Hockey: Top 15 Rankings (12/18) with Rivalry Night on the way

Another snowstorm robbed us of some big games last weekend, but I’ll update the rankings anyway. You can expect these every Wednesday or Thursday each week by the way. There were no newcomers to the poll this week and no dropouts either, though there were a few teams that made significant movement inside the Top 15. And quick, can you name the last four remaining unbeaten teams in North Jersey? Two you might expect — Ramsey and Paramus Catholic — but the other two, maybe not… River Dell/Westwood and Tenafly. In case you missed it, here are Jim McConville’s updated season scoring and goaltending leaders.

And for those who don’t know, big night at the Ice Vault coming on Friday night with four rivalry games on tap: Don Bosco-Bergen Catholic, Ramsey-Mahwah, Indian Hills-Ramapo and Wayne Hills-Wayne Valley.

Now on to the Top 15, with some quick hits on some non-Top 15 teams toward the bottom, too. 

1. Don Bosco (2-1) — Last week: 1
The Ironmen have only played one game since our last rankings, and they lost, 2-0, but it came to Massachusetts-power BC High, ranked by ESPNBoston.com as the No. 5 team in the state, and isn’t enough to knock Bosco from atop the rankings. ESPNBoston.com was actually at the game (here’s the story by Scott Barboza) and, from the looks of it, Bosco had its chances (18 shots on goal and five power play opportunities), but the BC High defense, and first-year starting varsity goalie Brendan Payzant, held the Ironmen scoreless. BC High struck for both goals in the second period, including one with a minute to go in the period, with freshman Alexei Masanko in net. Huge test for Don Bosco today against CBA (6-1), whose lone loss of the year came courtesy of Bergen Catholic last week. And if that’s not enough, the Ironmen and Crusaders will meet this Friday at the Ice Vault as part of Rivalry Night.

2. Ramsey (4-0) — Last week: 2
The Rams remain in the No. 2 spot after picking up two more wins over the weekend against Indian Hills, 2-0, and West Milford, 9-0. Regarding the win over the Braves, Ramsey dominated possession and shots on goal, but continued being stymied by Indian Hills goalie Josh Welte, who made 51 saves on 52 shots. I met with the ‘Baby Line’ before the game (Alex Whelan, Connor DiTomaso and Nick Botta), and, of course, it was a pair of defensemen — Anthony Pedulla and Chris Butryn — who scored the Rams’ two goals. In net, Tyler Harmon and Ryan Faulkner have been stellar, combining for three shutouts in four games and have allowed just one goal, while recording 20 saves each. In Ramsey’s 9-0 win over West Milford on Sunday, Whelan recorded his second hat trick of the season (and now has 6 G and 4 A in three games played), as Ramsey peppered 61 shots on West Milford goalie Ross Mantione. The Rams will look to remain unbeaten this weekend with games against Mahwah on Friday and Lakeland on Saturday. Some of Ramsey’s biggest tests, though, will come during the Ice Vault Holiday Classic, where they’ll meet Morris Knolls, Kinnelon and Randolph (all very good teams) in a five-day span from Dec. 26 to Dec. 30. Those are three huge games for Ramsey and will certainly factor in when the NJSIAA sits down for its state tournament seeding meeting.

