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* * 🏒  HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT GUIDE  🏒 * *

Tues. 1/28/14

RPI Rankings: It’s That Time Again

Given that the end of January is upon us and a number of teams have begun to separate themselves from the pack, we felt that it was time to calculate and post the current RPI rankings for all NEPSIHA teams. Before we get to the rankings, however, we feel a quick reminder of what goes into the rankings is in order, especially considering that every year we have some new readers. The RPI is set up as a way to rank NEPSIHA teams in an equitable manner, one that attempts to take into account both how well a team has performed as well as the strength of their schedule. With that in mind, here are a couple of reminders before getting into it. 1) Only games against other NEPSIHA teams count towards playoff calculations. 2) Games in tournaments decided after the first five minutes of overtime (i.e., via a shootout or extended overtime) count as ties for both of the teams involved. And 3) All games against NEPSHIA teams will count towards the RPI.

The following RPI calculations, which include games through Sun. Jan. 27, are based on three categories: 

1. The first portion of the calculation is based on a team’s winning percentage. Simply put, this is how well a team performs in its own games. This is important because a team needs a strong winning percentage no matter who they play. A team’s winning percentage is calculated by adding the number of wins plus 1/2 the number of ties and dividing this total by the number of games played. Winning percentage accounts for 25% of the total RPI calculation.

2. The second portion of the RPI is a calculation of each team’s opponents winning percentage. In other words, how good are the teams that you are playing during the year in question? Winning percentage is calculated the same way as above, but this time the mathematics is based on the total number of your opponent’s wins, plus half the number of their ties. Next, divide that total by the number of games played by your opponents.  This category is worth 21% of the RPI calculation because how you play (your own winning percentage) should be worth a bit more than how your opponents play (the second category). 

3. The third portion of the RPI is based on your opponents’ opponents’ winning percentage.  This is basically set up as a ‘strength of schedule’ component, and is an attempt to eliminate much of the variation that can happen to teams on a yearly basis in terms of wins and losses.  This helps eliminate the need/desire to change schedules because one team may be stronger or weaker from one year to the next.  It also eliminates the possibility that you can decrease your own RPI by defeating another team. This third category is worth 54% of the total RPI calculation. 

The above RPI calculations, as utilized by NEPSIHA, mirror those used by Division I college hockey and adopted for use in 2006. However, the Stuart/Corkery ‘Elite Eight’ playoff tournament seedings are not determined solely by RPI. To arrive at the final seedings for the Elite 8 another step is required. That’s where the JSPR system comes into play. Just as college hockey has a system for comparing the top teams and how they fare against one another -- i.e., the Pairwise Rankings – prep hockey utilizes the JSPR system as a means to compare the top teams and how they have played against each other. At this point of the season the RPI rankings give the best point of comparison, but in a week or two we will post the first set of JSPR rankings (along with an explanation of how those numbers are calculated). In order for a team to be considered for the JSPR, however, they must finish among the top 16 teams in terms of RPI. When the season ends, and the top 8 finishers, as determined by the JSPR formula, are culled, all remaining schools are seeded, solely using the RPI, for the big school and small school tournaments.

Here are the RPI Rankings. They are current through games of Sunday Jan. 26th. As we get closer to the end of the season we will have more frequent RPI rankings. We will also, of course, start publishing JSPR calculations as well.

RPI Rankings, through Sun. Jan. 26

Notes:

- First off please note that, regardless of their RPI, if a team does not play 15 games against NEPSIHA competition, they will not be eligible for the playoffs. There are only a handful of schools that this generally applies to.

If you are curious as to how things can change, here’s a look at the top 16 at this time last year. And remember, Salisbury won it all, topping Kent, and neither were in the top four with a month to go.
1. KUA, 2. Belmont Hill, 3. Berkshire, 4. Gunnery, 5. Kent, 6. Dexter, 7. Salisbury, 8. Avon, 9. Exeter, 10. Cushing, 11. Westminster, 12. Kents Hill, 13. Choate, 14. Milton. 15. Loomis, and 16. St. Sebastian’s. When the final RPI was calculated 15 of these teams were among the final 16. Loomis lost four of their last five and fell out of contention; Thayer won four of their last five and finished tenth in RPI. Also, The top seven teams with a month to go were still the top seven teams at the end. The biggest scramble was with teams ranked 8-16. A lot of volatility there. Also, watch the teams between 12-20 as that is the group from which teams can jump up into the Top 16 -- or fall out of the Top 16. Actually, you can go a little farther than 20: Last year Thayer was at 21, but pulled themselves all the way up to #10. There are some very big hockey games played in the last month and we'll attempt to point them out when they arise.

