MIAA Massachusetts High School Hockey

Joey McD's January 14th Top 20

The season is about halfway over and many teams have shown where they should sit as Super 8 projections start to roll out so lets see who sits where as of right now......

1. BC High: Since last weeks rankings, the Eagles downed #11 St. Johns Prep and Malden Catholic. The Eagles were my preseason #1 and have not shown any reason to be moved down continuing their dominance so far.

2. Austin Prep: The Cougars are extremely close to being the number one team in the state as they still are undefeated and have played difficult competition so far. This past week they dominated both #10 Archbishop Williams and Arlington Catholic.

3. St. Mary Lynn: The Spartans only have one loss so far and it is to #2 Austin Prep. They recently completed the season sweep of Bishop Fenwick in their win on Saturday.

4. Pope Francis: The Cardinals may be talented enough to be the number one or two team in the state, but a few kinks to their record so far have them at #4. They have won their past three games including a nail biter against #9 Framingham.

5. Catholic Memorial: Five wins in a row for the Knights has them moving up in the rankings yet again. They seem to have found their stride, but their next game is against #1 BC High, which can really push Catholic Memorial to the top.

6. Xaverian: After being named champions of the MHL Cup, the Hawks had back to back losses followed by a tie to St. Johns (S) in a game where the Hawks blew a large lead. Nearly penciled out of the top 10, Xaverian beat #11 St. Johns Prep in a one score game to turn thing around in a hurry.

7. Arlington: Arlington is rolling after their early season loss to #1 BC High. Since that game, they have four wins and one tie (against #4 Pope Francis). This past week they beat #16 Winchester and look forward to their next game against Wakefield.

8. Melrose: For a division one public school that is not normally a powerhouse, there is one way to get a chance at the Super 8, and that is to lose less than two games. Right now, the Red Raiders have no losses on the year with seven wins and three ties. They are coming off back to back ties against Wakefield and Chelmsford. Unfortunately for Melrose, their toughest games lie ahead of them.

9. Framingham: This past week the Flyers suffered a one goal defeat to #4 Pope Francis, but bounced back with a win over Natick. They now face a very good Weymouth team in their next game.

10. Archbishop Williams: The Bishops are down 7 places this week after a big loss to #2 Austin Prep. They followed this up nicely with a 2 to 1 victory over #19 Barnstable. With only one loss on the season, there is still a lot of hype for this Archbishop Williams team.

11. St. Johns Prep: The Eagles have had a roller coaster of a season so far as they now sit with a record of 3-4-2. They lost one goal games to both #6 Xaverian and #1 BC High this week. Things do not get easier either, the Eagles play #2 Austin Prep and #5 Catholic Memorial this week.

12. Hingham: The Harbormen are up three spots this week as they seem to be getting back on track. They beat both #15 Duxbury and Burlington this week and look forward to a matchup with Reading.

13. Falmouth: The Clippers have been hovering around the #13 spot all season and can really make their push to the top with a win over #14 Marshfield this Wednesday. They had two wins this week over Nauset and Sandwich.

14. Marshfield: It has been hard to predict this Marshfield team all season as they have a few big wins and a few losses. They had a big win over Nauset this past week as they look forward to a matchup against #13 Falmouth.

15. Duxbury: Back to back wins for Duxbury as they bounced back from a one goal loss to #12 Hingham. 8-2 on the year is very good for the Dragons as they look to continue their success against North Quincy.

16. Winchester: An impressive season so far for Sachems as they only have two losses, both coming to ranked teams. Their last game was a loss to #7 Arlington. They face Woburn in their next contest as they try to get back in the win column.

17. Andover: With three wins in a row, the Golden Warriors get back into the rankings. Coming off of a win over Central Catholic, they play Chelmsford on Wednesday.

18. Walpole: Four wins in a row for the Rebels as they downed Braintree in their last game. They look to keep their impressive run going with a game this Wednesday against Brookline.

19. Barnstable: The Red Raiders have had ups and downs on the year so far, but have shown that they are a contender. They had four wins in a row until they lost their most recent game to #10 Archbishop Williams by one goal. They play Scituate next then look forward to a game against #13 Falmouth.

20. Mansfield: Mansfield is looking like they will be the 1 seed in the D1 south bracket with the season they have had so far. 9-2-0 on the year is impressive, but they do not have the ranked opponents that other teams face, which will make it tough for the Hornets to get any Super 8 bids.

Best of the rest: Reading, Braintree, Newburyport, Westford Academy, Needham

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