High School Hockey: Xavier Moves Up To No. 5; Tri-Town's Kingsbury Has Strong Week

By Sean Begin

 

There was some reshuffling in the middle of the top-10 this week, beginning with Xavier and Notre Dame-Fairfield trading spots. With wins over New Canaan and Simsbury, the Falcons move to No. 5, while the Lancers fall to No. 7 following a loss to New Canaan.

 

Notre Dame-West Haven and Hamden also flip-flop spots. The Green Knights move to No. 4 after topping Hamden, which fell to No. 6.

 

The top-three of Fairfield Prep, Ridgefield and Greenwich stay the same. The showdown between Nos. 2 and 3 was moved to February after the snowstorm on Wednesday. All three teams won their contests this past week.

 

New Fairfield/Immaculate and Farmington Valley each picked up wins on Saturday, while Northwest Catholic enjoyed a week off. The Lions resume at Conard on Wednesday.

 

1. FAIRFIELD PREP (10-0): Cruised past West Haven 8-0 Wednesday and handed Darien a 4-1 loss on Saturday. Two top-10 opponents are lined up for this week. LW: 1. TW: Xavier Wednesday; at Hamden Saturday.

 

2. RIDGEFIELD (7-2): The Tigers had their showdown with Greenwich postponed and won their lone game, an 8-0 defeat of Trinity Catholic. LW: 2. TW: at Fairfield Warde/Fairfield Ludlowe Wednesday.

 

3. GREENWICH (7-1): Picked up wins over Wilton (12-2) and North Haven (6-1) after getting snowed out against Ridgefield. LW: 3. TW: New Canaan Monday; at Trumbull Friday; at Xavier Saturday.

 

4. NOTRE DAME-WEST HAVEN (6-4): Lost to 2-1 to Bishop Hendricken, the No. 2 team in Rhode Island, before getting some revenge in a 5-1 win over Hamden. LW: 6. TW: Notre Dame-Fairfield Wednesday; at New Fairfield/Immaculate Saturday.

 

5. XAVIER (8-3): Capped off a seven-game home stretch with a 3-0 win over New Canaan and 6-2 win over Simsbury. Falcons have two top-three opponents this week. LW: 7. TW: at Fairfield Prep Wednesday; Greenwich Saturday.

 

6. HAMDEN (5-3): Defeated a game Guilford squad 7-4 Wednesday before losing Saturday 5-1 to Notre Dame-West Haven. LW: 4. TW: at West Haven Wednesday; Fairfield Prep Saturday.

 

7. NOTRE DAME-FAIRFIELD (6-3): Lost its lone game of the week, 5-4, at the hands of New Canaan on Saturday. LW: 5. TW: at Notre Dame-West Haven Wednesday; at West Haven Saturday.

 

8. NEW FAIRFIELD/IMMACULATE (5-1-1): Had a game postponed this week due to snow but cruised past Amity 7-1 in its only action. LW: 8. TW: at Cheshire Monday; North Haven Wednesday; Notre Dame-West Haven Saturday.

 

9. NORTHWEST CATHOLIC (5-2-1): The Lions should be well rested for their game Wednesday, after an 11-day layoff. LW: 9. TW: at Conard Wednesday; Simsbury Saturday.

 

10. FARMINGTON VALLEY (8-1): Faced a strong challenge from Glastonbury but survived with a 5-4 victory. LW: 10. TW: East Longmeadow (Mass.) Wednesday; E.O. Smith/Tolland Saturday.