***

Large School/Small School Breakdown

You will notice that the left-hand column in the RPI rankings is designated for school size – large or small. There are 64 NEPSIHA schools and 32 are considered large, and 32 are considered small.

Here is the list for this year. The number next to the school names indicated male enrollment only.

Large School/Small School Breakdown

Sun. 1/26/14

Prep Girls Schedule, Week of Jan. 27, 2014

Mon. Jan. 27
Gunnery @ Hotchkiss, 4:45 pm
Brewster Academy @ Winchendon, 5:00 pm
BB&N @ Groton, 5:00 pm
Wilton HS @ Rye Country Day, 5:00 pm (S)
Westminster @ Taft, 5:30 pm
Deerfield @ Kingswood-Oxford, 5:30 pm

Wed. Jan. 29
Hotchkiss @ Berkshire, 2:30 pm
Tabor @ Rivers, 2:30 pm
Andover @ Exeter, 3:00 pm
Governor's @ BB&N, 3:00 pm
Taft @ Williston-Northampton, 3:00 pm
Groton @ Middlesex, 3:00 pm
Kimball Union @ Kents Hill, 3:00 pm
Stanstead College @ Tilton, 3:00 pm
Southfield @ Worcester Academy, 3:15 pm
Thayer @ Brooks, 3:15 pm
St. Paul's @ St. Mark's, 3:30 pm
New Hampton @ Cushing, 3:30 pm
Loomis-Chaffee @ Gunnery, 3:30 pm
Westminster @ Pomfret, 3:30 pm
Dana Hall @ Newton CD, 3:30 pm
Pingree @ Berwick, 4:00 pm
Holderness @ Hebron, 4:00 pm
Noble & Greenough @ St. George's, 4:15 pm
Lawrence Academy @ Milton, 4:30 pm
Millbrook @ Kingswood-Oxford, 4:30 pm
Greenwich @ Kent, 4:30 pm
Proctor @ Vermont Academy, 4:30 pm
Northfield - Mt. Hermon @ Choate, 4:45 pm
Lawrenceville @ Canterbury, 5:00 pm

Thurs. Jan. 30
Brewster Academy @ Exeter, 4:30 pm

Fri. Jan. 31
New Hampton @ St. Paul's, 3:30 pm -- postponed
Cushing @ Northfield - Mt. Hermon, 3:45 pm
Berwick @ Dana Hall, 4:15 pm
Thayer @ Newton CD, 4:15 pm
St. Mark's @ Southfield, 4:45 pm
Worcester Academy @ Vermont Academy, 5:00 pm
Rivers @ Milton, 5:00 pm
Hebron @ Middlesex, 5:30 pm
Governor's @ Tilton, 6:00 pm
Lawrence Academy @ Tabor, 6:30 pm

Sat. Feb. 1
Worcester Academy @ Winchendon, 1:00 pm
North Yarmouth Academy @ Holderness, 1:00 pm
Rye Country Day @ Lawrenceville, 1:00 pm
Exeter @ BB&N, 1:30 pm
Vermont Academy @ Northfield - Mt. Hermon, 1:30 pm
Winsor @ Berwick, 1:45 pm
Milton @ Thayer, 2:15 pm
Pingree @ Tilton, 3:00 pm
New Hampton @ Andover, 3:30 pm
Tabor @ St. Mark's, 3:30 pm
Brooks @ Noble & Greenough, 3:45 pm
Kimball Union @ Brewster Academy, 5:00 pm
Groton @ Governor's, 5:15 pm

Mon. Feb. 3
North Yarmouth Academy @ Kents Hill, 4:30 pm
Winsor @ Newton CD, 4:30 pm
Andover @ Brooks, 5:15 pm
Milton @ BB&N, 5:15 pm

Sun. 1/27/14

Girls Prep Rankings

Here's what we have. These are unofficial and based on the assumption that all teams have their results correctly inputted to USHR. Any discrepancies should be reported to us at: information (at) ushr.com

Computed Sunday morning, Jan. 27.

Div. 1
1. Nobles
2. St. Paul's
3. Tabor
4. Westminster
5. Pomfret
6. Kent
7. Loomis
8. Choate
9. Williston
10. New Hampton
11. BB&N

Div. II
1. Millbrook
2. Rivers
3. Brooks
4. Gunnery
5. Proctor
6. Worcester
7. Southfield
8. St. George's
9. Berwick
10. Vermont

Tues. 1/21/14

Storm Cancellations

The winter storm hitting New England is expected to clear out by midday Wednesday, but we expect there will be cancellations, particularly from day schools. Please send all cancellations and postponements to information (at) ushr.com so people don’t drive to games that are not taking place. Please note whether the game in question is a girls or boys game. Thank you.

