Our Champlain Valley Insider Nick Mumley takes a look at the Vermont HS hockey landscape in his latest power rankings:
Essex (11-1-1) LW: 1
Essex holds the top spot again this week even after surviving a 4-2 upset bid from Rutland. The Raiders became just the fourth team to score more than once on the Hornets this year and they ended Essex’s three game shutout streak. They need to find a way to get back on track quickly, as five of their next six games come against ranked opponents.
BFA St Albans (10-3-0) LW: 3
Just hours after I ranked BFA behind Rice in last week’s rankings, the Bobwhites took down the Green Knights 3-1 in St Albans. BFA continues to roll after a few hiccups earlier in the year, as they’ve now won five straight games since their loss to Essex on January 11th.
Rice Memorial (10-3-0) LW: 2
Rice falls to #3 this week after losing on the road in a chippy contest against BFA. Their actions after the final whistle against the Bobwhites were most notable, however, as they tried to instigate a fight with the Bobwhites. It was certainly not a good look for a really solid group of players, and they’ll have to learn to play with a little more discipline if they want to bring home a title.
Harwood (12-1-0) LW: 4
Harwood continues to impress in the D-2 ranks, after Skylar Platt’s overtime goal against Milton led them to their 12th win. They are running away in the standings, as their win over the second place Yellowjackets puts them a couple games ahead. No one has seemed to be able to stop Platt or Finn O’Hara yet this year, and teams are running out of time to do so. The Highlanders defense goes through some rough stretches, but that’s only a minor problem when you’ve got the best offense in all of Vermont- regardless of division.
Woodstock (9-2-2) LW: 8
Woodstock climbs all the way to 5th this week after a big win over Lyndon. They’ve also climbed from fourth to second in the VPA standings, and are in a position to lock up home ice throughout the playoffs, which is huge considering that they are 6-0 at home this year. Woodstock has all the experience in the world and a fantastic defense. D-2 is wide open from second place on back, and those factors might be just enough for Woodstock to make a run.
Lyndon (11-4-0) LW: 6
Lyndon suffered a tough setback to Woodstock this week, their second straight loss to the Wasps. Their 11 wins are 2nd most in the state, but only one of those wins have come against a top 10 team (7-6 win over Harwood). Lyndon is a good team, and is very capable, but they need to start winning the big-time games more often if they want to make a run in the playoffs.
Middlebury (8-5-0) LW: 10
Don’t look now, but the Tigers have got things figured out. They’re 6-2 since the new year and are starting to win some big games. That was especially the case this week against Spaulding, when they brought home a 2-0 victory over the struggling Crimson Tide. They currently sit sixth in the D-1 standings, and are well within striking distance of Stowe and Spaulding, two teams they’ve already won against in the last month.
Spaulding (7-4-1) LW: 5
It’s hard to believe that Spaulding was ranked second in these rankings just two weeks ago, but the Crimson Tide truly have fallen off a cliff since. Since then, they’ve gone 0-3-1 with a tie against two-win CVU, a blowout loss to BFA, and a pair of shocking losses to Middlebury and Stowe. The Tide need to figure things out- and fast- before their dreams of a championship are out the window.
Milton (8-3-1) LW: 7
Milton falls to #9 this week, after a tough overtime loss to Harwood. The big weeks of Woodstock and Middlebury didn’t help the Yellowjackets cause this week either. While they did fall a few spots, don’t count them out by any means. Their senior leadership and strong defense will get them places in the tournament.
Stowe (7-4-0) LW: NR
It took a big victory over Spaulding, but Stowe finally returns to the top 10. They’ve looked like a different team over the last three contests: they fought tough with Essex a 5-3 loss, then blew out South Burlington before knocking off Spaulding on the road. We’ll see if they can keep it up, but if they can, perhaps they can play the spoiler in the D-1 playoffs at the end of this month.
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
Brattleboro (8-5-1), Burr & Burton (8-6-1), Hartford (8-5-1), Missisquoi (7-5-1)
