http://www.casciac.org

Due to today's snowstorm all local hockey games have been postponed. As a result, the Southern Connecticut Conference Division II Boys' Hockey Tournament semifinals on Thursday have been moved to Friday (see updated schedule below).

Here are the rescheduled hockey dates :
Rockville/Manchester/Stafford at Lyman Hall today PPD to Thursday, 3:30 p.m. at Northford Ice Pavilion
East Catholic at Milford today PPD. to Thursday, 8 p.m. at Milford Ice Pavilion
Branford at St. Bernard/BaconAcad/NFA today is PPD to Thursday at 4 p.m. at Norwich Rink
Xavier at ND-Fairfield today is PPD to Thursday at 6 p.m. at Milford Ice Pavilion
Hamden at ND-West Haven today is ppd. to Thursday,4 p.m. at Bennett Rink
West Haven vs. Cheshire at Northford Ice Pavilion today is PPD. not rescheduled yet says a Northford official

NOTE: The SCC tournament semifinals scheduled for Thursday at Bennett Rink have been moved to Friday, 5:30 p.m./7:30 p.m. to accommodate the Hamden/ND-West Haven makeup game.
SCC SEMIS: No. 1 Hand vs. No. 4 Guilford at 7:30 p.m.; No. 2 Milford vs. No. 3 Branford at 5:30 p.m.

Eight Connecticut high school boys’ hockey teams, including Amity, North Haven, St. Joseph and Xavier, have been invited to play in the 11th annual Maine High School Hockey Invitational from Monday-Thursday.
Games will be played at Biddeford Ice Arena in Biddeford, Maine, Portland Ice Arena in Portland, Maine, MHG Arena in Saco, Maine and USM Arena in Gorham, Maine.
“We’ve been to the Maine tournament before and it’s always been a great experience,” Amity coach Gary Lindgren said. “The competition is excellent and it really helps the kids develop and improve their game.
“It’s also great from an educational and social aspect because the kids get to meet new people and get to experience some of the things Maine has to offer.”

For a complete schedule, link to the event’s Web site at:
http://www.mainehshockey.com/mhhi.asp?page=schedule

The other four Connecticut teams in the event are Ridgefield, South Windsor, Newington/Berlin and Brookfield/Bethel/Danbury.

Here's a link to the CIAC hockey pairings.

The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, the governing body of high school sports in the state, released the pairings today for the Division I, II and III boys' hockey tournaments.
Looking at the competition, matchups, seedings and brackets, the titles will likely come down to the chalk (favorites, top 3-4 seeds) in each division.

When it is all said and done, this year's CIAC tournament could be a special one for the Southern Connecticut Conference in all three divisions. An impressive 14 of the 16 teams in the SCC (all divisions combined) have qualified for the postseason.

In Division I, who can beat top seed West Haven, No. 2 seed Fairfield Prep or No. 4 seed and defending champion Hamden? All three SCC teams have depth, strong goalies and are coming off strong regular-season schedules that have prepared them for this point in the season.

No. 3 seed New Canaan has been on a roll this season and should be the toughest team to represent the southern part of the state. No. 6 Glastonbury and No. 8 Tri-Town will be the teams to beat in the north. But with due respect to those teams who are all extremely well coached, their strength of schedule doesn't quite match up to the aforementioned SCC teams of Prep, Hamden and West Haven.

The D-I wildcard? No. 5 Notre Dame-Fairfield. But the Lancers have struggled against top ranked teams with all six of their losses to teams ranked in the Register Top 10 poll. The key will be talented goalie Eric Sugrue who can get hot and carry the Lancers on his back.

In Division II, No. 3 seed and defending champion Cheshire and No. 1 Amity, who won the D-II title in 2008, are in different brackets and could be headed for a rematch in the championship game. Both teams will face off tonight in the SCC Division II tournament championship game at Bennett Rink in West Haven at 7 p.m.

Although the Spartans have arguably the best goalie in Division II this season with Alec Mansfield, both Amity and Cheshire are strong front to back and should roll through the tournament.

Watch for Cheshire freshman forward Owen Powers to provide some key goals or assists, a player who complements the Rams' balanced scoring attack and has emerged as a solid scorer and playmaker.

The team that could put a damper on the Spartans' and Rams' hopes for a title is No. 2 St. Joseph. The Cadets won the Division III title last season and have the talent and depth, led by forward Conor Crouse of West Haven, to beat even the top Division I teams. No one will be surprised to see the Cadets win the title, but St. Joseph would have to get by Cheshire in the quarterfinals and then potentially face Amity in the final.

No. 4 Suffield/Granby/Windsor Locks will be a tough out with its experience and talent. But the team to watch as a sleeper will be another SCC team - Lyman Hall. The Trojans are 0-4 combined against Amity and Cheshire this season. But the last two games with each team have been close 1-goal losses that could have gone either way thanks to Lyman Hall goalie R.J. Negri.

The Division III tournament looks wide open with only 10 teams qualifying for the post season (teams need a 40 percent regular-season record to qualify). Top seed Guilford of the SCC has talented forwards and defensemen, but it will likely be goalie Sean Finucane who will lead the Indians to the promised land of the championship game.

A hot goalie at this D-III level is usually the key to the title and Finucane can easily take on that role.

ABOVE: WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY'S FREEMAN ATHLETIC CENTER

It’s Division I vs. Division II with Freeman Athletic Center bragging rights on the line as SCC Division I Xavier and SCC Division II Cheshire, two teams that call the ice rink at Wesleyan University’s Freeman Athletic Center home, face off at 6 p.m. tonight (Dec. 23).
This should be one of those rare exciting games you’ll see between a D-I and D-II school.
Cheshire is the defending CIAC Division II champion and has one of the top players players in the state on the front line with forward Mike Devine. He scored 25 goals last season. The Rams also have a double-digit goal scorer with forward Mike Diglio who had 10 goals last season. The defense is led by backliners Colby Olin, John Cunningham, brother Drew Cunningham and James Keegan.
The Falcons have one of their deepest teams and are expected to pull off some surprises this season. While the Rams have state standout Devine, the Falcons have their own standout with 6-1, 185-pound junior defenseman Jack Even. He is being recruited by New England prep schools and has been scouted by the United States Hockey League.
Both teams will be tested in this spot and it could set the stage for long-term momentum for the winner.

Watch out for the Westies...

So far, my preseason high school boys' hockey prediction is looking good.
I wrote a feature stating West Haven was a wildcard this season in the quest for the CIAC Division I championship. Sure, it's only two games, but the Blue Devils opened the season against two of the top teams in the Faifield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference and have a 2-0 record.
West Haven defeated Greenwich 3-2 and defeated Darien and solid FCIAC goalie Will Love 8-1.
The Westies' own wildcard is new full-time starting goalie James Withington who has great size at 6-3, 175 pounds. They have a solid front line of Ryan Bruneau, John Ascenzia and Tim Baylis and five solid defensemen.
All Westies coach Joe Morrell asks of us his players is to play hard and put the puck in the net and they have certainly responded.
West Haven gets its first Southern Connecticut Conference test against a very deep and talented North Haven team on Wednesday (Dec. 23) at the Bennett Rink (West Haven) at 6:30 p.m.
They follow that game with a trip to Maine in the Maine Invitational Tournament.
West Haven plays South Portland, Me. at Portland Ice Arena on Monday at 8 p.m. and against York, Me. at Biddeford Ice Arena (Biddeford, Me.) on Tuesday at 4 p.m.

Small world. When I went to Northeastern University in Boston to study journalism I dated a girl from Biddeford, Me.