Update: As of 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, no cancellations have been reported.

Mon. 1/20/14

Prep Girls Schedule Week of Jan. 20, 2014

Mon. Jan. 20
Brooks @ Rivers, 4:00 pm
Taft @ Gunnery, 4:45 pm

Tues. Jan. 21
Kingswood-Oxford @ Hotchkiss, 5:00 pm

Wed. Jan. 22
Hotchkiss @ Millbrook, 2:00 pm
Worcester Academy @ Brooks, 2:15 pm
Gunnery @ Berkshire, 2:30 pm
Tilton @ Exeter, 2:30 pm
Williston-Northampton @ Westminster, 3:00 pm
Brewster Academy vs. BB&N, 3:15 pm -- canceled
Andover @ Cushing, 3:30 pm
Choate @ Kent, 3:30 pm
Winchendon @ New Hampton, 3:30 pm
Thayer @ Rivers, 3:30 pm
Groton @ Pingree, 4:00 pm
St. Paul's @ Northfield - Mt. Hermon, 4:30 pm
Lawrence Academy @ Noble & Greenough, 4:30 pm
Taft @ Loomis-Chaffee, 4:30 pm
St. George's @ St. Mark's, 4:30 pm
Berwick @ Newton CD, 4:30 pm
Holderness @ Kimball Union, 4:30 pm
Vermont Academy @ Stanstead College, 4:30 pm
Deerfield @ Pomfret, 4:45 pm
Southfield @ Governor's, 5:00 pm
Portledge @ Rye Country Day, 5:00 pm (S)
Portsmouth Abbey @ Kingswood-Oxford, 6:00 pm
NEWHL @ Proctor, 6:45 pm (S)

Fri. Jan. 24
Dana Hall @ Pingree, 4:00 pm
Kimball Union @ Proctor, 4:15 pm
Tilton @ New Hampton, 4:30 pm
Holderness @ Middlesex, 4:30 pm
Vermont Academy @ Winchendon, 4:30 pm
Brewster Academy @ Loomis-Chaffee, 5:00 pm
Lawrence Academy @ Groton, 5:00 pm
Newton CD @ Portsmouth Abbey, 5:00 pm
Rivers @ St. Paul's, 5:30 pm
Cushing @ Noble & Greenough, 6:00 pm
Governor's @ Tilton, 6:00 pm
North Yarmouth Academy @ Berwick, 6:30 pm
Stanstead College @ Hebron, 7:00 pm
Northwood Prep @ Choate, 7:30 pm

Sat. Jan. 25
Stanstead College @ Kents Hill, 12:00 pm
North Yarmouth Academy @ Rye Country Day, 1:30 pm
Worcester Academy @ Kingswood-Oxford, 2:00 pm
Beaver Country Day @ Portsmouth Abbey, 2:30 pm
Brewster Academy @ Choate, 3:00 pm
Winchendon @ St. Paul's, 3:00 pm
Proctor @ Berwick, 3:00 pm
Thayer @ Middlesex, 3:00 pm
Southfield @ Brooks, 3:30 pm
Deerfield @ Andover, 4:00 pm
Millbrook @ Berkshire, 4:00 pm
Williston-Northampton @ Hotchkiss, 4:00 pm
Loomis-Chaffee @ Greenwich, 4:00 pm
Groton @ Holderness, 4:00 pm
Pingree @ St. George's, 4:00 pm
Westminster @ Gunnery, 4:15 pm
BB&N @ Cushing, 4:30 pm
Pomfret @ Northfield - Mt. Hermon, 4:30 pm
Hebron @ Exeter, 4:30 pm
New Hampton @ St. Mark's, 6:00 pm
Governor's @ Tilton, 6:00 pm
Kent @ Taft, 7:00 pm

Mon. Jan. 27
Gunnery @ Hotchkiss, 4:45 pm
Brewster Academy @ Winchendon, 5:00 pm
BB&N @ Groton, 5:00 pm
Wilton HS @ Rye Country Day, 5:00 pm (S)
Westminster @ Taft, 5:30 pm

Sun. 1/12/14

Prep Girls Schedule, Week of Jan. 13, 2014
Mon. Jan. 13
Holderness @ Tilton, 3:45 pm
NEWHL Pre-Prep @ St. Paul's, 5:00 pm (S)
Berwick @ Brooks, 5:00 pm
Rye Country Day @ Portledge, 5:30 pm (S)

