MIAA Massachusetts High School Hockey

Pair of Heavyweight Battles on MHL Tonight

Two games will be live streamed on MyHockeyLive.com tonight, both huge league rivalry games. And despite it being only Jan. 6, these games will be tone setters for seeding in postseason play.

First, on MHL 2 at 6:50 p.m., a Bay State Conference-Carey Division battle between the Braintree Wamps (5-0-1) and the Framingham Flyers (4-0-3) from Loring Arena in Framingham. It's a clash in styles between the turbo-powered Wamps offense and the defensive-minded Flyers, each yet to suffer a loss this season.

Braintree's plus-21 goal differential (27-6) is currently fifth in Div. 1. The Wamps are coming off a 2-1 win over the Bridgewater-Raynham Trojans, preceded by a 1-1 tie vs. the Duxbury Dragons. After scoring 24 goals through their first four games, Sean Leslie (team-high seven goals) and the Wamps will try to get back to their high-scoring ways vs. Alex Moore and the Flyers, the sophomore goaltender who is coming off of a 44-save performance in a 3-3 tie vs. the Hingham Harbormen on Monday night.

Later on MHL 1 at 8 p.m., it's the first meeting between the St. John's Prep Eagles (5-0-1) and the Malden Catholic Lancers (4-1-0) since March 15, 2015, when the Eagles ended the Lancers' bid for five consecutive Super 8 championships with a 2-1 win at the TD Garden to capture their first ever Super 8 title.

SJP has picked right up where they left off a year ago, a plus-23 goal differential (27-4) good enough for third in Div. 1 play thus far, behind only the Pope Francis Cardinals (plus-31) and the Arlington Spy Ponders (plus-27). Highlights of the season so far for the Eagles include a 2-0 win over defending Div. 1 champion Hingham and a 5-0 win over a 2015 Super 8 team in the Woburn Tanners. Their lone tie came at the hands of BC High, 1-1 on Dec. 26.

Since losing to Delbarton (N.J.) in its season opener, 4-1, MC has allowed only one goal, outscoring opponents 16-1 over the four games.

BC High-Catholic Memorial battle set for Thursday

Additionally, MHL will be streaming a game tomorrow afternoon: BC High (5-0-1) vs. the Catholic Memorial Knights (5-5-0) at 5 p.m. from the Clark Athletic Center at UMass-Boston.

It's the first of two meetings between the Catholic Conference rivals this season, the first of two battles between schools that have combined for the most Super 8 titles (13 for CM, four for BC High, tied with Malden Catholic). Each team is in a bit of a drought, however; CM hasn't won a Super 8 since 2009, BC High since 2007.

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