SCC DIVISION I CHAMPIONSHIP

No. 1 Fairfield Prep (19-1) vs. No. 2 Notre Dame-West Haven (15-4-1)

WHEN: Wednesday, 8 p.m.

WHERE: Quinnipiac’s High Solutions Arena, Hamden

ON THE AIR: The game will be broadcast live at CPTV Sports and on WELI-960, 960WELI.com, iheart radio.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR: The two best teams in the state face off for the third time this season. Both teams are strong in every phase of the game.

The Jesuits have depth at goalie with Matt Beck, Chris Gutierrez and Jack Taubl with Beck likely to start tonight. The on-ice defense is led by Sean Henry, Kevin Brown and Andrew Hatton. There is a long list of quick, high-scoring forwards led by David White (19 goals, 24 assists), Connor Henry (15 goals, 18 assists), Nick Bargiello (eight goals, 19 assists), Matt Wikman (14 goals, 10 assists) and Dean Lockery of New Haven (11 goals, 11 assists). Notre Dame-West Haven is led between the pipes by Luc Amatruda of North Haven and Paul Sliwinski of Guilford with Amatruda the likely starter tonight. Darren Capobianco of Branford, Cameron Hotchkiss of West Haven and Lou Iannotti of Durham are among the deeply talented defensemen. The fast-paced balanced offense is led by Bill Vizzo of Shelton (24 goals, 26 assists), Greg Zullo of Branford (11 goals, 22 assists), Ryan Lynch of Milford (seven goals, 13 assists), Kyle Thibault of Guilford (nine goals, seven assists) and Kyle Lynch of Milford (eight goals, eight assists).

CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCES: Notre Dame makes its fourth SCC Division I championship appearance and Fairfield Prep makes its third appearance. Notre Dame won a title in 1999 and Prep won in 1997. The SCC Division I tournament was held from 1997-99 and discontinued until this season.

YOU SHOULD KNOW: Fairfield Prep defeated Notre Dame 3-1 and 1-0 in the regular season.

— Dan Nowak

Harbor Yard Sports and Entertainment made it official today (Friday) and announced the top-ranked Fairfield Prep boys’ hockey team will play No. 7 Hamden at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport on Feb. 2 at 1 p.m.

The venue has hosted several boys' basketball and boys' hockey games in recent years. Hamden coach Bill Verneris always looks forward to giving his team the opportunity to play at a high-profile site like Webster Bank Arena.
"Playing at a rink like Webster Bank Arena is great for high school hockey," Verneris said. "It's exciting for the fans and it's exciting for the players."
In a prepared statement, Howard Saffan, president of Harbor Yard Sports and Entertainment, which manages Webster Bank Arena, said, "Fans have been enjoying our high school sporting events this season. This game will surely be one of the most exciting."
The Jesuits are 11-0 and the Green Dragons are 5-5-1.
Tickets for the event are $12 for adults and $10 for seniors and children age 12 and under. Tickets are available at the Webster Bank Arena Click It Or Ticket Box Office on gameday.



HOCKEY STANDINGS
SCC DIVISION I
School Conf. Overall
Hamden 2-0-1 5-5-1
Xavier 1-0-1 7-4-1
West Haven 2-1 4-7
East Haven 2-1 5-2-1
Fairfield Prep 0-0 11-0
Notre Dame-WH 0-0 8-2
North Haven 0-2 3-6-2
Cheshire 0-3 1-10

The No. 3 Hamden boys' hockey team, one of the many high school sports teams in Connecticut affected by the winter storms in recent weeks, has updated its schedule.
Hamden's game at No. 2 Fairfield Prep (Wonderland of Ice, Bridgeport) that was postponed on Wednesday has been rescheduled for Tuesday at the Wonderland of Ice at 7:30 p.m.
Hamden's game at Simsbury on Saturday at the International Skating Center in Simsbury will begin at 5 p.m. Up until today the time for the regularly scheduled game had been listed as TBA.
Just a reminder Hamden's home game (Astorino Rink) with No. 1 New Canaan, postponed twice due to the weather, will be held Feb. 11 at 6 p.m.

The winter weather has taken its toll on high school teams in every sport and it looks like Mother Nature will be on the prowl again with a winter storm on Friday and Saturday. The many cancellations this season prompted the CIAC this morning (Wednesday) to help teams make up games by approving to play games on Sunday for the rest of the regular season.
Many teams are playing three games a week now due to rescheduled games. But if it got to the point where four games a week had to played, Fairfield Prep coach Matt Sather says bring it on.
"I think four games in a week would challenge any team’s depth," Sather said. " But it could also be exciting. The more frequently you play, the easier it is to develop a rhythm , either a good one or a bad one. If the (makeup) games continue to build up, you could see a team get red-hot or go ice-cold in a single four-game week, right before the state tournament."
Guilford coach Ralph Russo also sees an advantage if teams had to play four games in one week.
"When we hit a stretch of three or four games close together ,we have to deal with it," Russo said. "Players generally like to play a lot of games, the more the better. What you hope for is for your team to be healthy enough so you can incorporate more players into the action and give them more experience. I suppose it would be like youth hockey again for the boys. Growing up, they sometimes played two or three in a weekend."

Check out the schedule on the CIAC Web site
http://www.casciac.org/scripts/display_bracket16.cgi?sport=ihoc&class=I&year=2010

The CIAC Division I hockey semifinals scheduled for Wednesday have been moved to Thursday at Ingalls Rink in New Haven with Fairfield Prep facing New Canaan at 5:30 p.m. and Hamden facing Darien at 7:30 p.m.
According to a CIAC spokesperson, damage in Fairfield County caused by the recent rain caused power outages, power lines that fell to the ground and obstructed roadways forcing school to be closed at New Canaan. The result was the hockey team hasn’t been able to practice and the CIAC decided the extra day off would give the Rams an extra day of practice.

PLEASE NOTE: Recent high school schedules that have appeared in the newspaper have listed Hamden-Darien at 5:30 p.m. and Prep-New Canaan at 7:30 p.m. Actually, Prep-New Canaan is the first game at 5:30 p.m. and Hamden-Dairen is at 7:30 p.m.