Wed. Jan. 15
Canterbury @ Gunnery, 2:00 pm
Kimball Union @ Vermont Academy, 2:00 pm
St. Mark's @ Middlesex, 2:30 pm
Hotchkiss vs. Cushing, 2:45 pm  (@ Trinity College)
Kingswood-Oxford @ Williston-Northampton, 2:45 pm
St. Paul's @ Thayer, 3:00 pm
Andover @ Lawrence Academy, 3:00 pm
Northfield - Mt. Hermon @ Berkshire, 3:00 pm
Exeter @ Holderness, 3:00 pm
Taft @ Loomis-Chaffee, 3:00 pm
Hebron @ North Yarmouth Academy, 3:00 pm
Brewster Academy @ Noble & Greenough, 3:15 pm
Rivers @ BB&N, 3:30 pm
Proctor @ Groton, 4:00 pm
Portsmouth Abbey @ Newton CD, 4:00 pm
Choate @ Deerfield, 4:15 pm
Pingree @ Worcester Academy, 4:15 pm
Millbrook @ Westminster, 4:15 pm
Dana Hall @ Berwick, 4:15 pm
Beaver Country Day @ Winsor, 4:15 pm
St. George's @ Tabor, 4:30 pm
Brooks @ Tilton, 4:30 pm
Pomfret @ Kent, 4:30 pm
New Hampton @ Winchendon, 5:00 pm
Governor's @ Milton, 5:30 pm

Thurs. Jan. 16
Beaver Country Day @ Winsor, 4:15 pm

Fri. Jan. 17
Newton CD @ Winsor, 4:15 pm
Cushing @ Middlesex, 4:30 pm
Hebron @ BB&N, 5:00 pm
Milton @ Southfield, 5:00 pm
Greenwich @ Millbrook, 5:00 pm
Rye Country Day @ Princeton Day School, 5:00 pm (S)
Groton @ Rivers, 5:15 pm
New Hampton @ Deerfield, 6:00 pm
Governor's @ Kimball Union, 6:30 pm
Tabor @ Williston-Northampton, 6:45 pm

Sat. Jan. 18
Lawrenceville @ Gunnery, 1:00 pm
Southfield @ Holderness, 1:00 pm
NEWHL @ Middlesex, 1:30 pm (S)
Winchendon @ BB&N, 2:00 pm
New Hampton @ Choate, 2:00 pm
Noble & Greenough @ Exeter, 2:00 pm
Tilton @ Northfield - Mt. Hermon, 2:00 pm
Deerfield @ Taft, 2:00 pm
Berwick @ Kimball Union, 2:00 pm
Rye Country Day @ Hill School, 2:00 pm
Kents Hill @ Thayer, 2:15 pm
St. Mark's @ Andover, 2:30 pm
Westminster @ Hotchkiss, 2:30 pm
Pomfret @ Loomis-Chaffee, 2:30 pm
Worcester Academy @ North Yarmouth Academy, 3:15 pm
Brewster Academy @ Rivers, 3:30 pm
St. George's @ Governor's, 3:30 pm
Groton @ Vermont Academy, 3:30 pm
St. Paul's @ Milton, 4:00 pm
Portsmouth Abbey @ Pingree, 4:00 pm
Kent @ Williston-Northampton, 4:30 pm
Berkshire @ Lawrence Academy, 5:00 pm
Brooks @ NEWHL, 5:30 pm (S)
Kingswood-Oxford @ Canterbury, 6:00 pm
Proctor @ Hebron, 6:30 pm

Sun. Jan. 19
Proctor @ Kents Hill, 12:00 pm
Berkshire @ Cushing, 12:30 pm

Mon. Jan. 20
Brooks @ Rivers, 4:00 pm
Taft @ Gunnery, 4:45 pm

Mon. 1/6/14

Prep Girls Schedule, Week of Jan. 6, 2014

Mon. Jan. 6, 2014
Kent @ Berkshire, 4:45 pm
Noble & Greenough @ Rivers, 5:15 pm

Tues. Jan. 7
St. Mark's @ Lawrence Academy, 4:45 pm
BB&N @ Tabor, 5:30 pm
Southfield @ Proctor, 6:00 pm

