The 2013-14 Register/GameTimeCT Top 10 hockey poll compiled by Dan Nowak.
Team (Record)(First-place votes) Points; Last rank
1. Notre Dame-West Haven (4-1) (7)…147 pts…2
Last week: Defeated Glastonbury 5-1, Xavier 4-1, Simsbury 5-1.
Bottom line: New coach Tim Belcher has ND rolling with four straight wins.
2. Fairfield Prep (3-2) (3)…144 pts…1
Last week: Lost to Bishop Hendricken (R.I.) 4-3, def. Franklin, Mass. 7-2, def. Mount St. Charles (R.I.) 4-0.
Bottom line: Wild start to season has Prep one of four teams with first-place votes.
3. Hamden (2-0) (6)……… 137 points ….. 7
Last week: No games.
Bottom line: Early-season wins against ranked teams (New Canaan, Darien) moves Hamden up the poll.
4. Darien (2-1) (1)……. 135 points……. 3
Last week: Def. New Canaan 4-1.
Bottom line: Blue Wave earned huge respect with 1-0 win over Prep on Dec. 21.
5. New Canaan (2-2)……. 73 points……. 6
Last week: Def. Greenwich 4-1, lost to Darien 4-1.
Bottom line: Rough start for Rams against ranked teams with 1-2 mark.
6. West Haven (2-1)…….63 points…. Not ranked
Last week: Def. South Windsor 4-0, Notre Dame-Fairfield 4-2.
Bottom line: Blue Devils crack the Top 10 for the first time this season after a comeback win over the Lancers on Saturday.
7. Ridgefield (2-2)……… 60 points……..4
Last week: Def. Xavier 4-2, lost to Glastonbury 2-1.
Bottom line: The Tigers hope to get over .500 with a rematch against Xavier on Saturday.
8. Notre Dame-Fairfield (2-2)……….53 points…….. 5
Last week: Def. St. Joseph 7-3, lost to West Haven 4-2.
Bottom line: Coach Steve Hetherman is hoping for a more consistent team effort to snap the Lancers’ win-followed-by-a-loss trend.
9. East Haven (5-0)……….38 points……….10
Last week: Def. Stamford 9-1, Greenwich 6-0, Wilton 5-0.
Bottom line: Easties’ high-powered offense has outscored opponents 27-5.
10. Simsbury (3-1)……….35 points………. Not ranked
Last week: Def. Northwest Catholic 6-4, lost to Notre Dame-West Haven 5-1.
Bottom line: The Trojans begin a tough stretch with four games in nine days starting with Fermi/Enfield on Friday.
Dropped out: St. Joseph (8) and Xavier (9).
First-place votes in parentheses and points tabulated on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
Others receiving votes: Glastonbury (2-2) 29; Xavier (1-2) 11; St. Joseph (2-2) 6; North Haven (3-1) 3; Amity (3-1) 1.
The following media voted: Mary Albl, Fairfield Minuteman; Matt Conyers, Hartford Courant; Don Boyle, SportingNewsCT.com; Dan Nowak, New Haven Register; Mike Madera, Elm City Newspapers; Greg Lederer, Cheshire Herald; George “Coach” DeMaio, 960-WELI; Jim Stout, MaxPreps.com Northeast Regional writer-editor, John Nash, The Hour of Norwalk; Peter Vander Veer, Hersam Acorn Publications; Mike Fornabaio, Connecticut Post.
The following coaches voted: Shaun Gallagher, Ridgefield; Matt Sather, Fairfield Prep; Ken Barse, Glastonbury; Tim Belcher, Notre Dame-West Haven; Sal Follo, Milford; Larry Vieira, Immaculate/New Fairfield.
Poll compiled by: Dan Nowak