3. Bergen Catholic (3-1) — Last week: 5
The Crusaders continue ascending up the rankings after another good win against a quality opponent on Monday, taking down Montclair Kimberley, 6-4, fueled by a very balanced attack. I was there to see it, and I can tell you one thing, Bergen Catholic is playing with a ton of confidence right now. I’ll have a story on them in Friday’s paper — on the day of Bergen’s big test against rival Don Bosco — but one of the quotes senior D Kyle Smyth gave me was, “Our expectations haven’t changed at all, but I’d say all the other teams in North Jersey have been seeing what Bergen Catholic has been doing and taking notice.”  In Monday’s win, freshman Bryan Hallenback redirected a shot taken from Lucas Milbank for his first career goal to tie it at 1 late in the first, then Zach Larsen gave BC control with back-to-back goals in an 11-second span early in the 2nd. After MKA scored two unanswered to tie it at 3, Bergen’s Evan Wisocky scored a beautiful shorthanded go-ahead goal — five-hole — on a breakaway in the 3rd. Brian Ayers would give BC a two-goal lead and Smyth would tack on a long-range empty-netter with just seconds remaining to seal the victory. “To be honest with you,” Bergen Catholic coach Brian Monteverdi said, “the scoring success has been coming from different people all over. It hasn’t really been one person, and that’s a good thing. We’re not relying on that one guy to lead us, there’s some parody between the line which is good. And the practices have kind of reflected that development. We’ve been trying to strengthen our weak links and we’ve been doing that.” And finally, goalies Peter Negron (88.2% save percentage) and Gennaro Anzevino have both been solid in net for BC, so far taking turns each game for the Crusaders. Negron picked up the win on Monday making 18 saves. It’ll likely be Anzevino — and his 95.4 percent save percentage — in net on Friday vs. Bosco.

4. Glen Rock (3-1) — Last week: 3
The ‘Rock drops a spot this week after falling to St. John Vianney, 3-2, last Friday night, but judging from the box score, it seems Glen Rock outplayed SJV, outshooting them, 36-14. Glen Rock fell behind, 2-0, surrendering one goal in the 2nd and one early in the 3rd, before Mike Buckel struck with 10 minutes remaining. Andrew Galante gave SJV a two-goal lead with an unassisted shorthanded score with 8:18, followed by Glen Rock’s Matt Roy scoring a shorthanded goal of his own, assisted by Buckel, with 4:10 to go. It was a tough loss to a good team, and Glen Rock will look to get back to its winning ways this weekend with upcoming games against unbeaten Tenafly (2-0-1) on Saturday and state power Morristown (3-1-1) on Sunday. Sophomore goalie Matt Rosario owns a 90% save percentage and a 1.91 goals against average through four games.

5. Kinnelon (1-2) — Last week: 4
The weather hasn’t cooperated for the Colts in the early-goings of the new season, getting postponed twice with scheduled games against Sparta and Pequannock. The 1-2 record might be a bit deceiving, as Kinnelon has fell twice now to defending state champion Chatham, 5-1 in the season opener, and most recently, 3-1 (with an empty net goal with 31 seconds to go from Chatham), on Monday — a game which the Colts held a 1-0 lead and were tied at 1 going into the 3rd. Trevor Lalonde gave Kinnelon an early lead in the 1st off assists from Matt Civil and Hunter Ledwith. Goalie David Neu is stopping shots at a 90.6% clip and surrendering, on average, 2.67 goals per game. The road won’t be getting any easier for the Colts, as Randolph, Morris Knolls, Summit and Ramsey are up next on the slate, starting tomorrow and ending Dec. 28.

6. Paramus Catholic (5-0) — Last week: 6
Since our last rankings, the Paladins have played just once — defeating Hackensack, 7-0, behind two goals from Kevin Booth and one a piece from Derek Sabato, Brian D’Erario and Matt Lepinski. The much-anticipated showdown with Ridgewood was postponed last Saturday (no word on a makeup date) and the Paladins likely won’t be tested again until their Ice Vault Tournament showdown on Dec. 29 vs. Morris Knolls.

7. Wayne Hills (4-1) — Last week: 7
Last time we checked in on the Patriots, it was on the eve of their biggest game of the early-parts of the year against then-ranked No. 9 Ramapo, and they sent a serious message as a contender in the Big North Green with their convincing 6-1 win. Danny Reidel (6 G, 4 A this year) and Michael Brosnick each scored twice (Brosnick scored 16 seconds into the game on Hills’ first shot of the game), Zach Brogna and Peter Beckwermert (8 G, 6 A this year) each added one goal a piece, and Sean Coleman dished out three assists. From my colleague Jim McConville’s story, coach Angelo Serse wasn’t as pleased as you might think after the lopsided victory — which cemented Wayne Hills as the No. 2 team to beat in the division, behind Ramsey. The penalties Hills is committing are an issue, but it seems Serse won’t be tolerating the undisciplined play much longer. “I don’t know what it is but they’re going to learn real quick, even if it means they’ll skate for the entire practice,” Serse said. With a chance to perhaps make a move up the rankings last Sunday against Morris Knolls, the Patriots suffered their first loss of the year, 4-2, getting scores from Brosnick and Brogna.

