High school boys' hockey tournaments will wrap up this weekend and one of the tasty selections on the menu is the SCC Division II tournament. Semifinals start tonight with No. 1 seed Cheshire vs. No. 4 Amity at 5:30 p.m. and No. 2 Lyman Hall vs. No. 3 Branford at 8 p.m., both at the Northford Ice Pavilion in North Branford. The final is Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Northford Ice Pavilion.
This shapes up as an exciting event with a peak at four of the favorites heading into the CIAC Division II tournament that starts next week.
All four teams are strong front to back with high-scoring forwards, 2-4 solid defensemen and quality goalies. Experience is on the side of Amity, Branford and Cheshire.
Amity is the defending champion and last season went on to win the CIAC Division II championship. Cheshire has the most appearances in the final with a title in 1999 and runner-up finishes in 1997, 1998 and 2008. Branford has been runner-up in 1999 and 2007.
The only team in this group that has never advanced to the championship game is Lyman Hall who qualifies for the post season for the first time in two seasons.
The FCIAC, SWC, NHC and CCC South and North will also wrap up their tournaments this weekend.
-Dan Nowak