anyway, Mamaroneck stays a game behind Suffern, while Pelham stays a game ahead of Rye. Also, I’m ready to announce our next guests for Tuesday’s Varsity Central Live — our two 300-game winners, Ed Witz and Mike Chiapparelli. This is your chance to question the two winningest coaches in our area, so start thinking now.

Glaser wasn’t the only goalie to post a shutout. Chris McIndoe made 21 saves as Clarkstown North beat Saranac Lake 8-0 (Matt Willows: 4 goals, 2 assists); Greg Bardwell made 13 saves as Ossining beat Byram Hills 7-0 and Nick Chiapparino had 20 saves as Lakeland/Panas beat Carmel 5-0. 

I have four more scores to report, including a surprise and a thriller. Pearl River, who started the day outside the playoffs, beat Pawling 6-4. Tim Conway scored four times for the Pirates, who trailed 2-0 after one. A great win for PR, and also good news for Ossining and New Rochelle, who are now two clear of Pawling in the loss column in League 3.

(update, 11:35 a.m.) The thriller was Stepinac-Chaminade. Stepinac’s Shaun Hanlon had a hat trick, including the tying goal with one second left. Chaminade scored to pull ahead 4-3 with 13 seconds left. Mike Lanaro had 49 saves for the Crusaders and Rocco Miano set up all four goals.

Two other scores from last night: Suffern scored twice in the first and beat Monroe-Woodbury 3-1 and RCDS fell to Kents Hill 5-1.

I’ll be at the Ice Hutch tonight for Iona Prep-Fordham Prep. The Brewster tripleheader today is Byram Hills-Kennedy/PV, Fox Lane-Somers/NS and John Jay-Scarsdale. Also Clarkstown South hosts Ossining and Mahopac travels to Monroe-Woodbury. In the meantime I’d love to hear your thoughts on anything that happened last night or will happen today.

Once again, here’s the link for tonight’s Pelham-Mamaroneck game, which if the past is any indication will probably start between 8:15-8:25 at Hommocks.

Pearl River-Pawling is already over and Clarkstown North should be wrapping up at Saranac Lake, but here’s tonight’s schedule:

Starting with the Catholic league, chsaaguy has the scoop on the previous post, but all six A division teams are facing each other. Depending on what happens, Stepinac (14), Iona (13) or Farrell (13) could be in first after tonight, while Chaminade (10), Fordham (10) or St. Anthony’s (9) could be in the fourth playoff spot (or in dead last). There’s definitely some wide-open leagues in Section 1, but it’s nothing like the CHSHL, where every team has at least five wins and four losses through 11 games. The matchups are Stepinac-Chaminade, Fordham-SA and Iona-Farrell.

In Section 1, Suffern has it’s annual game with Monroe-Woodbury, who is having a down year this year (Mamaroneck beat them 6-1) but still has some talent. Ossining, which hasn’t lost since Nov. 29, faces Byram Hills, who shocked New Ro already this season — can it pull off another upset? Mount Pleasant’s one League 2 win came against Yorktown — now can the ‘Huskers get its first league win in the rematch? Also on the schedule is Sleepy Hollow/Irvington-Clarkstown South and Lakeland/Panas-Carmel. Although I wouldn’t expect it, the League 4 race could tighten up if the Vikings and Rebels win.

I hope everyone enjoys the games tonight, either live or online (and posts an update when they get back).

Eastchester/Tuckahoe/Bronxville has never had trouble scoring, but it’s defense hasn’t been as productive this season. That changed yesterday, when the Eagles scored six goals in the first 20 minutes, but also held New Rochelle to just 16 shots in the game in a 7-1 win at the Ice Hutch. Here are more details.

The Alex Hagen-Ronny Sherding-Mark Luciano line has been great all season and Mike Ciotti is one of the top defenseman in the league (if not the section), but it’s the younger players who have stepped up recently. Does any team have more freshman contributors? The Eagles started three defensemen — Luciano, goalie Will Ruppel and defensemen Frank Sherding — and James McNamara also played great on D and scored his first goal in place of his brother Brian, who is probably out for the season with a broken rib.

In other games, Scarsdale kept its streak going and moved to second in League 2 by defeating North Rockland in overtime; Mike Miller had three goals and two assists as Brewster finally got past Yorktown 7-2; Bryan Bergstol, Willy Baker and Mike Gorton all scored their first varsity goals in Suffern’s 10-0 win over Rye Town/Harrison; Samantha Kuntz also scored her first goal in Somers/North Salem’s 8-1 win over Kennedy/PV; Jake Shuman scored three times as Clarkstown North defeated Northeast Clinton 5-2; Fordham Prep moved back into playoff position with a 6-4 win over Farrell; Carmel edged Greeley for the second time this season, 2-1; and White Plains stayed in second place in League 1 with a 7-4 win over John Jay.