Wed. Jan. 8
St. Paul's vs. Governor's, 1:30 pm (@ Fenway Park)
Tilton @ Holderness, 2:00 pm
Proctor @ Winchendon, 2:00 pm
Westminster @ Choate, 2:30 pm
Millbrook @ Canterbury, 2:30 pm
Kent @ Loomis-Chaffee, 3:00 pm
Deerfield @ Northfield - Mt. Hermon, 3:00 pm
Cushing @ Brewster Academy, 3:30 pm
Williston-Northampton @ Berkshire, 3:30 pm
Pomfret @ Taft, 3:30 pm
Exeter @ Worcester Academy, 3:45 pm
Newton CD @ Pingree, 3:45 pm
Greenwich @ Hotchkiss, 4:00 pm
Portsmouth Abbey @ Winsor, 4:15 pm
Middlesex @ Noble & Greenough, 4:30 pm
Rivers @ St. George's, 4:30 pm
Andover @ Southfield, 4:45 pm
Berwick @ Hebron, 5:15 pm

Thurs. Jan. 9
Brooks @ St. Paul's, 5:45 pm

Fri. Jan. 10
Holderness @ Worcester Academy, 3:45 pm
Beaver Country Day @ Pingree, 3:45 pm
Southfield @ Tabor, 4:00 pm
Dana Hall @ Portsmouth Abbey, 4:30 pm
Thayer @ Milton, 5:00 pm
Canterbury @ Kingswood-Oxford, 5:00 pm
Morristown Beard @ Millbrook, 5:15 pm
Hebron @ Kents Hill, 5:15 pm
Winchendon @ Northfield - Mt. Hermon, 5:30 pm
Lawrence Academy @ Pomfret, 6:00 pm
Andover @ Brewster Academy, 6:30 pm
BB&N @ New Hampton, 6:30 pm
Newton CD @ Berwick, 7:00 pm

Sat. Jan. 11
Milton @ Groton, 1:30 pm
Rye Country Day @ Summit HS, 1:45 pm (S)
Deerfield @ Exeter, 2:00 pm
Lawrence Academy @ Brooks, 2:00 pm
Middlesex @ Governor's, 2:00 pm
Winchendon @ Rivers, 2:00 pm
Cushing @ St. Mark's, 3:00 pm
Loomis-Chaffee @ Hotchkiss, 3:00 pm
Thayer @ Southfield, 3:00 pm
Noble & Greenough @ Berkshire, 3:30 pm
Kimball Union @ Holderness, 3:30 pm
Brewster Academy @ Tabor, 4:00 pm
Westminster @ Northfield - Mt. Hermon, 4:00 pm
Proctor @ Pingree, 4:00 pm
Lawrenceville @ Kent, 4:00 pm
Worcester Academy @ Berwick, 4:15 pm
Williston-Northampton @ Gunnery, 4:15 pm
Andover @ St. Paul's, 4:30 pm
St. George's @ Kents Hill, 4:30 pm
North Yarmouth Academy @ Tilton, 4:30 pm
Taft @ Choate, 5:00 pm
Vermont Academy @ Portsmouth Abbey, 6:00 pm
Canterbury @ Greenwich, 7:30 pm

Sun. Jan. 12
Pomfret vs. New Hampton, 10:00 am (at Northeastern U.)
Lawrenceville @ Berkshire, 10:30 am

Mon. Jan. 13
Holderness @ Tilton, 3:45 pm
NEWHL Pre-Prep @ St. Paul's, 5:00 pm (S)
Rye Country Day @ Portledge, 5:30 pm (S)

Sun. 1/5/14

U.S. Women Top St. Seb's, 5-2
Brookline, Mass. -- This afternoon, the 2014 U.S. Women’s Olympic Hockey Team topped St. Sebastian’s, 5-2, in a game played at Dexter-Southfield’s rink, which, by the way, was jam-packed. The game really should have been played in a college rink – Walter Brown Arena or Harvard would have been just right.

A Will D’Orsi goal 41 seconds into the game gave St. Seb’s a 1-0 lead that held into the first intermission. In the second period, the Olympians took over and dominated, as Hilary Knight, Anne Schleper, Gigi Marvin, and Kendall Coyne scored four unanswered goals to give the U.S. women a 4-1 lead after two.

In the third, Kacey Bellamy scored for the U.S., and Corey Ronan for St. Sebastian’s.

As far as we know, there was no game sheet kept – this was an exhibition – so we’re hoping we have all the scoring right.

Brianne McLaughlin played the first 30 minutes for the U.S., and Jessie Vetter took over midway through the second. Tedy Loughborough played the full game in net for the Arrows.

This typist has seen every U.S. Women’s Olympic Hockey Team – this is only the fifth edition, as the women’s game was only added to the Olympics in 1998.  And this quadrennial’s team is an extremely good one. It’s a little hard to compare Olympic Women’s teams year to year because the women’s game keeps improving at a rapid pace.