Beyond the Scoresheet

Public tourney split approved

As first reported here in the summer and reported today in the Newark Star-Ledger, the NJSIAA Wednesday approved the split of the public ice hockey tournaments into two divisions.

I can only imagine what the NJSIAA will call it (hopefully not the Large School Championship Subdivision and the Small School Championship Subdivision), but I’m going with Division I (small) and Division II (large) for now. When I get to a computer with my full listing of teams and have some free time, I’ll try to finalize a breakdown of which teams will be which.

I also heard today that the Shore Conference is changing the way its schedule works (again.) I’m getting pretty tired of this, quite frankly. All the northern conferences had their schedules done in July, and we don’t even have preliminary Shore schedules here in September. Meanwhile, it’s non-hockey people making poor decisions about a sport that has very specific scheduling issues. I’ll let you know if and when we get a decision on this.

that’s awesome

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forgive me for a second, but that’s just awesome. I’ve known George since I was in the seventh grade and was completely awestruck when he was in the same conference block (think study hall) I was. To see pictures of him (‘stache and all) getting his day with the Stanley Cup and taking it home to our school was just awesome. Wish I could’ve been there.

This is also neat:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

East Side back in the game?

Keith Veltre contacted me today and let me know that East Side does intend to field a varsity ice hockey team in 2007-08 after not playing on the varsity level in 2006-07. Veltre has been the East Side coach for several years and has tried to build the program’s numbers through youth hockey. After merely practicing last year, Veltre said he expects the Red Raiders to play 10-15 games this year as an independent.

East Side was 3-13-1 while playing in the Northern Blue Division in 2005-06, beating Hackensack twice and St. Rose. Before that, the Red Raiders were 2-14-2 in 2004-05, 0-12 in 2003-04, 1-12 in 2002-03 and 2-10-2 in 2001-02. That’s as far back as my records go.

While never an on-ice power, you have to love East Side coming back. One of my great regrets on the hockey scene is that I have never been to Ironbound Rink or seen East Side play. I doubt I’ll get to break that streak in the short time I’m home this winter, but you never know. Besides, maybe they’ll play at The Rock.

Assuming Wallkill Valley and Monroe do compete on the varsity level this year (still unconfirmed), that makes 99 public schools. It also means Nutley is the school on the bubble between Division I and Division II if the public state tournament split is confirmed.

In other news that is completely unrelated to high school hockey, I’ve been promoted to sports editor at my newspaper group, which is a nice bump in responsibility (and, not that it’s saying much, salary).

Realignment and possible state tourney change

It may be the hockey offseason, but there has been plenty of logistical movement in preparation for next season. The NJIHL was forced into drastic realignment due to the Shore Conference’s withdrawal, and Morris County is realigning as well. Perhaps most significantly, njhockey.org has learned that the public state tournament could be divided under a proposal recommended by the state tournament committee. The proposal still needs approval from at least two more committees. Get ready for some changes … Continue reading Realignment and possible state tourney change…

Continental rescheduling

The revised schedule for the semifinal and final rounds of the NJSIAA Tournaments:

Saturday, 17 March 2007, Continental Airlines Arena

4:30 p.m. (4) Morris Knolls vs. (1) Randolph
6:30 p.m. (5) St. Augustine Prep vs. (1) Delbarton
8:30 p.m. (3) Bridgewater-Raritan vs. (2) Ridge
10:30 p.m. (3) CBA vs. (2) St. Peter’s Prep

Friday, 23 March 2007, Mennen Arena

6:00 p.m. NJSIAA Public Final
8:00 p.m. NJSIAA Private Final

Brackets available!

njhockey.org has published the state tournament bracket. We’ll analyze them later, after the Dynamo-Puntarenas match. Overseeding / underseeding report coming up …

Continue reading Brackets available!…

NJSIAA Tournament qualifiers

Not as polarizing as a Top 20 but more useful, here is a list of state tournament qualifiers and at-large hopefuls. I will finalize my suggested seeding (suggested, not projected) after at-large bids are announced.

Meanwhile, here are my at-large selections: Private: let them both in. Mo-Beard and St. Joseph Metuchen play in tough divisions and narrowly missed out. Both have beaten several teams that are in the tournament. I have no problem letting both of them in on the dance. Public: A bit tougher. I still think it’s pretty clear cut. Verona actually had almost no big wins (does Summit count?) but played a ridiculously tough schedule and lost five games by only one goal. I’m in favor. Middletown South lost to Princeton but otherwise consistently showed itself to be a public capable of playing at the upper levels of White Division play, which is enough for me. 6-1-2 record vs. public schools. Mountain Lakes plays in a ridiculously tough division, especially for a public. I was all set to let the Lakers in when I stumbled upon their 2-2 tie with Morris Hills and their 5-4 loss to Vernon. Now, I’m no Northern Conference apologist, but when you have a head to head win like that and a win over Fair Lawn, I guess you have to let the Vikings in. That leaves out Indian Hills. EDIT: To clarify, I looked at Indian Hills again. .500 in league play, 0-4 against very, very tough non-league competition. Only one bad loss. Split with Fair Lawn. Not a bad resume. And I think the NBIAL was stronger than the Northern Red this year. I might have to call it a toss-up between IH and Vernon. Which could result in neither getting a bid. Tough call here.
Brick – if you can’t get a .500 record playing in the White Division, there’s no point.
And you know what that means for the other eligible teams.

So that’s my take. In: Morristown-Beard, St. Joseph Metuchen, Middletown South, Verona, Vernon. We’ll see what the committee says.

Last update: 18 February 2007, 11:25 pm CT
Continue reading NJSIAA Tournament qualifiers…