Watch out for Div. 3 South
The Division 3 South tournament regularly is one of the biggest of the boys hockey postseason, simply for the number of teams that qualify for the bracket.
The 2017 tournament will be no exception, with 21 teams in the field. But Div. 3 South also could be the most intriguing with a host of serious championship contenders at the top of the field.
Defending state champion Hanover has to be considered a favorite from the start after the sixth-seeded Indians shared the Patriot League’s Fisher Division title. A balanced offense led by juniors Zach Taylor, Connor Morris and senior Ryan Mahoney has been complemented by Hanover’s typically strong defense.
No. 3-seed Rockland, which battled Hanover to a tie in last week’s Spartan Cup, will look to derail the defending champs. The Bulldogs posted the most wins in program history while winning the South Shore League for the first time in 26 seasons.
The top two seeds — Southeastern/West Bridgewater/BristolPlymouth and Nantucket — both posted unbeaten records while sharing the Mayflower League crown. Fourth-seeded Hopkinton battled through the tough Tri-Valley League while yielding only 1.3 goals per game and could be in for a great quarterfinal matchup with fifth-seeded Old Rochester/Fairhaven. The Bulldogs averaged nearly seven goals per game behind the state’s leading scorer Noah Strawn (37 goals, 43 assists) and fellow seniors Sam Henrie (33-28-61) and Landon Goguen (1834-52).
Norwell, which won the South title two years ago and reached the final in 2016, made a strong late-season surge and will be a dangerous team as the No. 7 seed.
In Div. 3 North, Swampscott will try to live up to its billing as the top seed after winning the Northeastern Conference’s South Division. NEC All-Conference pick Louis Olivieri and fellow senior Mike Johnson both surpassed 100 points for their careers.
East Boston and Latin Academy, which played a classic Boston City League championship game last week (won by LA in a shootout), will try to bring the first sectional title to the city since 1995. Defending sectional champion Wayland shared the Merrimack Valley/Dual County title with Cambridge, and they square off in a firstround game that could propel either team to a deep run. Newton South is another potential challenger out of the MVC/DCL.
Division 2
Lowell Catholic made the move up from Div.3 this season but the Crusaders haven’t missed a beat. After winning their sixth consecutive Catholic Central League 2 championship, LC earned the top seed and knocked off No. 2 North Reading in last week’s Jeffrey Hayes Memorial Tournament, but either team is capable of a deep run in the North bracket.
Defending champion Lincoln-Sudbury could face North Reading in the quarterfinals, and coach Hal Gill’s Warriors lead a list of contenders out of MVC/DCL 2 along with Tewksbury, Methuen and North Andover. Thirdseeded Danvers won the Northeastern Conference North, Winthrop had the league’s MVP in Charlie Page, and Marblehead overcame a sluggish start.
Top seed Scituate aims to hand longtime coach Mike Breen a Div. 2 South title in his final season behind the Sailors bench. Medway will try to give the Tri-Valley League its fourth consecutive sectional crown along with Westwood and Medfield — which won the last two state titles. Medfield earned a tie in its final game to punch its ticket to the postseason.
Eastern Athletic champion Bishop Feehan drew Medfield in what could be a classic opening-round game. As usual, there are several Hockomock League teams that could challenge, led by Canton, North Attleboro and Oliver Ames.
Division 1
The brackets won’t be set until tonight’s Super Eight play-in games are done, but there will be no shortage of potential contenders. Teams such as St. John’s Prep, Andover, Burlington and St. Mary’s could be motivated to win the North after missing out on Super Eight selection.
In the South, defending state champion Franklin will be in the top five seeds when the bracket is set, and Xaverian looms as a threat out of the bottom half after playing its usual tough Catholic Conference schedule.