Another huge day today, with 10 games. If I have time I’ll be back with some previews, but in the meantime please post whatever updates you have. I’ll be at Mamaroneck-Pelham, which will be viewed live by clicking here.(The web site is lohud.com/vcsports4 if the link isn’t working.) I’ll try and jump on between periods to give a scoring summary, and I’ll ask the videographer to show the scoreboard during breaks. I think Mamaroneck needs the game more, matches up well and comes out with a 3-1 win.

Also, congratulations to North Rockland’s Sean O’Connor, this week’s Rockland Scholar-Athlete.

In a game that should concern potential first-round opponents Mahopac, RTH or Clarkstown North, Sleepy Hollow/Irvington tied White Plains 2-2 yesterday. Craig Halpin and Brad Pesce each had a goal and an assist and Dylan Lacey made 34 saves. The Legends beat a League 1 team last year (CN) and certainly look like they have the potential to pull another upset out of League 4 again this year. 

In yesterday’s other matchup, the offense for Somers/NS continued to roll (27 goals on 3 games) in a 9-6 win over Clarkstown South. Joe Marasco had three goals and three assists for S/NS and Eric Jacobs scored four times for the Vikings.

There was some more hockey in the newspaper today, including a feature on Clarkstown North senior forward Matt Willows, who has an unusual hobby, and the notebook, which recaps the power rankings and gives a reason for Lakeland/Panas’ hot streak.

We have nine games involving locals today. I’ll be at E/T/B-New Ro (though I certainly hope to stick around for Scarsdale-North Rockland as well). Like I said in the previous post, the Eagles-Huguenots game features what could be the top junior (ETB’s Alex Hagen) and top sophomore (NR’s Richie Prunesti) in the section. While Scarsdale — whose shootout loss to Fieldston is officially going down as a tie, according to the league office, since it never should have happened in the first place — puts its seven-game unbeaten streak on the line against North Rockland, who just tied CN. 

There’s also some great action at Brewster. Yorktown-Brewster has become one of my favorite rivalries recently — the three games last year were all decided by 1 goal, and the first meeting this year was a tie. Also at Brewster, S/NS looks to keep pouring in goals against Kennedy/PV, while John Jay gets another chance for a league win against White Plains, who it took to overtime a few weeks ago. The night ends with Carmel-Greeley, which also went to overtime in the first meeting.

Over in Rockland, Suffern looks to bounce back from its first league loss against RTH, and Clarkstown North goes upstate to face Northeast Clinton. And down in the city, Fordham Prep tries to get back in the playoff picture against Farrell, who is currently tied for second with Iona Prep.

All in all should be a great night of hockey. I’ll take E/T/B 6-5, North Rockland 4-3 and Brewster 3-2. I also like Somers/NS, White Plains, Carmel, Suffern, Clarkstown North and Farrell. 

Someone asked what other games we’re covering this weekend. The answer is Mamaroneck-Pelham on Saturday and Iona Prep-Fordham Prep on Sunday. We will also be broadcasting the Mamaroneck-Pelham game live on Lohud.com, and I will pass along the exact address when I get it.

Each week, Nos. 1-4 have been easy, and 5-10 have been hard. Today it was the opposite. Like Mountie Style said in a previous comment, you can go around in circles using common opponents or head-to-heads. So here was my criteria this week: at this very minute, what team do I think is the best?

1. Mamaroneck (12-2-1): Sure it plays a defensive system, but Suffern has had trouble scoring lately. Conversely, Clarkstown North has struggled on the defensive end, though the team has been more focused recently. Maybe it’s not dominant in any one aspect, but the Tigers seem to have the best mix of goaltending, defense, offense, special teams, depth and experience (they are the defending sectional champs).

2. Suffern (11-2-1): The Mounties stay ahead of the Rams for now. Sure the Rams beat Pelham, but so did Suffern the first time. And Suffern beat North Rockland 5-0.

3. Clarkstown North (13-0-1): Despite a League 2 schedule, the Rams do have some quality wins, including Pelham (without one of the big three), Stepinac, Eastchester/Tuckahoe/Bronxville and Scarsdale, which has since gone on a six-game win streak. I also realize it’s odd for a team to drop a spot without losing — and in fact, after getting its biggest win of the season. But would Clarkstown North still be undefeated if it played a League 1 schedule?

