LoHud Hockey Blog

First Round
Monday

No. 8 Pearl River (7-10-1) vs. No. 9 Yorktown (5-13-1)
7:30 p.m.
Sport-O-Rama
Keep an eye on: Kevin Murphy is a Pearl River sophomore playmaker who’s been a noteworthy set-up man all season.
Scouting report: The Pirates were another young team when the season got under way, but they finished on a 5-2-1 run and gave Scarsdale a close game. Max McGee and Patrick Burns are the primary scoring threats and goalie Sam Coughlin had a couple of huge games down the stretch. Yorktown struggled all season to get traction. Frank Gavigan and Tyler Proscia have put up big numbers for the Huskers, but no team in Section 1 gave up more goals this season.
Prediction: Pearl River 5, Yorktown 4
Looking ahead: The winner plays John Jay.

No. 5 Scarsdale (12-5-1) vs. No. 12 Brewster (5-14-1), 6:30 p.m. at Ice Hutch
Keep an eye on: James Nicholas followed up an impressive freshman campaign at Scarsdale with 30 goals and 33 assists despite the extra attention.
Scouting report: The Raiders have been leaning heavily on a very talented first line all season long, and the marquee players don’t seem to mind all the ice time. Health is an issue that might clear up to some degree in the playoffs and give Jim Mancuso more depth to work with. Brewster was eliminated from the playoffs a year ago by Scarsdale, and might be able to use that for inspiration. The Bears are very thin beyond Sean Hamilton and Sean Henderson and would have to play their best game of the season to be competitive.
Prediction: Scarsdale 6, Brewster 1
Looking ahead: The winner plays Pelham.

No. 7 Hen Hud (11-9) vs. No. 10 Pawling (4-13-2)
8:30 p.m.
Brewster Ice Arena
Keep an eye on: Zach Shapiro gives up less than three goals a game for Hen Hud.
Scouting report: Hen Hud spends a lot of time scrambling on defense and it’s an effective way for this group to play. Brett Malinowski is a threat anytime he’s got the puck, but the Sailors do have some diversity in the offensive zone. Pawling did beat Hen Hud 4-1 in the first meeting of the season, but then took a 7-1 loss a month ago. The Tigers didn’t score more than three goals in any of their last four games.
Prediction: Hen Hud 5, Pawling 3.
Looking ahead: The winner plays Rye.

No. 6 Fox Lane (10-9-1) vs. No. 11 Byram Hills (5-14-1)
6:15 p.m.
Brewster Ice Arena
Keep an eye on: Fox Lane goalie Conor Bunyan is as stubborn as they come in net.
Scouting report: Blaze Vogliano leads the Foxes in scoring, and he’s only got 13 goals and 11 assists, which is a pretty good indication that this team is winning because of a defense anchored by a top goalie. Fox Lane only has two losses to a losing team, and one of them was to the Bobcats. It’s a rivalry game. Byram Hills lost the rematch 3-2. Scoring has been an issue for the Bobcats, who had a dozen goals in their last seven games.
Prediction: Fox Lane 2, Byram Hills 1 OT
Looking ahead: The winner plays Greeley.