Breaking down the seeding

On Saturday morning, as I eagerly awaited for the phone call that would inform me of the seeding for the 2010 Dowd Cup, the Shore Conference Tournament between the 'B' and 'C' teams, it's safe to say Howell, as a community, was disappointed.

In several predictions, the Rebels (13-3-4) were expected to fall anywhere from the first seed to the third seed. Eventually, Howell was awarded the fourth seed, with all three seeds ahead of them being handed out to teams whom Howell has beaten. (Howell defeated Toms River South 5-4 on January 14th, Howell defeated Wall 2-1 on Janaury 19th, Howell defeated Freehold Township 2-1 on December 22nd).

So, why is it, that these defending champion Rebels fall to a spot behind three teams they have defeated?

If you ask me, no, I don't believe Howell has been given the respect they deserve--they are much better than a fourth spot. Still, if you look at Toms River South, Wall, and Freehold Township, they do deserve a lot of credit for what they have done in this, 2009-2010 season.

Toms River South, first of all, deserves the first seed, hands down. Despite falling to Howell, their 17-regular season wins over-rule everything in this case. In those 17 wins, the Indians have rolled off some pretty impressive wins including a 6-2 win over 2nd-seeded Wall, a match-up that would be interesting to see in this tournament. Junior forward Jay Malone has been the key for Toms River South all season, leading them in many of those 17 wins. They are deserving of the number one seed and being selected as the favorite in this Dowd Cup.

The Wall Crimson Knights, coached by Mike Dianora, have also put together a very impressive regular season resume. With a record a 15-3-3 they have compiled a much better winning percentage than the Patriots of Freehold Townships and the Howell Rebels. With losses against only Howell, Toms River South, and Middletown South, Wall has beaten every team that they should have and have only fallen to the creme of the crop.

The Freehold Township Patriots are probably the team that Rebels' fans least wanted to see ahead of them in the bracket. This is, without question, the most doubted selection from the Shore Conference seeding committee. With an 11-6-4 record, one that won't impress anyone, it's a bit surprising to see the Patriots in the third slot. Although they did win the Shore 'C' division, they did not beat Howell this year (one tie, one loss), and had some questionable losses and ties. Early in the season, Freehold Township lost to Ocean, who is playing ice hockey for the first time in their program. On Janaury 14th, the Pats tied St. John Vianney, who have been the bottom-feeders of the conference all season long. On February 9th, Freehold Township fell 4-1 to the Southern Rams--a team they should have beat. This selection is the only one that should arouse several questions from Shore fans everywhere.

As for Howell, they have their work cut out for them. Yes, they have a right to be upset with falling to the fourth seed, but at the end of the day, they've been in this position before.

On Sunday, February 21st, Howell will take on Jackson Memorial in the first round of the Dowd Cup. If the Rebels are here to play, they should run the table as they did last year, and shouldn't have problem beating those top three teams for a second time.

On the other hand, if any two of these top four teams face each other in the final, it will be a beauty to watch.

The key match-up would be Freehold Township vs Howell in what would be their third face-off this season.

Yes, that would be interesting