The Warwick Vets boys’ hockey team has earned the No. 4 seed for the Division III tournament that is set to kickoff on Friday.

If the ’Canes hope to capture the title in their final season, they’ll have to go through top-seeded Ponaganset.

And it certainly seems like they’ll have their hands full, as the Chieftains have only dropped one game all season – a 4-3 defeat to West Warwick/Exeter-West Greenwich on Feb. 26.

If Vets hopes to upset the No. 1 team, it’ll have to get heavy, productive minutes from Collin Csoszor and D.J. Kowalik.

The pair have been playing defense for the ’Canes to provide some stability on the back end, while also serving as the team’s top scorers.

Csoszor currently sits in sixth in the division in scoring with 36 points. He’s also third with 24 goals.

Kowalik isn’t far behind in 11th with 28 points.

Across the sheet, Vets will have the tough task of stopping a balanced attack from the Chieftains.

They are led, though, by a pair of freshmen.

Ryan Watts is second in the division with 22 goals and 22 assists for 44 points. Nathan Watts, on the other hand, isn’t having a bad season in his own right, posting 31 points.

Joshua Dalessio (27 points) and Jacob Lincourt (21 points) are also steady contributors that Vets will have to keep an eye on.

In goal, Ponaganset has an all-league performer at that position, too.

No goalie in D-III has a better save percentage (.953) or goals against average (1.02) than sophomore Curtis Briggs.

Vets is entering the playoffs with a head of steam, however, as winners of its last two regular season games.

Game 1 of the series will be played on Friday night at Levy Rink at 7:30 p.m. Vets will then host Game 2 at Thayer Arena on Saturday night at 9 p.m. A time and date for a potential Game 3 in the best-of-three series will be posted if necessary.

Lady Titans to face

Eagles in semis

The Warwick Co-op Lady Titans are rolling into a semifinal series against top-seeded Barrington Co-op this weekend after sweeping Mount St. Charles Co-op in the quarterfinals this past weekend.

The Lady Titans pulled out a 4-0 shutout win in Game 1 against the Mounties, before edging out Mount on the road for a 4-3, overtime win in Game 2. Madison Balutowksi scored five of the team’s eight goals in the series, including the game-winner to ice the series in overtime.

Warwick will now draw Barrington, which boasted a league-best 15-2-2 record and 32 points in the regular season.

And the Lady Titans will face the tough test of slowing down the top offense in the state. The Eagles scored the most goals in the state with 79, and also have three of the league’s top-four scorers.

Grace Flaherty (40 points) won the scoring title this season, while Mary Arkins (34) and Carissa Rego (33) were third and fourth, respectively, on the scoring list.

Warwick will need strong play from its defensive unit and freshman netminder Rebecca Yaseen, who’s coming off of back-to-back wins against Mount.

As always, the Lady Titans will also need offensive production from their usual suspects – Balutowksi (30 points, 22 goals) and Kelsey Holmes (24 points).

Game 1 of that series will be played tonight at 8 p.m. at Portsmouth Abbey, before the two teams return to action for Game 2 on Saturday night at Thayer at 7 p.m. The time and date for a potential Game 3 has yet to be announced.

No. 6 Titans draw Northmen

The Toll Gate boys’ hockey team has been awarded the No. 6 seed in the Division II playoffs following a 9-8-1 regular season and, in turn, will draw No. 3 North Smithfield in the quarterfinals this weekend.

It should be a good series between the two teams, as the Titans played the 13-3-2 Northmen tough in their two matchups this season.

On Jan. 2, Toll Gate battled North Smithfield to a 2-2 tie on the road, before the Northmen bounced back to get the best of the Titans, 4-1, on Feb. 19 at Thayer.

Toll Gate will be looking to slow down North Smithfield’s potent offensive attack, which features three scorers in the top-10 on the D-II scoring list. Senior captain Kyle Evangelista heads that list in second with 49 points – behind only East Greenwich’s John Ferguson with 59 points.

If Toll Gate wants to pull out the upset, it’ll have to play smart, defensive hockey, while not allowing the Northmen to create speed through the middle of the ice and through the neutral zone.

North Smithfield plays a fast game, so if the Titans can jam it up and limit its space, Toll Gate should have a good chance to win the series.

As for the Titans, they’ll have to look to their first line of Will Fox (18 points), Connor Sullivan (18 points) and Max Fields (12 points) to neutralize one of the top lines in all of D-II.

The series will begin on Friday night with Game 1 at the Rhode Island Sports Center at 6:10 p.m. Game 2 is set to be played at Thayer on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Game 3’s location and date will be posted if necessary.