4. Pelham (11-5): No matter what happens tomorrow against Mamaroneck, it will get through a brutal four-game stretch (Rye, Clarkstown North, Suffern, Mamaroneck) still on pace for the No. 1 seed in the Division II playoffs.

5. Stepinac (10-8): The Crusaders are in first place in the CHSHL with a 7-4 record, one point ahead of Iona Prep (6-5-1) and Farrell (6-4-1), with four games to play.

6. Iona Prep (11-6-1): Can really hurt rival Fordham Prep’s playoff chances if it wins on Sunday.

7. North Rockland (8-2-1): Showed a lot of people it can play with a tie against Clarkstown North. But now it needs to beat Scarsdale on Friday or it will drop from a first-place tie to third in League 2.

8. Eastchester/Tuckahoe/Bronxville (4-2): Great game tomorrow against New Rochelle, matching up perhaps the top junior in the section (Alex Hagen) against the top sophomore (Richie Prunesti).

9. Rye (7-8): Can get back over .500 if it sweeps Rye Town/Harrison next week (it is still called a home-and-home if the teams play at the same rink?).

10. White Plains (7-5-2): Have lost momentum since its two-week holiday layoff (loss to Fordham Prep, OT against John Jay, loss to E/T/B and tie against SH/I).

Next up: New Rochelle (10-1-1), Scarsdale (8-3-1), Pawling (11-2-2), Sleepy Hollow/Irvington (7-1-2), Mahopac (5-11), Ossining (10-1-1).

Welcome to a new feature on the blog — player/writers. Our first guest is Nyack/Tappan Zee starting goalie Nick Kydon. I asked him to write about League 4, since I’ll be the first to admit that lower leagues can get lost in the shuffle. I’m sure that happens in every sports blog, but that doesn’t mean we can’t start to rectify that. If any other players would like to be the next guest blogger (especially someone from League 3), please e-mail me at hgutmann@lohud.com.

League 4 may not get that much press coverage, but don’t leave them out of the conversation. They may be one of the hardest working leagues out of every league. Every team plays with a passion and comes wanting to win every game. What makes League 4 so interesting is the balance of skill in their teams. They have kids who stand out a lot because of their skill, but also have kids who stand out a lot because of there hard work. Whether your goaltending or skating every kid in League 4 gives 110 percent every game and leaves everything on the ice. I’ve gotten the chance to play in net against just about every League 4 team this season.

Pearl River- The Pirates are one of the hardest working teams in League 4. They have great skaters who handle the puck well, as well as having a good forecheck. They win every battle in the corner and crash hard to the net and never stop playing until they hear a whistle (and even after the whistle they still might throw in a few pushes). They are also a very physical team. One thing I’ve learned from this team is to never make a simple little mistake against them, because they will capitalize on it and find a way to put it in the net. Also one thing that you can’t do with them is chase them around. They have great teamwork and passing skills. They aren’t selfish at all and always look to find a teammate open, waiting for a pass. They use their point men very well and their point men are not afraid to take shots from there. This team is looking to make a run for it this half of the season.

Horace Greeley-Don’t let Greeley’s record mislead you about the team. They are currently going through a rebuilding year (believe me it isn’t fun. I’ve been through that) but they have excellent players who aren’t afraid to stick handle. They also have decent size on their team. This comes to their advantage when going into the corner and winning the one on one battles. They have very good puck movement as well and some kids who know how to shoot. This team is young, but talented.

Sleepy Hollow/Irvington- One of the only teams who were left undefeated in the section until recently. No offense to anyone else in this league but coming from a goaltenders eyes, I’d say they are the most talented team in the league. They have talent in all grade levels that are on the team. They come to the rink and have one goal and that is: get the puck in the net at all costs. They win the battles in the corner (which in my opinion can be the difference maker of a game) have precision passing and shooting. Their shooters look for a weakness or open part of the net, no matter how small it is, and find a way to put it past the goalie. Their defensemen will take shots from the point and the forwards will crash the net hard and put it in the net. They are also one of the fastest teams in the league. They have great team chemistry, the pass well, shoot well and communicate well. They do just about everything right. Whoever comes up against them, no matter what league, I’d come to the game expecting a dog fight.

