Super 8 on tap
Top hockey teams to vie for Div 1A title
The 29th edition of the Division 1A boys hockey tournament, or Super 8, drops the puck on Sunday with a pair of play-in games at Stoneham Arena before moving on to double-elimination action. After his Arlington squad became just the second public school team to receive the No. 1 seed on Thursday, coach John Messuri was asked to assess the field.
“There is going to be a lot of low-scoring, one-goal games,” said Messuri. “Don’t take the over very often.”
Arlington would know about those types of games as it entered the tournament as the stingiest of the 10 teams, allowing just 29 goals in 21 games behind senior goalie Nathan Brennan. The Spy Ponders, on an 18-game unbeaten streak at 16-1-4, have a trio of players in forwards Anthony Messuri and Brendan Jones and defenseman Ryan Davies that are looking for their second Super 8 title after winning in 2017.
Quite a few on the BC High roster are going after their third after bringing home the last two crowns. The second-seeded Eagles, unbeaten in their last 10 games to finish 13-3-4, are led offensively by senior Matt Keohane, who is fresh of being named MVP of the Buddy Ferreira Classic.
Pope Francis is seeking a breakthrough in its 12th consecutive appearance, longest string in the field, having lost in the last two finals. The No. 3 Cardinals (13-4-2) are battle-tested after a relentless schedule, have a playoff-proven goalie in junior Ben Zaranek, a fabulous freshman in Ryan Leonard, and are the only team to beat Arlington this season.
Senior Ned Malolepszy’s 20 points leads a balanced offense for No. 4 St. John’s Prep, which averaged over seven goals per contest in its final five regular season games. The Eagles (11-4-5) haven’t played a fellow Super 8 team since January, but swept their first-round opponent Xaverian in Catholic Conference play by a combined 8-1 count.
Boasting one of the best pairs of senior forwards in the state in Matty Ryan and Ryan Pomposelli, the fifthseeded Xaverian Hawks (134-4) scored more goals than any other team in the tournament with 71 in 21 games. Xaverian, which won its last five, is the only Catholic Conference team not to have hoisted the Super 8 trophy, but are coming off a program-best third place last winter.
On the other hand, no team has won more 1A crowns than No. 6 Catholic Memorial with 13, but the last came in 2009. The Knights (8-6-6) seem to be turning back the clock this year, however, claiming the Catholic Conference for the first time since 2010, with captains Kevin McCarthy and Will MacNeil spearheading a talented young core, although they did suffer a 7-4 loss to first-round foe Pope Francis just a week ago.
Behind 100-point scorer senior Ryan O’Halloran, No. 7 Burlington claimed the Middlesex Freedom title and capped the regular season with a thrilling OT win as hosts in the Cahoon Tournament final. The Red Devils (14-4-4) haven’t had much Super 8 luck lately, dropping their last seven contests, but made a run to the championship game out of a wild card spot in 2009.
No. 8 Framingham was the top dog in the Bay State Conference all season, powered by the league’s top scorer in senior Will Trischitta. The Flyers (145-2) won their play-in game a year ago, going 2-2 in returning to the field for the first time since 2004.
The final team voted into the field and the first-ever public school champ in 2008, No. 9 Reading has the longest gap between appearances of any team in the tourney, a three-year absence. The Rockets (10-5-6) flew under the radar most of the season but played their way in by closing strong, powered by forwards junior Landyn Greatorex and freshman Evan Pannucci.
No. 10 Hingham (12-7-3) was the last public school left a year ago after winning a pair of games and are one of the six teams in the field with a Super 8 crown (2010) to their name. It was a tough end to the season for the Harbormen, however, as they not only fell 4-0 to BC High in the Buddy Ferreira final but may have lost goalie Jake Wilson to injury as well.
PREDICTIONS:
WILD CARD WINNERS: Burlington, Framingham
LAST FOUR LEFT: Arlington, BC High, Pope Francis, St. John’s Prep
FINAL: St. John’s Prep over Pope Francis. The Catholic Conference was a merry-goround all season, so why not the Eagles, a veteran team that has been incredibly consistent since a surprising 9-1 loss to Hingham in the opener.