Hockey: North Jersey storylines to follow in the state tournament

Robert Aitken Jr., NorthJersey.com

February 16, 2022 at 8:17 AM·4 min read

A total of 79 teams were placed into four different brackets for the NJSIAA hockey tournaments on Tuesday.

Of those teams selected for the tournaments, 19 hail from North Jersey. Eight of those teams were awarded single-digit seeds in their brackets. North Jersey teams play into key storylines in all four brackets.

Can red-hot Ridgewood or a Passaic Tech factor into a crowded Public A bracket?

Can anyone contend with Northern Highlands in a Public B pool of teams filled with common opponents?

Can No. 6 seed Wayne navigate a wide open Public C bracket and reach the later rounds?

Can either of Bergen County's non-public powers get in the way of unbeaten Christian Brothers Academy?

Here are the biggest takeaways from Tuesday's brackets, which can be viewed in full here.

Don Bosco, Bergen Catholic contend in Non-Public

The majority of the Non-Public bracket is made up of the 11 teams in the Gordon Conference, which are all automatically entered in the state tournament.

Don Bosco and Bergen Catholic both reached the Gordon Cup semifinals and are seeded in the top four in the Non-Public bracket.

Don Bosco is the No. 3 seed and the Ironmen will be favored against the winner of a Frisch-Notre Dame play-in game, likely facing Seton Hall Prep for a third time in the quarterfinals. Can the Ironmen overcome a potential rematch with Delbarton in the semifinals following a 4-1 loss in late January?

More: Hockey: North Jersey Top 10 rankings as postseason tournaments get going

As for Bergen Catholic, the No. 4 seed draws the winner of St. Rose and Paramus Catholic in the first round before likely facing Gloucester Catholic in the quarterfinals.

Bergen Catholic tied the Rams in the regular season, but eliminated them in the Gordon Cup quarterfinals this past week.

Both Don Bosco and Bergen Catholic stand in the way of unbeaten top seed Christian Brothers, but the Crusaders would get the first chance with a potential state semifinal at Codey Arena on March 2. CBA defeated Bergen Catholic, 10-2, in the Gordon Cup semifinals on Tuesday.

Public B favorites in Bergen County

Six of the 17 teams that qualified in the Public B bracket come from North Jersey, including three of the top five seeds.

Northern Highlands is the favorite as the top seed. The Highlanders reached the Bergen County tournament final and boast an unbeaten record against in-state public school teams.

The biggest obstacle for the Highlanders might come in the semifinals, where they could face either No. 4 seed Ramapo or No. 5 seed Mahwah. With first round wins, the Raiders and the Thunderbirds would face each another in the quarterfinals for the fourth time this season. Ramapo earned a higher seed with two regular season wins over Mahwah.

Despite a sub-.500 record from a difficult schedule, Glen Rock (7-8-2) was granted an at-large bid and given the No. 7 seed in Public B. This puts the Panthers on the other half of the bracket.

Glen Rock will face No. 10 seed West Morris Mendham in the first round before likely traveling to face Dowd Cup finalist Rumson-Fair Haven in the quarterfinals.

Ridgewood slid in tough Public A

The Maroons are a far cry from the same team that began the season 1-3 overall. Yet Ridgewood's positioning as the No. 6 seed in the Public A bracket does not do justice to the turnaround the team has been through. Ridgewood has won 10 of its last 11 games with eight of those wins coming against state qualifiers.

The reward for Ridgewood is a first-round game against a difficult Monroe team that's playing St. Joseph (Metuchen) in the Kolodney Cup semifinals on Wednesday. That would be the only game Ridgewood would host.

Under the radar teams

Enjoying the best season in only its fourth season of existence, Passaic Tech (12-10-1) is a dark horse in Public A as the No. 10 seed. Sitting out of the Big North cups may have harmed the Bulldogs in seeding, but a first state tournament win at Middletown South is still possible.
Lakeland (11-7) split a pair of games against Mahwah during the regular season and will get a third chance against the Thunderbirds in Round 1 of the Public B bracket. The No. 12 seed Lancers beat Mahwah, 7-3, on Dec. 3 before dropping a 5-1 contest on Jan. 21 during a Lakeland losing streak.
The largest of the four brackets, Public C is filled with double-digit seeds with the potential for far runs in the tournament. None might be more interesting than River Dell/Westwood/Emerson (12-3-3), the No. 11 seed. The only three losses for the Golden Hawks this season are to teams ranked in the top seven in either Public A or B, making them battle tested in a more wide-open Public C bracket.

Robert Aitken is a high school sports reporter for NorthJersey.com. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis from our Varsity Aces team, subscribe today. To get breaking news directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter and download our app.

Email: aitken@northjersey.com

Twitter: @robertaitkenjr

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ hockey: North Jersey storylines to follow in the state tournament

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Don Bosco, Bergen Catholic contend in Non-Public

Public B favorites in Bergen County

Ridgewood slid in tough Public A

Under the radar teams

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