8. Ridgewood (3-1) — Last week: 8
Not much news out of Ridgewood in the past week, as the Maroons’ lone win since our last rankings was a 10-0 blowout win over winless Dumont. Senior Alex Linton exploded for five goals in that one and classmate Justin Hansen scored twice in Ridgewood’s third win of the year. As previously mentioned, the Maroons’ big showdown with Paramus Catholic was postponed. They’ll take on unranked Fair Lawn and Hackensack this weekend, and their next chance to make a move up the rankings will come on Dec. 27 when they take on No. 7 Wayne Hills in the Ice Vault Classic. Goalie Mickey Legg continues to be solid in net, stopping 90 percent of the shots he sees and holding opponents to 2.03 goals per game.

9. Indian Hills (1-3-1) — Last week: 10
The Braves move up a spot despite going 0-1 since our last rankings. The loss came to No. 2 Ramsey, 2-0, but goalie Josh Welte was outstanding and really kept Indian Hills in the game stopping 51 of the 52 shots he faced (Ramsey tacked on an empty net goal in the final seconds). It was probably the best goaltending performance I’ve seen this year, and Ramsey coach Bob Toy had nothing but good things to say about the junior netminder. “He was lights out tonight,” Toy said. Indian Hills was also without leading scorer Alex Linquito, who was out with a concussion. The Braves, who went 17-7-2 last year, obviously would like to start racking up the wins, and they’ll look to do so Friday night when they take on rival Ramapo — a game featuring two teams that have been struggling as of late.

10. Mahwah (3-2) — Last week: 11
In Mahwah’s only game since our last rankings, the Thunderbirds defeated West Milford, 4-0, behind Tyler Gutierrez’s pair of goals and one assist. Gutierrez is off to one of the best offensive starts in North Jersey, already striking for seven goals and four assists, which includes three multi-goal games. Teammate Marty Kapoian added one goal and two assists, Michael Matos supplied one goal and one assist, and goalie John Kapoian picked up his second shutout of the year with 22 saves. After getting a matchup with No. 12 Lakeland postponed last weekend, the Thunderbirds can really make a statement Friday night when they take on No. 2 Ramsey as part of Rivalry Night at the Ice Vault, followed by a meeting with No. 14 Ramapo one day later.

11. Lakeland (3-2) — Last week: 15
The Lancers come in at No. 11 this week, moving up four spots from our last rankings — the biggest jump of any team this week, despite picking up just one win — a 4-1 victory over then-ranked No. 9 Ramapo. Combine that with Lakeland’s 3-2 win over Indian Hills on Dec. 7 and that’s why the Lancers find themselves in the 11 spot. Senior Nick Brown is living up to coach Nick Crouch’s billing as one of the top players in the area with five goals and one assist in Lakeland’s first five games, including a pair of goals in the win over Ramapo. Since suffering back-to-back losses to start the year against Ramsey and Wayne Hills, Lakeland has rattled off three straight wins. Sophomore Sean Komjian has started every game in net, stopping 90.2 percent of the shots he sees. Like No. 10 Mahwah, the Lancers can make a statement in their only game this weekend against Ramsey on Saturday night. In the first meeting between these two teams on opening night, the Rams won, 7-1.

12. St. Joseph (1-3) — Last week: 12
The Green Knights picked up their first win of the year last Sunday with a 5-1 win over Old Tappan/Hasbrouck Heights, getting balanced scoring from five different scorers — Ryan Grieco, Zach Teats, Nick Haubner, Matt Cocciadiferro and Devin Buonanno, while Don Cuttone added a pair of assists. St. Joseph will attempt to get a winning streak going this weekend taking on Paramus on Saturday night at the Ice House and DePaul on Sunday at the Ice Vault.

