LOCAL HOCKEY PAIRINGS ANNOUNCED
The Vermont Principals association had published the hockey pairings, which also designates where and when teams play. We’ve compiled a list of our local teams, where and when they will be playing, and who they’re matching up against.
DIVISION I BOYS
(#2) BFA St. Albans vs the Winner of (#10) South Burlington and (#7) Colchester – Tuesday, March 3rd at 7:30 at Collins Perley
BFA St. Albans secures a second seed, earning a bye in the first round of playoffs. They’ll take on the winner of seventh-seeded Colchester and 10th seed South Burlington on Tuesday. The Bobwhites will host the winner with a 7:30 puck drop at Collins Perley.
Colchester will host South Burlington on Sunday to determine who will take on the Bobwhites.
The winner of Tuesday’s game will play whoever survives the game on Wednesday between (#3) Rice and (#6) Middlebury.
The Bobwhites have defeated all four of those teams that they could be matched up against between now and the finals.
The only teams that were able to stumble the Bobwhites in the regular season were (#1) Essex, (#5) Spaulding, and (#4) Stowe, all of which are in the other half of the DI Boys Hockey bracket.
DIVISION II BOYS
(#8) Missisquoi vs (#9) St. Johnsbury – Friday, February 28th at 7:30 in Highgate
The Thunderbirds squeaked out a home rink advantage in the first round, hosting the Hilltoppers of St. Johnsbury. With one more win and a tie than St. Johnsbury, Missisquoi picked up the home rink advantage by 0.15 average index points.
The Thunderbirds saw the Hilltoppers in the third week of January when they hosted them at the Highgate Arena, defeating them 6-3 on home ice.
Missisquoi has what it takes to defeat the Hilltoppers, including a barrage of fans that are likely to turn out for their team- but being the better seed means little more than home rink advantage, and the T-birds know that from past history. In 2018 the T-birds picked up the ninth-seed, traveling to eighth-seeded Brattleboro for the 6-0 upset.
(#3) Milton vs the winner of (#6) Brattleboro and (#11) Mt. Mansfield – Tuesday, March 3rd at 7:30 in Highgate
Picking up a first-round bye and earning the third seed in the DII Boys tournament, the Yellow Jackets will likely take on Brattleboro on Tuesday, when they host the winner of Friday’s matchup between the Colonels and Mt. Mansfield Cougars.
The Yellow Jackets enter the postseason having not deen defeated in the past five games- their last loss came at the heals of Brattleboro, who came back in the final minutes to defeat Milton 3-2.
DI Girls Hockey
(#2) BFA St. Albans vs (#7) Rutland –
Tuesday, March 3rd at 5:30 at Collins Perley
Coming off the heels of a win over Rutland, the Comets pick up the second-seed in their division, pairing up with Rutland and earning a bye in the first round of the playoffs.
The Comets have only lost to one Vermont school this season, that was in January when BFA St. Albans traveled to Essex and skated to a 3-0 win. But the Comets proved they could contend with the Hornets two other time this season- once when they played at a neutral site, and once when the Comets hosted the Hornets on February 19th in St. Albans.
Tuesday’s game will be a rematch of last night’s game where the Comets defeated the Raiders 2-0.
The Comets showed that they can take on any defender in DI this year- defeating the would-be top-seeded-powerhouse, Burlington-Colchester, in January, and then ending with a tie against them in February.
If the comets make it through Rutland on Tuesday, they will most likely host Essex for the privilege of going to Gutterson for the Championship.
(4) Missisquoi vs (#5) U-32 – Wednesday, March 4, at 5:00 in Highgate
The T-birds picked up a bye for the first round with a 9-10-1 record, earning them a fourth seed, just ahead of their first opponent, U-32, who finished with the same record.
The Thunderbirds bested U-32 twice in the regular season, first when they hosted the Raiders in January with a final score of 5-2, and to weeks later when the Raiders traveled to Highgate with a final score of 5-4.
As defending champions, the young Thunderbird squad has what it takes to make it deep in the playoffs this year, and has an immense amount of experience to gather for future seasons.
