It's February, which means the MIAA hockey tournament begins later this month.
For some teams, it's a matter of improving their seeding, working on nailing down the best possible match-up in the postseason. Others still have work to do to ensure they can even get there at all, needing stay at or above .500 to have a shot.
Tonight on My Hockey Live, we'll have a pair of games featuring teams in each situation.
On MHL1, the Barnstable Red Raiders (5-5-3) play host to the Archbishop Williams Bishops (7-3-2) at 6:15 p.m.
The Red Raiders need 7 points over their final seven games to get back to the postseason, where they had an impressive run to the Div. 1 South semifinal last year before bowing out to eventual-State Champion Hingham, 7-2.
Under first-year head coach Tim Grace, Barnstable has been steady, none of its losses by more than two goals. But a recent 0-4-3 stretch has put the Red Raiders in a tough spot, especially with an improved Old Colony League.
The good news for the Red Raiders is that they snapped out of their malaise with a win over an OCL foe on Saturday, Bridgewater-Raynham, with a convincing 7-2 win over the Trojans in Hyannis.
In order to keep the good times rolling, Barnstable will have its hands full with Archies, one of the most improved teams in the state from a year ago. After going 3-14-3 in 2014-15, the Bishops have already more than doubled their win total, and also boast a 4-1-1 record in the vastly-underrated Catholic Central (Div. 1) League.
However, the Bishops still must face Austin Prep twice and St. Mary's of Lynn again (the Spartans beat Archies, 6-2, in the teams' first meeting this year), and also have the Buddy Ferreira Classic in front of them. It's a chance for marquee wins, but also a treacherous stretch the Bishops will need to weather to secure their 20th point and qualify for the postseason after being absent a year ago.
Archies lost to defending-Super 8 champion St. John's Prep, 3-0, in its most recent game on Saturday.
Meanwhile, on MHL2, BC High (11-0-3) will put its unbeaten record on the line against the visiting Pope Francis Cardinals at 6:10 p.m. at the Clark Athletic Center at UMass-Boston.
BC High is a lock for Super 8 play, while the Cardinals (11-2-2) should be in, but aren't quite full-on locks yet. A win over BC High, on the road no less, will only solidify its case.
The Eagles will split the Catholic Conference crown with Malden Catholic after a 2-2 tie on Sunday failed to resolve anything. Both BCH and MC finished 5-0-3 in league play, and tied each other twice.
The only other "blemish" on the BC High resume is a tie vs. St. John's Prep in the teams' first meeting, but SJP got rocked in the rematch, 6-2. Malden Catholic aside, BC High has beaten every other team with Super 8 aspirations in its path this season: Central Catholic, Winchester, and St. Mary's Lynn. It would appear the only question left for the Eagles is if they can nail down the No. 1 overall seed in the Super 8.
Pope Francis has *only* a plus-60 goal differential this season, down from last season's downright absurd plus-135. Nevertheless, the Cardinals are getting by just fine, their only losses to SJP and St. Andrew's Prep (Ontario); how bad can it be going when your only losses are to the defending champs and a team from Canada? Not to mention, Pope Francis won Game 2 of their series with St. Andrew's.
The Cardinals have outscore their last two opponents 14-1 (St. John's Shrewsbury and Norwood) since returning stateside; BC High has given up 14 goals over its last eight games, so something's gotta give tonight.