13. River Dell (5-0-1) — Last week: 14
Unbeaten through its first six games, River Dell is one of the biggest early-season surprises in North Jersey through the first few weeks. The Hawks were probably expecting to be a bit higher in this week’s rankings after picking up three wins since our last rankings, but… and I hate to bring it up, because they’re playing who they’re scheduled to play… but the schedule thus far has been average. Two wins over unranked Passaic Valley (2-3-1), two wins over unranked Fair Lawn (1-3), a tie against unranked Clifton (1-3-2) and a win over Bayonne (2-2) all equates to an opponents’ combined record of 8-17-3. This certainly doesn’t diminish what River Dell has done to this point, as Jason Conroy (5 goals, 6 assists), Brett Connon (6 goals, 5 assists — including both goals in RD’s big 2-1 win over Fair Lawn on Monday) and Richard Myers (4 goals, 2 assists) have been the offensive catalysts for the undefeated Hawks. Goalie Chris DeTitta has been among the best in North Jersey as well, allowing just six goals through six games while stopping 94.5% of the shots he’s faced. Two good tests for River Dell will come next week when they take on Verona/Glen Ridge on Dec. 26 and Livingston on Dec. 28 in the Essex County Holiday Tournament. And looking ahead a bit more, they’ll have back-to-back games against Paramus Catholic early in 2014, so… the Hawks will certainly have their chance to make bigger leaps in the rankings.

14. Ramapo (3-2) — Last week: 9
The Raiders make the biggest drop in the rankings this week after going 0-2 with losses to Wayne Hills and Lakeland, getting outscored, 10-2. One of the questions surrounding Ramapo through the first two weeks after a 3-0 start was the schedule it had played (two wins vs. Wayne Valley, one win against DePaul) and they struggled against two of the better teams in the Big North Green last weekend. While Jason Ruggiero has done been terrific on the attack (8 goals, 2 assists), Ramapo has struggled on the back end recently, surrendering 10 goals in its last two games.

15. Tenafly (2-0-1) — Last week: 13
Another team that had a pretty quiet week since the last rankings, as Tenafly only played unranked Northern Highlands to a 3-3 tie last Friday night, as the Highlanders got the game-tying score from Vincent Master with 2:28 to go in regulation. Jake Bernstein, Will Rosato and Eric L’Heureux all scored for Tenafly, which also got 11 saves from Kyle Picinic. The Tigers will return to action Friday night at the Ice House when they take on Old Tappan/Hasbrouck Heights, then will get their toughest test yet, a matchup with No. 4 Glen Rock on Saturday.

Biggest rise: Lakeland (No. 15 to No. 11)
Biggest drop: Ramapo (No. 9 to No. 14)
Dropped out: None
Newcomers: None
On the radar: Pascack Valley (2-1), Passaic Valley (2-3-1), Northern Highlands (0-1-1), Fair Lawn (1-3)

Quick Hits… Congratulations to Passaic Valley/Cedar Grove‘s Steven Tillie, who went on a scoring tear this week, which earned him Record Athlete of the Week honors. The super sophomore scored 10 goals in two wins over Bayonne and Dumont, and now sits atop the North Jersey scoring leaders with 14 goals and a pair of assists. … DePaul currently sits at 2-2 overall with Kyle Scancerella alone in second place in North Jersey points scored with 15 (9 goals, 6 assists), but what I think is really cool is the fact the Spartans have four girls that I hear are getting ice time — senior Marlisa Falduto, sophomore Anais Tavolara and freshmen Jessica Freeswick and Chloe Glass. There might be a story coming DePaul’s way soon. The only other girl I’ve seen getting significant time so far this year has been Clifton’s Brittany Meneghin, and she gets a lot of time — and has 2 goals and 2 assists. Speaking of the Mustangs, despite their 1-3-2 record, Matt Kolodjieczyk has gotten off to a terrific start with nine goals and three assists.

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