HS Ice Hockey: Seedings announced for Mercer County Tournament

The pairings for the 2018 Mercer County Tournament have been announced, and four-time defending champion Hun gained the top-seed.

The skates will hit the ice at Mercer County Park on Tuesday (Feb. 6). Three first-round games start at 4:30 p.m., with No. 8 Pennington facing off with No. 9 Steinert.

Then at 6:30 p.m. it’s No. 7 Robbinsville (6-8-5) looking to get past No. 10 Lawrence (2-10-2). The opening night caps off with No. 6 West Windsor-Plainsboro (10-8-4) skating against No. 11 Nottingham (0-13-1).

“I actually think the guys are more geared up for the MCT than any of the others we’ve entered during this stretch,’’ said Hun coach Ian McNally. “We have a number of guys who came up through JV or are new to the team, so this certainly isn’t a group full of guys who have won multiple times. The hunger is very much there, though.’’

It’s a hunger the Raiders (9-8-2) would love to keep feeding.’’

The MCT gains some extra impetus for Hun because there is no Prep state tournament this year. They failed to qualify for the Mid-Atlantic Hockey League playoffs and fell in the semifinal round of this December’s Purple Puck tourney in the District of Columbia.

The Raiders will face the winner of Pennington and Steinert on Wednesday at 3 p.m. at the Park.

Princeton (11-6-2) gained the No. 2 seed and will await the Robbinsville and Lawrence winner at 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

“We have come a long way,’’ said Princeton coach Tim Chase. “We are playing more as a team, but we still need to bear down on the details in the defensive zone. I like where we are right now, but I think we still have another gear to push to in the next week or so.’’

Notre Dame (11-8), which is the last program to win the county title before Hun’s run, captured the No. 3 seed and will meet the WW-P and Nottingham winner at 9 p.m. on Wednesday.

The other quarterfinal game could be the most intriguing match of the day as No. 4 Hopewell Valley 7-6-5) skates against No. 5 Paul VI (8-2-1) at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

It should be an interesting two days with the semifinals set for the following Tuesday (Feb. 13) at 4 and 6 p.m. at Mercer County Park.

“Like all sports, playoffs are what defines most players and teams,’’ said Chase. “It’s nice to rack up points and wins throughout the season, but the playoffs are what everyone is working towards. Great players and great teams step up when it matters at the end of the season.’’

Tournament time is always a special time of the season and the MCT can be a great tune-up for the states.

“Focus and drive are traits that decide how far a team will go and how clutch a player can be.’’ said Chase. “There’s nothing like single elimination playoffs to see who rises to the top when the season is on the line. Anyone not excited for this part of the season needs to find another sport or activity.’’