Lakeland/Panas-Well, I learned one thing about this team the hard way. When you see the players walking around and see that they may not be the biggest team in the league, don’t walk in thinking they won’t give you a definite run for your money. They come out hard every single game and want to win. Though they may be one of the smaller teams (size wise) they are very fast. I’d say probably the fastest team in the league. They are also a scrappy team and aren’t afraid to go after some of the huge kids on the opposing team. This team is a team to be careful for and not think that because they are small they aren’t good.

Kennedy/Putnam Valley-This team is very young and doesn’t have the biggest bench either. I just got back from a game with them (1/21/09) and won 3 to 1. I didn’t play this game as I had the night off, but it helped me get a better look at what they have to offer. This team is on the rise. From the looks of it they are going through a rebuilding stage (I hope I didn’t offend anyone by saying that, as I’m going through the same thing with my team). They do have kids who have a lot to offer. I’m not sure of names at the exact moment. I know I’ve said this about every single team but they come to play and play hard till the final buzzer. For the youth of the team they have good puck movement. They protect their goalie and have each others back. If something cheap is done they get that kid back by laying a big heat on him. Their goaltending is absolutely amazing (sorry again for not knowing names). Give this team a couple years and they can run away with the league.

Carmel- Sorry if some of this doesn’t make sense as I played them early in the season, and this might be a shorter review as I can not remember exactly what they were like. I do remember though they are a physcial team and come out very hard. They are also very fast and have some snipers on the team who place the puck in a small space and put it behind your goaltender. Once again if I can recall they were not the biggest team size wise but were talented. They have a goaltender who does everything in his power to stop every shot. This team is on the rise and has great things coming towards them.

There’s my review of every team in league 4. I didn’t write up a review on our team as I didn’t want anyone to think I was full of my team. If I offended any team or player from any team it was not intended whatsoever. If I did please feel free to contact me at my email vivalamosh31@aol.com. I wish the best of luck to every team in league 4, as well as every other team. Good luck.

North Rockland hasn’t gotten much respect this season. Even when I ranked them No. 6 in the latest power rankings, I didn’t think they could make a run for the League 2 title, let alone upset one of the top teams in the section.

But they almost pulled off a stunner last night. Alex Nestle made 48 saves and North Rockland jumped out to a 2-0 lead against the section’s last undefeated team (and one of the last four in the state I believe), but Matt Willows scored with 2:06 left in regulation and the game ended 2-2.

There wasn’t a big secret to how North Rockland held Willows and Jake Shuman, the section’s two leading scorers, in check (though its easier said than done obviousy). It kept a three players back, matched up its top defensive pair (Craig Meany and James Eberhardt), didn’t allow a breakaway, didn’t give up juicy rebounds and didn’t commit turnovers in its own end. Except for when it committed two penalties on Shuman in 45 seconds, setting up the Rams first goal, and gave the puck away to Willows with two minutes left, who tied the game.

It also was able to play a defensive-minded game by grabbing the early lead. After the Rams had too many men on the ice just two minutes into the game, Meany scored a slap shot from the point. Five minutes later, Sean O’Connor was alone in the crease and scored off a teammate’s shot.

Willows and Shuman, by the way, played the final 17 minutes straight (and I think Willows was on the ice for 25 of the final 26 minutes). A lot of people have handing the Rams the league title and an undefeated regular season, assuming its a given that Matt Willows will break the state scoring record, etc. That could still happen, but this is a wake-up call. On the other hand, the Rams did record 50 shots and had countless others blocked, and they’re still undefeated.

Here’s the link to the article. Around the area, Tyler Perrelle and Chris Mastrocola had two goals and an assist as Mahopac beat RTH 5-0 in a potential DI quarterfinal; Tom Nolan had two goals and an assist as Iona Prep topped Chaminade 4-2 to move into a tie for second place in the CHSHL; Cole Kleinberg scored twice as RCDS snuck by Harvey 4-3; and Mike McGivney scored two of his three goals in the third period, breaking a 1-1 tie as Nyack/TZ picked up a nice win over Kennedy/PV, 3-1. The comments section had Rye beating John Jay, but nothing official on that, and I haven’t seen a score for Scarsdale-Fieldston.

Things calm down a little bit today with only two (UPDATE: THREE) games — Nyack/TZ-O’Neil and Somers/North Salem-Clarkstown South AND SH/IRV-WHITE PLAINS — before another huge weekend, with great matchups like Mamaroneck-Pelham, Yorktown-Brewster, New Ro-E/T/B, Scarsdale-North Rockland, Iona Prep-Fordham Prep and Suffern-M/W.

Stay tuned later today for a special new feature on the blog. Late tonight I’ll also post the new Top 10, and look ahead to the weekend.