10 Connecticut boys hockey teams to watch in 2016

Here's a look at 10 Connecticut boys hockey teams to watch in 2016 (records through Thursday):

Darien (5-1)
The defending CIAC Division I champions have allowed the fewest goals in the class thus far (five) and should be considered one of this year's favorites. Jake Kirby scored back-to-back goals and Sam Knowlton added a goal and two assists as the Blue Wave rallied from an early deficit and thumped West Haven on Tuesday, 4-1.

Fairfield Prep (1-5-1)
Anyone unfamiliar with high school hockey won't understand why a 1-5-1 team on this list. Anyone familiar with the state hockey scene knows one should never, ever take the Jesuits likely. They played a tough out-of-conference schedule in December and lost to the likes of Darien (4-1) and Notre Dame of Fairfield (4-1). Justin Blanchette had a goal and an assist and Jack McGee had 31 saves in last Saturday's 2-2 tie against Notre Dame of West Haven.

Greenwich (7-0)
The Cardinals have more than earned their No. 1 ranking in the GameTimeCT.com/New Haven Register Top 10 poll. They opened the season with a 4-2 win over Xavier and have knocked off fellow powers St. Joseph (2-0) and Notre Dame-Fairfield (4-1). K.C. Cunningham scored twice while Colin Kelly and Ollie Fulton added goals in the ND win. Any serious hockey fan should be at Greenwich on Monday afternoon when it plays host to Darien.

North Haven (4-0-1)
The Indians are a point behind top-ranked Fairfield Warde/Ludlowe co-op in Division II, but are the only unbeaten team left in that class. John Jensen has eight goals and five assists for North Haven and Jason St. Peter has nine goals and two assists. Justin Daddio is also averaging 30.6 saves. The Indians had a quality 2-1 win over Cheshire last Saturday, and they go on the road this Saturday to play at Simsbury, one of the best teams on their regular season schedule.

Notre Dame Catholic (Fairfield) (4-3)
The Lancers are always a Division I power, but they're looking for their first win over a winning Connecticut team. Mark Russo lead the team with seven goals while Michael Antoniou has two goals and five assists. William "Billy" Scovill also has a 90-percent save percentage.

Notre Dame (West Haven) (6-2-1)
The Green Knights are a constant in the Division I race and are currently rated third. They gave Darien its only loss (3-1, Jan. 4) and also have wins over Simsbury (1-0), ND-Fairfield (3-1) and Glastonbury (3-2). Forward Joe Ansaldo leads a strong offense and Doug Caliendo anchors the defense. The Green Knights get another crack at Xavier on Saturday night (the Falcons won the first game, 5-2, Jan. 2).

Northwest Catholic (West Hartford) (6-1)
The Indians have been strong offensively as they've averaged 4.9 goals a game. They showed off their firepower in Wednesday's 7-4 win over Hamden, the most goals scored against the latter this season. Anthony Ceolin had two goals and an assist for Northwest and Tucker Alissi, Paul Arel and Ryan Sherba each had a goal and an assist. Danny McKenna added 31 saves.

Simsbury (5-3)
The Trojans have played a pretty aggressive non-conference schedule that includes losses to Notre Dame-W.H. (1-0) and Xavier (6-2) and still have games left against Cheshire (3-2-1), North Haven and ND-Fairfield. Simsbury has also been the best team in the Central Connecticut Conference thus far with wins over Northwest Catholic (6-3) defending conference champion Glastonbury (2-1, OT).

Stamford/Westhill (Stamford) (5-0-2)
The Stamford rivals were forced to co-op this season due to low numbers for both programs. The merger has been a success thus far as S/W is just one of three unbeaten teams left in the state and is the top-ranked team in Division III. Junior Nick Rich had four goals and sophomore Cooper Healy scored twice in Monday's 9-3 win over McMahon-Norwalk. There's a big discrepancy between Division I and III, thus the Stamford co-op will be tested greatly with upcoming games this month against Darien (Saturday), St. Joseph (Jan. 23) and Greenwich (Jan. 27). It ends the month playing host to fellow D-III contender Staples-Weston-Shelton (5-2).

Xavier (Middletown) (8-1)
The powerful SCC has generally been run by the likes of Fairfield Prep, Hamden, and Notre Dame of West Haven. The Falcons are tearing through the old guard this season with blowout wins over both Hamden (5-2) and ND and two strong out-of-conference win over St. Joseph (4-1, and 3-1). They're also the top-rated team in DI. Nikolus Kvietkus had two goals and Will McEwen added 25 saves in Wednesday's 6-2 win over fellow Division I contender Simsbury.