As the regular season wraps up this week and next for most area ice hockey teams, every game matters more. Late-season schedules have been increasingly affected by weather cancellations, which is a challenging complication due to the cost of ice time in the Washington metro area.

“Because ice is so limited in the DMV area, we’ve actually have moved the start of the CSHL season up from early November to mid-October in order to make sure we can play a 10-game regular season,” said Matt Seney, the head coach for Washington-Lee High school. “The combination of playing a 10-game regular season schedule over the course of maybe 12 or 13 viable Fridays and having limited options with regards to ice availability creates a few byes for teams.”

Those teams in the CSHL with byes included T.C. Williams and Washington-Lee, while in the NVSHL, Chantilly has a break until Feb. 8.

This week features a shake-up at the top of the top 10 rankings, with DeMatha taking over the No. 1 spot from Georgetown Prep:

1. DeMatha (17-6-1) Last ranked: 2

The Stags took down Calvert Hall, 10-0, and will travel to the University of Notre Dame to participate in the PA Hockey Foundation tournament.

2. Georgetown Prep (9-2-1) LR: 1

The Little Hoyas lost their second game of the season to St. Albans, 5-3. Because of a cancellation against Spalding, Prep’s next game will be against Bullis Friday night.

3. Chantilly (8-1) LR: 4

The Chargers return from their bye-week for their final regular season game against Centreville/Fairfax Friday.

4. St. John’s (11-4-1) LR: 5

The Cadets posted back-to-back six-goal performances in victories against Gonzaga and Spalding. They’ll have a bye week before taking on Spalding again.

5. Marriotts Ridge (8-2) LR: 3

The Mustangs dropped only their second game of the season to Churchill, breaking an eight-game winning streak. They’ll wrap up their regular season against rival Glenelg.

6. T.C. Williams (7-2) LR: 6

The Titans haven’t played for nearly two weeks, and have their season finale against W.T. Woodson on Feb. 8.

7. O’Connell (7-5-3) LR: 8

With goals from Alexander Vouras, Thomas O’Donnell, Jacob Smith and Sean Ostrowski, the Knights closed out their MAPHL season with a 4-2 win over Landon.

8. Gonzaga (10-6-1) LR: 7

After falling 6-1 to St. John’s, the Eagles rebounded with a 10-0 win over Bullis.

9. Yorktown (7-2) LR: 9

The Patriots defeated McLean, 6-1, with scoring from five different players. Their next bout is against Freedom Friday evening.

10. Churchill (11-6-2) LR: NR

The Bulldogs are back in the rankings after a statement win over Marriotts Ridge. Walter Johnson awaits Friday night.

Dropped out: Washington-Lee

On the bubble: Washington-Lee, Wootton, Severna Park