There is nothing better than the MIAA boys hockey tournament. Come the end of February, teams will dream of a state title.
Come mid-March, a much smaller group of teams will have the chance to actually win it.
But that’s far away. As we sit in late January, we have a pretty good idea of the MIAA Division 1 boys hockey landscape. There are the top teams, the next group of teams and then the sleepers for the tournament.
In the past two years, the favorites have been the final ones standing — St. John’s Prep in 2024 and Catholic Memorial last year. But Winchester and St. John’s Shrewsbury, two lower seeds, have been the recent runner-ups.
This should set up for a phenomenal final finish come the end. This story will focus just on Division 1.
As good as advertised
1. Catholic Memorial: The reigning champs have lived up to their preseason No. 1 status so far. Through their first 15 games, the Knights are 12-2-1 with big wins over Arlington, Hingham, St. John’s Prep, Xaverian and St. John's Shrewsbury. The big guns have been that for head coach Larry Rooney’s team, as forwards Liam McKinney (Milton, Mass.), Daniel Antonellis (Belmont, Mass.), Mike Melvin (Marshfield, Mass.), Christian Hinckle (Milton, Mass.), Jack McCourt (Milton, Mass.) and AJ Anksitus (North Dighton, Mass.) have produced at a high rate. Senior James Baker (Dorchester, Mass.), with 13 points in 15 games, has been a stalwart on defense. And in net, Jaxson Fleming (Waltham, Mass.) has lived up to being one of the best 2010 birth-year players in the region.
2. St. John’s Shrewsbury: The Pioneers have fallen on some hard times, dropping four straight. But at the actual halfway point (Jan. 14), St. John's Shrewsbury had its way with the Catholic Conference, taking down Catholic Memorial, St. John's Prep and Xaverian in seven days. Forwards Matthew McGinty (Northboro, Mass.), Nico Santella (Worcester, Mass.) and Jaydon Wrzosek (Dudley, Mass.) have been go-to scorers, while defensemen Ryder Bisson (Holden, Mass.), Kevin Bisson (Holden, Mass.) and Connor Secrist (Southboro, Mass.) have been key on defense. Junior Colin McCarthy (Worcester, Mass.) has been outstanding in his first full season as the starter. Even with the recent losses to BC High, CM, SJP and Xaverian, head coach Michael Mead’s team won’t be surprising anyone come the postseason this year like it did last year.
3. Hingham: The Harbormen have, for the most part, taken care of business, which is to be expected. So far, Hingham has scored big wins over Winchester, Arlington, St. Mary's Lynn and tied St. John’s Prep. Even in defeat, the Harbormen fell to Xaverian in overtime and CM (2-0). They’re right there. Head coach Tony Messina’s team has solid depth in the top six with forwards like Cam McKenna, Nick Bigelow, Brian Murray, Walter Dzavik and Quinn Allen. There’s a solid core on defense, too, with Colman Donohue, Nick Smith, Sean Carroll and Ryan LaRonde. In net, goalie James Whitmore is extremely athletic.
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Three surprises
1. Xaverian: The Hawks lost quite a bit from last year’s roster, entering this season as a team with something to prove. Through 15 games, they have. Xaverian won its first eight games en route to being ranked No. 1 by the MIAA. Junior goalie Connor Kotwicki has been outstanding in net with a .940 save percentage and 1.77 goals-against average. Up front, Joe Von Handorf (Norwood, Mass.), Charlie Comerford (Scituate, Mass.), Daniel Gentile (Westwood, Mass.), Max LaRosa (Whitman, Mass.) and James Johnson (Abington, Mass.) have provided a majority of the scoring.
2. Pope Francis: The Cardinals are 3-0-1 in their last four with wins over Archbishop Williams, Braintree and Shrewsbury, but at the midway point, the Cardinals were surprising in a negative way. Head coach Brian Foley’s team had a tough start to the season with a 5-4-2 record in its first 11 games. They tied Catholic Memorial and Malden Catholic and fell to Don Bosco (N.J.), St. John’s Prep, Arlington and St. Mary’s Lynn. Still, Pope Francis has depth up front (senior Matthew Regan has 18 goals) and on defense, and junior goalie George Ramsey is one of the better netminders in the MIAA. It's not a huge shock that Pope Francis has been better to start the second half.
3. Reading: It’s not so much that Reading is a surprise, but the Rockets have been strong out of the gate in a tough Middlesex League. They’ve beaten Melrose, Stoneham, Watertown/Wayland, Belmont, Woburn (twice), Winchester, Wakefield and Wilmington, and tied St. John’s Prep and Burlington. Like Hingham, they’re right there. Head coach Mark Doherty’s team has enjoyed quite a bit of scoring from forwards Jack Melly and Kamden Greatorex. Senior defenseman Nate Vitarisi has broken out with seven goals and 18 points in 13 games.
READ MORE: The boys prep midseason report
Three questions
1. Can St. John’s Prep get back to the top? St. John's Prep and St. John's Shrewsbury have both been up when the other is down — and vice versa. At the midway point for St. John's Prep, it had just lost to SJS, CM and Xaverian. They settled into the bottom rung of the top-tier of contenders. Many teams would be ecstatic in that position, but head coach Kris Hanson’s team is used to being at the top. Since then, the Eagles have beaten Malden Catholic, BC High, SJS and CM, and rank No. 3 in my latest rankings. They're back near the top. But can it last in a crowded field?
2. Who will emerge as the best public school in Division 1? One of my favorite storylines every season is the public schools. We’ve talked about Hingham and Reading so far, as both are favorites. Arlington is right there with them. The Spy Ponders lost to Hingham (2-1) but took down Reading (4-0). Head coach John Messuri is fortunate to have forward Nolan Russell, who is arguably the top player in the MIAA. Winchester is right there as well, as the Red and Black beat Arlington and lost to Xaverian by a goal. Another interesting team to watch is Waltham, which won its first nine games and is 11-3-0.
READ MORE: The latest boys MIAA rankings
3. Can Catholic Memorial repeat? This is the big question. The Knights, in my opinion, are the No. 1 team. But No. 1 teams don’t always win come the tournament. One bad game and it’s over. Rooney’s team, however, is built to go deep again. Ironically enough, the team in the best position to knock them off is St. John’s Shrewsbury, which faced them in the Div. 1 final last March. Given that St. John's Prep just beat them, 2-1, the Eagles are another candidate. Of the public schools, Hingham would be my pick to have a good chance of knocking off the Knights. Whitmore can handle a lot of shots, and the Harbormen play good team defense, which could limit CM from scoring.
