The Schedule (all games at the Ice Vault in Wayne)
No. 1 Ramsey vs. No. 8 Wayne Valley, 6:30
No. 3 Indian Hills vs. No. 6 West Milford, 7:00
No. 2 Wayne Hills vs. No. 7 Ramapo, 8:30
No. 4 Mahwah vs. No. 5 Lakeland, 9:00
THE FAVORITE
No. 1 Ramsey (18-3-1) — First round matchup: vs. No. 8 Wayne Valley
Why the Rams are favorites: The Rams enter as the top seed and two-time defending champions. Dating back to the 2012-13 season, Ramsey has not lost to a Green/Liberty Division team, going 48-0-3. Though one of those ties came earlier this week, Ramsey remains the overwhelming favorite to win the Cup title for the third straight year. They have arguably the best player in the state in senior Alex Whelan, North Jersey’s leading goal scorer (25) and points scorer (59), a first line with Whelan, Nick Botta (11 G, 25 A) and Jack Jordan (11 G, 17 A) that has combined for 123 points this season and a goalie in Tyler Harmon (0.76 GAA, 94.9 save pct.) that makes the tough saves look easy, especially in big games. They have the most depth in the field that no team in the Liberty can match (Connor Edwards has 22 points, Chris Kopack and Kyle DeBel have 21, Garrett Mast has 16, Anthony Steffe has 11 and Frank Steffe has 10) and a defense anchored by Brandon O’Callahan (2 G, 9 A), Chris Scott (1 G, 16 A) and Justin Nicholson (1 G, 4 A) that is among the best in the state. It’s Tournament Time in Ramsey and this is the first of two tournament titles the Rams are hoping to secure this postseason, in addition to the Public B state title.
THE CONTENDERS
No. 3 Indian Hills (12-6-2) — First round matchup: vs. No. 6 West Milford
Why the Braves are dangerous: The short answer is because of goalie Josh Welte, who boasts a 1.75 goals against average while stopping 93.8 percent of the shots he sees. The lengthier response is the Braves, prior to a 1-0 loss to Wayne Hills on Sunday, had gone 11-1-1 in their previous 13 games, with the lone loss coming to Ramsey in the BCT quarterfinals. Junior Jon Hoogendoorn is the team’s leading scorer with 15 goals and six assists, senior Dylan O’Brien has added 11 goals and six assists and a pair of sophomores — Matt Paiotti (16 points) and Liam Johnson (15 points) — have combined for another 31 points. They also got a good draw as the No. 3 seed and wouldn’t have to face Ramsey until the Cup final. Remember, the Braves lost to the Rams, 1-0, in last year’s semifinal.
No. 5 Lakeland (13-6-3) — First round matchup: vs. No. 4 Mahwah
Why the Lancers are dangerous: Does anybody want to play Lakeland right now? Unbeaten in its last eight games (6-0-2) and 9-1 in its last 10 — including a Passaic County tournament title run — Lakeland enters as an extremely dangerous No. 5 seed. Most impressively… and most recently… the Lancers tied Ramsey, 3-3, on Tuesday in a game they actually led, 2-0, at one point after a pair of Sean Mullin goals. It was actually the first time all season that Ramsey had allowed more than two goals in a game (Harmon was in net too) and the tie certainly served notice around the state that the Lancers must be taken seriously, if they weren’t already. Junior Danny Mullin, who recently surpassed the career 100-point milestone, has emerged as one of the top players in North Jersey with 20 goals and 19 assists and the supporting cast, like Shane Davison (12 G, 11 A), Sean Mullin (11 G, 9 A), Andrew Heck (12 G, 9 A), Cam Bradley (8 G, 9 A) and Chris Wands (5 G, 10 A) has proven throughout the year they have a knack for scoring big goals. And behind all that lies a strength in net in junior goalie Sean Komjian, who owns a 2.25 GAA and 91.9 save percentage.
