The Schedule (all games at the Ice Vault)
No. 1 Paramus Catholic has first-round bye, gets lowest remaining seed in semis
No. 2 Ridgewood has first-round bye, gets highest remaining seed in semis
No. 3 Fair Lawn vs. No. 6 Clifton, tonight, 4:30
No. 4 Passaic Valley vs. No. 5 River Dell/Westwood, tonight, 6:30
Semifinals: Wednesday, Feb. 18
THE FAVORITE
No. 2 Ridgewood (7-8-3) — First-round matchup: Bye
Why the Maroons are the favorite: With apologies to all of #LivvNation, top-seeded Paramus Catholic is not the favorite heading into the Patriot Cup. Ridgewood has several things going for them entering the tournament. For starters, the Maroons are still the defending champions, regardless of their current record, and they are clearly an improved team fro the one that started 2-8-1. Secondly, I’m a big believer in regular schedules paying off dividends during postseason play. It’s borderline clichè to say, but Ridgewood truly is battle-tested from a ridiculous non-division schedule that featured Ramsey, Ridge, Randolph, Morristown, Chatham, St. Joseph and Montville (and they tried getting Glen Rock, but it was postponed). Essentially every non-Patriot game for Ridgewood this season was against a state-title contender. The Maroons — who have not lost since Dec. 30 (against Chatham) — had Paramus Catholic beat last week, had it not been for a late game-tying goal from PC with under a minute to go to force the 3-3 tie — and Ridgewood seemed to have the better of the play throughout the game (if it were not for the play of PC goalie John Pitera, the Maroons win that game easy). Junior Cooper Telesco has continued to be a playmaker, especially lately, striking for nine goals and eight assists in Ridgewood’s last five games. He has a team-best 28 points (19 G, 9 A) this season. Aside from Telesco, sophomore J.P. Kelly (25 points), senior Patrick Anzano (23 points, team-best 17 assists), junior Brendan Buckley (18 points), sophomore Ryan Carius (14 points), junior Harry Bahrenburg (13 points) and junior Matt Cafarella (13 points) have all proven to be dangerous around the net, especially over the second half of the year. And perhaps the most dangerous factor the Maroons have going for them… this tournament could be all they have left, with uncertainty still surrounding them regarding a state tournament at-large bid. Coach Mike Lucchesi said winning the league Cup is Goal No. 1 at the start of each season and he has his team playing its best hockey at exactly the right time of year. Whether they get that at-large state bid or not, Ridgewood can erase a lot of the pain from its early-season struggles with another Cup title.
THE CONTENDER
No. 1 Paramus Catholic (12-6-3) — First-round matchup: Bye
Why the Paladins are dangerous: Well, because they are the No. 1 seed and the regular season champions for a reason. The odds of a Paramus Catholic vs. Ridgewood final are quite high, although Fair Lawn — who PC could see in the semifinals — did give the Paladins a tough game on Feb. 11 before PC prevailed, 2-1. The strength of Paramus Catholic lies in net, in junior goalie John Pitera, who owns a 2.00 goals against average and 91.0 save percentage. He has the ability to steal a game — and a Cup title — and still has the feeling of falling in last year’s final, 3-2 to Ridgewood, burned in his memory. He already said earlier this season that it was that game that was close in mind when training this off-season. In front of Pitera is one of the top defensemen in North Jersey in senior Kevin Booth (6 goals, 12 assists) and a handful of capable offensive scorers in junior Matt Rainey (11 goals, 16 assists), senior Derek Sabato (8 goals, 13 assists), junior Anthony Capporrino (10 goals, 11 assists), senior Keith Henning (11 goals, 6 assists) and a trio of sophomores — Nick Carnevale (5 goals, 6 assists), Corey Sowinski (7 goals, 4 assists) and Chrisian Brunelle (6 goals, 3 assists). Paramus Catholic plays physical, another one of its biggest strengths, and in addition to Pitera, there are plenty of others who felt the pain skating off the ice after last year’s final. The Paladins are hungry… and Ridgewood/Paramus Catholic Part III would likely be a classic.
THE REST OF THE FIELD
No. 3 Fair Lawn (11-10-1)
The Cutters enter one game over .500, though just 1-3 in their last four — which includes a 4-3 loss to Wayne Valley and 10-1 loss to Ridgewood. Fair Lawn does have one of the top players in the tournament, however, in senior Mark Williams, who recently surpassed the career 100-point mark and has a team-best 18 goals and nine assists this season. Junior Joey Ferrante is Fair Lawn’s second-leading scorer with 15 goals and 11 assists. The Cutters don’t have the depth as the top two teams in the bracket, but did just recently give Paramus Catholic all it could handle before falling, 2-1, on Feb. 11. Senior goalie Garret Baldacci has put together a solid season in net, owning a 2.63 goals against average and 89.7 save percentage.
No. 4 Passaic Valley (10-10-1)
Needing to win its final four regular season games to qualify for an automatic state tournament berth, Passaic Valle did just that and enters the tournament with some significant momentum. The fourth win of their most recent winning streak came against tonight’s opponent — River Dell/Westwood — with a 4-1 victory. Coach Mike Sheehan has done a great job with PV this season, turning what was a four-win program during the 2013-14 season into a state tournament team this year. Senior Steven Tillie enters as one of the top players in the Liberty Cup, striking for 24 goals and eight assists this season, while classmate Lucas Prospero has added 12 goals and seven assists. Freshman Alex LoPresti has made a case for North Jersey’s All-Freshmen Team (a Varsity Aces exclusive), churning out nine goals and eight assists in his first high school season.
No. 5 Rive Dell/Westwood (6-12-2)
It’s been a tough year for the CardinalHawks, with the co-op program struggling to replace the production left behind by eight seniors from last year’s team. After a 4-1 start to the season, which included wins over Fair Lawn and Ridgewood, River Dell/Westwood is just 2-11-2 in its last 15 games entering tonight’s first-round matchup against Passaic Valley. Greg Rassam, one of just two seniors on the roster, is the team’s leading scorer with 16 goals and six assists. Sophomores Joey Ragno (7 goals, 12 assists) and Eddie Dahdah (9 goals, 7 assists) and junior Jacob Buchner (7 goals, 9 assists) round out River Dell’s top four scorers. Brett Connon, the team’s only other senior who battled a head injury earlier this season, has added four goals and six assists.
No. 6 Clifton (5-13-3)
After a 3-2-1 to the season, the Mustangs are just 2-11-2 in their last 15 games and will enter tonight’s contest against Fair Lawn on a five-game losing streak. As previously mentioned, however, Cllifton has played the Cutters tough this season with a 3-3 tie and 5-4 loss in two regular season contests this year. Senior Adam Carlo is the team’s leading scorer with nine goals and 10 assists, junior Brett Finan has added six goals and seven assists and sophomore Shawn Meneghin has contributed seven goals and five assists. The Mustangs took a mid-season hit when senior Matt Kolodjieczyk left the team to concentrate on club hockey.