1. NEW CANAAN (9)
3-0-1
117
4
I
To Date: def. West Haven 4-0; def. Fairfield Prep 4-1; tied Simsbury 2-2; def. Notre Dame-West Haven 4-3 (OT).
This Week: Wednesday at Greenwich (Hamill), 5:30 p.m.; Saturday vs. Ridgefield (Darien Ice), 7 p.m.
The Bottom Line:A solid start for the Rams, with a couple of wins over teams that had been ranked higher to start the season.
2. DARIEN (3)
3-0-1
107
3
I
To Date: def. Hamden 2-1; tied Northwest Catholic 3-3; def. Fairfield Prep 2-0; def. Greenwich 4-2.
The Bottom Line: Coach Mac Budd said they've got a lot of grinders this year, and the Blue Wave ground out seven out of eight points against ranked teams to start the season.
3. FAIRFIELD PREP
3-3-0
86
1
I
To Date: def. Greenwich 8-0; def. Ridgefield 4-3 (OT); lost to New Canaan 4-1; lost to Darien 2-0; lost to Delbarton (N.J.) 6-1; def. St. Joseph's Collegiate (N.Y.) 3-1.
This Week: Saturday at Notre Dame-West Haven (Bennett), 1 p.m.
The Bottom Line: After dropping those two games, the Jesuits lost out on the Mount Saint Charles Christmas tournament but replaced it with a couple of games against solid northeast programs.
4. NOTRE DAME-WH
3-2-0
85
2
I
To Date: def. Toll Gate (R.I.) 5-0; lost to New Canaan 4-3 (OT); lost to Catholic Memorial (Mass.) 6-3; def. Bishop Feehan (Mass.) 2-0; def. Hamden 5-1.
This Week: Wednesday at Darien (Darien Ice House), 6 p.m.; Saturday vs. Fairfield Prep (Bennett), 1 p.m.
The Bottom Line: The Green Knights' schedule is as heavy as it can be on out-of-state games, and they've got three of them in already. Big week coming up.
5. RIDGEFIELD
3-1-0
71
7
I
To Date: lost to Fairfield Prep 4-3 (OT); def. Notre Dame-Fairfield 4-0; def. Xavier 4-2; def. Northwest Catholic 2-0.
This Week: Wednesday vs. St. Joseph (Winter Garden), 8:30 p.m.; Saturday at New Canaan (Darien Ice), 7 p.m.
The Bottom Line: The Tigers have already matched last year's win total. Saturday will be another interesting test.
6. FAIRFIELD
4-0-0
68
8
I
To Date: def. Immaculate 6-5 (OT); def. Xavier 6-3; def. Amity 5-0; def. West Haven 10-2.
This Week: Saturday at St. Joseph (Rinks at Shelton), 8:30 p.m.
The Bottom Line: The co-op has started off much as it started last year. The Mustangs grind their way into the FCIAC schedule on Saturday.
To Date: def. South Windsor 6-4; def. East Catholic 6-4; tied Darien 3-3; def. Simsbury 6-1; lost to Ridgefield 2-0; def. Simsbury 4-0.
This Week: Thursday at Wethersfield (Newington Ice), 5:40 p.m.; Saturday vs. Farmington Valley (ISCC), 6:20 p.m.
The Bottom Line: A solid home tie with Darien highlights the Lions' start. Three of the next four are against Division II teams -- solid D-II teams, though.
To Date: def. West Haven 6-3; lost to Fairfield 6-3; def. Greenwich 5-0; lost to Ridgefield 4-2; def. Hamden 6-0.
This Week: Wednesday at Immaculate (Danbury Ice), 5 p.m.; Saturday at Barrington (R.I.), 6 p.m.
The Bottom Line: A win-one, lose-one start for the Falcons, though the past two win-ones are shutouts against top-10 teams.
9. GREENWICH
1-3-0
12
5
I
To Date: def. Hand 4-0; lost to Fairfield Prep 8-0; lost to Xavier 5-0; lost to Darien 4-2.
This Week: Wednesday vs. New Canaan (Hamill), 5:30 p.m.; Saturday vs. LaSalle (R.I.) (Hamill), 5:30 p.m.; Sunday vs. Bishop Hendricken (R.I.) (Hamill), 5:45 p.m.
The Bottom Line: Not the start the Cardinals wanted, scoring in only one of their first nine periods, but Wednesday's game was a step forward. Some solid competition this week.
To Date: lost to Darien 2-1; def. St. Joseph 6-3; lost to Xavier 6-0; lost to Notre Dame-West Haven 5-1.
This Week: Wednesday vs. Hand, 8 p.m.; Saturday vs. West Haven, 4 p.m.
The Bottom Line: Three top-10 teams in the first four games made for a tough start in the win column. The schedule gets maybe a bit easier, but not easy.
