Top 20 Ranking

Jonathan Yardley, webmaster

 

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02.27.06 Monday

Cup tournament gave us a bit of top-20 movement, mostly from Chatham and St. Augustine Prep winning and thereby freeing up some of the Gordon teams for a bit of movement. I can’t see anybody supplanting Seton Hall Prep for the top spot when I do final rankings in a month, but the state tournaments will obviously have a major effect on the rest of the spots.

 

Top 20 (records as available through 2/26/06)

  1 — Seton Hall Prep (16-0-2, 11-0-2 Gordon) Last Ranking – 1

         State Tournament: Private No. 1 … 3/8 vs. RBC/SJMont

         Beating Delbarton three times in one season just added to the credentials of this unbeaten team.

  2 — Delbarton (11-6-5, 8-4-2 Gordon) Last Ranking – 2

         This Week: 2/28 vs. SJMont, 3/1 @ BE

         State Tournament: Private No. 2 … vs. MD/Pin

         Green Wave showed well against Seton Hall Prep but still came up short and face a tough state draw.

  3 — Pope John (11-5-4, 6-4-4 Gordon) Last Ranking – 3

         State Tournament: Private No. 3 … vs. SJMet/GC

         CBA loss cannot rule out third-place season, but how far will the inexperienced Lions go?

  4 — Don Bosco Prep (12-10-1, 7-6-1 Gordon) Last Ranking – 8

         State Tournament: Private No. 4 … vs. PC/MKA

         Ironmen were very impressive in Gordon Cup semifinal but will have a tough task to get a SHP rematch.

  5 — St. Peter’s Prep (10-8-4, 3-6-4 Gordon) Last Ranking – 7

         This Week: 3/1 vs. MK

         State Tournament: Private No. 9 … 3/7 @ BE

         You have to love Joe Maione adding the Knolls game this week, and the rematch with Eustace should be a great game.

  6 — CBA (10-6-8, 2-6-6 Gordon) Last Ranking – 9

         State Tournament: Private No. 7 … vs. SA

         CBA more than capable of pulling off state tournament upsets with strong coaching and goaltending.

  7 — Morris Knolls (20-3-1, 11-1-1 MCSSIHL Mennen) Last Ranking – 5

         This Week: 3/1 @ SPP

         State Tournament: Public No. 1 … 3/4 vs. West/GR

         I think Thursday’s loss may have dented their aura of invincibility, even for non-Chatham public schools.

  8 — Morristown-Beard (19-4-1, 10-3 MCSSIHL Mennen) Last Ranking – 6

         State Tournament: Private No. 5 … 3/6 vs. BC

         Crimson captured first outright Mennen Cup since 1983 but will have to match up against the Gordon a few more times.

  9 — Chatham (18-6-1, 8-4-1 MCSSIHL Mennen) Last Ranking – 17

         State Tournament: Public No. 4 … 3/4 vs. MH/RBR

         Still haven’t beaten anybody besides Knolls, but they deserved more in 3-2 regular-season loss to Beard.

10 — St. John Vianney (9-10-1, 4-9-1 Gordon) Last Ranking – 10

         State Tournament: Private No. 6 … vs. ND

         Lancers are in the weakest of the four sections of the private bracket.

11 — St. Augustine Prep (13-5-1, 10-2 Southern Red) Last Ranking – 13

         State Tournament: Private No. 10 … @ CBA

         Hermits avenged regular-season losses with emphatic Handchen Cup win over three-time defending champion Bishop Eustace.

12 — Bishop Eustace (15-5-2, 9-2-1 Southern Red) Last Ranking – 4

         This Week: 3/1 vs. Del

         State Tournament: Private No. 8 … vs. SPP

         Crusaders had 13-game unbeaten streak snapped by St. Augustine Prep and face tough first-round game.

13 — Randolph (15-6-3, 9-4 MCSSIHL Mennen) Last Ranking – 11

         State Tournament: Public No. 2 … vs. OT/Reg

         Rams drop due to big weeks for Chatham and St. Augustine Prep but still have to be favorites to reach the public final.

14 — Bergen Catholic (4-10-4, 3-9-2 Gordon) Last Ranking – 12

         State Tournament: Private No. 12 … 3/6 @ MB

         One of the most popular choices to pull a state-tournament upset.

15 — Toms River North (16-7-1, 6-5-1 Southern Red) Last Ranking – 14

         State Tournament: Public No. 3 … vs. NH/Kin

         Mariners very respectable in 3-2 loss to Bishop Eustace and should be well prepared, considering their tough schedule.

16 — Montgomery (20-2, 11-0 Central White) Last Ranking – 15

         State Tournament: Public No. 5 … vs. Para

         Van Cott Cup champion Cougars could be part of a very intriguing matchup against Chatham if they can reach the quarterfinals.

17 — Bridgewater-Raritan (17-6-1, 11-0-1 Central Red) Last Ranking – 16

         State Tournament: Public No. 6 … 3/3 vs. WM/TRS

         Panthers won McInnis Cup championship, but injuries to leading scorer Kevin Tino must be a postseason concern.

18 — Hillsborough (22-3, 12-0 Central Blue) Last Ranking – 18

         State Tournament: Public No. 7 … 3/3 vs. WatH/Msqn

         Raiders breezed to Central Blue title but will play no more games as easy as their league schedule.

19 — Clifton (17-3-4, 8-2-2 Northern Red) Last Ranking – 20

         State Tournament: Public No. 13 … vs. Spa

         Everybody has them down as vulnerable, but a dominant talent like Anthony Yelovich and strong goaltending can be enough.

20 — St. Joseph Metuchen (11-7-3, 7-2-3 Central Red) Last Ranking – NR

         State Tournament: Private No. 14 … vs. GC

         Falcons impressed in reaching the McInnis Cup final and could have a shot against Pope John if they make the first round.

 

Dropped Out:

No. 19 Ridge (13-5-4, 7-2-2 Central Red)

 

Best of the Rest (ranks 21-32, alphabetically)

Gloucester Catholic

Hopewell Valley

Indian Hills

Monsignor Donovan

Montclair

Notre Dame

Old Bridge

Paramus Catholic

Ramapo

Red Bank Catholic

Ridge

Steinert

 

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White/Blue Polls: Jan. 16  |  Jan. 23  |  Jan. 30  |  Feb. 6  |  Feb. 13  |  Feb. 27  |  Final