Assessing where teams stand as MCT seeding approaches
It’s expected the Mercer County Tournament seedings are going to be announced early this week and with the new format it will not be an easy task.
The format adopted for this year will have two brackets, technically two tournaments, the championship bracket and the consolation bracket.
The change, for the first time since the tourney began in 1981, was done because the NJSIAA made some changes to the scheduling so sports do not overlap.
Personally, I hope both the NJSIAA and the Mercer County Tournament Directors find another way to conduct the MCT.
Hopefully, the committee is comprised of individuals who have seen a fair number of games and teams.
Here’s one person’s opinion.
First well look at the ones that appear to be a lock (using records as of Sunday)
PRINCETON (10-0) >> Tigers have handled everything a top-seed is required to. LAWRENCEVILLE (3-4) >> The Big Red have a tradition of playing very tough teams early. They did that and have now won three straight
HUN (7-2) >> The Raiders came out blazing with seven straight wins and despite two straight losses are a very good team. ROBBINSVILLE (9-2) AND NOTRE DAME (8-1) >> Both are interchangeable. The Ravens edged ND in the season opener and the Irish have won eight straight.
Now, here is where it gets interesting. There are potentially seven teams to fill the final three spots in the championship bracket, they are in alphabetical order.
HOPEWELL VALLEY (8-5) >> The Bulldogs have won six of the last eight games LAWRENCE (6-4) >> After a tough stretch, Cards have won two straight. PENNINGTON (5-3-1) >> Red Hawks have played very well lately and have won four of last six. PRINCETON DAY (4-5) >> Panthers have several quality wins.
STUART (6-3) >> Always a solid program, and have played every team tough. WEST WINDSOR-PLAINSBORO SOUTH (5-5) >> The Pirates have played some difficult ones lately and have
been competitive.
My suggestion would be a 12-team single elimination bracket and it can be completed in four days.
CVC Colonial Division on the Line
Every season there always seems to be one game that stands out as the best matchup and one common denominator each year is Princeton.
It always seems the Tigers are involved.
A few years ago, it was Allentown, then it was Lawrence and this year it’s Notre Dame clipping at the Tigers’ heels.
The two will meet tomorrow at Notre Dame at 4 p.m.
Undefeated Princeton (10-0) has won the last five
games and you have to go back to September 2017 to find the last Notre Dame win.
The Irish (8-1) are streaking having won eight straight since a season opening loss to Robbinsville.
“The key will be to play our PHS game, adapt in the moment to the variables the game presents us,” said Princeton coach Heather Serverson. “We need to stay poised and focused for the entire 60 minutes.”
The Tigers have allowed only four goals on the season and never more than one to any team.
They’ve scored a few, too. Seventy-three to be exact.
Princeton’s Erin Liggio is the county’s top scorer
with 23 goals and Hannah Christopher has 17.
“We are very excited to play Princeton,” said ND coach Cheryl Harris. “We are fortunate that most of our players can play more than one position, as that may be needed.”
While the Irish are ready to adjust the Tigers most likely will be looking to keep them guessing.
Both team believe they are ready for the challenge and besides some bragging rights a division title could be on the line, too.
Redbirds Chirping
When Allentown lost four straight games after a season opening win the whispering began, “what’s wrong.”
It appears nothing is wrong and with the Redbirds
and they have proven it with six wins in their last seven games.
“We had a difficult stretch at the beginning of our season with a lot of difficult games up front,” said Allentown coach Dana Schleider. “It took a little while to make some adjustments, but we came together and decided we wanted to change the path we were on; we started moving forward together to accomplish that.”
No matter what the record there was no panic in the Redbirds.
“Our message to the team is that as long as we play Allentown hockey, it’s a good day,” said Schleider. “However, it was challenging to keep coming out every day as a team when you felt like your hard work may not be making a difference. We have a lot of talent frosh through senior this year, so we kept vocalizing that learning the playing styles of your teammates takes time. The coaches always reminded the players that every practice and every minute counts toward getting stronger. Giving up was not an option for any of us.”
Now Allentown is hoping to qualify for the county tournament and continue to make some noise.
“We certainly are getting tournament ready and are not letting up on practices and hard work,” added Schleider. “If there was a time to peak, we are happy it’s now. There are going to be more difficult games ahead for us, but we are ready to face any challenge that comes our way.”
They have proven that the last seven games.