No. 2 Wayne Hills (10-6-2) — First round matchup: vs. No. 7 Ramapo
Why the Patriots are dangerous: We all remember the 2-1 win over Morristown back on Dec. 22 and 3-3 tie against Glen Rock on Dec. 28. Those results alone shows Wayne Hills certainly has the potential to make a deep run. Aside from a three-game losing streak to Lakeland (OT), Ramsey and West Milford from Jan. 19 to Jan. 23, the Patriots have been rather consistent throughout the year. They’ve bounced back with three straight wins in the past two weeks and enter this year’s Cup with the memory of blowing a late three-goal lead to Ramapo in last year’s tournament semifinals. Senior Danny Reidel is the team’s leading scorer (15 G, 14 A), but opponents have focused so much of their defensive attention on Reidel — especially good teams in big games — that others must step up, like Zach Brogna (9 G, 16 A), Sean Coleman (8 G, 10 A), Dan Mirman (8 G, 10 A) and Michael Brosnick (5 G, 13 A) if the Pats want to reach the final and ultimately win a Cup title. One cause for concern that has plagued Wayne Hills in the past is penalties; the Pats can’t spend too much time in the box. If they play disciplined hockey, though, they’re dangerous.
No. 4 Mahwah (11-9-1) — First round matchup: vs. No. 5 Lakeland
Why the Thunderbirds are dangerous: For starters, senior Tyler Gutierrez is one of the best players in the league. The recent career 100-point scorer has a team-best 23 goals and 16 assists and makes everyone around him better, serving as the team leader of a very young Thunderbirds squad. Mahwah is 8-4-1 in its last 13 games — with those four losses coming against Indian Hills (twice), Don Bosco and Ramsey — and they’ve played such of that stretch without Marty Kapoian (ankle), another leader and playmaker who coach Kevin Sabella expects to be back on the ice in tonight’s opening round. While Mahwah can be considered a contender in this year’s tournament, the T-Birds might be one year away from making significant noise with a roster loaded with underclassmen, including freshmen Nick Carabin (2 G, 13 A), Shane Ciongoli (7 G, 5 A), Joe Moschetta (3 G, 4 A), Jared Moss (2.87 GAA, 89 percent save pct.) and juniors Kapoian (12 G, 8 A), Luc Roberts (4 G, 9 A), Paul LaDuca (2 G, 9 A) and Zach Toy (2 G, 3 A).
THE REST OF THE FIELD
No. 6 West Milford (8-9-3) — First round matchup: vs. No. 3 Indian Hills
Senior Joey Fenui and sophomore Chris Dressler remain two of the most prolific scorers in New Jersey, having combined for 95 points (Fenui, 50; Dressler, 45), but there’s a significant drop off after that dynamic first-line duo. Once 7-4-1, the Highlanders missed out on an automatic state tournament berth after closing the regular season with a 1-5-1 run in its last seven, including a 5-5 tie against Ramapo in a win-and-in scenario.
No. 7 Ramapo (5-11-5) — First round matchup: vs. No. 2 Wayne Hills
Entering the Bergen County tournament, the Raiders were 5-3-4, but a first-round loss to Indian Hills sparked an eight-game losing streak. Ramapo snapped the losing streak and played a bit of spoiler last Saturday, however, tying West Milford, 3-3, to prevent the Highlanders from earning an automatic state berth. Junior Stephen Schwab leads a very young Raiders team in scoring with nine goals and seven assists. Can Ramapo re-capture the magic it had last postseason, when the Raiders made an unexpected run to the Cup final?
No. 8 Wayne Valley (4-17-2) — First round matchup: vs. No. 1 Ramsey
Wayne Valley continues making strides under first-year coach Justin Liscio and recently defeated state tournament-bound Fair Lawn, 4-3, last Friday night. Sophomore Braden Ploehn leads the team in scoring with 24 points (16 G, 8 A), freshman Mark Perez has 13 points and sophomore Gary Ragusa has 10.
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